Subject 13
Encyclopedia
"Subject 13" is the 15th episode of the third season
of the American science fiction
drama
television series
Fringe
, and the 58th episode overall. Inspired by fan reaction to the show's previous flashback episode, "Peter
", "Subject 13" occurs 25 years before the show's current timeline, in 1985 a few months after "Peter". The episode, with scenes set in both the prime and the parallel universe
, explore Walter
and Elizabeth Bishop's attempts to return Peter to the parallel universe using the Cortexiphan-induced abilities of young Olivia Dunham
, while Walternate in the parallel universe struggles to deal with the kidnapping of his son.
Showrunners Jeff Pinkner
and J. H. Wyman, as well as consulting producer Akiva Goldsman
wrote the episode, while producer Frederick E. O. Toye
worked as the director. Guest actress Orla Brady
returned to reprise the role of Elizabeth and Chris Bradford made his first guest appearance as Olivia's stepfather.
On its initial broadcast in the United States on February 25, 2011, an estimated 4.0 million viewers tuned in. Critical reception to the episode was overwhelmingly positive.
", during which Walter brought the parallel universe
's version of his son Peter into the prime one to cure him of a genetic disease. In the following months, Peter doubts he is from the prime universe, and attempts to drown himself in Reiden Lake, believing it the way to his universe. Elizabeth, Walter's wife, worries for the boy, and takes him with her to Jacksonville, Florida, where Walter is studying the effects of the nootropic
drug on several children. Walter and Elizabeth agree they need to return Peter to the parallel universe for both the child's sanity and to prevent that universe from discovering theirs.
In the parallel universe, Walternate's position as national security czar makes Peter's disappearance a major news story. Walternate falls into a deep depression, unable to explain how his child has been kidnapped by someone that looked exactly like him. Elizabeth coaxes him out of his depression and he returns to Bishop Dynamic in Florida to continue his job.
One of Walter's subjects is young Olivia Dunham, aka "Subject 13". Walter suspects Olivia's stepfather is abusing her based on scars she carries and frightening drawings in her sketchbook, but Olivia refuses to talk about it. One night, as Olivia is about to be struck by her stepfather, she temporarily finds herself in a different place; the next day, she draws in her sketchbook a picture of what she saw in the other place: a zeppelin
. Walter realizes that Olivia crossed over to the parallel universe, and can be the means for returning Peter. Walter puts Olivia under several tests to try to coax her to cross over, eventually eliminating all emotions but fear as the triggering mechanism. He arranges a traumatic test for Olivia, but instead of crossing over, she exhibits pyrokinesis and sets the room afire. In the confusion of extinguishing the blaze, she disappears.
Peter, discovering a picture of white tulips in Olivia's book, is able to find her nearby. After they introduce themselves, Olivia admits to being scared of going home to her stepfather. Peter tells her to trust Walter and to face her fear, and then returns her to the child care center, to everyone's relief. As Olivia waits for her stepfather, she sketches a picture of her and Peter in her book. As her stepfather is about to arrive, Olivia decides she must tell Walter about him, and rushes to his office. Olivia, in tears, hands Walter the sketchbook, explaining about her stepfather's abuse and that she knew she had crossed over to the parallel universe. She is interrupted by a sound from behind her: it is Walter. Olivia had temporarily entered the parallel universe and spoken to Walternate. Walter takes Olivia to her stepfather, but warns the man that he will be reported to social services if Olivia is harmed again.
Elizabeth and Peter return to Reiden Lake, and Peter eventually comes to call Elizabeth his mom, but Elizabeth becomes forlorn after she realizes the lie she has been maintaining for the last few months. The episode ends in the parallel universe, where Walternate has reviewed Olivia's sketchbook, including her latest picture of her and Peter; now aware of the parallel universe, Walternate gains new resolve to get his Peter back.
and J. H. Wyman and Academy Award-winning screenwriter
Akiva Goldsman
. It was directed by Frederick E. O. Toye
, his first episode since season one.
