Time loops come into play thanks to astrophysicist, Alistair Peck (Peter Weller) in White Tulip. Written by J.H. Wyman and Jeff Vlaming, this episode debuted on 15 April, 2010.

While Peter (Joshua Jackson) tries to figure out why Walter (John Noble) is being so distant with him, they and Olivia (Anna Torv) get called in to investigate a case that begins with a train full of suddenly dead passengers. The investigation leads them to Peck’s apartment, and a hint of his motivations, and they slowly start to understand how he can loop back in time.

Peck has infused himself (and it’s a horrifying thing to see) with tech to create a temporal bubble around himself, all of it working to restore something… or someone. Which makes his and Walter’s plight seem similar and allows Walter to empathize but the temporal triggering requires a large amount of energy, which is what caused the deaths on the train.

Broyce (Lance Reddick) agrees to let Walter go in and talk to Peck when they find him, but will Walter help or stop Peck? And if Peck can go back far enough to change his past, will it change everything that follows?

What it does deliver is a heartbreaking moment, and a little guidance for Walter, who has written a letter to explain the truth to Peter but cannot work himself up to giving it to him. Will Walter tell him? And what will it mean?

Fringe continues to be a strongly written series with well-earned emotional beats, character arcs, and spooky stuff all around.

The Man from the Other Side was written by Josh Singer and Ethan Gross. It first aired on 22 April, 2010.

A shapeshifter has come from the other side, and the team has to find a way to track him down, to figure out what their motives and ultimate goal is. Helping them in the hunt is the fact that they have recovered a shapeshifter embryo at a murder scene that has two bodies that have been used as shapeshifting templates.

Walter is convinced it may be a key to discovering the truth about their goals. A goal which has something to do with Newton (Sebastian Roche) and his objectives… a possible massive incursion and exchanged from the other side, at a very specific target.

Once the target is located will the team be able to stop Newton before things go too far? Both Walter and Peter risk their lives, with Peter ending up in the hospital by story’s end, which reveals that Peter has learned who he is before Walter could tell him. And that causes some real problems for he and Walter, and for the team.

With four episodes to go in the season, we have to wonder what this means for those in Fringe Division, and what impact it’s going to have on all the characters involved. It’s a gut punch moment for Walter, which we try to process even as we realize that the person who crossed over during the event is in Newton’s hands, their identity hidden from us.

With one final twist, Peter is in the wind by story’s end. He’s checked himself out of the hospital and he’s gone.