History Series / Fringe

* KickTheSonOfABitch: No one was really upset when one of the people treated with Cortexiphan [[spoiler:roasted Sanford Harris like a Christmas ham.]] Or when Walter [[spoiler:verbally castrated Olivia's stepfather.]] Or when Fauxlivia [[spoiler:floored alternate Brandon during her HeelFaceTurn.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: Alternate Astrid appears to have some traits of Autism; her actress has stated that the portrayal is based on some of her own Autistic sister's behaviors. Her trouble relating to others is even the focus of one episode.

** Martin Luther King Jr. is on the twenty dollar bill instead of Andrew Jackson, Richard Nixon is on 1983 Dollar Coin, and one conversation reveals Millard Fillmore appears on some banknote as well.

* IncrediblyLamePun:
** The title of the episode with the melting brains? "No-Brainer".
** The one about rapid aging? "The Same Old Story".
** People getting turned to dust? "Earthling".
** [[AlternateUniverse Walternate.]]
** [[OverlyLongGag Fauxlivia.]]
** Most titles on the soundtracks are amazingly awful. This is standard procedure for Music/MichaelGiacchino.

** Peter and Olivia meet with a conspiracy theorist who believes himself to be Spock from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''. You should already know [[Creator/LeonardNimoy who played Spock]]. Additionally, the conspiracy theorist is played by Creator/ClintHoward who also appeared as a guest star in one of the first Star Trek episodes. More of a Director Allusion, but the story that he tells is somewhat similar to the plot line of ''Film/StarTrek2009''. However, this was probably intentional as the episode aired in the opening week of the film, and therefore was used to promote it in the process.

* DisposableVagrant
* DisposingOfABody: A shapeshifter throws the corpse of [[spoiler:Charlie]] into a furnace after taking his form.

* CoolGun: Several. The "Rogue" chasing the Beacon in "The Arrival" has a powerful energy weapon of unknown origin; the "Redverse" Fringe Team use a "Model 76 Pulse Gun" designed by William Bell, who also gets to show off the [[HandCannon Model 77]]. In the Amber Timeline, Jones' faction invents a gun designed to kill Observers (who can teleport at will through space and time, predict multiple timelines, move really, really fast and literally '''catch bullets''') by speeding up the bullet faster than they can move. In the future of that timeline, these same guns are used by the Resistance. So, to summarize, a gun designed to kill people who can '''catch bullets.'''

* EvilMakeover: For Fringe Division's [[EvilCounterpart alternate universe counterparts]] i.e. darker hair, [[GoodScarsEvilScars scars]], [[EvilIsSexy form-fitting spandex and leather]] and /or [[BadassInANiceSuit suits]].

* AbsenceOfEvidence: Discussed in "The Consultant". Fauxlivia is trying to find the one responsible for [[spoiler: Lincoln's murder]] and can't find any evidence. Walter refers to "the dog that didn't bark". It falls a little flat since there is no Franchise/SherlockHolmes in the AlternateUniverse.

** [[spoiler: Henrietta Bishop]] takes after her parents.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: The Observers, at first. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler: they are human, or at least, they once were]].

** When Walter is temporarily reconnected to the [[spoiler: missing parts of his brain]], we see him immediately become cold, detached, and assertive, and show nothing but utter contempt to anyone who gets in his way.
** It seems like after [[spoiler: Windmark mind whammyed Walter]] that he was back to his old self, but in "Through The Looking Glass and What Walter Found There," Walter realizes that integrating the missing parts of his brain is changing him back into his more ruthless self. And he's deathly afraid of what he might do.

** Peter's flyover of the Alternate New York includes the tidbit that people in the Madison Square Garden quarantine zone have just recently been declared legally dead. [[spoiler: Quarantine encases a large area in an amber-like substance.]]
** In "Amber 31422", [[spoiler: Walternate mentions the likely theory that those trapped in Amber are in suspended animation. It's later revealed that this is correct - and they are stuck thinking the last thought in their heads when the amber engulfed them.]]

** Olivia in ''"Entrada"''. [[spoiler: They were going to remove her organs.]] While she was awake and completely conscious. They even drew guidelines so she knew ''exactly'' what they were going to do.
** Milo Stanfield in "The Plateau" becomes [[spoiler: so intelligent his thoughts can no longer be interpreted by other human beings, and he will only be able to communicate with a machine for the rest of his life.]]
** [[spoiler: Simon Foster's fate. He's got a mouth but screaming is rather difficult without lungs or a body.]]
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: [[spoiler: Sanford Harris's death.]]

** Ultimately, [[spoiler: Walternate]].
*** [[spoiler: Well, technically a different Walternate, he didn't get memories restored. Though its never really explored just how different the second version of the Alternate Universe is from its first incarnation.]]

* ApocalypseHow: Class X-4. [[spoiler: The entire Alternate Universe is destroyed, and as a consequence the inextricably linked Primary Universe is also doomed. Luckily, MentalTimeTravel fixed it.]]

*** In "Enemy of My Enemy" (4x9), [[spoiler: Mr. Jones]] says that he has made 47 shapeshifters so far.

*** Peter [[spoiler: died when he was seven years old]].

*** Peter and Olivia [[spoiler: first met when Peter was seven years old.]]

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: [[spoiler: Walter describes a clearly single celled organism as a Virus. He even answers in the affirmative when asked if it is a single cell. Viruses are less than a cell, being simply genetic material in a protein sheath. As such it would not be able to move under its own power.]]

* AssholeVictim: The two kids who [[spoiler: get killed by Gus]] at the beginning of "Alone In the World" are bullies who were planning on beating up the {{Woobie}}. A somewhat disturbing example since little to no sympathy is extended to them by any of the cast members, despite the fact that they're still just 12-year-olds.

* BackupTwin: A [[AlternateUniverse (sort of)]] in-universe example [[spoiler: when Walter takes Peter from the alternate universe after ''his'' Peter dies.]]

** [[spoiler: "The Day we Died"]]
** [[spoiler: "Letters of Transit"]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler: Elizabeth Bishop was overjoyed upon seeing Peter alive again and seemed more unwilling to give up her "son" than Walter was, leading him to eventually decide to give up trying to return Peter back to the Alternate Universe. Unfortunately, because Elizabeth was left as the one responsible for maintaining TheMasquerade around Peter, she [[INeedAFreakingDrink turned to alcohol]] to cope with the stress, leading her to be DrivenToSuicide]].

** [[spoiler: Fauxlivia does this to Peter.]] Well, sort of.

** [[spoiler: Happened to Peter, who eventually forgot about his childhood in the alternate universe.]]

** Walter gets ''very'' angry when Peter's life is put in jeopardy [[spoiler: as a direct result of already losing him once.]]
** Holding a knife to Peter Bishop in an attempt to [[spoiler: activate Olivia's Cortexiphan enhanced abilities]] works ''[[GoneHorriblyRight spectacularly]]''. [[spoiler: Just be careful that she doesn't fry you like crispy bacon in the process.]]
* BestOfAllPossibleWorlds: Played with after [[spoiler: Peter is erased from history]]. While many things have changed, the bad things and the good things changed are sprinkled evenly across both universes, and no ResetButton seems forthcoming.

