Peter
Season 2, Episode 15

Peter

Aired April 1st, 2010 · Written by J. H. Wyman, Jeff Pinkner, Akiva Goldsman, Josh Singer · Directed by David Straiton

SYNOPSIS

This episode is a flashback episode, told as Walter Bishop reveals to Olivia Dunham that his son Peter is really the Peter of the parallel universe. Walter explains the events that occurred in 1985 that led to this and the impact it had on the parallel universe to be at war with the prime one.

Synopsis provided by the Fandom Wiki, Fringepedia, and Wikipedia.

THE GLYPHS

This episode's glyphs spell:

P-E-T-E-R-S

This episode is the first and only time we see two different Peters and it tells the story of Walter desperately trying to save them both.

Glyph symbol P Glyph symbol E Glyph symbol T Glyph symbol E Glyph symbol R Glyph symbol S
Glyph symbol P
Glyph symbol E
Glyph symbol T
Glyph symbol E
Glyph symbol R
Glyph symbol S


THE OBSERVER

The Observer is featured in this episode.

Observer 20:25

EPISODE CLUES

Previous Episode Clue

A police barricade in 'Jacksonville' says "DO NOT CROSS", foreshadowing the conflict between Nina, Carla, and Walter as Nina and Carla try to stop Walter from crossing universes in 'Peter'.

Previous episode clue 09:40

Next Episode Clue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

  • This episode takes place in 1985.
  • Walter, and especially Bell, copied tech from the alternate universe which was more technologically advanced. This explains the advanced tech that Massive Dynamic was founded with.
  • Item of interest: Airship 03:36
    It is true that the Empire State Building's spire really was initially designed for airship docking as it was in the Redverse.
  • Item of interest: Blue and red in the universe window 17:30
    As the universe window started up it appeared to glow blue and red, colors that would come to be synonymous with our universe and the other universe respectively.
  • Item of interest: The Observer distracting Walternate 18:25
    Walternate was distracted by the Observer as he was about to find the cure for Peter.
  • Item of interest: Eric Stoltz 19:41
    Back to the Future never replaced Eric Stoltz with Michael J. Fox in the Redverse.
  • Item of interest: Nina's arm 29:28
    Nina lost her arm in Walter's portal on Reiden Lake.
  • Peter knew almost immediately that Walter wasn't his real father.
  • The intro to "Worlds Away" by Strange Advance can be heard in the scene where the Observer drove Walter and Peter back to the lab after Walter stole Peter (37:34).

VIDEOS

Featurettes
Humor

THE REDVERSE

WALTER'S FOOD

Walter had a drink. And another. And another.
Walter's Food: A drink 05:37 A drink
Walter's Food: Another drink 14:03 Another drink
Walter's Food: Another drink 17:45 Another drink

NOTABLE QUOTES

Walter:
"Do you know how many times William has encouraged me to take this very risk? To expedite our espionage program. 'Why simply take a peek into the other universe, Walter, when you can go there?'"

EPISODE CONNECTIONS

S1E01 — 4 connections (callback) S1E02 — 2 connections (callback) S1E04 — 2 connections (callback) S1E06 — 1 connection (callback) S1E08 — 1 connection (callback) S1E10 — 4 connections (callback) S1E15 — 1 connection (callback) S1E18 — 2 connections (callback) S1E20 — 6 connections (callback) S2E01 — 1 connection (callback) S2E02 — 2 connections (callback) S2E04 — 1 connection (callback) S2E05 — 1 connection (callback) S2E07 — 1 connection (callback) S2E08 — 2 connections (callback) S2E10 — 2 connections (callback) S2E11 — 1 connection (callback) S2E12 — 2 connections (callback) S2E13 — 1 connection (callback) S2E14 — 1 connection (callback) S2E17 — 2 connections (setup) S2E19 — 1 connection (setup) S3E19 — 1 connection (setup) S3E20 — 1 connection (setup) S4E05 — 2 connections (setup) S4E08 — 1 connection (setup) S4E11 — 1 connection (setup) S4E14 — 1 connection (setup) S4E22 — 1 connection (setup) S5E01 — 1 connection (setup) S5E04 — 2 connections (setup) S5E09 — 1 connection (setup) S5E10 — 1 connection (setup) S5E12 — 1 connection (setup) S5E13 — 1 connection (setup) ◀ EARLIER · CALLBACKS SETUPS · LATER ▶
Callbacks (20 earlier episodes)

S1E01 - Pilot

  • Olivia (about Walter in "Pilot"):
    "He does have a son."
    Broyles:
    "Is he local too?"
    Olivia:
    "Not exactly."

