Season 2, Episode 21

Over There (Part 1)

Aired May 13th, 2010 · Written by J. H. Wyman, Jeff Pinkner, Akiva Goldsman · Directed by Akiva Goldsman

SYNOPSIS

In this episode, Peter is taken back to the "Other Side" by his real father, dubbed "Walternate". FBI agent Olivia Dunham and Walter lead a team of former Cortexiphan test subjects to retrieve him after discovering that Peter is an unwitting part of Walternate's plans to bring about the destruction of our universe using an ancient doomsday device.

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

THE GLYPHS

This episode's glyphs spell:

W-E-A-P-O-N

The Observer provided Olivia with a schematic of a machine, and Walternate was shown to have mostly built it in the Redverse. This suggests Walternate may want to use it for his cause.

THE OBSERVER

The Observer can be seen dropping off a paper for Olivia at the bar.

07:50

EPISODE CLUES

Previous Episode Clue

Peter finds a bubble gum wrapper with a comic that says "You can't get there from here" in 'Northwest Passage', foreshadowing his visit to the alternate universe in 'Over There (Part 1)'.

22:41

Next Episode Clue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

The alternate universe is referred to as the 'Redverse' by fans due to the red title sequence used when this universe is featured in episodes.
Timestamp: 02:00

The Fringe team is part of a full-fledged branch of the Department of Defense in the Redverse.
Fringe Headquarters in the Redverse is in New York City.
Timestamp: 42:45

The Observer gave Olivia the diagram of the Machine.
Cortexiphan subjects in this episode: James Heath, Sally Clarke, Nick Lane.
Timestamp: 42:56

Walternate has already built the Machine depicted in the scrolls.
Timestamp: 43:05

Walternate took a piece of the Machine called the 'mC Wave Sink No3'.

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
FRINGE DIVISION

FRINGE DIVISION CASE FILE #221-51310

FRINGE EVENT: Class 1 Molecular Dissolution—Major Universe Tear

AGENTS ASSIGNED: Lee, Francis, Dunham, and Farnsworth

SUPERVISING AGENT: Secretary Bishop, Colonel Broyles

FILE ARCHIVED BY: Ali Engin Dorum

WITNESSES/CONTACTS: Various near theater

LOCATION: Orpheum Opera House, Brooklyn; Central Park, Manhatan; General Hospital

VICTIM(S): James Heath, Fringe SWAT officer, Nick Lane, Sally Clark

CASE REPORT SUMMARY:

An anomalous energy signature was detected in Brooklyn and determined to be a Class 1 molecular dissolution: severe molecular cohesion failure. A Fringe team assessed the situation on-site and tried to clear civilians from the epicenter at the Orpheum Opera House. Off-site, Looker Agent Farnsworth determined that the event was terminating, so the quarantine was cancelled. Ten thousand amber casualties were avoided. One body was found inside the theater without proper ID. Through Secretary Bishop, it was determined that the body was from the other universe and that more spies could be alive in our universe. Agent Lee's team surrounded four suspects, later identified as Olivia Dunham, Walter Bishop, Nick Lane, and Sally Clark, in Central Park. After shots were exchanged, a Fringe SWAT agent was downed and suspect Lane was shot. Suspect Clark then generated a fireball that incinerated herself and Lane as she threw it at Agent Lee. Lee received third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body and was sent for three months of Nanite Regeneration Chamber healing.
Agent Dunham reports she shot at another suspect, but he or she escaped in the park. They pursued the suspect to local hospitals but were delayed in arresting the fugitive Walter Bishop and Olivia Dunham by Dr. William Bell. Hours later, Agents Francis and Dunham were sent to investigate a power surge at Secretary Bishop's old lab, but it was later discovered that Agent Dunham was incapacitated in her home, while the fugitive Dunham had disguised herself to gain access to Peter Bishop. Fugitive Dunham incapacitated Agent Francis, collected Peter Bishop, and returned to the Orpheum Opera House. Fringe SWAT, including a recovered Agent Dunham and Colonel Broyles, surrounded the theater. Per Secretary Bishop's order, the fugitive Dunham was taken into custody during the firefight, and Agent Dunham took her place, crossing over to the other universe for deep reconnaissance. Fugitive Dunham was incarcerated at Liberty Island.