* BigNo: [[spoiler: Peter does this when Walter shoots Olivia in "Brave New World".]]

** A similar calling card was later discovered on the Nazi toxin in Season 2, in this case, the image of the seahorse, [[spoiler: a clue that Walter Bishop's father's research had been used to create the toxin]].

** In "Welcome to Westfield" (4x12). [[spoiler: While Olivia, Peter, Walter, and the remaining survivors are able to get out safely, there is absolutely nothing left of the town (not even any other potential survivors)]].
** "A Short Story About Love." [[spoiler: Olivia remembers Peter, Peter realises that he was home all along and the episode ends in an OrbitalKiss. But Olivia will no longer remember her mother-daughter relationship with Nina Sharp.]]
** "Letters of Transit." [[spoiler: The Observers have taken over the world, Walter TookALevelInJerkass, Nina is in a wheelchair, Broyles looks like he's aged a hundred years,the team have been in amber for 20 years, William Bell might need to borrow Nina's arm if he ever gets out of the amber because Walter chopped his off, Simon sacrificed himself to save Peter, Etta grew up without her parents, it looks like Olivia is dead... but Etta is reunited with her family, Olivia and the Bishops apparently bested Jones and they have a plan to stop the Observers.]] It's not much, but it's something.
** "Worlds Apart." [[spoiler: To stop Jones from ripping apart two universes, they need to close the bridge. Closing the bridge will stop the other world from healing. But there's peace between their worlds now. And Lincoln is staying in the other universe with Fauxlivia.]]
** "Brave New World", verging on DownerEnding. [[spoiler: They've stopped Bell, saved Olivia and there is now another Baby Bishop on the way. Oh... and the Observers are going to take over the world.]]

*** A girl named Emily has the same ability. [[spoiler: Only her ability eventually kills her. She sees her own death in her visions.]]

*** Nick Lane is a reverse empath. His feelings are projected to those around him. He has absolutely no control over this ability, and since he's suicidally depressed and extremely alienated from society, the results aren't pretty. [[spoiler: The first time he tried to kill himself, his sister did it first.]]

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Observers. The best understanding of their motives is that they strive towards "balance," but aside from that they are fairly inscrutable. The episode "The Firefly" shows their interesting morals: [[spoiler: one of them stops a robbery in order to save a shopgirl who's having an asthma attack, whose inhaler he then steals. He then steals a car in order to crash it into a police car holding the shopgirl, triggering another asthmatic attack and forcing Walter to choose between letting Peter go in order to save the shopgirl, when he has been led to believe that Peter going after the Observer will either kill him or cause him to be abducted back to the other universe. He lets Peter chase after the Observer, but all the Observer does is use a sort of air gun to knock Peter over. Later, Peter takes aspirin with some milk, not realizing that Walter had mixed in a brain mapping serum into it, which in combination with the aspirin nearly poisons him, only saved because he was young and healthy and Walter was able to direct Olivia to administering a shot that saves Peter.]] And Walter thinks all of this was to [[spoiler: save his life by showing him the flaw in the brain mapping serum]]. However, the real reason for the Observer's actions: [[spoiler: to test whether Walter would be willing to sacrifice his son if need be, which it turns out he is.]]

* BodySnatcher: [[spoiler: William Bell co-opting our Olivia's body]] ought to count even if it's instigated by him, not sure which of the subtropes [[DemonicPossession fit]] [[PeoplePuppets best]] [[FreakyFridayFlip though]]. We'll just have to wait and see...

** The entirety of the series seems to be devoted to breaking Olivia Dunham. She gets through a godawful childhood (involving [[spoiler: illegal drug trials,]] a monstrous stepfather, and what sounds like a PromotionToParent). She manages to find a job that she enjoys and falls in love with her partner. Partner is injured. She goes to incredible lengths to save said partner. She finds out that [[spoiler: he's a traitor and he dies in her arms.]] ''In the first episode.'' Turns out [[spoiler: that John Scott isn't a traitor but death is awfully permanent these days]] so no happy ending. She falls in love with [[spoiler: Peter. He leaves. She goes to ''another universe'' to save him. She gets left behind. After enduring torture, MindRape and the prospect of a gruesome death, she barely manages to get back home.]] She spends the beginning of "Marionette" with the most ''adorable'' smile on her face. When she sees Peter, she does the whole shy teenager glance thing and just seems so ''happy'' to back. And then she finds about [[spoiler: Peter and Fauxlivia.]] The smile is gone. She's been [[spoiler: StrappedToAnOperatingTable]] how many times? Plus she [[spoiler: went through a car windshield and was temporarily declared brain-dead.]] And then there are the [[spoiler: seizures she's had while in the lab.]] Oh... and her friend ended up [[spoiler: being killed and replaced by a shape shifter who eventually tried to kill her.]] It's like watching someone dangle a bone in front of a puppy and then kick it for good measure.
** Peter Bishops back story reveals this. He was a perfectly normal kid until [[spoiler: an alternate version of his father kidnapped him and took him over to our universe, where his 'parents' used gaslighting to convince him that he belonged there. His mistrust of them is so bad at one point that he literally tries to kill himself just to get back to his world. Then when he was about 16 or 17, his father got sent to a mental institution, and a few years after that he left to travel Europe, and promptly got the call that his mother had killed herself]]. By the time we meet him he is a very cynical man, but flashback episodes reveal him to be a very sweet and caring kid.

** Over time, you realize this is what St. Claire's did to Walter. [[spoiler: Then you learn that he ''asked'' for it, at least partly, because he was afraid of what he was becoming.]] Given what Walternate is like, this can only be a good thing.

** Fauxlivia. Smug, bitchy alternate in first appearance. In "The Consultant"? [[spoiler: She gets drunk on ex-boyfriend's alcohol because her partner died.]]

** Possibly. [[spoiler: It is shown in season 5 that her abilities can still be activated if she is dosed again. And according to Walter, all the extra Cortexiphan should have been metabolised out of her system by the time she manages to pull of the SUV slam on Windmark]].

** [[spoiler: The Observers]] can do this pretty much whenever the hell they want to.
** [[spoiler: Olivia in the fourth season finale.]]

** In "White Tulip", Walter struggles to write a letter to Peter, explaining why Walter abducted him from his timeline. The episode vividly uses the image of a white tulip as a sign of God's forgiveness. The image comes up a few more times in the series, most notably in its finale: [[spoiler: after Walter takes Michael on a one-way trip to 2167 to halt the creation of the Observers (resetting both Universes in the process), Peter receives a letter, from his father, that features only a drawing of a white tulip.]]

