Walter Bishop, bless his heart, is the kind of man who really needs a conservatorship or something like that. He may be a certified genius, but he's frankly certifiable in other ways as well, liable to be a danger to himself or others if carefully monitored by Astrid and/or Peter.
In this episode, which seems to be something of a cheaper one to save money where another episode went over budget, a group of student animal rights activists (who we never learn the name of) break into a laboratory to free the animals imprisoned there... and get a lot more than they bargained for. Lethally so.
It's discovered that the animal is a dangerous genetic hybrid and it becomes a race against time to locate it... especially when Agent Charlie Francis, after finding two dead guys from Animal Control, ends up being infected by its larvae and in danger of doing a John Hurt impression. Fortunately for all concerned, he's trying for a baby with his wife and happens to be home when Olivia comes to tell him the bad news.
This is a very Walter-centric episode. He demonstrates the fact that social boundaries really don't exist for him - eating a burrito left at a crime scene because he was hungry and demonstrating a fairly poor bedside manner. However, we get to see more than just his craziness - he feels real guilt at some of his past actions and is quite willing to sacrifice his own life to help save Charlie. In fact, what we think is a moment of kookiness is in fact him trying to keep the others from danger, because he really cares about them. Fortunately, he survives and saves the day. Not to mention Charlie's marriage.
Peter meanwhile decides it is a good idea to wear jeans in a sewer. It's a good thing no-one emptied a septic tank while they were down there.
Having had cause to have a couple of ultrasounds really, you don't wiggle it around like that and expect an image from a single angle like that. You would also take some images from the screen for analysis and records. A case of willing suspension of disbelief failing.
Anyway we discover that Olivia's niece likes staying up past her bedtime to read - one of my traits, I would say - something Olivia is happy to indulge. Aunts, eh? Although, I can't say I've read Burlap Bear... mainly because it's something created for the episode.
Conclusion
A literal "Monster of the Week" episode that is very much self-contained and doesn't really do much to advance the series arc overall. A common practice in the shows we used to get much more of.
It's not bad, but it's not brilliant.
7/10
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