Peter



Season 2, Episode 15
Aired: April 1st, 2010
Written By: J. H. Wyman, Jeff Pinkner, Akiva Goldsman, Josh Singer
Directed By: David Straiton

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Resources: IMDb | Wikipedia | Transcript
Listen: The Fringe Podcast
Peter

The Glyphs



This episode's glyphs spell: P-E-T-E-R-S

This episode is the first and only time we see two different Peters and it tells the story of Walter desperately trying to save them both.

Glyph symbol PGlyph symbol EGlyph symbol TGlyph symbol EGlyph symbol RGlyph symbol S
Glyph symbol P
Glyph symbol E
Glyph symbol T
Glyph symbol E
Glyph symbol R
Glyph symbol S

The Observer



The Observer is featured in this episode.

Observer

Timestamp: 20:25

Episode Clues



Previous Episode Clue

A police barricade in 'Jacksonville' says "DO NOT CROSS", foreshadowing the conflict between Nina, Carla, and Walter as Nina and Carla try to stop Walter from crossing universes in 'Peter'.

Previous episode clue

Timestamp: 09:40


Next Episode Clue

Two Observers in 'Peter' exit a movie theater displaying a poster for "Clue", foreshadowing the title of 'Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver' and the confrontation between Olivia and James Heath.

Next episode clue

Timestamp: 19:48

Items of Interest



  • This episode takes place in 1985.
  • Walter, and especially Bell, copied tech from the alternate universe which was more technologically advanced. This explains the advanced tech that Massive Dynamic was founded with.
  • It is true that the Empire State Building's spire really was initially designed for airship docking as it was in the Redverse. (Image 1)
  • As the universe window started up it appeared to glow blue and red, colors that would come to be synonymous with our universe and the other universe respectively. (Image 2)
  • Walternate was distracted by the Observer as he was about to find the cure for Peter. (Image 3)
  • Back to the Future never replaced Eric Stoltz with Michael J. Fox in the Redverse. (Image 4)
  • Nina lost her arm in Walter's portal on Reiden Lake. (Image 5)
  • Peter knew almost immediately that Walter wasn't his real father.
  • The intro to Worlds Away by Strange Advance can be heard in the scene where September drove Walter and Peter back to the lab after Walter stole Peter (37:34).
Item of interest: Airship
Image 1: Airship
Timestamp: 03:36
Item of interest: Blue and red in the universe window
Image 2: Blue and red in the universe window
Timestamp: 17:30
Item of interest: The Observer distracting Walternate
Image 3: The Observer distracting Walternate
Timestamp: 18:25
Item of interest: Eric Stoltz
Image 4: Eric Stoltz
Timestamp: 19:41
Item of interest: Nina's arm
Image 5: Nina's arm
Timestamp: 29:28

The Redverse



Walter's Food



Walter had a drink. And another. And another.
Connection: A drink
A drink
Timestamp: 05:37
Connection: Another drink
Another drink
Timestamp: 14:03
Connection: Another drink
Another drink
Timestamp: 17:45

Notable Quotes



WALTER: "Do you know how many times William has encouraged me to take this very risk? To expedite our espionage program. 'Why simply take a peek into the other universe, Walter, when you can go there?'"

Connection Chart


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

Episode Connections



S1E01 - Pilot

  • OLIVIA about Walter in 'Pilot': "He does have a son."
    BROYLES: "Is he local too?"
    OLIVIA: "Not exactly."
      A reference to the fact that Peter Bishop is not from this universe.
  • WALTER in 'Pilot': "I knew someone would come. Eventually."
      Because he knew the universe would start to deteriorate due to his actions in 'Peter' and it would be traced back to him.
  • Walter checks Peter's eyes for signs of degradation in 'Pilot' to make sure Peter is still healthy after coming to this universe in 'Peter'.
  • Nina says cancer took her arm in 'Pilot'. In truth, it was damaged in the doorway between universes when she tried to stop Walter from crossing over in 'Peter'.
Divider


S1E02 - The Same Old Story

  • CHRISTOPHER PENROSE in 'The Same Old Story': "Someone paid him, the man I call my father. He should've let me die. That was his mistake. But he was blinded because he loved me."
      Walter made the same mistake, as shown in 'Peter'.
  • WALTER in 'The Same Old Story': "It's one of the inherent pitfalls of being a scientist. Trying to maintain that distinction between God's domain and our own. Sometimes I forget myself, but then you already know that. If you've read my file then you know the truth about Peter's medical history."
      We learn the full extent of Peter's medical history, and what Walter did to save him, in 'Peter'.
Divider