    A reference to the fact that Peter Bishop is not from this universe.

  • Walter (in "Pilot"):
    "I knew someone would come. Eventually."

    Because he knew the universe would start to deteriorate due to his actions in 'Peter' and it would be traced back to him.

  • Walter checks Peter's eyes for signs of degradation in "Pilot" to make sure Peter is still healthy after coming to this universe in "Peter".
  • Nina says cancer took her arm in "Pilot". In truth, it was damaged in the doorway between universes when she tried to stop Walter from crossing over in "Peter".

S1E02 - The Same Old Story

  • Christopher Penrose (in "The Same Old Story"):
    "Someone paid him, the man I call my father. He should've let me die. That was his mistake. But he was blinded because he loved me."

    Walter made the same mistake, as shown in "Peter".

  • Walter (in "The Same Old Story"):
    "It's one of the inherent pitfalls of being a scientist. Trying to maintain that distinction between God's domain and our own. Sometimes I forget myself, but then you already know that. If you've read my file then you know the truth about Peter's medical history."

    We learn the full extent of Peter's medical history, and what Walter did to save him, in "Peter".

S1E04 - The Arrival

  • In "The Arrival" Walter knows the Observer and says he and Peter crashed through ice when Peter was a boy. We see this crash, and we see the Observer save them from the icy lake, in "Peter".
  • Walter (in "The Arrival"):
    "Have you ever taken anything that didn't belong to you because you knew it was the right thing to do?"
    Peter:
    "This isn't about me."
    Walter:
    "Maybe it is, Peter."

    Everything happening in Fringe can be traced back to Walter stealing Peter as seen in "Peter".

S1E06 - The Cure

  • Nina told Peter that she knew him as a child in "The Cure". In "Peter" she is intimately involved with (and opposed to) Walter's attempt to kidnap Peter.

S1E08 - The Equation

  • Walter (in "The Equation"):
    "Every moment that passes is another moment that little boy's life is in danger."

    Walter's often not too interested in the personal aspects of cases, but this reminds him of what happened to Peter in "Peter".

S1E10 - Safe

  • Connection: Peter flipping a coin S1E10 41:26
    Connection: Peter flipping a coin S2E15 30:42
    Peter flipped a coin through his fingers in "Safe" like both Peters did when they were near death in bed in "Peter".
  • Peter (in "Safe"):
    "What's with all the toys?"
    Walter:
    "They're your toys, son! From when you were a little boy."
    Peter:
    "Those aren't mine."

    They belonged to the Peter that died in "Peter".

  • Walter (in "Safe"):
    "I was under a great deal of stress at the time!"

    Walter was stressed when he hid the pieces of the machine in safety deposit boxes 23 years earlier. This episode takes place in 2008, so 23 years earlier was 1985, the year Peter died in "Peter".

  • In "Safe" Walter said that Peter miraculously and spontaneously started to recover from his bird flu. In truth, Walter's Peter died in "Peter", and Walter stole the other Peter.

S1E15 - Inner Child

  • Peter (about an action figure in "Inner Child"):
    "It's funny, I always remembered the scar being on the other side."

    This is because the scar was on the other side in the Redverse before he was stolen in "Peter".

S1E18 - Midnight

  • Peter (in "Midnight"):
    "Everything stolen is not necessarily lost."

    Peter was stolen in "Peter" and was lost from Walternate's point of view, though we know he's alive and well.

  • Nicholas Boone (to Walter in "Midnight"):
    "How far would you go for someone you love?"

    Walter showed how far he would go, across universes, in "Peter".

S1E20 - There's More Than One of Everything

  • The Observer (in "There's More Than One of Everything"):
    "This coin looks similar to the one you're thinking of but it is from another place. There is more than one of everything."

    Both Peters have their own coin in "Peter".

  • Connection: Walter found Peter's coin S1E20 27:50
    Walter looked upset when he found Peter's coin in the lake house in "There's More Than One of Everything" because Peter was holding it as he died in "Peter".
  • Walter (in "There's More Than One of Everything"):
    "Around this time something was lost to me, Peter. Something precious. I became convinced that if only I could cross over myself then I could take from there what I had lost here."

    Walter kidnapped another Peter in "Peter".

  • Walter (in "There's More Than One of Everything"):
    "To calm yourself, to forget what you were going through you took to collecting coins. This one was your favorite."

    Both Peters in "Peter" had the same favorite coin.