THE REDVERSE

They use Show Me cards for identification.
Timestamp: 04:33

Fringe division has to quarantine dangerous zones in amber.
Timestamp: 25:58

They don't know who Andrew Jackson is and they have Martin Luther King, Jr. on the $20 bill.
Timestamp: 26:22

Their Statue of Liberty is still copper-colored (presumably because they have the technology to combat oxidation).
Timestamp: 26:22

Their Department of Defense is on Liberty Island in New York.
Timestamp: 27:08

The states in America are somewhat different. Texas is split into North and South, there is just one Dakota, Kansas and Oklahoma are merged, and half of California is gone. There's no indication of Hawaii or Alaska. Click here for more information.
Timestamp: 29:35

The West Wing is on season 11.
Timestamp: 35:01

Cabbage Patch Dolls are still popular.
Timestamp: 40:04

They have the White Pages instead of the Yellow Pages.
Timestamp: 03:06

They have a U.S. dollar coin depicting Richard Nixon.

NOTABLE QUOTES

Fauxlivia:

"Fringe Division is a special branch of the Department of Defense. Its primary focus are natural environmental disasters that began in 1985 with the Zero Event at Reiden Lake."

Walternate:

"And what are these natural disasters?"

Fauxlivia:

"They're holes in the fabric of the universe, sir."

Walternate:

"And how do you know all this?"

Fauxlivia:

"I know it because I read it in the ZFT in 1995 when you wrote and published it."

EPISODE CONNECTIONS

Callbacks (6 earlier episodes)

S1E03 - The Ghost Network

S2E21 Timestamp: 04:33

The bus in "The Ghost Network" is ambered. Ambering later becomes a real safety tool used by the other side as seen in "Over There (Part 1)".

S1E11 - Bound

Mitchell Loeb (in "Bound"):
"Do you not understand the rules, what we're up against, who the two sides are?"
The two sides of the war, the Blueverse and the Redverse, become apparent in "Over There (Part 1)".

S1E14 - Ability

In "Ability", the ZFT manuscript appears to have been written by Walter and/or Bell. In "Over There (Part 1)" Fauxlivia states that Walternate wrote and published ZFT in the Redverse.

S1E17 - Bad Dreams

S2E21 Timestamp: 14:10

Nick Lane is being kept in a coma indefinitely at the end of "Bad Dreams". In "Over There (Part 1)" Olivia learned that he and other found Cortexiphan subjects have been training to keep their abilities under control.

S1E19 - The Road Not Taken

Alt Charlie (in "The Road Not Taken"):
"You have half of Boston in quarantined lockdown and you're worried about a pair of charred twins?"
In "Over There (Part 1)" we see the amber quarantine protocol in effect.

S2E16 - Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver.

S2E21 Timestamp: 13:53

James Heath, a Cortexiphan subject, couldn't control his abilities in "Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver.". In "Over There (Part 1)" he had been trained to cure disease instead of cause it.

Setups & payoffs (7 later episodes)

Spoilers for future episodes below

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S3E01 - Olivia

S2E21 Timestamp: 41:31

S3E01 Timestamp: 15:49

In "Olivia" they gave Olivia the same tattoo as Fauxlivia had in "Over There (Part 1)".

S3E15 - Subject 13

S2E21 Timestamp: 23:35

S3E15 Timestamp: 03:39

Walter had the Cortexiphan subjects stand in a circle around him to activate their abilities in "Over There (Part 1)" just like he did when they were children in "Subject 13".

S3E22 - The Day We Died

S3E22 Timestamp: 04:49

The End-of-Dayers targeted the Orpheum Theater in "The Day We Died", a soft spot from when Olivia and the other Cortexiphan subjects crossed over to get Peter in "Over There (Part 1)".

S4E06 - And Those We've Left Behind

S2E21 Timestamp: 02:29

S4E06 Timestamp: 05:45

In "And Those We've Left Behind" Astrid used the same wand to detect abnormalities that Lincoln used in the opera house in "Over There (Part 1)".

S4E08 - Back to Where You've Never Been

S4E08 Timestamp: 13:16

In "Back to Where You've Never Been" Peter and Lincoln set up the universe portal in the Orpheum Theater, the same place Walter, Olivia, and the Cortexiphan subjects crossed over to rescue Peter in "Over There (Part 1)".

S4E13 - A Better Human Being

S4E20 - Worlds Apart

Nick Lane (in "Worlds Apart"):
"Lincoln. Hi. I'm Nick Lane. I don't know if you remember me, but we grew up in the same neighborhood in Philly. I was a couple of years behind you in school. You went out with my sister Kendra."
Lincoln recognized Nick Lane when they saw each other in "Over There (Part 1)".