Walter Bishop

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Walter and William Bell conducted numerous experiments in fringe science, including developing advanced weapons for the Army. During the 1970s, they discovered the existence of another universe through the heightened use of LSD and other drugs. They constructed a "trans-dimensional window" to view the other universe, which was more technologically advanced than our own. They copied advanced technologies and sold them to the Army. They discovered that the multiverse requires balance: if a car goes to the Other Side, a car of the same mass must be sent into our universe. In 1985, Walter's seven-year-old son Peter contracted a rare disease. Walter tried to cure him by building a time machine and by watching his alternate self, Walternate, work on the other Peter. When his Peter died in his arms, Walter became consumed with watching Walternate. Distracted by The Observer known as September, Walternate failed to notice he had formulated the correct cure. Walter created the compound and built a doorway into the other universe to cure Peter there. Nina Sharp tried to stop him, but Walter got through; her arm was caught between universes, requiring a cybernetic replacement. The cure vial was destroyed, forcing Walter to kidnap Peter, cure him in our universe, and then return him. On the way back, they fell through an icy lake but were rescued by September, who warned that Peter could never return to the alternate universe. After curing Peter, Walter and Elizabeth could not send him back, so they raised him as their own. Walter later explained that kidnapping Peter stirred in him a belief in God and a sensation of endless guilt that he had violated God's domain. In 1991, Walter's lab assistant Dr. Carla Warren was killed in a fire; Walter was charged with manslaughter but deemed mentally unfit and locked in St. Claire's Mental Institution for 17 years. Bell, under the alias Dr. Simon Paris, performed brain surgeries on Walter, extracting pieces of his brain containing memories of crossing universes, at Walter's own request. With those pieces gone, Walter's mental stability was compromised and he was driven insane.

In Their Own Story

In the beginning of the first season, Olivia Dunham blackmailed the adult Peter Bishop to release his father from St. Claire's, hoping to cure her lover John Scott. Peter became Walter's legal guardian. After they saved John, Olivia requested 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. Peter became fed up and decided to leave Boston but was kidnapped by a man who wanted the cylinder. September encountered Peter and appeared to read his mind, making Peter realize "The Pattern" was far more than coincidence. A father-son relationship started to blossom. Walter and Peter became civilian consultants to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Phillip Broyles. During "Safe", Mitchell Loeb used a vibrational dematerializing device to steal components from safety deposit boxes; the team realized the safe belonged to Walter and the components were pieces of the machine he built in 1985 to save Peter, which could "bring anybody from any time or anywhere". Loeb used the device to rescue David Robert Jones from a German prison. Jones worked for an organization called "Zerstörung durch Fortschritte der Technologie" (ZFT), based on a manifesto written in Walter's lab by William Bell after they discovered the alternate universe. In episode 1x20, "There's More Than One of Everything", Walter revealed the existence of the Other Side to Peter without telling him he was from there. A subplot involved Cortexiphan, a nootropic drug used on children; Olivia was among them and could see into the Other Side, but it left her emotionally scarred. In the season two premiere, "A New Day in the Old Town", Olivia returned from visiting William Bell in the other universe but was gravely wounded. Walter was greatly affected, having begun to look to Olivia like his own daughter. In "August", an Observer called August contacted Walter to help correct a mistake. In episode 2x10, "Grey Matters", Walter was kidnapped by Thomas Jerome Newton, had his missing brain tissue re-implanted, and was forced to reveal how he crossed over. In "Jacksonville", Walter reactivated Olivia's Cortexiphan abilities; she saw that Peter projected the same "glimmer" as objects from the Other Side, realizing he is from there. She promised not to tell Peter, though Walter decided he must. In "White Tulip", Walter wrote a letter to Peter revealing he was from the alternate universe but could not give it. He told a time traveler not to change the natural course of events, saying he had "traveled through madness" to realize some things must not be changed. He asked God for a sign of forgiveness in the form of a white tulip, a flower that did not bloom in that time of year.

Reader's Guide

Walter Bishop is a fictional character on Fox's Fringe, portrayed by John Noble. He is the son of Doctor Robert Bischoff (1912-1944), a former allied spy and scientific pioneer. By the 1970s, Walter was a head developer at Kelvin Genetics alongside William Bell. He married Elizabeth Bishop and had a son, Peter, born in 1978. Walter and Bell discovered the alternate universe using LSD and built a trans-dimensional window. They copied advanced technologies and sold them to the Army. In 1985, Walter's seven-year-old son Peter died of a rare disease. Walter then kidnapped his alternate self's son from the other universe, cured him, and raised him as his own. This act caused him endless guilt. In 1991, after his lab assistant Carla Warren died in a fire, Walter was charged with manslaughter but deemed mentally unfit and institutionalized at St. Claire's for 17 years. Bell removed pieces of Walter's brain to erase memories of crossing universes, driving Walter insane. In season one, Olivia Dunham blackmailed Peter to release Walter from St. Claire's. Peter became Walter's legal guardian, and they became civilian consultants to Homeland Security under Phillip Broyles. Walter's past includes the Cortexiphan drug trials on children, including Olivia. Key moments: Walter revealing the Other Side to Peter in episode 1x20; being kidnapped and having his brain tissue re-implanted in 2x10; reactivating Olivia's abilities in "Jacksonville"; and writing a letter to Peter about his origins in "White Tulip".

Did You Know?

• Walter's father, Doctor Robert Bischoff, was born August 21, 1912 and died December 11, 1944; his surname was Anglicized to Bishop after World War II.
• Walter and William Bell discovered the alternate universe through the heightened use of LSD and other drugs during the 1970s.
• Walter spent 17 years locked in St. Claire's Mental Institution after being charged with manslaughter for the death of his lab assistant Dr. Carla Warren.
• William Bell, under the alias Dr. Simon Paris, performed brain surgeries on Walter, extracting pieces of his brain that contained memories of crossing universes.
• In the episode 'White Tulip', Walter asked God for a sign of forgiveness in the form of a white tulip, a flower that did not bloom in that time of year.