Walter Bishop (Fringe) - Arc

Arc

Walter Bishop was born in London in 1946, and is the son of former allied spy, Doctor Robert Bischoff (Anglicized to Bishop following World War II). His father, a scientific pioneer at the University of Berlin, conducted espionage for the Allies within the Nazi government, sabotaged German research and smuggled scientific information to the Americans . Walter grew up with a love for science, and by the 1970s, became a head developer for a U.S. Government experimental research program called "Kelvin Genetics", alongside his long-time friend William Bell. He married Elizabeth Bishop in an undisclosed year, and their son, Peter Bishop was born in 1978.

Walter and his friend William Bell conducted numerous experiments in the area of fringe science, including developing highly advanced weapons for the Army. At some point during 1970s, Walter and Bell discovered the existence of another universe, through the heightened use of LSD, among other drugs. They constructed a "trans-dimensional window", a portal which could view the other universe, which was more technologically advanced than our own (in "Peter", the Other Side appears to have already created digital cell phones by the year 1985). They began copying the advanced technologies they saw over there, and sold them to the Army to benefit this world. They spent much time sending objects over to the Other Side, including Bell's car, and discovered that the "multiverse" requires balance. If a car goes over the Other Side, then a car of the same mass must be sent into our universe.

In 1985, the now seven-year-old Peter contracted a rare and savage disease. Walter attempted numerous methods to cure him, ranging from trying to build a time machine to bring a researcher who specialized in these cases from 1930s to the present, to watching his alternate self, dubbed "Walternate", work with advanced medicine to cure his own Peter in the alternate universe, who was also ill. But Walter could not save his son, and he died in his arms. Following the funeral, which Bell never attended, Walter became consumed with watching Walternate work to save the other Peter. Through the trans-dimensional window, Walter discovered that Walternate had formulated the correct cure for his son, but did not notice as he was distracted by The Observer known as September. Knowing that Walternate would not be able to cure the other Peter, Walter created the correct compound and built a doorway into the other universe, with the intentions of curing Peter there, and then to return home.

Nina Sharp, after discovering this, went to stop Walter from opening the wormhole on Reiden Lake (the water from the lake would absorb any excess energy the doorway released). In the ensuing struggle, Walter managed to get through the wormhole, but Nina's arm was caught in-between both universes, and she needed to have a cybernetic arm put in its place. On the journey to the Other Side, the vial holding the cure was destroyed, forcing Walter to kidnap Peter, cure him back in our universe, and then return him. On the way back, they fell through an icy lake, but were rescued by September, who warned Walter that Peter could never return to the alternate universe. After he cured Peter, he and Elizabeth could not find themselves able to send Peter back, so they decided to raise him as their own.

In 1991, Walter's lab assistant, Dr. Carla Warren, was killed in a fire, and Walter was charged with manslaughter, but was deemed mentally unfit to be tried, so he was locked away inside the St. Claire's Mental Institution. Walter would spend 17 years inside St. Claire's, and was never visited by Peter. Bell, under the alias of Dr. Simon Paris, performed several brain surgeries on Walter, extracting pieces of Walter's brain tissue, which contained the memories of how he crossed universes, per the request of Walter himself, who was frightened of what he was becoming. With the pieces of his brain gone, Walter's intellect was diminished, and he was driven insane.

In the beginning of the first season, Olivia Dunham blackmailed the adult Peter Bishop to release his father from St. Claire's, in hopes of curing her lover, John Scott. Peter became Walter's legal guardian. After they saved John (who was thought to be a traitor, but later revealed to be an undercover NSA agent), Olivia requested that Walter and Peter remain in Boston, to which Peter reluctantly agreed.

In episode 1x04, "The Arrival", September returned and asked Walter to hide a mysterious cylinder for him. Peter became fed up with his father and decided to leave Boston, but was kidnapped by a man who wanted the cylinder for himself. September encountered Peter, and appeared to read his mind, making Peter realize "The Pattern" was far more than just plain coincidence. He also began to see that Walter was not as insane as he originally thought, and a father-son relationship started to blossom. And, Walter and Peter became civilian consultants to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, under the supervision of Phillip Broyles.

During the episode, "Safe", Mitchell Loeb and a team of bank robbers used a vibrational dematerializing device to steal components from safety deposit boxes around the country. The science team realized the safe belonged to Walter, and the components were all pieces of the machine he constructed in 1985 as his original plan to save Peter, but was eventually scrapped, which could "bring anybody from any time or anywhere". Loeb used the device to rescue David Robert Jones from a German prison, and Jones became ill with radiation poisoning soon after.

The organization Jones worked for, called "Zerstörung durch Fortschritte der Technologie" (ZFT), or, in English, "Destruction through advances in technology", was based on a self-published, anonymous manifesto under the same title. Walter discovered that the ZFT manifesto was written in his very lab, by William Bell, years ago, after they discovered the alternate universe. In episode 1x20, "There's More Than One of Everything", Walter reveals the existence of the Other Side to Peter, without telling him he was in fact from there. Walter and Peter helped Olivia and Fringe Division stop Jones from crossing over to the Other Side to kill William Bell, and carried on with their lives, now happy as father-and-son.

A subplot in the first season was Walter and Bell's experiments with a nootropic drug called "Cortexiphan", which they used on children. Olivia was among the children who were treated with it, and was able to see into the Other Side because of it. But, this left her emotionally scarred, and she is always defensive when it is brought up.