* CameBackWrong: In "Marionette" the VillainOfTheWeek cryptically says [[spoiler: "I looked into her eyes, and it ''wasn't her''. This is presumably because the girl that he revived appeared to be completely brain-dead.]]

** At the start of the series, Peter is a nomadic, selfish, sarcastic ConMan and something of a {{Jerkass}}. After [[spoiler: falling for Olivia,]] making peace with Walter and hefty amounts of [[BreakTheHaughty everything going to hell]], he's willing to risk his own life to save the people he loves and the two universes.
** Walter was a brilliant but arrogant scientist with no regard for ethics whatsoever. [[spoiler: He broke a universe trying to save one person and even slipped into OmnicidalManiac territory for a while]]. By season four, he flatly refuses to [[PlayingGod play God]] again and he's willing to ''[[spoiler: shoot Olivia in the head]]'' if it means saving the lives of billions of people.

** The bell that William Bell leaves Nina [[spoiler: in his will]] turns out to be the activator for [[spoiler: the "soul magnet" he planted in Olivia, allowing his life force to possess her]].
** Walter's [[spoiler: regenerating lemon cake]] in the Season Four finale.

** Sam Weiss is introduced in early Season 2 as a sort of TricksterMentor for Olivia (at least, as far as physical recovery goes). In Season 3, we discover that [[spoiler: he's from a long line of people with knowledge of the First People and the Doomsday Machine.]]
** In a dark way, the [[spoiler: Observers. They were around for four seasons, innocuously appearing at the fringe events and one of them, September, even got close to the team. They seemed to only be watching out for the wellbeing of the universe, but in season 5 its revealed that this was all just preparations for a mass invasion of the past]].

* ChekhovsSkill: [[spoiler: Olivia's eidetic memory for numbers.]]

*** Although this is less clearly a subversion as you get to know Fauxlivia. [[spoiler: Fauxlivia generally seems to be happier and more open at least up until she goes rogue at the end of season 3. By contrst, regular Olivia has some real darkness in her past and after she got screwed over by her dead boyfriend isn't what you'd call open. Our Olivia is a damaged, beaten down person working for the good guys. Fauxlivia is a good person working for the bad guys.]]
** Olivia often wears clothes with a monochromatic colour scheme. [[spoiler: It's later revealed that Recruits are typically drawn to these colours, as a side effect of their time being treated with Cortexiphan as children, leaving them with a subconscious desire [[BeneathNotice to blend in]].]]
** Most obviously Olivia has blond hair, and Fauxlivia has red hair. [[spoiler: This ends up getting used to their advantage, as both women dye their hair at different points to masquerade as their counterparts]].

* CrapsackWorld: The alternate universe is a strange case: It is much more advanced technologically and medically (they had modern cell phones in the mid-80s). The society itself is also implied to be ''slightly'' better-off, or at least less destitute financially. On the flip side, Fringe events have destroyed numerous cities. New York itself is covered with blotches of quarantine zones. In some parts the air is actually dangerous to breathe. There are numerous epidemics in progress, some of which involve diseases that exist in our universe but hit theirs much harder and others that don't even ''exist'' in ours. Real coffee is hard to find. Wallabies and sheep are extinct alongside numerous other species. The government is implied to be more authoritarian even without the involvement of [[spoiler: Walternate]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking There are no rainbows,]] and there's no such thing as Franchise/{{Batman}} or Franchise/SherlockHolmes.

** [[spoiler: The future as of "Letters of Transit". Not only are the Observers preventing things like free will, private thought, education, travel and more or less destroying any form of human culture, they are pumping carbon monoxide ''into the atmosphere''. Forget things like coffee and eggs... people are going to start dying at forty.]]

** The alternative universe is genuinely very cyberpunk. [[spoiler: From the human/machine hybrids, to the repressive government, the world ripping itself apart, the plague killing all the plants and the utterly crazy technologies, it pretty much does tick all the boxes. Look at the drawing of the machine to cross universes powered by Peter... it's right out of Deus Ex for God's sake.]]
** The setting and mood of [[spoiler: ''Letters of Transit'']] is ''very'' Cyberpunk, even if it doesn't follow the usual Cyberpunk tropes.
** The setting of the entire 5th Season, so far, is pretty solidly cyberpunk, as have been the show's other forays into [[spoiler: the future]], such as the Season 3 Finale.
* CyberpunkIsTechno: Not techno per se but the music in the [[spoiler: Observer Nightclub in ''Letters of Transit'', which is brimming with Cyberpunk elements,]] has an {{Industrial}} and [[ElectronicMusic Electronic Body Music]] vibe to it.

** Olivia needs rescuing a few times but it never diminishes her ActionGirl status. In 2x01 she (understandably) spent the entire episode completely freaked out in a hospital bed and was almost strangled by a shapeshifter. When asked if she was okay she lets everyone know that she's back by responding with [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch "Go get that bitch"]]. She needs rescuing again in ''"Entrada"'' when she's StrappedToAnOperatingTable and in "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide" when she's [[spoiler: trapped in her own mind.]]

** "The End of All Things". [[spoiler: Olivia is kidnapped by David Robert Jones, who's trying to activate her Cortexiphan superpowers as part of his EvilPlan. Meanwhile, Peter and rest of TheTeam try to find a way to get her back. She ends up manipulating Jones into kidnapping Peter so he can serve as the emotional "battery" for the activation, but instead of merely turning on some light bulbs as he wants she electrocutes one of his henchmen and frees them both.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: The fifth and final season gives us [[spoiler: a ''really'' BadFuture overrun by vicious Observers]], JackBauerInterrogationTechnique and [[AndIMustScream sinister biological weapons]] used by the [[BlackAndGreyMorality heroes]], [[spoiler: the brutal, unceremonious death of Etta Bishop]], Walter being terrified of turning back into the man he used to be ([[AmnesiacDissonance with hints of him showing through]]), [[spoiler:Observer!Peter]] slowly losing his humanity, and Nina Sharp [[spoiler:shooting herself in the head]].
* DarkestHour: As of ''"The Day We Died"'', [[spoiler: Well...in 2026, at least.]]

** [[spoiler: The alternate universe Broyles gets several focus scenes in the back-to-back episodes "The Abducted" and "Entrada", before being killed at the climax of "Entrada".]]
** [[spoiler: The two Lincoln Lees finally get an episode. Red!Lincoln gets shot.]]
** [[spoiler: Nina Sharp plays a prominent role in "Anomaly XB-6783746". And shoots herself in the head.]]

* DisasterDominoes: The villain of "The Plateau" can kill you with a pen. He doesn't have to use it as a weapon, either. He just leaves it on top of a mailbox [[spoiler: and then you get ''hit by a bus''.]]

