White Tulip

Season 2, Episode 18, Aired
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9.6
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Superb
752 votes
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A mysterious series of deaths on a commuter train lead the Fringe team to investigate a powerful man. Meanwhile, Peter notices that Walter is acting suspiciously.
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Fan Episode Reviews (15)

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  • High Rating?

    7.5
    "Good"
    By dreamgoat, Jan 30, 2012
    I don't understand why this show got such a high rating then all the the other shows. Sure it was good but 9.6 rating, nothing was really said about the main story or plot just a person going through time trying to save his wife. We all heard either from other movies or shows that doing the unthinkable will have a price. Walter told him and he understood is why he when back in time to die with his wife. He really needed to tell Peter this is draging out the episodes we know whats going to happen get it done already and tell him so we can move on already. We all know this is the biggest thorn is keeping Walters secret.moreless

  • The last moments of this episode are what made me come here and write this review.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By RuiSantos0, Nov 14, 2011
    The last moments of this episode are what made me come here and write this review.
    This is Fringe's best episode until now, without trying to spoil anything I'll just say that the end is a pleasant surprise.

    Sometimes a simple action can carry so much meaning that it can completely change someones beliefs, whether it's in god or science it doesn't matter, what matters is it will change your life. The problem is that a certain action can be an illusion, a manipulation created to make you think a certain way, the question is: How do you know who made that action? what happens if you can never find out for sure? What if god is man-made? Maybe that's the origin of faith.moreless

  • Achingly beautiful

    10
    "Perfect"
    By DarenWheeler, Nov 13, 2011
    There is a fine line between great shows and just ok shows. That line is characters that you care about. Fringe has that in abundance with three leads that just ooze depth and likeability.
    White Tulip is a masterpiece, an absolute masterpiece. A scientist haunted by the death of his fiance and the guilt felt by Walter at kidnapping his son from the other world... all tied up with a beautiful last moment that just melted your heart...
    The best show on tv right now, but a lot depends on what direction the show takes on its end of season finale...
    It could be an absolute belter...moreless

  • I became excited with this episode even if the concept of time travel has been used for so many times already. Some items here might be a spoiler.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By FernandodeVe, Nov 13, 2011
    I am a fan of travelling through time to go to the past and correcting somethings. This one is great! The conversation between Walter and Alistair was so amazing I myself could not think anything like that one. If i was Walter, i would tell Alistair to stop what he is doing because bad things might happen, but i will not give him a clue on how to do it. Alistair might return couple of times to the train to buy some time to correct his formula, and im thinking that it would be Olive that will chase him in his time travel through her abilities, etc. The final scene made me want to cry :D
    Amazing.moreless

  • A beautiful and heartbreaking episode, arguably the best standalone story Fringe has done yet.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By vstherevolution, Mar 13, 2011
    I can barely do this episode justice with a review. Any words I add don't have anything on the beauty, grace and masterful storytelling methods of the minds behind it. All I can really do is try to describe why it worked so well. From the opening sequence, they caught my attention with this one and it never let up. With most other episodes, you know bad things are about to go down, and you know some people are probably going to die before the "Fringe" title plays. There's a certain degree of predictability, though the show always becomes more complex after that. It all usually all comes down to the "why". The brilliance of the intro sequence was that they really had you believing that this man was otherworldly, and that he had a complete disregard for human life. However, in the end, it was quite the opposite.

    The deaths he caused initially seemed to be of no consequence to him, and he came across as a hollow shell of a man. It really appeared to me like he was out to cause some chaos for the main Fringe reality. To slowly learn throughout the episode that the only thing he cared about was preserving his fiance's life made the story so much more tragic in the end. It also revealed that his notion that the people he killed weren't "permanently" dead was accurate, and drove home the point that the man actually cared dearly about the cost of a human life. The story was most certainly a nod to the concept of the story the Time Machine, but the subject matter is handled with such care and related to the overarching theme of the season so beautifully that the similarities never detracted from it. Walter's struggle throughout the episode was played to perfection by John Noble. This man is one of the most amazing actors I've ever seen on TV. The subtle differences in his performance each time around the "loop" were enthralling to watch and he really made you feel for him, made you want Peter to understand more than anything why he did what he did. He also made you want Walter to forgive himself, more than anything. It was a stroke of genius on the writers' behalf to introduce a character who would go to such lengths as he did to save someone they had loved, and it helped Walter ease the burden a little more to know that he could help someone else out there avoid shouldering a weight like the one he himself had held for so long, even if his choice to share that information wasn't entirely permanent for him.