S1E04 - The Arrival

  • In 'The Arrival' Walter knows the Observer and says he and Peter crashed through ice when Peter was a boy. We see this crash, and we see the Observer save them from the icy lake, in 'Peter'.
  • WALTER in 'The Arrival': "Have you ever taken anything that didn't belong to you because you knew it was the right thing to do?"
    PETER: "This isn't about me."
    WALTER: "Maybe it is, Peter."
      Everything happening in Fringe can be traced back to Walter stealing Peter as seen in 'Peter'.
Divider


S1E06 - The Cure

  • Nina told Peter that she knew him as a child in 'The Cure'. In 'Peter' she is intimately involved with (and opposed to) Walter's attempt to kidnap Peter.
Divider


S1E08 - The Equation

  • WALTER in 'The Equation': "Every moment that passes is another moment that little boy's life is in danger."
      Walter's often not too interested in the personal aspects of cases, but this reminds him of what happened to Peter in 'Peter'.
Divider


S1E10 - Safe

  • Peter flipped a coin through his fingers in 'Safe' like both Peters did when they were near death in bed in 'Peter'.
  • PETER in 'Safe': "What's with all the toys?"
    WALTER: "They're your toys, son! From when you were a little boy."
    PETER: "Those aren't mine."
      They belonged to the Peter that died in 'Peter'.
  • WALTER in 'Safe': "I was under a great deal of stress at the time!"
      Walter was stressed when he hid the pieces of the machine in safety deposit boxes 23 years earlier. This episode takes place in 2008, so 23 years earlier was 1985, the year Peter died in 'Peter'.
  • In 'Safe' Walter said that Peter miraculously and spontaneously started to recover from his bird flu. In truth, Walter's Peter died in 'Peter', and Walter stole the other Peter.
Connection: Peter flipping a coin
Peter flipping a coin
S1E10 - Safe
Timestamp: 41:26
Connection: Peter flipping a coin
Peter flipping a coin
S2E15 - Peter
Timestamp: 30:42
Divider


S1E15 - Inner Child

  • 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'.
Divider


S1E18 - Midnight

  • PETER in 'Midnight': "Everything stolen is not necessarily lost."
      Peter was stolen in 'Peter' and was lost from Walternate's point of view, though we know he's alive and well.
  • NICHOLAS BOONE to Walter in 'Midnight': "How far would you go for someone you love?"
      Walter showed how far he would go, across universes, in 'Peter'.
Divider


S1E20 - There's More Than One of Everything

  • SEPTEMBER in 'There's More Than One of Everything': "This coin looks similar to the one you're thinking of but it is from another place. There is more than one of everything."
      Both Peters have their own coin in 'Peter'.
  • Walter looked upset when he foumd Peter's coin in the lake house in 'There's More Than One of Everything' because Peter was holding it as he died in 'Peter'.
  • WALTER in 'There's More Than One of Everything': "Around this time something was lost to me, Peter. Something precious. I became convinced that if only I could cross over myself then I could take from there what I had lost here."
      Walter kidnapped another Peter in 'Peter'.
  • WALTER in 'There's More Than One of Everything': "To calm yourself, to forget what you were going through you took to collecting coins. This one was your favorite."
      Both Peters in 'Peter' had the same favorite coin.
  • Walter visited Peter's grave in 'There's More Than One of Everything' from when Peter died in 'Peter'
  • When Peter drove up to the lake house in 'There's More Than One of Everything' the camera focused on his car through a red panel of stained glass, foreshadowing that Peter was taken from the Redverse in 'Peter'.
Connection: Walter found Peter's coin
Walter found Peter's coin
S1E20 - There's More Than One of Everything
Timestamp: 27:50
Connection: Walter at Peter's grave
Walter at Peter's grave
S1E20 - There's More Than One of Everything
Timestamp: 41:10
Connection: Peter's car through red glass
Peter's car through red glass
S1E20 - There's More Than One of Everything
Timestamp: 18:12
Divider


S2E01 - A New Day in the Old Town

  • PETER in 'A New Day in the Old Town': "I don't like custard! In fact, I've never liked custard."
    WALTER: "As a boy you loved it; you've just forgotten."
      Walter's real son, who died in 'Peter', was the one who loved custard.
Divider


