Peter

Season 2, Episode 16, Aired
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Episode Summary

Walter remembers the events in 1985 to Olivia, including how Peter ended up where he is today and what happened to the boy's mother, Elizabeth Bishop.
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
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Fan Episode Reviews (25)

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  • Now we know why

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By dreamgoat, Jan 30, 2012 Report Abuse
    This episode explained a lot. Walter wanted Olivia to understand before she starts telling me people that Peter is not of this world. She seems to understand what Walter is saying that he had lost his son to a serious illness, but using a device he can be able to see himself in the other world making a cure. Walter son dies just a little shy of figuring out the cure from his otherside self. Walter otherside self made a break through on the cure but wasnt able to see the result because the observer interupted him thus he through out the compound and begin working on something else. Walter from our time saw the truth and knew it work so he made a warm hole to go to the other side to get Peter so he can save him from the illness. Has the cure worked Walter wife from our time realize that Walter had Peter began hugging him and Walter knew that he couldn't return the boy. This is something unexpected that I didn't see coming, I can't wait for further episodes.moreless

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    0 0

  • So good this episode i had to watch it again.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By jaybee63, Oct 30, 2011 Report Abuse
    Olivia is obviously upset about what happened to Peter and Walter is coming over to explain what happened. The Walter in 1985 has a very sick child that is actually dying. He has made a machine in which he can look into the alternate universe. the Walter over there has found the cure but missed it. Walter is going over there to give the cure to the other Peter. But everything not goes as planned. When Nina tries to stop Walter she looses her hand in the machine. The bottle with the cure is crushed and Walter has to find another way to save Peter. So he decides to take him to the other side. But the machine is falling through the ice of Reiden lake together with Walter and Peter. They are saved by one of the bald men. But ofcourse they cannot return now.
    Note: in the alternate world the 3 bald guys go to the movies. Back to the future is showing starring Eric Stolz instead of Michael J. Fox.moreless

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    3 1

  • Fringe delivers its best yet

    10
    "Perfect"
    By entil2001, Oct 02, 2011 Report Abuse
    I haven't been enormously pleased with "Fringe" this season. After delivering a solid second half to the first season, with a near-perfect blend of episodic and serialized plot and character elements, it felt like the show took a step backwards this season with too many stand-alone episodes. Given the urgency of Olivia's mandate to stop operatives from Alt-Fringe from opening a doorway between universes again, the slow pace feels at odds with the plot.

    Of course, there has been one consistent subplot throughout: the slow but steady build towards the truth about Peter's origins. Anyone paying attention during the first season finale knows that Peter is not Walter's original son, but rather, Alt-Peter. I've often speculated that Walter's decision to take Alt-Peter as a replacement for his own son was the beginning of the current crisis. That theory has been verified, but not without significant and heart-rending new details.

    This episode plays out like a classic flashback episode, but coming from the same production lineage as "Lost", there is a brilliant style to the storytelling. This is not the clunky flashback exposition of "Heroes". The stage is set by a framing coda to "Jacksonville", in which Olivia is still reeling from the realization that Peter is from Alt-Fringe. She wants answers from Walter, and for once, Walter seems to have the necessary degree of clarity to tell his story.

    It's almost impossible to convey the power of the narrative; it's best just to let the story speak for itself. In many ways, this is the "Fringe" response to the jaw-dropping "Lost" episode "Ab Aeterno", which aired a couple weeks earlier. Both episodes took one pivotal character, and one pivotal set of events, and played them out with pathos to spare. Walter's loss of a son, and his subsequent decision to abduct Alt-Peter, are at the heart of the "Fringe" story. The implications are staggering, and while that is never directly addressed beyond a couple of portentous comments at the end, the context is never far from one's mind.

    It always seemed like Walter's current part in Fringe Division was all about redemption. He's been trying to correct the unintended consequences of his previous actions. While that has worked on a granular level, with each new scenario and bizarre experiment gone awry, it now stands as the underpinning of the big picture. Walter Bishop started the crisis; he needs to be the one to help find a solution.

    It's not particularly shocking, but it's interesting to see how Walter was once a lot more balanced in his psychological state. He was still working on cutting edge technology with William Bell, but one gets the sense that the turn towards amoralism hadn't quite begun yet. In fact, even as Walter starts down that slippery slope with his obsession to save Alt-Peter, he decries William's cold, calculated self-interest.

    For all that, Walter was always complicated. He was complicit with the Jacksonville experiments and all those mind-bending trials at the Harvard lab, but he also seemed to retain some level of doubt in the methods employed. Bell was always depicted as the one who believed the end justified the means. But how much of that was a growing responsibility to stop what Walter had started? Bell seems to be more personable with Olivia, but he's still using her.

    Two very important things were reinforced in this episode. It's been said here and there, but Walter himself noted that the technology in Alt-Fringe was years, if not decades, ahead of the technology in Fringe Prime. Add to that the confirmation that "Walternate" has an equally personal reason to strike out at Fringe Prime, and it's a fair bet that Walternate is the one leading the charge. This will probably end up being a "huge reveal" at some point (hopefully not in the season finale, given how predictable it is).

    One unexpected element is the revelation that Walter's wife was key to his decision to keep Alt-Peter. Walter was willing to abduct Alt-Peter to save his life, but he was also willing to take him back. If that had happened, would the war against Fringe Prime have begun? It's a lot less likely. Under even better circumstances, one can even imagine the two Walters working together. That's part of the overwhelming tragedy of the whole thing.

