Olivia tells Peter that this does not make any sense because Michael is an empath and that he used to feel what she wanted and then communicate with her. Michael simply sits and stares at the table.
Nina is working in her office when she gets a call from Olivia. Olivia tells Nina that they need her help but Nina is cautious about what she is saying because her secretary is a loyalist. Nina promises to call Olivia back in ten minutes. Windemark enters shortly after Nina leaves and asks her secretary where Nina is. The secretary says that Nina got a call twenty minutes ago on her private line and then left for an early lunch. The secretary reports that Nina is due back at one o'clock. Windemark believes that someone in office has supplied the fringe crew with a sublimation device. The observors then scan the office looking for clues and manage to pick up the conversation that Nina had with Olivia.
Olivia and Nina meet in an alley and Nina says that she is nothing, if she can't be a resource for her. Nina takes her wheelchair over to Michael and introduces herself. When Walter questions rudely what they are doing there, Nina says that she has access to tech which she believes might be useful to them. Apparently, black labs still exist and Nina has allowed the lab to be used by the resistance since the invasion. As they make their way to the lab, Peter tells Nina that sometimes when he sees Walter, he sees a stare he does not recognize. Peter is worried about what will happen to Walter when the brain tissue is removed, but Nina says that this is a risk Walter volunteered to take. Peter feels that this is unacceptable but Nina points out that if this goes on for long enough, Walter may no longer consent to having the brain tissue excised again. Nina once again assures Peter that Walter knows that freedom comes with a cost.
Windemark is at the ministry of science and one of the observers wonders if Nina has been alerted to their presence there. Windemark says he wants to see the facility from which the sublimation device was taken.
When the fringe crew enters the lab, Olivia assures Michael that everything is okay, as Nina powers up the lab. Inside the lab, they find September in a chamber and Peter covers him quickly. Nina admits that the resistance experimented on observers in the lab to understand how they were reading humans, and how to create technology which would give them the same advantage, but were unable to discover anything useful. Nina believes that the technology they have will allow them to communicate with Michael using nureo simulation.
Olivia brings Michael further into the lab and Michael stares at the chamber where September is lying. Walter picks up the device and orders Peter to prep the subject, but Peter reminds him that his name is Michael.
Windemark questions Nina's employee and tells him that they have determined that Nina is a traitor and is working with the resistance. Though the man is clearly terrified, he claims to have no knowledge of this or where she is. Windemark tells him that he believes him.
At the lab, the device is placed on Michael's head and Olivia assures him that this shouldn't hurt and that if at anytime he wants to stop, all he has to do is squeeze her hand. Olivia asks if he remembers why he is so important to Walter's plans but the software cannot interpret his brain waves. Nina suggests that Michael can no longer understand what they want and that perhaps the answer is to let Michael into one their heads. For their plan to work, they need to return and get another sublimation device, which Nina does not believe will be a problem, because she does not yet know that the observers are onto her. At the lab however, the observers are questioning the employees one at a time.
Hastings phone starts to ring and it's Nina but he dare not answer. Walter is getting more and more frustrated. Peter calls Astrid for help breaking through the security lock, since Hastings isn't answering his phone and Nina cannot communicate because she is under ground. Hastings is being questioned and Windemark tells Hastings that he believes him. Outside, Astrid is talking Peter through unlocking the door, as Walter continues to be aggressive. Inside, Windemark tells Hastings that he believes that a sublimation device was provided to the fugitives and when Hastings says he is unaware of this, Windemark orders him restrained and demands that the rest be dismissed.
The fringe crew get into the factory and manage to secure the device but when Olivia looks up, she sees that Hastings is being questioned by Windemark. Windemark starts to press Hastings and asks where Nina is and promises that his loyalty will be rewarded.
Nina asks Michael to stay in the lab and then leaves to call Olivia. What Nina does not realise, is that by making this call, she has allowed the loyalists to discover her location. Olivia tells Nina that she has been compromised and now cannot return to the ministry and cannot go home. Nina answers that it's okay and that she has to go now. Olivia apologises and Nina hangs up and dismantles her phone. Nina makes her way back into the lab and Olivia watches, as Windemark disappears. Loyalists enter the room intent on making an example of Hastings and so Peter and Olivia enter and kill them. In return, Hastings tells the crew that Nina has been tracked.
Nina returns to the lab to find that Michael has left his seat. Nina tells Michael that everything is going to be fine, though she is clearly upset. Michael approaches Nina and touches her face and it is clear that he has communicated with her. Michael then turns to stare at the video surveillance of Windemark arriving at the lab. Nina tells Michael to come with her. As Olivia, Walter and Peter make their way to the lab, they are stopped at an observer check point. They decide that it's too risky to turn around and instead ditch the car one at a time. Walter, Olivia and Peter head into an underground garage and steal a minivan.
The lab is now surrounded by observers and loyalists. When they enter, they find Nina waiting for them. Windemark asks what it is about the fugitives that instill such misguided loyalties. Nina tries to block her thoughts but Windemark tells her that this will not last, as the lab is being searched. When Windemark uncovers September, he calls them animals and then removes his hat. Windemark then scans Nina's brain and learns that Michael is important to the fugitives and that they are mistaken about Michael because he is chromosomal mistake and not a child. It seems that Michael was scheduled to be destroyed before he went missing. Windemark demands that Nina tell him where Michael is, but he is interrupted by a loyalists who says that there is no sign of anyone else there. Windemark says that he will have to resort to a deeper extraction and is surprised when Nina does not express any fear. Nina tells Windemark that he is like a lizard because for all of his years of development, he is in reality an animal because the observers all possess redeveloped instincts which humans have moved past long ago. Windemark orders Nina restrained, but she grabs a gun for a loyalist and shoots herself in the head.
The fringe crew arrives at the lab but when they enter with guns drawn, they find the lab torn apart and Nina dead in her wheelchair Walter rushes forward to grasp Nina's hand, and Olivia covers her with a blanket. Walter says, "they've got the boy, who knows what they will do to him." Peter looks around the lab and replays the video, which for some reason the observers weren't smart enough to look at. They then watch the entire exchange between Nina and Windemark. Peter realises that Nina stopped Windemark from reading her by killing herself. The fringe crew realise that the observers left without Michael and start to call for him. It seems that Michael was hiding the entire time beneath September. Michael walks over to Nina and a tear rolls down his face. So it seems that another reason that Michael is an anomaly, is because he can feel emotion.
Back at Princeton, they hook Walter and Michael up to the device. Walter asks Michael to touch his nose if he understands him and Michael complies. Walter asks about Donald and why they need him for his plan and Michael removes the device from his head, walks over to Walter and touches his face. We get an image of Walter going across the universe to save Peter along with several flashbacks and September saying that the boy is important and has to live. It turns out that September and Donald are the same person.
Okay, I was absolutely shocked to discover that Donald and September are the same person. Now I want to know how he moved from being a human to an observor. There is a story there which I am sure will be interesting, if hey have enough time left in the season to tell it. I am glad that they are reintroducing this storyline.
I was absolutely sorry to see Nina die. She has been a fascinating character throughout the series, alternating from good to bad to good again. I like that she went out resisting though and I feel that this death actually very much honored her character. I don't want to see Astrid die, but I hope that the writers have something meaningful to do before this series comes to a close as well.