S2E02 - Night of Desirable Objects

  • PETER about the demon child in 'Night of Desirable Objects': "And yet despite that she was somehow able to give birth to a son who from all appearances then burrowed his way out of his casket."
    WALTER: "The grave of a boy who's not in his grave."
      Just like Peter, who doesn't know that he took the place of the real Blueverse Peter who died in 'Peter'.
  • OLIVIA in 'Night of Desirable Objects': "Can you imagine living with a burden like that when all you wanted was a son?"
      This mirrors the struggle Walter went through in 'Peter'.
Divider


S2E04 - Momentum Deferred

  • REBECCA KIBNER about Shapeshifters in 'Momentum Deferred': "They seemed to have a certain glow about them. I realized I was recognizing people that didn't belong."
      Peter has the same glow about him after was taken from the other side in 'Peter', because he doesn't belong in the Blueverse.
Divider


S2E05 - Dream Logic

  • When Peter had his dream near the end of 'Dream Logic', a Challenger Mission 11 poster on the wall showed the date June 28, 1984. The last Challenger mission was Mission 10 and launched on January 28, 1986, and ended in disaster. This dream is based on Peter's childhood memories in the alternate universe before he was kidnapped in 'Peter'.
Connection: Challenger poster
Challenger poster
S2E05 - Dream Logic
Timestamp: 42:24
Divider


S2E07 - Of Human Action

  • WALTER in 'Of Human Action': "I can't lose him again."
      This refers to Walter losing his Peter in 'Peter'.
Divider


S2E08 - August

  • AUGUST in 'August': "We have interfered before."
    SEPTEMBER: "Only to correct a mistake of our own making."
      The mistake and interference happened in 'Peter' when September distracted Walternate for finding the cure for Peter and when September saved Walter and Peter from the icy lake.
  • WALTER in 'August': "What makes you think I can help?"
    AUGUST: "Because you have solved such a matter before. You saw beyond the limitations of your problems."
    WALTER: "Not really. I just missed my son."
      August is referring to when Walter crossed universes in 'Peter' to save the other Peter.
Divider


S2E10 - Grey Matters

  • 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.
Connection: Coffin image
Coffin image
S2E10 - Grey Matters
Timestamp: 28:43
Divider


S2E11 - Johari Window

  • WALTER in 'Johari Window': "Remarkable, how Rose was willing to expose her secret to right a wrong. So very brave of her."
      Walter was struggling with whether or not to tell Peter about his true origins from 'Peter'.
Divider


S2E12 - What Lies Below

  • WALTER in 'What Lies Below': "When you open new doors there is a price to pay."
      Walter opened a door to another universe in 'Peter' and the world has been paying ever since.
  • WALTER in 'What Lies Below': "I can't let Peter die again."
      Walter's Peter died in 'Peter'.
Divider


S2E13 - The Bishop Revival

  • WALTER in 'The Bishop Revival': "Family is very important to me. There's nothing I wouldn't do..."
      In 'Peter' he literally crossed universes for family.
Divider


S2E14 - Jacksonville

  • ASTRID to Walter in 'Jacksonville': "So as far as his wife will ever know, he just disappeared? That is so sad."
      This is exactly what Peter's biological parents experienced in 'Peter'.

Spoilers for future episodes below!



S2E17 - White Tulip

  • PETER in 'White Tulip': "I read that deja vu is fate's way of telling you that you are 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: "No, it's a bit mystical for my tastes. I never get it, myself. Maybe that's because I'm not on track with my own destiny."
      Peter was right; he was stolen from his real parents in 'Peter'.
  • WALTER in 'White Tulip': "Grief can drive people to extraordinary lengths."
      Walter experienced that kind of grief in 'Peter'.
Divider


S2E19 - Brown Betty

  • Nina communicated with William Bell through the universe window from 'Peter' in 'Brown Betty'.
Connection: Universe window
Universe window
S2E19 - Brown Betty
Timestamp: 25:47
Divider


S3E19 - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide

  • In 'Lysergic Acid Diethylamide' Walter fell into a representation of a frozen Reiden Lake just like he really did in 'Peter'.
Connection: Walter falling to Reiden Lake
Walter falling to Reiden Lake
S3E19 - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
Timestamp: 28:02
Divider


