Robert Bishop

One of my favourite things about Bad Robot shows are the mysteries, the aspects that provide extras layers and greater depth to the stories that we see play out. With 14 episodes of Fringe’s first season already observed, and a hiatus to deal with, I thought I’d compile my ‘top 12′ (top 10′s are so yesterday) Fringe mysteries so far:

1. The Blue Lights. I’ve long been of the opinion that the blue lights are ‘indicators’ of observation from unseen worlds; signs of other dimensions (realities) existing in the world of the show. The “Ability” nearly, ever so nearly, confirmed that theory. Whilst the existence of other worlds has been confirmed, I’d still like for my blue light theory to be given similar treatment. To my mind it makes sense – they’re certainly not just “styling” as has been claimed, they are there for a reason. Are the they the glints from otherworldly telescopes? Do they represent the visual ‘change’ in an experiment (The Pattern) caused by that observation? Or, are the blue lights the signs of intrusion between worlds..like a higher dimensional object pushing through into our 3 dimensional world? After all, what would a higher dimensional object look like to our limited perspective?

2. Are Massive Dynamic the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly? Ah, the ‘big bad’ – even their name suggests as much. But are Massive Dynamic actually the Prometheus figures in all of this, self appointed guardian angels of mankind? Or are they the tricksters – a group of hellions run by the “devil” himself? Story-arc entities usually unravel into many shades of gray, as Lost fans have discovered with “The Others” and the “Dharma Initiative”. That said, Massive Dynamic’s history with the Cortexiphan kids, and William Bell’s relationship with Walter has certainly shaped the future of our central characters. But is that for altruistic reasons or for self interested reasons?

We may not get the definitive answer to this question until the final season of the series, so perhaps a more immediate question would be whether Massive Dynamic’s COO Nina Sharp is on the same page as it’s owner, William Bell. Or, perhaps they’re more closely aligned than we could possibly imagine..

3. Peter’s Origins? I’m of the opinion that Peter may be a Cortexiphan Kid, but he could also be a by-product of a fathers anguish at not producing the ‘perfect son’. We know that Walter used to hook Peter up to car batteries as a kid (a fact not lost me, and as much as I love Walter, that is some sick parenting right there). But we also know that he was prepared to break the laws of time and space to ‘reach back’ and find a cure for Peter’s life threatening illness. Who knows, maybe he was successful?

Peter has had an eventful childhood – but who is he, where did he come from? Many fans have suggested that Peter is a clone of his father, or that he is his father (yeah, work that one out!). The former has never sat well with me, partly because I think it’s too obvious. Bad Robot don’t normally do ‘obvious’ when it comes to the major story elements. I can buy the idea that Peter is a hybrid and that he underwent severe ‘testing’ as a child, but even Walter wouldn’t clone himself..would he? I guess cloning could explain their mental link which was illustrated best in “The Arrival”. If it has to be outlandish, I’d say that Peter could be from one of these Multiverse worlds..which could make him a ‘counterpart’, rather than a clone. This possibility could also recontextualize his relationship with The Observer.

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