** [[spoiler: In the final scene of episode 3:20, after a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind allows Olivia to recover from a GrandTheftMe, Olivia's in a cheerful mood and having breakfast with Peter, when he asks her about the mysterious man who attacked her in her dream, she says "I don't know, but I think he's the man who's going to kill me." without breaking her smile. Then takes a bite of toast. Then roll credits. ]]

** Peter also just barely dodges [[spoiler: what would have been an accidental head shot from Olivia (she had... let's call it PTSD.)]]

** Not to mention in 3x17, when we see Anna Torv doing a damn-near perfect emulation of the voice (at least as much as a woman can) and mannerisms of [[spoiler: William Bell]].
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: [[spoiler: Fauxlivia, pretending to be Olivia, seduces and keeps having sex with Peter for two months, until Olivia returns from the AlternateUniverse. Peter thought he was having sex with Olivia, who he was just developing feelings for before the switch happened. This is called a BedTrick in this wiki but legally is considered [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_by_deception rape by fraud]]. Everyone, including Peter, at least initially acts like it's his fault and like Olivia is the one who's been violated in this situation, as if Fauxlivia "robbed" her of Peter. (In fact, Olivia herself, before she starts blaming Peter, is all "I understand - anything could have happened between me and her boyfriend, if he hadn't been out of town." Apparently nobody on the writing team realized that Olivia's situation would have been very different [[note]]She would have consented to have sex with the boyfriend knowing who she was having sex with.[[/note]], and that Olivia having sex with Fauxlivia's boyfriend without clueing him in would make her a rapist as well.)]]

* DidTheyOrDidntThey: [[spoiler: Completely out of the blue, Nina Sharp kisses Agent Broyles in the Season Two premier.]] This is never explained or even referred to again...although some of their meetings suddenly take on a whole new light.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Poor, poor Charlie Francis.]] Also [[spoiler: Altlee. Considering that fact he survived nearly being blown up because the writers liked him, but gets fatally shot by a shapeshifter just so that his double can take his place in the altverse. No nanite bath for that?]]

*** [[spoiler: When Peter and Olivia are together and things are going good they at least move from hard liquor to wine.]]
** In "A New Day in Old Town," Peter and Broyles do this when [[spoiler: they think Olivia is brain-dead and won't make it]].

** Elizabeth did this to deal [[spoiler: with the fact that they kidnapped Peter and have to lie to him]].

** ""Momentum Deferred" (2x04)": [[spoiler: The shape-changing soldier from another universe disguised as Charlie]] is also seen with a Slusho.

* EnemyMine: Episode 4x9 titled "Enemy of My Enemy," where [[spoiler: Fringe teams from both universes join forces to defeat David Robert Jones, with Peter and Walternate as key allies in the work.]]

** Astrid and Peter in "The Day We Died". Not only is Peter's hair longer [[spoiler: in the future]] but it's exactly the same as his fathers'.

** In "Marionette" [[spoiler: the bad guy removes a man's eyes while he's awake. When the Fringe team finds the victim, he's wandering around with his eyelids pinned back so we can see the empty, gaping eye sockets.]]

** In "In Absentia," the team needs an ocular scan from a captured security guard, who they can't move. Walter uses a scalpel and a spoon, messes up the first eye, and demands another. [[spoiler: The guard is okay, though. Walter imprinted his retinal pattern on a pig's eye.]]

** And [[spoiler: it's completely gone as of "Amber 31422" [[HoistByHisOwnPetard thanks to Walternate.]]]]
** Although based on [[spoiler: that ridiculously accurate shot Olivia makes to the middle of a bad guy's neck in "Concentrate and Ask Again", she seems to have retained Fauxlivia's shooting skills.]]

** From the episode "The Firefly". Three months after [[spoiler: Walter saved Peter and brought him home]], Peter caught a firefly. Because he caught it, a little girl couldn't catch it, and stayed out later than she would have. Her father got worried, was late for work because he was looking for her. It started to rain, and he skidded through a red light on his way to work and hit someone on the crosswalk. [[spoiler: That someone was the son of the keyboardist in Walter's favorite band, and the little girl is implied to have been the asthmatic woman from the jewelry store]].
** When Walter figures all of this out, he finally realizes exactly how much damage he's caused. He doesn't take it well. [[spoiler: But that was the whole [[BatmanGambit ''point'']]: making him realize it all on a personal level, and testing whether or not he was willing to let Peter die to prevent further damage]].

*** "It must be difficult being a father": [[spoiler: He said this to Peter in "The Firefly", possibly referring to Walter, but he could also mean Peter, who would later be revealed to have inpregnated Fauxlivia.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: "Subject 13". It is truly heartbreaking to see [[spoiler: Walter's earnest attempts to return Peter to his rightful universe and Walternate's frantic search for his missing son]] knowing that both of them are going to fail.

** ''Letters in Transit'' reveals that [[spoiler: Earth was fully and irrevocably rendered uninhabitable by the year 2607, prompting the Observers to travel back in time to look for the most suitable point in history to begin again]].

** The Plateau opens with a man assassinating a woman by balancing a ballpoint pen on top of a mailbox. How? [[spoiler: The pen gets knocked down by a splash from a car going through a puddle. A man notices the pen fall, and moves to pick it up. A cyclist swerves to avoid the man and ends up crashing. The crash distracts a bus driver, and he fails to notice a red light coming up. The intended victim started crossing the street when the Walk sign lit up, and she gets hit by the bus.]] [[Manga/DeathNote Just as planned.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* AGodAmI:
** In "''Peter''", we see past Walter invoke this about his decision to [[spoiler: cross into the parallel universe.]]

* GutPunch: ''The Bullet That Saved The World''. [[spoiler: Etta's death.]]

* [[spoiler: HappilyMarried]]: [[spoiler: Peter and Olivia, until Etta was taken, and then restored in the finale.]] Also, as of the penultimate hour, [[spoiler: this is apparently what happened to Lincoln and Alt-Livia.]]
* HeDidntMakeIt: [[spoiler: How Lincoln is told that his Alternate died.]]

** While helping Olivia escape from Walternate, [[spoiler: Colonel Broyles is killed and chopped up by his own colleagues.]]

** [[spoiler: Joshua Rose setting it up so that he would be trapped in Amber, getting Fringe Division to close the case so that his identical twin brother that he'd previously rescued from the Amber could go back to his life.]]

** [[spoiler: Nina Sharp's]] HeroicSuicide.
** In the finale, [[spoiler: Walter does this without actually dying onscreen - he goes to 2067 with Michael, ensuring the Observer invasion never happens, but he can never return to 2015.]]

** [[spoiler: When the bridge between both universes is being closed, our side's Lincoln Lee chooses to stay in the alternate universe.]]
** [[spoiler: Peter decides to stay in his adopted universe rather than the one he was born in.]]

