Season 2, Episode 10

Grey Matters

Aired December 10th, 2009 · Written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz · Directed by Jeannot Szwarc

SYNOPSIS

This episode centers on three mental patients who mysteriously became sane again after shapeshifters from the parallel universe removed a piece of foreign tissue from each of their brains. This tissue is later revealed to have been taken from the brain of Walter Bishop years before. The fringe team of Olivia Dunham, Peter Bishop, and Walter investigate and face a new enemy, Thomas Jerome Newton, whose purpose is to decipher the missing parts of Walter's brain and find out how to move between universes.

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

THE GLYPHS

This episode's glyphs spell:

P-O-R-T-A-L

Thomas Newton's goal was to get Walter to remember details about his portal between universes.
The glyphs from S2E08 - August refer to this episode and are now safe to read for those who have been avoiding spoilers.

THE OBSERVER

The Observer can be seen across the street as Olivia, Peter, and other FBI units go down to the men's restroom looking for Walter.

27:09

EPISODE CLUES

Previous Episode Clue

Signage in Chinatown in 'Snakehead' says "Ginseng Improves Memory!", foreshadowing the plot of 'Grey Matters' where pieces of Walter's brain are recovered to help restore his memories.

00:10

Next Episode Clue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Thomas Jerome Newton was named after the character played by David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Timestamp: 08:02

Olivia pulled up a list of the frozen heads found in S02E04 'Momentum Deferred' and they were all marked with "2E204", a reference to the episode in which they were stolen.
William Bell used the alias "Dr. Simon Paris". From 1969 to 1971, Leonard Nimoy played a character called The Great Paris, himself a master of using aliases, in Mission: Impossible. Leonard Nimoy's middle name is Simon. And Auguste Simon Paris was a noted entomologist specializing in butterflies, a symbol that appears multiple times in Fringe.

VIDEOS

Deleted Scenes

Behind the Scenes

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation

121 105th Street • Washington, DC 20735
Phone: (202) 555-2100 • Fax: (202) 555-2101
E-mail: washington.fbi@fbi.com

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE #210-121009

FRINGE EVENT: Miraculous mental disorder recoveries

CLASSIFIED CASE CONNECTION(S): Shapeshifters

AGENTS ASSIGNED: Dunham

SUPERVISING AGENT: Broyles

FILE ARCHIVED BY: Jenny Chan

WITNESSES/CONTACTS: Nurse Holbrook, Dr. West, Thomas Jerome Newton (suspect)

LOCATION: Hennington Mental Health Institute, Boston, MA; 2828 Green Street, Boston, MA

VICTIM(S): Joseph Slater, Deborah Crampton, Mr. and Mrs. Rabel

CASE REPORT SUMMARY:

Dr. Bishop tracked stealth surgeries on three separate patients who suffered from acute disorders that were miraculously cured. Joseph Slater was diagnosed with acute paranoid schizophrenia, suffering from delusions, false memories, and severe emotional swings. Within an hour after finding his brain exposed from surgery, Slater related his mind was "suddenly free." Deborah Crampton suffered from a severe form of obsessive-compulsive disorder called arithmomania, and post-rogue-surgery, was also improved. Stuart Gordon was referred to a mental hospital with a minor psychiatric complaint, which then developed into full-blown schizophrenia. He then miraculously recovered. Their connection was treatment by a Dr. Simon Paris (an alias of Dr. Bell). Each unknowingly had a piece of Dr. Bishop's brain implanted in his or her head for safekeeping, which caused their afflictions. As soon as the foreign tissue was removed, they healed.
Shapeshifter Thomas Jerome Newton found the patients and extracted the brain matter. He injected Dr. Bishop with a neurotoxin and left the antidote in a separate place, ensuring his escape from capture.

WALTER'S FOOD

Walter ate some pudding, had some tea, and had a craving for chicken wings.

07:12 Pudding cup

10:47 Tea

EPISODE CONNECTIONS

Callbacks (1 earlier episode)

S2E09 - Snakehead

S2E09 Timestamp: 42:04

S2E10 Timestamp: 27:24

Walter implanted a tracker in his neck in "Snakehead" which is used in "Grey Matters".

Setups & payoffs (8 later episodes)

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S2E15 - Peter

S2E10 Timestamp: 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.

S2E20 - Northwest Passage

S2E22 - Over There (Part 2)

S2E10 Timestamp: 42:35

A flashback at the end of "Grey Matters" revealed that it was William Bell who removed the pieces of Walter's brain. In "Over There (Part 2)" Bell said he removed the pieces at Walter's own request due to fears about the man he was becoming.

S3E10 - The Firefly

S3E20 - 6:02 AM EST

S3E20 Timestamp: 08:46

Newton (in "Grey Matters"):
"On my side, the trees died long ago. And the same thing killed the grass. They call it 'The Blight'."
Similar phenomena started happening in "6:02 AM EST".

S4E19 - Letters of Transit

S4E19 Timestamp: 24:46

In "Grey Matters" Walter's brain pieces were stored the heads of living people. In "Letters of Transit", in the altered timeline, they were stored in Massive Dynamic.

S4E22 - Brave New World (Part 2)

William Bell (in "Brave New World (Part 2)"):
"Walter, this was all your idea. Peter died -- twice. You hated God. 'What kind of God would cause so much suffering?' That's what you said. So much pain. You decided to create a universe that would operate by your rules. And then, when you realized that you were smart enough to do it, you got scared. You asked me to cut out a portion of your brain."
William Bell removed pieces of Walter's brain at Walter's request as seen in flashbacks in "Grey Matters".

S5E01 - Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11

Astrid (in "Grey Matters"):
"Why would someone do that, Walter -- make someone crazy?"
Walter:
"Any number of reasons. It would make them insusceptible to interrogation."
In "Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11" Walter's brain was partitioned to keep Observers from reading his mind and learning his plan to combat them.