In an interview with TV Guide
, Pinkner and Wyman revealed they had known Olivia and Peter met as children for a long time, but did not decide to show this to the audience until they wrote the episode. Wyman described Elizabeth Bishop's successful lie at making Peter believe she is his real mother as "the beginning of the end for her," as her character will ultimately commit suicide.
Olivia's abusive step-father, whom she non-fatally shot when nine years old, makes his first appearance in "Subject 13". In early January 2011, TVline
's Michael Ausiello exclusively reported that Fringe was casting for an actor to play the part. Several news sources later in early March noticed on the Internet Movie Database
that actor Chris Bradford had been cast. The casting report later turned out to be true, as Bradford appeared in the episode.
Actor John Noble
, who played two versions of a younger Walter in both "Peter
" and "Subject 13", described the process it took to make him appear years younger in an interview with Digital Spy
:
As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan in colaboration with Science Olympiad
for grade school children, focusing on the science seen in "Subject 13", with the intention of having "students learn about adaptation and how the process helps organisms survive in their specific ecological environment."
". One scene set in the prime universe is at a toy store and shows many vintage toys of that period, including toys from Ghostbusters
, Battlestar Galactica
, and G.I. Joe
, as well as an Atari 2600
entertainment system. Before her stepfather strikes her, young Olivia is seen reading the book Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
. Among the tests Walter puts Olivia through is the Project Christmas
block test ("The Indicator") from Alias
, another television series created by Fringe executive producer J.J. Abrams. In the parallel universe, Walternate is credited with making the Star Wars program
work, leading to his role as the national security czar.
One of the other identified students at the daycare center is Nick Lane, whose adult character appears in the episodes "Bad Dreams
" and "Over There
".
In parallel with William Bell's founding of the technology company Massive Dynamic in the prime universe, Walternate has founded Bishop Dynamic in the parallel universe, situated in Jacksonville. The field of white tulips revisits the theme of the episode "White Tulip
" from Season 2, where Walter believes that seeing a white tulip is a sign of God's forgiveness of his actions. The video of Olivia setting fire to the lab, as well as the setting of the nursery school where the Cortexiphan experiments took place, are references to the second season
episode Jacksonville
.
", with a 1.5 rating and 4.0 million viewers. It helped Fox to tie with CBS for winning the night of its first broadcast.
called it one of his favorite Fringe episodes due to the "incredible" opening, Brady and Noble's "outstanding" performances, and the scene with Olivia unknowingly talking to Walternate. Like Hanson, Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly
also praised the actors' performances, and thought it was "one of the most moving and revelatory episodes in the series' short history". Though he felt the episode did not quite match up to "Peter"
, Ramsey Isler from IGN
rated "Subject 13" an 8.5/10, as he believed the opening to be "tense and surprising," praised the child actors' performances, and thought the scene in which Olivia accidentally encounters Walternate was a "brilliant plot twist that ties a lot of things together".
CNN
's Henry Hanks wrote the episode "is reason enough to bring this series back for another season," and praised Noble's performance as Emmy-worthy; Hanks also loved the "genius" musical score written by composers Michael Giacchino
and Chris Tilton
. Noel Murray from A.V. Club graded the episode with an A-, explaining that like the other reviewers, he loved the opening sequence with Peter on the lake, the newest mythology details, as well as how Walternate discovers the prime universe. Murray also loved the "mood" of the episode, but had minor problems with the plot, as he thought it was now harder to believe Olivia, Peter, and Walter were strangers to each other in the first season.
Fringe (season 3)
The third season of the American science fiction television series Fringe premiered on Fox on September 23, 2010, and concluded on May 6, 2011, consisting of 22 episodes. The series is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros...
of the American science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
, and the 58th episode overall. Inspired by fan reaction to the show's previous flashback episode, "Peter
Peter (Fringe)
"Peter" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 36th episode overall. Considered a keystone episode of the series, "Peter" is a flashback episode, told as Walter Bishop reveals to Olivia Dunham that his son Peter is really the...
