Inner Child

The Glyphs

This episode's glyphs spell: W-A-L-T-E-R

Walter's desire to help the young boy follows from the details of Walter's relationship with young Peter that are revealed later in the series.

The Observer

The Observer and the Child stare at each other as the Child is driven away at the end of the episode.

Episode Clues

Previous Episode Clue

The air freshener above the newspaper stand in 'Ability' is the same one that The Artist has in his car in 'Inner Child'

Next Episode Clue

The first victim in 'Inner Child', Samantha Gilmore, has a tattoo of a griffin on her upper arm. This is a reference to the creature in 'Unleashed' which is made up of attributes from multiple animals.

Items of Interest

The Child is an empath.
The Child's happy expression drops when he sees the Observer. (Image 1)

Item of interest: The Child sees the Observer — **Image 1**: The Child sees the Observer
Timestamp: 48:45

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 #115-4709

FRINGE EVENT: Empath John Doe child found in sealed room

CLASSIFIED CASE CONNECTION(S): The Artist serial killer open case

AGENTS ASSIGNED: Dunham, Francis

SUPERVISING AGENT: Broyles

FILE ARCHIVED BY: Rick Willems

WITNESSES/CONTACTS: Dr. Winick, Eliot Michaels (CIA), Archie Wu, the Artist (deceased)

LOCATION: Boston Children's Hospital; Somerville, MA; Beacon Hill Meats, Roxbury, MA

VICTIM(S): Samantha Gilmore, Kate Harper, John Doe

CASE REPORT SUMMARY:

Serial killer the Artist began murdering again after three years of quiet. In his first wave, he killed four women in Lower Jamaica Plain over a period of two days. After the fourth murder, he stopped. All murders were preceded by a faxed invitation to view "new work" to be displayed somewhere in public. His MO was to kidnap, sedate, and kill his victims. After he killed them, using surgical tools and chemicals, he "enhanced" their appearance.
At the same time, a construction crew searching tunnels found a young boy who had been sealed shut in a small room for at least seventy years. Boy did not talk but seemed fairly healthy aside from difficulty breathing. He was taken to Boston Children's Hospital and initially treated by chief of pediatrics, Dr. Winick, but was then remanded to Dr. Bishop for study. The boy responded positively to Agent Dunham and wrote inverted notes of "Sam Gilmore," and then "547 Marlborough." Agent Dunham determined a connection to the Artist's new murders—the notes led to the crime scenes for Same Gilmore and Kate Harper.
Dr. Bishop compared the boy to a shark with hypersensitivity to light and sound and to people's emotions. Sharks use electromagnetism to detect their prey's bioelectric field from a distance, and the boy used pheromones to intuit the feelings and intentions of others like the Artist. Dr. Bishop used a neural stimulator to synthesize the impulse responses from the speech centers of the boy's brain. This helped Agents Dunham and Francis to find the Artist and his next victim. Agent Dunham worked out a deal with Dr. Winick to allow the boy to go to a good family to keep him safe.

Walter's Food

Walter said that insects (particularly millipedes) are tastier than one would think, ate some toast, and had yellow M&Ms in his lab notes.

Connection: Toast — Toast
Timestamp: 12:17

Walter's Lab Notes

- Project 773 - Exploration 14 -

The wiring sequence still eludes me -- and the translation will fail without it. If only I could use the neurostimulator upon myself! Now there is a Catch-22 worthy of Heller: (1) cannot wire the device without using it; (2) cannot use the device without wiring it.

My neural pathways confound me, like a map of roads and bridges long since abandoned. Fortunately, for all the road signs Lethe has stolen, Mnemosyne has left me precious landmarks instead:

- Every good boy does fine. (FACE!)
- Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally.
- Always floss between your toes.
- Three point one four, pick your clothes off the floor.
- See the dog jump around in a circle.
- My goodness but eating hot nachos causes pain.
- Water, earth, air, & fire, only three in a funeral pyre.

Damn. I know it's there somewhere, knocking about with my last few marbles.

I hypothesize that the child has words in his brain, which he would voice if only he could. After all, he does appear to understand at least some of what he hears. But that would seemingly require him to have experienced the human contact of which he was deprived. Perhaps his empathic ability enabled him to be exposed to language at a distance: learning via clairaudience.

How does it go, how does it go?

Hail the neurostimulator! How I love to plug and play her! Is there nothing she can't do? From Simon Says to Peek-a-boo? The halo made to open locks, into our brains, into our thoughts. A window to the conscious mind, hidden thoughts & clues to find.

No, that's not it.

Connection Chart

A visualization of all the ways this episode connects to other episodes. Scroll down to see the actual connections.

Episode Connections

Spoilers for future episodes below!

S2E15 - Peter

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'.

S3E02 - The Box

Walter used the same neural halo in 'The Box' as he used on the Child in 'Inner Child'.

Connection: Neural halo — Neural halo
S1E15 - Inner Child
Timestamp: 30:33

S3E19 - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

Walter used the same neural halo in 'Lysergic Acid Diethylamide' as he used on the Child in 'Inner Child'.

S4E03 - Alone in the World

The boy in 'Alone in the World' played with the same action figure Peter showed to the Child in 'Inner Child'.
Walter used the same neural halo in 'Alone in the World' as he used on the Child in 'Inner Child'.

Connection: Action figure — Action figure
S1E15 - Inner Child
Timestamp: 33:23

S5E01 - Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11

The Observers had built machines to pump carbon monoxide into the atmosphere to make it less oxygen-rich in 'Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11'. The Child similarly needed a low-oxygen environment in 'Inner Child'.

S5E06 - Through the Looking-Glass and What Walter Found There

Walter and Donald hid the Child from 'Inner Child' in the pocket universe in 'Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There'.
Walter gave the Child M&Ms in the pocket universe in 'Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There' because he ate them with Olivia in 'Inner Child'.
The child needed an air degradation unit in 'Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found There' because he needed a less oxygen-rich environment like where he was found underground in 'Inner Child'.

Connection: The Child — The Child
S5E06 - Through the Looking Glass and What
Walter Found There
Timestamp: 28:21

Connection: M&Ms — M&Ms
S1E15 - Inner Child
Timestamp: 17:58

Connection: Air degradation unit — Air degradation unit
S5E06 - Through the Looking Glass and What
Walter Found There
Timestamp: 29:02

S5E11 - The Boy Must Live

In 'The Boy Must Live' September said he took the boy from the future and hid him in the past, where he was found in 'Inner Child'.
September has an interest in the Child at the end of 'Inner Child'. This is because the Child was made from September's genetic code, essentially making him September's son, as revealed in 'The Boy Must Live'.