** Peter, third season. [[spoiler: He's known Olivia for over two years now, he's realized Olivia is acting differently, he's surrounded by body-double-imposters from the Other Side, and yet he doesn't realize that the woman he's now sleeping with is Fauxlivia.]] This is made even worse by the fact that Peter was once a conman and claims to have a knack for reading people. Pull yourself together, Bishop. Peter did notice a lot of details being very off, but he kept rationalizing over them because of his love for Olivia [[spoiler:(the one he knew)]]. Peter notes in the pilot that he can't really read Olivia, meaning it'd be harder for him to figure out that it wasn't actually her.
** The fact that the Fringe group repeatedly gets tricked by alternates is just sad. Almost as bad is [[spoiler: Charlie being replaced by his double, when they KNEW that Charlie was fighting a shapeshifter hand-to-hand no one ever bothered to check and make sure he's the correct person. The fact they repeat it with Fauxlivia is just painful.]] And they fell for the shapeshifter switch yet again!
** In the second season episode ''Reciprocity'', [[spoiler: Shapeshifters are being taken out by Walternate, and their names are showing up on files in Fauxlivia's computer files. Once this happened the first time, they didn't think to simply search those files for names of highly placed people, instead doing random blood screening while more and more potential sources of information are being wiped out.]]

* IfIDoNotReturn: [[spoiler: Peter to Astrid when he decides to enter the Machine.]]

** Olivia [[spoiler: seems to have retained her newfound marksmanship skills even though the brainwashing isn't permanent.]] [[{{Foreshadowing}} What this means]] [[RedHerring is unclear.]] Later episodes have shown that she remembers ''all'' her time over there (she gives frequent guidance on how Fringe Division does things as events warrant it), she's just clear now that [[spoiler: she's not Fauxlivia, although she remembers being her]]. So that's okay, then. Probably.

* InsaneEqualsViolent: Averted in Walter's case. He was much more morally dubious when he was fully sane, but after his mental breakdown he becomes a harmless old man. [[spoiler: Further exemplified in how Walternate is sane, yet is much more willing to take violent, drastic measures.]]

* InSpiteOfANail: In season 4 [[spoiler: Peter's death in the 1980s]] has resulted in almost the same present day for the [[spoiler: remaining]] main characters, [[spoiler: with minor backstory changes and Alt!Broyles still alive]].

** Hilariously, Walter's fine during "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide". It's Peter and [[spoiler: Broyles]] (!) who are as high as kites.

** When Broyles is trying to convince Walter to help them deal with the machine in "The Box," he says that the government made similar arguments to Robert Oppenheimer (the scientist who led the Manhattan Project), and asks "how do you think he slept after his little invention had killed hundreds of thousands in a fraction of a second?" In "6:02 AM," [[spoiler: just before turning on the machine,]] Walternate also compares himself to Oppenheimer - and talks about the nightmares he had after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
* {{Irony}}: Most events in The Pattern in the first two seasons were ZFT testing grounds for various WeirdScience super-weapons meant to protect this universe's inhabitants from an incoming war against a fantastical enemy from beyond. The whole set-up was done under the belief that they were to be used against Walternate's Universe when their two sides inevitably went to war against each other. [[spoiler: With the exception of the cortexiphan kids using their PsychicPowers to cross over into the other universe, none of the various experiments that caused the Fringe events come into play when the two worlds inevitably collide. However, they do come back in Season Five when the Fringe Team use them against The Observers. While William Bell was right that they would be needed, he was off on ''who'' they were going to be used on.]]

** Tyler Carson in "Of Human Action". He murders several cops, injures multiple innocent people and displays all the hallmarks of a budding sociopath, but since he's only 15, he won't face any jail time. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted . They all ''think'' he gets away but at the end of the episode, he ends up being drugged unconscious and hidden somewhere in the depths of Massive Dynamic with the other seven Tylers.]]

** Olivia's first [[spoiler: season BadBoss, audibly saying he's going to get rid of a pyrokinetic]] about to have a [[PowerIncontinence terminal overload incident]] where she can see him.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: No one was really upset when one of the people treated with Cortexiphan [[spoiler: roasted Sanford Harris like a Christmas ham.]] Or when Walter [[spoiler: verbally castrated Olivia's stepfather.]] Or when Fauxlivia [[spoiler: floored alternate Brandon during her HeelFaceTurn.]]

* LateArrivalSpoiler: No advertisements, reviews, or discussions of ''Fringe'' bother to hide that there's an alternate universe involved. Mostly because it'd be impossible to explain otherwise by Season 3.

** [[spoiler: Sort of subverted at the end of season 4 when Olivia is revealed to be pregnant shortly after expressing a desire for a house with a nursery.]]

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Peter to Walter. [[spoiler: This is made even more poignant in series 4, where we get to see how reclusive and afraid Walter is without Peter in his life.]]

** This happens again in season 4, [[spoiler: when Walter keeps catching glimpses of Peter after he has been erased from the timeline.]]

* LoveDodecahedron: Well... [[spoiler: Peter is in love with Olivia who liked John at first but he died and she liked Peter back but she doesn't remember him as of season 4 and now has a thing for Lincoln who is quite smitten back but is friends with Peter who seems to ship them as well for some reason but Olivia remembered Peter again and now Lincoln is broken hearted and in the alternate time line Peter thought that Fauxlivia was Olivia and spent seven episodes enamoured with her but she was dating Frank but Alternate Lincoln liked her too and seemed to be fond of our Olivia as well when Walternate mind raped her into thinking she was Fauxlivia but in the amber timeline Fauxlivia has broken up with Frank and Lincoln was her "shoulder to cry on" but then he died but the other Lincoln said he'd stay and help and Seth Gabel ships them and]]... I think that's it.

** [[spoiler: Peter and Olivia.]] They've been separated by universes. [[spoiler: Peter]] has been erased from existence. [[spoiler: Olivia has been shot in the future.]] They've crossed between universes, rewritten time lines and changed the future. Damn straight it transcends spacetime.
** [[spoiler: blue!Lincoln crosses into a dying universe for Fauxlivia.]]

** Peter Bishop spends a week in the future, where he is married to his long-time Love Interest Olivia Dunham. [[spoiler: It does not end well for Olivia, unfortunately. Come to think of it, it doesn't end well for anyone.]]

** [[spoiler: It's left ambiguous whether or not Lincoln and Fauxlivia get together but he's smitten and she doesn't seem opposed to him permanently crossing into her universe.]]
*** [[spoiler: When Olivia crosses over in the series finale, they're shown to be married with a son.]]

* MechanisticAlienCulture: The Observers [[spoiler: who are future descendants of humanity]] hint at this with their uniformity, odd behavior, CreepyMonotone speech, and severely dulled sense of taste in contrast to their subtle perceptions of the flow of time, play this and most of the original [[TheMenInBlack MIB Mythos, see above]] pretty straight (that is, up until the episode "Letters of Transit"). It's possible the Scientific Team September, August, et al were a part of was some kind of "scientific caste" in Observer society; the behavior of the "Overseer" Observers in [[spoiler: the possible version of the year 2036 in]] the episode "Letters of Transit" were much more carnal and human-like, and did not seem to use the same CreepyMonotone (though one or more of those traits might be due to prolonged exposure to modern/TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture human behavior).

