By Rhea Dee
Well, it’s happened. Peter knows that he’s not from this universe. And with four episodes left, Fringe has left themselves enough time to set Peter on a path: a return to our beloved Team Fringe or a chance to join the alt-universe Dark Side. Or they could draw this out into next season, a horrifying possibility.
I’m actually quite pleased with the way the truth about Peter was handled. It just makes sense that Peter would be the one to figure it out, considering all the little tells his own father was giving him in this episode. I was kind of worried that Fringe would play Peter dumb, so that Walter or Olivia would have to tell Peter who he really is.
I also really like that Fringe made the revelation solely a father and son thing. Olivia only found out about Peter by accident, which then prompted Walter to tell her the entire story. And Olivia’s struggle about telling Peter the truth a few episodes back wasn’t really about Peter, but about her own morality struggle. The truth about Peter has always been Walter’s cross to bear; he had a chance to tell Astrid but didn’t, and when Olivia backed off of telling Peter, he stuck with it. Walter has never really shared this burden with anyone.
Peter’s reaction to the whole thing was actually really eerie. When he tells Walter that he knows, he’s calm and composed, with no meltdown in sight. I think if Peter went crazy, yelling and screaming and smashing things, our sympathies would be with Walter, the receiver of all that abuse. But since Peter keeps it together, the truth comes out more clearly: Walter did some bad things that had bad repercussions for the people he loved (not to mention the universe). The fact that the revelation wasn’t some huge blowout between father and son made it that much more devastating.
For Walter, the truth coming out wasn’t unexpected. Walter was steeling himself to tell Peter the truth. But Walter wanted complete control over the situation, which is why he deterred Olivia from telling Peter. Walter wanted to tell Peter because he wanted to be able to explain everything, to share his side of the story, to make Peter understand why he did what he did. And if Peter stormed off from that conversation, Walter would be okay with it, because Walter revealed the truth the way he wanted to. When Peter found out himself, Walter lost all of his control of the situation and couldn’t explain things that he thought would make Peter understand his side of the story. I found it unbelievably sad watching Walter rush around at the end of the episode, holding a pie and demanding Astrid drive him to the hospital so he can see Peter, so that he could try and win Peter back.
And now Peter’s gone. It’s not surprising that he ran, but it means that Walter really has zero control over getting his son back; if Peter wants to return, he’ll have to do it himself.
Last Thoughts: Okay, the guy crossing over into our universe. Do we all think that is Walternate? Cause I do.
Next Time On Fringe: Hey, look, something a bit lighthearted before we go into the heavy stuff again! Also, everyone’s clothes and hair look terrific (especially Astrid’s!).
Rhea Dee spends her time collecting vintage junk, daydreaming about Eli Roth, and pondering the genius of John Carpenter soundtracks. She really likes horror films.
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Rhea Dee is a Midwestern fat girl floating through space with a donut and an attitude. She's the co-host and co-creator of the podcast Badland Girls. 
This episode was beautifully gut-wrenching. I've been a fan of Joshua Jackson for years, and he just knocked it out of the park. Peter's usual mix of charm, steely determination, and passion gave way to a quiet vulnerability in the hospital scene. For that brief moment, we saw the boy from Walter's flashbacks* losing faith in his father all over again. I'm not at all surprised that he ran for the hills — it's what he does — but I very much doubt that the bond between Peter and Walter is severed completely. As he told Olivia recently, Team Fringe is the most family he's ever had. The four of them need each other, especially father and son.
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* By the way, that kid, Quinn Lord, looks a lot like Jackson at that age. It's a little scary how much.
I agree about Joshua Jackson. Always been a fan, but he was amazing in this episode.
I have to ask – am I the only one who doesn't understand why he reacted as harshly as he did? All this time, as Walter was fretting about Peter's response, I thought he was overreacting. After all, Peter only really knows this Universe. And it's not as if he was taken away from other parents he never got to know, just different versions of the same parents. Obviously, Walter lied to him – but where is the actual harm to HIM? In my view, Walter's had a more difficult time of it because he has to deal with the guilt of hurting another set of parents. I don't know…
But I am also glad that Olivia was left out of the revelation. Totally not her place.
While Peter's rejection of Walter was kind of harsh, I understand the emotions behind it. I think a big part of Peter's anger comes from the fact that Walter was largely absent from his childhood. Why bother stealing him away from the other universe at all if Walter was just going to ignore and abandon him and his mother? Especially since our Peter clearly blames Walter for creating a situation in which his (adoptive-ish) mother – who he was closer to – felt compelled to commit suicide.
Plus, the revelation of the lie stings more sharply now because Peter and Walter were just coming to a really good place in their relationship as adults. I knew as soon as he called Walter "Dad" without noticing it that the writers had something terrible in store for them.