Fringe Episode 3.07 The Abducted

An old man shaves his head with a straight razor. There's a birthmark on his scalp. He pours liquid from a vial into the sink and splashes water on his himself, reciting, "Through suffering comes redemption. Through sorrow comes exaltation. Through pitch dark comes a cleansing fire. Through the fire you'll find the spring of new life." He picks up a metal mask and looks at it. Later, in New Yonkers, he kidnaps an eight-year-old boy named Max from his bedroom.

Olivia asks her cab driver pal, Henry, to help her get into the Department of Defense facility on Liberty Island. She can steal a boat but can't leave it docked on the island, because security will find it. Henry is skeptical but finally agrees. He'll borrow his cousin's boat. Just give him a day or so.

Because the Peter Bishop Act of 1991 dictates that every child abduction be considered a possible Fringe event, the team investigates Max's kidnapping. Lincoln analyzes some residue on fingerprints from the closet: It's sugar. He secretes it through his sweat. Who does? The Candyman. He's back.

Walternate visits Colonel Broyles, who says that it's been four years since the Candyman took his son, Christopher. When Broyles got him back, he wasn't a little boy anymore. Broyles wants this case - but he also wants his Olivia back. Walternate says that she'll be home very soon.

At Fringe HQ, pictures of Candyman victims flash on the screens. Every two years, he kidnaps a kid between ages seven and nine, releasing the child after 48 hours. Lincoln explains that the victims all had acute organ deterioration, depleted immune systems, and some even had cancer. Olivia notices incisions on the backs of the kids' necks.

The perp is male with a shaved head, wearing a mask. But two of the victims saw different suspects, one young and one old. One of those kids was Christopher Broyles. Olivia wants to re-interview him, but Broyles says no way. Later, Broyles' wife, Diane, says that Christopher is strong enough to talk about it, even if Broyles isn't. OK, he'll allow it.

Elsewhere, the masked man recites the same prayer and checks Max's neck. There's a device attached to it.

Olivia muses that the victims' conditions are also symptoms of old age. Aging involves the pituitary gland, which can be accessed through the back of the neck. What if the old and young suspects are the same guy? Could the Candyman be stealing youth? Lincoln says maybe, in theory - but using some kind of processed pituitary hormones would cause serious side effects, including high blood sugar. Enough to secrete sugar in his sweat? Hmm.

Chris is afraid to tell Olivia about the Candyman, who threatened to hurt his parents if he talked. Olivia promises that won't happen. Chris remembers the men's voices and part of the prayer. Meanwhile, Walternate tells Broyles to pull this Olivia out of the field tomorrow. She's no longer needed. Henry calls Olivia and says be at the Red Hook Marina in Brooklyn at 10 tonight.

Charlie traces the prayer to the Astoria Church in Queens, run by Reverend Marcus. He was a physician, until his wife died in the avian flu epidemic. Broyles and Olivia explain their theory that Max's kidnapper is from his church. Broyles says one victim, his son, can ID the man's voice. Rattled, Marcus gives them the roster from his men's group.

When Olivia interviews a young man, Wyatt Toomey, he accidentally gives himself away. She calls for backup, chases him, and finds Max. Wyatt has a gun! She shoots him.

Wyatt was indeed making an age-regression serum from the kids' hormones. But he worked in sanitation. How did he figure out how to do this? Broyles tells Olivia that he won't forget what she's done. Lincoln invites her to celebrate with him and Charlie, but Olivia's going home.

At the marina, Henry tells Olivia that his cousin showed him how to run the boat. Olivia suddenly understands that someone also showed Wyatt what to do: Reverend Marcus. She calls Broyles, who realizes that Marcus knows Christopher can identify him. Olivia dashes off, asking Henry to wait.

At the Broyles' place, Marcus attacks! Broyles bursts in and shoots the pastor. Later, as Diane and Christopher are examined at the hospital, Olivia looks in on Max. The boy asks, "What's FBI?" Olivia said it when she saved him. Uh, she bluffs, FBI's just another word for police.

Broyles overhears this. After telling Olivia that the doctors think Marcus' serum might help Christopher and the other victims, he says the FBI ceased to exist over a decade ago . . . at least on This Side. He knows she knows who she is! Now what? Broyles says that he's going home.

Henry takes Olivia to Liberty Island, and she gets to her own side. Popping into the gift shop after hours, she startles the cleaning woman. But she's being pulled back! Desperate, Olivia begs the woman to do something for her, even though it sounds insane. Then she's yanked to the Other Side. Walternate orders his soldiers to sedate her.

Meanwhile, Peter and Bolivia are in bed, watching "Casablanca." She wants to see how it ends. He can't believe she doesn't know. She guesses the characters live happily ever after. Actually, no. Peter's phone buzzes. The cleaning woman says this sounds crazy, but she just saw a woman disappear in front of her. "Her name was Olivia. She has a message for you: She's trapped in the other universe."