** [[spoiler: And she does have telekinesis as proven in last two episodes of season 3.]]

** The Observers can do this (particularly the Invaders in the BadFuture shown in "Letters of Transit" and [[spoiler: Season 5]]).

** [[FridgeBrilliance Makes a lot more sense]] when you realise that Broyles came face to face with [[spoiler: His own dead body]].

** Brought up in "One Night in October", when a forensic psychologist is brought to the other universe to profile his SerialKiller EvilTwin, and it turns out that the key difference between the two is that the psychologist, as a child, had met a woman who taught him to manage his destructive urges, while his counterpart never did. After [[spoiler: the evil twin steals his memories of the woman, there's concern as to whether he'll go evil without them. Broyles says that while they'll keep an eye on him, he believes some people make a mark on others that cannot be erased]].

** [[spoiler: Doctor Penrose]] is a dark, GenderFlipped version. He helps his "son" murder women in a [[AndIMustScream particularly nightmare inducing way]] so that his son won't end up dying of RapidAging.

** [[spoiler: Peter does this to an Observer in 5x06.]] That's when we know that his abilities are kicking in.

* NeutralFemale: PlayedWith in "Brave New World, part 1". [[spoiler: David Robert Jones]] sneaks up on Peter, dislocates his shoulder and proceeds to beat the crap out of him with a crowbar. Olivia is on the roof of another building, watching helplessly until [[spoiler:the cortexiphan kicks in. She ''possesses'' Peter and then goes all Xbox kinetic on his ass.]]

** [[spoiler: Also, the BadFuture in the season 3 finale.]]
*** [[spoiler: Congratulations ''everyone'' for locking Walter away in prison! Sure, you want to punish him for accidentally causing the near-destruction of the world, but did it ever occur to you, that you might have just locked away the one person capable of potentially ''fixing'' the problem?]]
** [[spoiler: Nice job observing Walternate, Observer. You should be fired.]]
*** [[spoiler: Though the Observer does admit he's prone to getting involved when he shouldn't and accidentally reveals too much.]]
** [[spoiler: "Subject 13" reveals that a young Olivia accidentally crossed over and alerted Walternate to the existence of the Primary Universe.]]

*** Then subverted, as it turns out the person who bought the books is just an artist, leaving them unsure who managed to perfectly replicate the formula? [[spoiler: The ending implies that culprit was OlderThanTheyLook and broke into Walter's lab, decades earlier.]]

** Ella is strangely nonplussed by the weird and freaky as well, which might foreshadow her [[spoiler: becoming a Fringe agent in the future]].
** Also Doctor Mona Foster. Her response to being told that bugs ate their way out of a person is keen interest. She also has a crush on [[spoiler: Scarlie]] because of the arachnids that live under his skin.

** Nina Sharp's expression in "Peter" [[spoiler: after her arm]] ''[[spoiler:starts flickering]]'' screams this trope.

* OrbitalKiss: [[spoiler: Peter and Olivia at the end of "A Short Story About Love."]]

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Most of the events of the series occur because scientist father Walter Bishop watched [[spoiler: his only son die of a childhood illness]] and couldn't bring himself to let it happen again in the parallel universe.
** And again in the 5th season, Peter and Olivia have to live through [[spoiler: their 3 year old daughter Etta disappearing right in front of their eyes. Peter reacts by searching for nonstop, scouring the country for her. Olivia on the other hand is so terrified that they will find her body that she absolves herself to the fact her child has died]].
*** [[spoiler: After reuniting with Henrietta in the bad future, the family have a few days of togetherness, before Etta is shot and killed by Windmark. They find her just as she's dying]].

** [[BitchInSheepsClothing Fauxlivia]] has one of these moments every time [[spoiler: she's with her son.]]

* PlotTumor: Most of the first season had slight allusions to the [[spoiler: alternate universe]], and it was confirmed in Season 2, but it took until the Finale of Season 2/Season 3 to actually get there.

* PowerStrainBlackout: [[spoiler: Olivia on occasion.]]

** [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] [[spoiler: in the season 3 finale, which explained things with a StableTimeLoop. Although this only presents more questions because neither universe actually has the technology to build the machines for themselves, just put the pieces together. So while the message and the buried pieces now make sense, where did the machine come from originally ? ]].
*** [[spoiler: It's subtly hinted and theorized by WildMassGuessing that the doomsday device was actually created and put in place by the Observers, since the strange language is exactly like theirs. Walter just assumed in a hurry he somehow created the device. It seems to be part of the very elaborate time-manipulation plan to ensure the Observer invasion in the last season's plot.]]
* PreemptiveDeclaration: From S4/E9 "Enemy of my Enemy", An agent of [[spoiler: David Robert Jones]] is a doctor in an Emergency Room. She calls up Fringe Division, asks them to listen closely, and walks out the ER (leaving a canister behind her):

** Also happens in "Bad Dreams". [[spoiler: Olivia shares a mental link to her partner from Walter and William's experiments - an emotionally disturbed man who has the ability to control people by transplanting said emotions into them.]]

** [[spoiler: Happens to Peter as a result of the DoomsdayDevice activating.]]

** [[spoiler: William Bell]] gets these in his introduction in Season 4 to let us know that [[AmbiguouslyEvil he might not be the man he was in the other timeline.]]
** [[spoiler:Peter]] got this when he teleported behind an [[spoiler: Observer]] and [[NeckSnap snapped his neck.]]
* PuttingOnTheReich: The uniforms of the [[StateSec non-Fringe Division police officers]] in [[spoiler: ''Letters Of Transit'']] resemble [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Chinese and North Korean]] uniforms rather than that of the Nazis though.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In Season 5 Nina Sharp delivers an epic one to Windmark [[spoiler: concerning their technology-assisted evolution and how it has not only enhanced their intelligence but also their most primal instincts, and how they are no different than the millions of years-old lizard. "''You'' are the animal."]]

*** "The Cure" (1x6) [[spoiler: Cop has [[YourHeadASplode his brain exploded]] by a woman who has been turned radioactive]]
*** "Ability" (1x14) [[spoiler: A newly introduced FBI agent falls victim to a [[AndIMustScream a chemical that seals your orifices shut]]]]
*** "Night of Desirable Objects" (2x2) [[spoiler: Sheriff gets eaten by mutant child]]
*** "Fracture" (2x3) [[spoiler: Cop has been dosed with [[AppliedPhlebotinum a chemical]] for years, crystalizes and [[WhyAmITicking explodes]]]]
*** and 'especially' "Of Human Action" (2x7): [[spoiler: a cop is [[PsychicAssistedSuicide mind controlled to jump off a roof]] then another cop is forced to shoot two of her colleagues before [[PsychicAssistedSuicide turning the gun on herself]]]]
*** "Alone in the World" (4x3) [[spoiler: FBI agent killed by the fungus.]]
*** "And Those We Left Behind" (4x6) [[spoiler: FBI agent gets trapped and vaporized in the time bubble.]]