", "Subject 13" occurs 25 years before the show's current timeline, in 1985 a few months after "Peter". The episode, with scenes set in both the prime and the parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
, explore Walter
Walter Bishop (Fringe)
Walter Bishop, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by John Noble. Noble also plays Walter's counterpart in the show's parallel universe, who is referred to in the show as Walternate.-Arc:...
and Elizabeth Bishop's attempts to return Peter to the parallel universe using the Cortexiphan-induced abilities of young Olivia Dunham
Olivia Dunham
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series Fringe . Olivia first appeared in the pilot episode on September 9, 2008. She is portrayed by actress Anna Torv....
, while Walternate in the parallel universe struggles to deal with the kidnapping of his son.
Showrunners Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
and J. H. Wyman, as well as consulting producer Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
wrote the episode, while producer Frederick E. O. Toye
Fred Toye
Frederick E.O. Toye is an American television director and producer. He has directed several episodes of the ABC series, Alias, as well as for the FOX science fiction series Fringe...
worked as the director. Guest actress Orla Brady
Orla Brady
-Early life and career:The second of four children born to Dublin publican Patrick Brady and his wife Catherine who had appeared in amateur productions at the Gate Theatre, Brady first became interested in an acting career after reading works by Germaine Greer and Simone de Beauvoir.Brady drifted...
returned to reprise the role of Elizabeth and Chris Bradford made his first guest appearance as Olivia's stepfather.
On its initial broadcast in the United States on February 25, 2011, an estimated 4.0 million viewers tuned in. Critical reception to the episode was overwhelmingly positive.
Plot
"Subject 13" is set in 1985, a few months after the events of "PeterPeter (Fringe)
"Peter" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 36th episode overall. Considered a keystone episode of the series, "Peter" is a flashback episode, told as Walter Bishop reveals to Olivia Dunham that his son Peter is really the...
", during which Walter brought the parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
's version of his son Peter into the prime one to cure him of a genetic disease. In the following months, Peter doubts he is from the prime universe, and attempts to drown himself in Reiden Lake, believing it the way to his universe. Elizabeth, Walter's wife, worries for the boy, and takes him with her to Jacksonville, Florida, where Walter is studying the effects of the nootropic
Nootropic
Nootropics , also referred to as smart drugs, brain steroids, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration...
drug on several children. Walter and Elizabeth agree they need to return Peter to the parallel universe for both the child's sanity and to prevent that universe from discovering theirs.
In the parallel universe, Walternate's position as national security czar makes Peter's disappearance a major news story. Walternate falls into a deep depression, unable to explain how his child has been kidnapped by someone that looked exactly like him. Elizabeth coaxes him out of his depression and he returns to Bishop Dynamic in Florida to continue his job.
One of Walter's subjects is young Olivia Dunham, aka "Subject 13". Walter suspects Olivia's stepfather is abusing her based on scars she carries and frightening drawings in her sketchbook, but Olivia refuses to talk about it. One night, as Olivia is about to be struck by her stepfather, she temporarily finds herself in a different place; the next day, she draws in her sketchbook a picture of what she saw in the other place: a zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
. Walter realizes that Olivia crossed over to the parallel universe, and can be the means for returning Peter. Walter puts Olivia under several tests to try to coax her to cross over, eventually eliminating all emotions but fear as the triggering mechanism. He arranges a traumatic test for Olivia, but instead of crossing over, she exhibits pyrokinesis and sets the room afire. In the confusion of extinguishing the blaze, she disappears.
Peter, discovering a picture of white tulips in Olivia's book, is able to find her nearby. After they introduce themselves, Olivia admits to being scared of going home to her stepfather. Peter tells her to trust Walter and to face her fear, and then returns her to the child care center, to everyone's relief. As Olivia waits for her stepfather, she sketches a picture of her and Peter in her book. As her stepfather is about to arrive, Olivia decides she must tell Walter about him, and rushes to his office. Olivia, in tears, hands Walter the sketchbook, explaining about her stepfather's abuse and that she knew she had crossed over to the parallel universe. She is interrupted by a sound from behind her: it is Walter. Olivia had temporarily entered the parallel universe and spoken to Walternate. Walter takes Olivia to her stepfather, but warns the man that he will be reported to social services if Olivia is harmed again.