    Then there are the Observers. I've been on the fence regarding their origins, particularly in terms of their connection to Alt-Fringe. This episode seems to confirm that the Observers are visitors to both realities, and that they can move between worlds without much difficulty. Their interest in Olivia and Peter is also notable. What is it that makes them important? And especially Alt-Peter, since the Observers were keen on keeping him alive, not Peter Prime.

    This could be an important clue. If the intersection of Fringe Prime and Alt-Fringe would destroy at least one of them, if not both and beyond, then the Observers seem rather calm about it. The Observers expected Peter Prime to die and Alt-Peter to live. Should that happen, there is no war between universes. The Observers were willing to allow Walter to abduct Alt-Peter to ensure the boy lived. It's clear that the Observers will intervene in unusual circumstances, so why not in the larger context of the possible destruction of Fringe Prime?

    There is even another layer to the episode that makes it all the better: the unreliable nature of the narrator. In this case, Walter is supposed to be telling Olivia the story of what happened back in 1985. But there are scenes and circumstances, here and there, that he could not possibly have known about, then or now. And there is also the not-so-small matter of the memories intentionally removed from his brain by William Bell. This likely explains why the story glossed over Walter's creation of the door between universes, but it also makes it very possible that Walter is filling in the gaps in his memory with assumption and creative license.

    Usually, when an episode has more than one or two writers, the end result is a mess. While it's true that most television episodes are the result of extensive collaboration and story-breaking from the entire writers' room, there is usually one person or a duo with the responsibility of taking all that work and putting it into a final form. (Yes, this is an over-simplification of the typical process, but it illustrates the point.) This time, the usual pitfalls were avoided, and the end result was a game-changing episode that should hopefully jump-start the final leg of the season.moreless

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    13 1

  • Second time is the charm :-P

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By trishuhhh, Sep 30, 2011 Report Abuse
    Wow so the first time I watched this episode I was totally distracted. I was still reeling from the return of Bones and I am just all over the place. I was more of just listening to the episode and barely paying attention. I totally regret that since Fringe, in my opinion, is one of the best shows on television and it is surprisingly on a network. You'd think such a show would be moved to SyFy but I am so proud of Fox for renewing this show!
    This episode was great. Returning from what seemed like the longest break ever, this episode "Peter," which Joshua Jackson was ironically absent from, explored this alternate universe we have heard so much about and gave us insight into Walter's intense love for his son. I loooooved the alternate opening to the show and the retro fonts really made me laugh for some reason. I thought this episode was great and there is definitely more to come for this awesome show :-)

    My only question..."You know how much Peter meant to me." UMMM? Nina Sharpe..... what the...? I'm sure we might find out how much eventually... but with J.J. Abrhams... you can never tell.moreless

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    7 0

  • The lab assistants look alike! And how can a fifty year old woman look that good? :-)

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By laferr, Sep 30, 2011 Report Abuse
    Jenni Blong's portrayal of Dr Warren - her Hermionish hair, high cheekbones, and certain voice mannerisms remind me of Astrid, despite being different races and all. Nice job. I presume that was intentional.

    Great retelling of a story we've all been speculating on. Next question - just how devastated were the Bishops when they found out that their dying son was kidnapped? Just how mad did the other Walter Bishop get... I mean, we've seen the crazy ideas of our Walter, but an angry Walter in a universe more advanced than ours.... that's scary.

    And is the lab accident that kills Dr Warren - if she was indeed the lab assistant killed - was that Walter intentionally doing so, to stop her speaking out?

    Irish actress Orla Brady (who plays Elizabeth Bishop) looks amazing for a woman in her upper thirties... but wait, she's turning 50 next year! Oh my. Would I be that lucky.

    More suspension of disbelief needed (which I'm happy to do) for the alternate universes theory. The two universes diverged far enough back for Zeppelins to be still be in use - perhaps the 1937 Hindenberg disaster didn't occur there? And yet they are still close enough for Walter and Liz Bishop to meet...

    As for the Empire State Building having a Zeppelin docked... Gawker (http://gawker.com/5004308/a-zeppelin-never-docked-on-the-empire-state-building) says that "the spire of Empire State Building... was originally designed with a docking port for dirigibles" but was never used as such. There is a computer-generated scene showing a Zeppelin docked there in the 2004 film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (starring G.Paltrow, J.Law, A.Jolie, etc).

    John Noble is a master of small facial expressions - twitches and stuff. Someone give him an acting award. An Emmy will do nicely. (Saturn's all very well, but it's inadequate.)moreless

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    7 0
 

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  • Trivia

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    • The first scene takes place at the Army Research Headquarters in 1985. In the corridor there is a picture of George H.W. Bush but the picture was taken on 1/1/89, four years later. Edit
    • Trivia: The glyph code for this episode is PETERS. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Walter: (about keeping the other Peter) It was the first hole, Olivia. The first breach. The first crack in a pattern of cracks, spaces between the worlds. And it's my fault. Edit
    • Walter: I've given him a name, Carla. Carla: Hmm? Walter: "Walternate." Edit
    • Walter: The Casimir Effect should produce a thinner, more porous region of space-time. I only need to affect the area for long enough to cross over to the other side with the vial of the cure. And... and then, of course, recreate the effect to cross back again. Carla: Walter, you're trying to create a wormhole into another universe? Walter: Yes! I think I just said that. Edit

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