* ReturnToShooter: [[spoiler: Olivia does this to Jessica when she tries to kill September.]]

** As of "Over There" part 1, we now know that [[spoiler: Walternate is the parallel universe's Secretary of Defense.]]

** End of "The Day We Died," where the Observers casually inform us that [[spoiler: Peter no longer exists.]]

--> And in the series final, [[spoiler: it's apparently part of the time-machine's function.]]

-->'''Walter:''' Anti-gravity Osmium bullets. Shoot [[spoiler: Observer]]s with these and watch them float away like balloons. \\

* SaveBothWorlds: The cornerstone of the show and its mythology is an AlternateUniverse, and the protagonists (from the prime universe) are using MadScience in an attempt to save both worlds after the first attempt at crossing from one universe to another resulted in a parade of soft spots, cracks in the walls of reality, breakdowns of the laws of physics, [[SwirlyEnergyThingy swirly energy thingies]], [[NegativeSpaceWedgie negative earth wedgies]], [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} dogs and cats living together]], etc. that threaten to destroy both universes. This is juxtaposed by the characters from the AlternateUniverse, who believe the only way to save their universe is to destroy the prime one first (and they may be right). [[spoiler: Or not, as it is revealed that the two worlds are permanently intertwined; therefore, the only way for any character to save their world is to save both of them.]]

%%** [[spoiler: Red Universe Lincoln Lee.]]

** September also ships Peter and Olivia. [[spoiler: To the point of defying the other Observers.]]

** In a really weird turn of events, ''[[spoiler: Peter]]'' seems to ship Lincoln and Olivia from the amber timeline. [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy He even buys Lincoln a pair of hip glasses to woo her with.]] [[spoiler: And then Peter realises that amber!Olivia is ''his'' Olivia and the [[AbandonShip shipping stops dead.]]]] Alternate universes, altered time lines and upcoming apocalypses sure make ''hysterical'' [[LoveTriangle Love Triangles]].

* SmallRoleBigImpact: At some point during the episode ''White Tulip'', the MonsterOfTheWeek Alistair Peck has a heart-to-heart with Walter about forgiveness and loss where they discuss the symbolism of the titular flowers. Although Peck {{Retgone}}s himself soon after, he arranges a letter with a white tulip drawing to be delivered to Walter. For the rest of the show, the white tulip is a recurring shorthand for forgiveness and [[spoiler: is pretty much the final shot of the GrandFinale]].

** The season 4 episode "Letters of Transit" (set [[spoiler:in [[BadFuture 2036]]]]) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk3rX-9qLrY&feature=related goes a different route with its code-words.]] [[OhCrap None of them are science-related but instead cover concepts like "community," "joy," and "free will."]] The graphics symbolically depict future-Earth [[spoiler: as a prison planet run by the Observers]]. Season 5 uses this intro for all episodes.

*** [[spoiler: Not exactly a "stable" time loop, since it changes every iteration. It's also hinted the Observers were behind it all to manipulate the timeline to allow their invasion.]]
** Implied in White Tulip. [[spoiler: Arlette would have safely driven to safety if she had not been so shocked by the presence of Future!Alistair.]]

* StarCrossedLovers: How one of the Australian promos described [[spoiler: Peter and Olivia.]] After many tribulations [[spoiler: it's ultimately averted]].

* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler: Walternate's crusade to take back his son begins when Young Olivia accidentally crosses over into his office and tells him where Peter is.]]

* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: Olivia is abducted and strapped down by [[spoiler: the ZFT]] in Season 1; she is later strapped down again in Season 3 and almost de-brainified by Alt-Brandon once the Secretary decided she [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Had Outlived Her Usefulness]].

* TakeMeToYourLeader: Said unironically by the heavy [[spoiler: in the episode "Enemy of my Enemy" in season 4.]]

** [[spoiler: Olivia at the end of Season 2.]]
** [[spoiler: Peter thinks this happened to him at the end of Season 3.]]

** "The Secretary" of the shadowy alternate universe organization is [[spoiler: Walternate]]. He's known as "The Secretary" because he's [[spoiler: the U.S. Secretary of Defense]].

** The Observers are able to move through and outside of time. For a long time, their abilities, origins, and motives are a total mystery. They are eventually revealed [[spoiler: to be a scientific observation team of posthumans from one possible future. Why? As of "Letters in Transit" it's revealed that future earth has been destroyed, and they're looking to the past to find a better one]].

* TonightSomeoneDies: "The Day We Died". The producers hinted on that and also announced that they will introduce a rookie FBI agent. The promo for the episode featured a coffin. And it's also [[SpoilerTitle named]] "The Day We Died". In the middle of the episode [[spoiler: Olivia]] got shot by [[spoiler: Walternate]], but that's okay, because it was in the BadFuture. What really counts is that[[spoiler: Peter apparently got entirely erased from reality and only the Observers know that he existed at all.]] The rookie FBI agent turns out to be [[spoiler: [[SheIsAllGrownUp Future!Ella.]]]]

** Olivia kept the ring John Scott [[spoiler: was going to propose to her with.]]

* TranquilFury: [[spoiler: David Robert Jones threatens Peter in an attempt to activate Olivia's abilities.]] [[DeathGlare She disapproves.]] Violently.
--> '''[[spoiler: Olivia:]]''' [[GoneHorriblyRight I'm doing what you wanted.]] [[ShockAndAwe I'm turning on the lights.]]
* {{Transhuman}}: Many examples, including the Cortexiphan kids, subjects of other experiments in human augmentation, and [[spoiler: the Observers]].

** "Funeral Pyre Straits" is played in Season 3 during [[spoiler: the BadFuture when Olivia is killed by Walternate.]] It's basically the worst case scenario. A louder, triumphant version is played in Season 4 when Olivia saves Peter in a particularly [[PeoplePuppets creative]] way.
** Fauxlivia's theme was played as a dark string piece when Fauxlivia was [[BedTrick up to no good]] and as a sad piano piece when [[spoiler: Lincoln Lee died]]. More upbeat versions are also played when [[spoiler: Henry is born in "Bloodline" and when Olivia and Fauxlivia part on good terms in "Worlds Apart".]]

** At the end of ''The Last Sam Weiss'' [[spoiler: Peter finds himself in a devastated New York City street and comes across a memorial plaque dated 2021 out the front of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_World_Trade_Center Freedom Tower]]]].
** ''Letters in Transit'' takes place in [[spoiler: 2036, in a world conquered by Observers]].