Elizabeth and Peter return to Reiden Lake, and Peter eventually comes to call Elizabeth his mom, but Elizabeth becomes forlorn after she realizes the lie she has been maintaining for the last few months. The episode ends in the parallel universe, where Walternate has reviewed Olivia's sketchbook, including her latest picture of her and Peter; now aware of the parallel universe, Walternate gains new resolve to get his Peter back.
Production
"Subject 13" was written by executive producers Jeff PinknerJeff Pinkner
Jeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
and J. H. Wyman and Academy Award-winning screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
. It was directed by Frederick E. O. Toye
Fred Toye
Frederick E.O. Toye is an American television director and producer. He has directed several episodes of the ABC series, Alias, as well as for the FOX science fiction series Fringe...
, his first episode since season one.
In an interview with TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, Pinkner and Wyman revealed they had known Olivia and Peter met as children for a long time, but did not decide to show this to the audience until they wrote the episode. Wyman described Elizabeth Bishop's successful lie at making Peter believe she is his real mother as "the beginning of the end for her," as her character will ultimately commit suicide.
Olivia's abusive step-father, whom she non-fatally shot when nine years old, makes his first appearance in "Subject 13". In early January 2011, TVline
TVLine
TVLine is a website devoted to information, news and spoilers of television programs.-History:In late 2010, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving EW after nearly two years in their employ to establish a TV-centered website with MMC, the media company founded by...
's Michael Ausiello exclusively reported that Fringe was casting for an actor to play the part. Several news sources later in early March noticed on the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
that actor Chris Bradford had been cast. The casting report later turned out to be true, as Bradford appeared in the episode.
Actor John Noble
John Noble
John Noble is an Australian film and television actor, and theater director of more than 80 plays. He was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia and is currently starring as scientist Walter Bishop in the J. J. Abrams television series Fringe.He made occasional appearances on the...
, who played two versions of a younger Walter in both "Peter
Peter (Fringe)
"Peter" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 36th episode overall. Considered a keystone episode of the series, "Peter" is a flashback episode, told as Walter Bishop reveals to Olivia Dunham that his son Peter is really the...
" and "Subject 13", described the process it took to make him appear years younger in an interview with Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
:
"Our makeup lady, particularly for the second flashback, worked out some terrific techniques to get the skin softer so it loses the wrinkles and so forth. This year we've come up with some terrific technology. And [I have] a beautiful handmade wig which at that stage was the right length - should we go on further we'd need to trim it back. We've looked at it really carefully. As we become more efficient it's generally about three or four hours in makeup".
As with other Fringe episodes, Fox released a science lesson plan in colaboration with Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals...
for grade school children, focusing on the science seen in "Subject 13", with the intention of having "students learn about adaptation and how the process helps organisms survive in their specific ecological environment."
Cultural references
The show reuses the 1980s styled introduction sequence from "PeterPeter (Fringe)
"Peter" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 36th episode overall. Considered a keystone episode of the series, "Peter" is a flashback episode, told as Walter Bishop reveals to Olivia Dunham that his son Peter is really the...
". One scene set in the prime universe is at a toy store and shows many vintage toys of that period, including toys from Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
, Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
, and G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the...
, as well as an Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
entertainment system. Before her stepfather strikes her, young Olivia is seen reading the book Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
Mark Helprin
Mark Helprin is an American novelist, journalist, and conservative commentator.-Background:Helprin was raised on the Hudson River and in the British West Indies, and holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. His postgraduate work was done at Princeton...
