“He looked a lot like Che Guevara, drove a diesel van, kept his gun in quiet seclusion, such a humble man. The only survivor of the National People’s Gang, Panic in Detroit.” (David Bowie,”Panic in Detroit”)
Did something revolutionary happen in Detroit? Did it spring from the well of a humble man? Did someone hide their evil ambitions like a gun in quiet seclusion?
What happened in Detroit that Peter Bishop referred to in the season three finale, The Day We Died? What was it to Philip Broyles?
Before I get too far ahead of myself let’s take a look at the quote from the conversation between Senator Broyles and Peter Bishop as Peter made his argument to release Walter from jail.
“If what we lost in Detroit still means anything to you, just give me one chance that’s all I’m asking.”
What I am going to attempt here is parse any detail I can get out of the last episode of Fringe in hopes of divining a solution to this mystery. There isn’t much to go on but I thought it would be a fun exercise to sift through the clues and see what we come up with. Here is what I have so far
- In invoking the memories of Detroit, Peter must of known this was a tender point with Broyles that Peter could use as leverage. Did Broyles lead an FBI or Fringe Division mission into Detroit that went horribly wrong? Is that where is eye injury came from?
- In the aftermath of this Detroit disaster did Phillip Broyles come out a hero? Did Broyles use his heroic status to fashion a political career that led him to the Senate? Did Peter prey upon Broyles guilt when he taunted him about Broyles’ re-election status?
- Why did Peter shed his Navy styled Peacoat in favor of an Army style fatigue jacket. Was this a military mission in Detroit that Peter pays homage to every day by wearing the coat? Did Peter fashion his military experience to gain inclusion as a Fringe Division Agent?
- Were the “End of Dayers” involved? The answer to that one seems to be no since Broyles didn’t make a connection to them when Peter asked if he had been briefed on their activities. But perhaps it was an action of theirs before they gained their notoriety as those who wanted to hasten the end of the world.
I’m going to be thinking on this and I would like your help. Do you readers have any theories on what happened in Detroit? As the Summer progresses I will continue to look back at this and perhaps the producers of Fringe will drop some clues. I’ll post more parts to this mystery as feedback comes in and bread crumbs are dropped.
Until then we’ll let David Bowie fuel the fire.
I regularly check the comments of news on the top ‘Fringe’ fan page on Facebook where people always ask questions, and they really never,ever get the storyline and keep on saying ‘ why is Charlie alive? Why is Alt Broyles alive’? It is simple yes, but these same people that don’t get the show plot in general that are on the facebook page.They are either just Josh Jackson fans that just want to see him on the tv and complain about him not being on for 3 episodes, and “threatening” (?) to stop watching unless he comes back? Yeah, so, they’re obviously not really fans to begin with. About 85% of these people are totally clueless about the show. Anyway, there is really only about 5 people on the page that actually know what they’re talking about (really!) and I was trying to figure out what Peter’s comment meant to Broyles about Detroit. A facebook commenter brought it to my attention that Ella’s mother ‘Rachel’, (Olivia’s sister) was not at her funeral. Is it possible that Rachel was killed in what was most likely a Fringe event in Detroit, and Broyles had a major guilt trip and couldn’t handle Fringe division anymore? Olivia didn’t speak to Broyles in the episode seeing how he was a senator anyhow, and maybe she felt he was personally responsible, as did he?
That is a great theory! I’m glad you decided to share it. I often think about this post and how I can expand upon it but usually my mind goes to wild outlandish theories. This actually has solid footing. We’ll have to keep on eye on any new developments in this area. Post any new info as you learn it. Thanks for the great input.
Yeah it is a great answer I have been milling over this for ages and the Rachel angle would be a good storyline…