* UnflinchingWalk: Walter in "Letters of Transit". [[spoiler: Walter makes a bomb in the old Massive Dynamic building using antimatter to leave behind for the Observer and Loyalists following them. Walter, Etta and Simon leave the building, and the building dissolves. Etta and Simon look back at the building and at what is happening, but Walter doesn't even flinch.]]

* VanHelsingHateCrime: In "Reciprocity", the team investigate someone who has been hunting identified Shapeshifters, leaving them with two bullets in the head and their data storage devices removed. [[spoiler: It was Peter]].

* VikingFuneral: [[spoiler: Olivia]] in "The Day We Died".

* VirtualGhost: [[spoiler: William Bell attempts this. He's knows it won't work.]]

** According to [[spoiler: Gale the loyalist, the resistance is this. He was lying about his dead son but considering Etta was torturing him, he may not have been exaggerating all that much.]]

** "Momentum Deferred"(2x04) follows up with more revelations from [[spoiler:Bell]] along with setting up the rest of the season [[spoiler: including the introduction of a new villain]].

** "The Last Sam Weiss" (3x21): Olivia [[spoiler: is critical to getting Peter in the doomsday machine]]. Peter wakes up [[spoiler: 15 years into an apocalyptic future]].
** "The Day We Died" (3x22): [[spoiler: Peter fuses part of Earth-1 and Earth-2. Walter, Olivia, Walternate and Fauxlivia decide to work together to keep the world from ending. [[RetGone Peter never existed]].]] For those of you keeping track, the final four Season 3 episodes are all listed here.
** ''Back To Where You've Never Been.'' [[spoiler: Walternate isn't responsible for the new shapeshifters. ''David Robert Jones'' is. Alternate Broyles is most likely a shapeshifter and is working for them. Oh... and September was shot and informed Olivia that in every one of the possible futures, she will die.]] The promo said that the episode would explain everything. [[TrailersAlwaysLie THEY LIED.]]
** Brave New World, part 1. [[spoiler: Olivia can now use mind control. William Bell is behind everything. David Robert Jones is dead. Astrid has been shot and Walter is at Bell's mercy.]]
** "The Bullet That Saved The World". [[spoiler: Etta's death.]]
*** "An Origin Story" and "Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Saw There" give us the consequences of this. [[spoiler: Observer!Peter.]]
** "Anomaly XB-6783746". Oh boy, so much. [[spoiler: Nina kills herself to protect the team and Michael, and Donald is revealed to be September.]]
* WhamLine: A strange one since it is not spoken but written on a plaque: [[spoiler: Dedicated to their memory - September 11, 2021]].
** Similar example: Peter Bishop, [[spoiler: 1978-1985]].

** Also, [[spoiler: "I don't know, but I think he's the man who's going to kill me"]], spoken [[DissonantSerenity almost cheerfully]] by [[spoiler: Olivia]] with regards to the man with the X T-shirt.
** "They don't remember him." "Of course not. [[spoiler: He never existed.]]"

'''[[spoiler: [[TheMole John Scott]]]]''': [[CallBack Well let me assure you, we'd be happy to treat you as family too.]]

** The final shot of Season 1, which confirmed that Olivia was in another universe by [[spoiler: revealing that the office building she's in is located in the (still intact) World Trade Center]].

*** Apparently, without [[spoiler: Peter]] around, [[ChekhovsGun the mouse flourished and came back with a vengence]] at being stomped down in the [[spoiler: Peter]] version of the universe. Without him, there [[spoiler: David Robert Jones]] never dies, and Walter's rants at against God [[spoiler: about losing ''both'' versions of his son,]] inspires a dying William Bell to try to[[spoiler: '''kill all of humanity.''']]

*** A similar organization, also led by David Robert Jones and [[spoiler: William Bell]], is featured in Season 4, after the timeline reset caused by the Observer ''not'' preventing Peter's death. It's more a religious cult centered around transhumanism, with an internal conspiracy to [[spoiler: destroy both universes in order to create a new, designer-universe]].

*** [[spoiler: It's hinted that the Wave Synch Machine was actually created by the Observers, and Walter just assumed he created it(It's also subtly hinted the Observers were created using technologies based on Walter and Massive Dynamic's research, after all). This was done in order to manipulate the timeline to allow their invasion.]]

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Raised in "Reciprocity" when Walter finds out that Peter [[spoiler: has been hunting and killing shapeshifters to get their memory storage devices.]]

** {{Averted}} by Walter in the Season 4 finale. [[spoiler: Olivia is the power source of Bell's doomsday. Walter shoots her in the head. Problem solved.]]

** Frequently. Especially to Olivia. The most JustForFun/{{egregious}} of which... "This is my favourite time of day. So full of promise." Cue [[spoiler: ''apocalypse''.]]

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Walternate's eventual plan for Olivia.]]

* YouJustToldMe: [[spoiler: How Fauxlivia gets Meana to rat out Philip Broyles.]]

* YourUniverseOrMine: [[spoiler: Lincoln decides to leave the prime universe behind and permanently live in the alternate universe to be with Fauxlivia.]]

* {{Expy}}: The Observers/Invaders seem to borrow from the ''Grey Gentlemen'' in ''Literature/{{Momo}}''.

* HurtingHero: Walter has helped solve every case the Fringe team comes across. [[spoiler:His son also died, causing him to go to the Other Side and kidnap that Peter. As such he is responsible for the war with the Other Side and knows it, just as he is partially responsible for his late wife's suicide. He has also spent 17 years in a mental institution with little to no outside contact, and he has had pieces of his brain removed, leaving him with severely compromised mental faculties.]] Though he spends most of his time munching on candy and dancing around dead bodies, it's hard to watch his scenes [[spoiler:with Bell]] and think he's happy. Then we have Olivia, whose life has been described by another character as "something of a nightmare." [[spoiler:And that's before she gets trapped in a parallel universe, tortured by light deprivation, brainwashed into thinking she's another Olivia, narrowly escapes having her brain cut out, and finally manages to get herself back home... only to find out that the other Olivia has been living her life and even dating Peter, the man she loves.]] Her life sucks.

%%* CrazyConsumption

%%* SaveBothWorlds

%%** [[spoiler:[[EnsembleDarkhorse Charlie.]]]]

** One from the Alternate Universe. In "Fractures" we see a homeless man on the street, who's apparently an "Arusa War" veteran.

** Eric Stoltz as Marty [=McFly=] in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', obviously based on the fact that Stoltz was [[TheOtherMarty the original choice to play Marty]] in RealLife.

** And the flashback episode has two of the Observers coming out of a movie theatre having just seen Film/BackToTheFuture, starring Eric Stoltz, the actor originally chosen for the part because Creator/MichaelJFox was having troubles negotiating out of his television contract. Apparently in the Alternate Universe, he never successfully cleared up his schedule.

** ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' starring Eric Stoltz (in a ShoutOut to the circumstances of TheOtherMarty)