    In the end, Walter made a different choice, the choice to not tell Peter, but I can't help but think it was the right one, at least at this point in time. To tell Peter the truth would effectively shatter the genuine bond and trust between the two of them and would more than likely send Peter on a journey of self-discovery to the other side. A search for answers that would only make matters worse and complicate the war between realities immensely. No matter his devotion to Walter, to know that he could've had another life, and that this isn't where he was meant to be, would probably eat away at Peter's resolve. Walter's notion of it ending badly was right, and maybe it's because that's the only way it could really go from here on out since its been so long. While it's bound to surface sooner or later, no words, not even the perfect words, could prepare someone for knowledge like that. All in all I was left feeling that though certain moments were relived in this episode, not a moment was wasted. All killer, no filler as they say. Some of my other favorite moments that I think are worth mentioning: When Alistair walks into his own home despite the numerous FBI agents, when Olivia feels the deja vu and Peter comments on himself not being on track to his own destiny, the use of dead silence during the ending crash sequence, and of course, the white tulip, the perfect finishing touch.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (3)

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  • QUOTES (8)

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    • Walter: I, too, attempted the unimaginable, and I succeeded. I crossed into another universe, and took a son that wasn't mine. And since then, not a day has passed without me feeling the burden of that act. I'm going to tell you something that I have never told another soul. Until I took my son from the other side, I had never believed in God. But it occurred to me... that my actions had betrayed Him and that everything that had happened to me since was God punishing me. So now I'm looking for a sign of forgiveness. I've asked God for a sign of forgiveness. A specific one: a white tulip.

    • Walter: And if God can forgive me for my acts, then maybe... it's in the realm of possibility that my son, possibly, may be able to forgive me too.

    • Peter: (to Walter) I just got off the phone with Olivia, she said there was an incident on a train. And I know how much you like trains. Thought it might cheer you up.

    • Peter: Have you noticed anything weird? Olivia: Not yet, but give it ten minutes.

    • Walter: Take samples of this man's lung, brain, and skin. Something's not right here. Astrid: Yup, I think it's my paycheck. Walter: Hmm?

    • Peter: Yeah, I read that deja vu is Fate's way of telling you that you're exactly where you're supposed to be. That's why you feel like you've been there before. You are right in line with your own destiny. Olivia: Well, do you believe that? Peter: Mm.. no. It's a bit mystical for my taste. I never get them, myself. Maybe that's because I'm not on track with my own destiny.

    • Carol Bryce: Alistair sent me these about six months ago to proofread. He had hopes of seeing them published. Olivia: Uh, can we take them? Carol Bryce: They're only gathering dust here. But they are pretty dense. Most would say it's gobbledygook. Olivia: Well, I happen to know someone who is fluent in gobbledygook.

    • Alistair Peck: Walter, God is science. God is polio and flu vaccines and MRI machines, and artificial hearts. If you are a man of science, then that's the only faith we need.

  • NOTES (3)

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    • Music: Are Friends Electric? (Gary Numan), The Sweetest Thing (Camera Obscura)

    • Blair Brown is credited but doesn't appear.

    • International Airdates: Canada: April 15, 2010 on ATV Australia: April 21, 2010 on GO! UK: April 27, 2010 on Sky One Latin America: April 27, 2010 on Warner Channel Sweden: July 8, 2010 on Kanal 5 Germany: September 20, 2010 on ProSieben Poland: January 7, 2011 on TVN Finland: January 19, 2011 on MTV3 Czech Republic: February 11, 2011 on Nova Cinema

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