S3E20 - 6:02 AM EST

  • WALTERNATE in '6:02 AM EST': "Oppenheimer saved us too. But at what cost? He couldn't bear the nightmares... the screams of all the innocents he had killed. 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of Worlds.' Only in our case, that really is true. We destroyed their world to save ours. May God have mercy on us."
      Walter got angry in 'Peter' when Carla Warren fr-quoted that same Oppenheimer line at him.
Divider


S4E05 - Novation

  • CARLA WARREN to Walter in 'Peter': "Some things are not ours to tamper with. Some things are God's."
      Later, in the timeline without Peter:
    DR. MALCOLM TRUSS in 'Novation': "Bell shut down the project. And all he could say was, 'Some things are not ours to tamper with. Some things are God's.'"

     
Divider


S4E08 - Back to Where You've Never Been

  • ELIZABETH to Peter in 'Back to Where You've Never Been': "That's what got me through it, you know. I told myself that if another universe exists, and there's got to be more, then somewhere you would grow up, and be happy, and fall in love. Somewhere you would have a life. Just... not here."
      She was right, and those events began in 'Peter'.
Divider


S4E11 - Making Angels

  • DECEMBER about the time-viewing device in 'Making Angels': "You're right. It's September's."
    MARCH: "He must have lost it in 1985 the night he didn't save the boy."
      In the season 4 timeline, Walter tried to save/kidnap Peter just like he did in 'Peter', but September never saved them from the icy lake.
Divider


S4E14 - The End of All Things

  • In 'The End of All Things' September said that he made a mistake when he distracted Walternate in his lab in 'Peter' and saving Walter and Peter from the icy lake was an attempt to rectify that mistake.
Connection: September and Peter inside September's mind
September and Peter inside September's mind
S4E14 - The End of All Things
Timestamp: 28:23
Divider


S4E22 - Brave New World (Part 2)

  • WILLIAM BELL in 'Brave New World (Part 2)': "God made us in his image. If that is so, if we are capable of being gods, then it is our destiny to do so."
      Walter made a similar comment in 'Peter':
    WALTER: "There's only room for one God in this lab, and it's not yours."
     
Divider


S5E01 - Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11

  • WALTER in 'Peter': "You can't imagine what it's like to lose a child."
      Peter had flashbacks of literally losing Etta in 'Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11'.
Divider


S5E04 - The Bullet that Saved the World

  • The universe window from 'Peter' was seen in Walter's storage vault in 'The Bullet that Saved the World'.
  • WALTER in 'Peter': "You can't imagine what it's like to lose a child."
      Etta died in 'The Bullet that Saved the World'.
Connection: Universe window
Universe window
S5E04 - The Bullet That Saved the World
Timestamp: 14:44
Divider


S5E09 - Black Blotter

  • In 'Black Blotter' Walter had a vision of his scuffle with Nina at Reiden Lake from 'Peter' and later recalled other memories from that day.
Connection: Walter's vision
Walter's vision
S5E09 - Black Blotter
Timestamp: 11:23
Divider


S5E10 - Anomaly XB-6783746

  • WALTER in 'Peter': "Why did you save us?"
    SEPTEMBER: "The boy is important. He has to live."
      In 'Anomaly XB-6783746' Michael gave Walter back memories of the original timeline and showed him that September's words about "the boy" also referred to Michael.
Connection: Walter and Michael
Walter and Michael
S5E10 - Anomaly XB-6783746
Timestamp: 42:44
Divider


S5E12 - Liberty

  • In 'Liberty' the Fringe team used the universe window from 'Peter' to help them rescue Michael.
Connection: Universe window
Universe window
S5E12 - Liberty
Timestamp: 13:04
Divider


S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate

  • The entire story of Fringe started in 'Peter' when Walter crossed worlds with a boy that wasn't his because he couldn't stand to let Peter die, and the entire story concluded in 'An Enemy of Fate' when Walter crossed worlds with a boy that wasn't his knowing he would never see Peter again.
Connection: Walter and Michael
Walter and Michael
S5E13 - An Enemy of Fate
Timestamp: 41:07
Episode Information
The Glyphs
The Observer
Episode Clues
Items of Interest
JJ Abrams Easter Eggs
Fringe Division Case File
Glyph Sightings
The Redverse
Walter's Food
Names for Astrid
Walter's Lab Notes
Notable Quotes
Connection Chart
Episode Connections