In the season two premiere, "A New Day in the Old Town", Walter and Peter learned that Olivia had returned to our side after visiting William Bell in the other universe, but, her return voyage left her gravely wounded and comatose. Walter seemed to be greatly affected by this, as he had begun to look to Olivia like his own daughter. Thankfully, she regained consciousness, and Walter learned that the person who tried to kill her was a shape-shifting assassin from the Other Side.

By now, Fringe Division is aware of the alternate universe, and just as the ZFT manifesto predicted, they had intentions to destroy us. In the episode "August", an Observer called August contacted Walter to help correct a mistake, which Walter initially believed was to send Peter back to the alternate universe, but, it was in fact a method on how to "cheat death", which he had achieved before. In episode 2x10, "Grey Matters", Walter was kidnapped by Thomas Jerome Newton, the shape-shifters' leader, and had his missing brain tissue re-implanted for a short time. Walter, temporarily sane, was forced to reveal to Newton who he crossed over to the other universe, and nearly died because of it, driving Peter to great lengths to save him. In the episode "Jacksonville", Walter reactivated Olivia's Cortexiphan abilities, and she was able to identify objects from the other universe because of their distinctive "glimmer". When she looked at Peter, she saw that he projected the same glimmer, making her realize he is from the Other Side. But, she eventually promises Walter that she would not tell Peter the truth, though Walter decides he must do it himself.

In the episode "White Tulip" Walter is seen writing a letter to Peter revealing to him that he was from the alternate universe. He is unable to bring himself to give the letter to Peter for the fear of losing him again is too great. The team are chasing down a man trying to rewind time to save his fiance from a fatal car crash. Each time the team comes close to catching him he "resets" time once again. Sent to negotiate with the time traveler, Walter tells him of his actions to save Peter and urges the man not to make the same mistake of changing the natural course of events, saying that he had "traveled through madness" to realize that some things must not be changed. Walter reveals that he has asked God to send him a sign of forgiveness in the form of a white tulip, a flower that did not bloom in that time of year. Heeding Walter's words, the man resets back to the day of his fiance's death and holds her as a truck hits their car, killing them both. It is later revealed that during his last time 'reset', the time traveler leaves a letter for Walter with a colleague, to be delivered on the original day of the case. When Walter opens the delivered letter, he finds a tulip drawn on a white piece of paper: his so desperately sought after "White Tulip."

In the episode "The Man from the Other Side" Peter, when attempting to foil Newton's plan of bringing a bridge from the parallel universe, unexpectedly discovers that he is in fact, not from this universe. He is injured and while in the hospital, confronts Walter ("You said the effects of Newton's vibrations would be devastating. And they were, they... destroyed that FBI agent... they just... disintegrated him like he wasn't even there. But they didn't kill the man from the other side... and they didn't kill me. I'm not from here, am I?") and angrily blames Walter for his mother (of our universe) committing suicide ("That's why my mother committed suicide, isn't it? She knew. Didn't she? And when I left, the guilt was too much for her to live with... the lie."). At the end of the episode, Olivia notifies a crushed Walter that Peter has checked out of the hospital and is now on the run.

In "Northwest Passage", Peter is subdued by Newton and meets the man from the other side, who reveals himself to be Walter from the other universe (Walternate). Recognizing him as his biological father, Peter agrees to accompany him back to the alternate universe, where "Walternate"—who is in full command of his faculties, and holds the position of U.S. Secretary of Defense—tasks him with working on a mysterious machine which Peter eventually discovers ominously requires him to serve as a component. Informed by the Observers that Peter is in danger, Walter and Olivia cross to the alternate universe to recover him, with Walter sustaining a gunshot wound in the process. On their return to our universe, Peter tells Walter that he still hasn't forgiven Walter for taking him from his family as a child, saying, "I've been trying to see this your way Walter... and I can't. But you did cross universes twice to save my life. That's got to count for something." This gives Walter the promise of eventual reconciliation.

Following the events of the season two finale, "Over There", Walter begins to readjust to life with Peter, but his son still shows a hint of resentment towards his father. Unbeknownst to either of them, the Olivia Dunham they returned to our universe with was in fact her doppelganger, "Fauxlivia", while the prime-Olivia was held captive in the other universe. Fauxlivia was under orders from Walternate to locate the pieces of the doomsday machine constructed by "The First People". Massive Dynamic and Fringe Division begin collecting the pieces and rebuilding the machine in a secure bunker, and Olivia is able to cross over momentarily to alert Peter of Fauxlivia's deception, who he had been romantically involved with. In 3x02, "The Box", Walter discovers that William Bell (who sacrified himself in the season two finale to allow the others to return to their universe) left him a controlling interest in Massive Dynamic, making him CEO of the company.

The science team captures Fauxlivia, but she is able to flee back to her own universe. Olivia manages to cross back onto our side, and reunites with the team. Following this, September reappears and orchestrates a series of events just to see if Walter is finally able to let Peter die, which he eventually realizes he can do. The science team visits the Massive Dynamic bunker where the doomsday machine is held, and it instantly activates because of the proximity to Peter, whose nose begins to bleed. The machine also does something to Peter—it "weaponizes" him. His behaviour slowly begins to change, and he even begins to hunt down and murder shape-shifters, making Walter realize the effect the machine has on him. After confronting him about it, it appears that Peter might be accepting what is happening to him, frightening Walter.