. Among the tests Walter puts Olivia through is the Project Christmas
Project Christmas
Project Christmas is a fictional black ops project from the television show Alias. Developed by the Central Intelligence Agency and headed by Jack Bristow in the 1970s, the project was designed to identify and train children as sleeper agents to become future spies...
block test ("The Indicator") from Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
, another television series created by Fringe executive producer J.J. Abrams. In the parallel universe, Walternate is credited with making the Star Wars program
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
work, leading to his role as the national security czar.
One of the other identified students at the daycare center is Nick Lane, whose adult character appears in the episodes "Bad Dreams
Bad Dreams (Fringe)
"Bad Dreams" is the 17th episode of the first season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. It was written and directed by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, his first writing credit for a television show...
" and "Over There
Over There (Fringe)
"Over There" is the two-part second-season finale of the Fox science fiction drama series Fringe. They are the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the season, and the 42nd and 43rd episodes of the series overall. Both parts were written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, together with...
".
In parallel with William Bell's founding of the technology company Massive Dynamic in the prime universe, Walternate has founded Bishop Dynamic in the parallel universe, situated in Jacksonville. The field of white tulips revisits the theme of the episode "White Tulip
White Tulip
"White Tulip" is the 18th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. It followed a scientist in his quest to time travel back and save his fiancée, while the Fringe team investigates the consequences of his actions, and Walter struggles to tell his...
" from Season 2, where Walter believes that seeing a white tulip is a sign of God's forgiveness of his actions. The video of Olivia setting fire to the lab, as well as the setting of the nursery school where the Cortexiphan experiments took place, are references to the second season
Fringe (Season 2)
The second season of the American science fiction television series Fringe commenced airing on the Fox network on September 17, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, and its showrunners...
episode Jacksonville
Jacksonville (Fringe)
"Jacksonville" is the 15th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 35th episode overall. In the episode, Olivia is forced to recount her time spent as a child in tests conducted by Walter to regain the ability to see objects that have...
.
Ratings
"Subject 13" retained similar viewership from the previous week's episode, "6B6B (Fringe)
"6B" is the 14th episode of the third season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 57th episode overall.-Plot:...
", with a 1.5 rating and 4.0 million viewers. It helped Fox to tie with CBS for winning the night of its first broadcast.
Reviews
The episode received almost universal critical praise. Andrew Hanson from the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called it one of his favorite Fringe episodes due to the "incredible" opening, Brady and Noble's "outstanding" performances, and the scene with Olivia unknowingly talking to Walternate. Like Hanson, Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
also praised the actors' performances, and thought it was "one of the most moving and revelatory episodes in the series' short history". Though he felt the episode did not quite match up to "Peter"
Peter (Fringe)
"Peter" is the 16th episode of the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe, and the 36th episode overall. Considered a keystone episode of the series, "Peter" is a flashback episode, told as Walter Bishop reveals to Olivia Dunham that his son Peter is really the...
, Ramsey Isler from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated "Subject 13" an 8.5/10, as he believed the opening to be "tense and surprising," praised the child actors' performances, and thought the scene in which Olivia accidentally encounters Walternate was a "brilliant plot twist that ties a lot of things together".
CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Henry Hanks wrote the episode "is reason enough to bring this series back for another season," and praised Noble's performance as Emmy-worthy; Hanks also loved the "genius" musical score written by composers Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
and Chris Tilton
Chris Tilton
Chris Tilton, born 9 June 1979 in New Orleans, U.S. is an American soundtrack composer and has helped compose several television, film and video game scores. He collaborates with Michael Giacchino and J.J. Abrams on several of his projects. His projects include the video games Mercenaries:...
. Noel Murray from A.V. Club graded the episode with an A-, explaining that like the other reviewers, he loved the opening sequence with Peter on the lake, the newest mythology details, as well as how Walternate discovers the prime universe. Murray also loved the "mood" of the episode, but had minor problems with the plot, as he thought it was now harder to believe Olivia, Peter, and Walter were strangers to each other in the first season.
External links
- "Subject 13" at Fox.com