  • Connection: Walter at Peter's grave S1E20 41:10
    Walter visited Peter's grave in "There's More Than One of Everything" from when Peter died in "Peter".
  • Connection: Peter's car through red glass S1E20 18:12
    When Peter drove up to the lake house in "There's More Than One of Everything" the camera focused on his car through a red panel of stained glass, foreshadowing that Peter was taken from the Redverse in "Peter".

S2E01 - A New Day in the Old Town

  • Peter (in "A New Day in the Old Town"):
    "I don't like custard! In fact, I've never liked custard."
    Walter:
    "As a boy you loved it; you've just forgotten."

    Walter's real son, who died in "Peter", was the one who loved custard.

S2E02 - Night of Desirable Objects

  • Peter (about the child in "Night of Desirable Objects"):
    "And yet despite that she was somehow able to give birth to a son who from all appearances then burrowed his way out of his casket."
    Walter:
    "The grave of a boy who's not in his grave."

    Just like Peter, who doesn't know that he took the place of the real Blueverse Peter who died in "Peter".

  • Olivia (in "Night of Desirable Objects"):
    "Can you imagine living with a burden like that when all you wanted was a son?"

    This mirrors the struggle Walter went through in "Peter".

S2E04 - Momentum Deferred

  • Rebecca Kibner (about Shapeshifters in "Momentum Deferred"):
    "They seemed to have a certain glow about them. I realized I was recognizing people that didn't belong."

    Peter has the same glow about him after was taken from the other side in "Peter", because he doesn't belong in the Blueverse.

S2E05 - Dream Logic

  • Connection: Challenger poster S2E05 42:24
    When Peter had his dream near the end of "Dream Logic", a Challenger Mission 11 poster on the wall showed the date June 28, 1984. The last Challenger mission was Mission 10 and launched on January 28, 1986, and ended in disaster. This dream is based on Peter's childhood memories in the alternate universe before he was kidnapped in "Peter".

S2E07 - Of Human Action

  • Walter (in "Of Human Action"):
    "I can't lose him again."

    This refers to Walter losing his Peter in "Peter".

S2E08 - August

  • August (in "August"):
    "We have interfered before."
    The Observer:
    "Only to correct a mistake of our own making."

    The mistake and interference happened in "Peter" when The Observer distracted Walternate from finding the cure for Peter and when The Observer saved Walter and Peter from the icy lake.

  • Walter (in "August"):
    "What makes you think I can help?"
    August:
    "Because you have solved such a matter before. You saw beyond the limitations of your problems."
    Walter:
    "Not really. I just missed my son."

    August is referring to when Walter crossed universes in "Peter" to save the other Peter.

S2E10 - Grey Matters

  • Connection: Coffin image S2E10 28:43
    Walter thought of Peter when he saw the image of a coffin in "Grey Matters" because his Peter died in "Peter".
  • Newton (in "Grey Matters"):
    "I know why you built it, the door. I know what you lost. Now, are you going to pretend that you're willing to lose him again?"

    Newton was referring to the events of "Peter" where Walter's Peter died and Walter crossed universes to kidnap another Peter.

S2E11 - Johari Window

  • Walter (in "Johari Window"):
    "Remarkable, how Rose was willing to expose her secret to right a wrong. So very brave of her."

    Walter was struggling with whether or not to tell Peter about his true origins from "Peter".

S2E12 - What Lies Below

  • Walter (in "What Lies Below"):
    "When you open new doors there is a price to pay."

    Walter opened a door to another universe in "Peter" and the world has been paying ever since.

  • Walter (in "What Lies Below"):
    "I can't let Peter die again."

    Walter's Peter died in "Peter".

S2E13 - The Bishop Revival

  • Walter (in "The Bishop Revival"):
    "Family is very important to me. There's nothing I wouldn't do..."

    In "Peter" he literally crossed universes for family.

S2E14 - Jacksonville

  • Astrid (to Walter in "Jacksonville"):
    "So as far as his wife will ever know, he just disappeared? That is so sad."

    This is exactly what Peter's biological parents experienced in "Peter".

Setups & payoffs (15 later episodes)

Spoilers for future episodes below

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S2E17 - White Tulip

S2E19 - Brown Betty

S3E19 - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

S3E20 - 6:02 AM EST

S4E05 - Novation

S4E08 - Back to Where You've Never Been

S4E11 - Making Angels

S4E14 - The End of All Things

S4E22 - Brave New World (Part 2)

S5E01 - Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11

S5E04 - The Bullet that Saved the World

S5E09 - Black Blotter

S5E10 - Anomaly XB-6783746

S5E12 - Liberty

S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate