Recap – Fringe 2.06 – Earthling

Randy Dancik appears to be another man who is lying to his wife about being on a business trip when he is really getting down to business with his mistress but it turns out he is a good guy who is surprising his wife for their anniversary.  He gets the card written and the roses arranged and the candles lit but keeps getting distracted by lights in the hall going on and off and the television losing reception.  Finally he catches a glimpse of shadow, a glimpse that terrifies him.

Soon-to-be-very-surprised Natalie arrives home and spots all the prep work.  She's impressed.  She goes into the living room and sees Randy sitting on a chair.  When he doesn't respond to her compliments, she touches his arm.  And he crumbles into a pile of ash.

Broyles is sitting alone in a fancy restaurant when he notices a boy at the next table mimicking his every move.   He plays peek-a-boo with a file and the boy does the same with his menu.  When the boy is hiding, Broyles gets a call.  By the time the boy looks up again, Broyles pulls a Keyser Soze vanishing act.

Walter, Peter and Olivia are on scene.  Walter observes that Randy reminds him of a Christmas log because they burn so hot and so fast that they retain their shapes.  Then he mentions genitals again.  (Question – an obsession for Walter that will actually end up being a plot point or a cheap way to sex up a show where everyone keeps his/her clothes on?)  They discuss spontaneous combustion as a source of the fire and dismiss the idea right away because none of the chair was burned.  Walter informs them that he's going to need several vacuum cleaners to get the body back to the lab.    I was surprised that no one suggested using hairspray or something to try to solidify the pieces that remained but then I remembered that CSI was on a different station at this time.

Broyles arrives and his first question is a weird one.  Had the man been in a hospital in the last 24 hours?  Olivia doesn't know but she can find out. 

Broyles has seen this before.  Four years ago, five people died in a similar fashion.  The Eastern European killer called Broyles and gave him a formula; if he could solve the formula, the killings would stop.  Broyles, the FBI, and the CDC couldn't solve them.  There were two more victims and then the killings stopped.  Until now.

At Latchmere General Hospital, the Shadow (who is the Shadow?  Only the Shadow knows… right now)  slips past a nurse and goes down the hall.  Broyles and Olivia ask the administrator for a list of Eastern European employees.