The Observer
From Fringepedia - The FRINGE wiki
| Talk | The Observer | Theories |
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| Profession: | Observes, Reports, Infrequently Interferes | Portrayed by:  Michael Cerveris |
| Also Known As: | Mister Gemini (when fictionalized by Walter) | |
| Connections: | Walter and Peter Bishop, Secretive Courier, Observers, Donald Long | |
| Remarks: | Concerned That Peter Bishop Will Activate The Wave Sink Device | |
| Images of The Observer | ||
The Observer has made many cameo and focal appearances, and is one of several Observers.
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About
In The Arrival, the Observer is seen taking notes in a small black notebook, writing using an unknown set of characters, and, for the first time, speaking. This may be code or another language altogether, but is presumably taking notes on his observations of The Pattern.
The Observer, and possibly the other Observers, seem to have the ability to share thoughts with others telepathically; he can also read and accurately predict the thoughts of others, as he demonstrates during his encounter with Peter Bishop.
Appearing at many Fringe-related incidents involving Olivia, the Bishops and the Pattern. He does not seem to be involved in the direct cause of the events, but simply observing them.
In Fracture, as he eats in a diner, the Observer receives a briefcase with surveillance images of Walter from a secretive courier. The images contain data much like the images he saw through his binoculars in The Arrival.
He uses a specialized communications device in The Arrival, Brown Betty and Marionette.
In Walter's tall tale during Brown Betty, he is called Gemini and is referred to as a Watcher.
The Observer is bald with very pale skin and appears no eyebrows. He wears simple dark business suits, plain light-colored shirts and a simple dark tie. Outside he typically wears simple dark sunglasses along with a plain, dark fedora on his head.
He admits to Walter that he has very little sense of taste, explaining the extreme amounts of spices he adds to his food; Walter also notes he seems oblivious to cold temperatures. This implies he has dulled senses, or does not experience the 'five senses' in the same way ordinary humans do.
The Observer exhibits a calm, disinterested demeanor. In times when people are panicking, such as during the crane collapse in The Arrival, he acts calmly.
Background
- In the alternate universe 1985, The Observer enters Secretary Bishop's lab and distracts him just as the cure to Peter's genetic ailment is discovered, and lost.
- In the alternate universe 1985, The Observer confesses to fellow Observers that he interfered in Secretary Bishop's experiment to cure his son.
- In 1985, The Observer saved Peter and Walter Bishop from drowning after falling through frozen Lake Reiden, just after Walter abducted young Peter from the alternate universe.
- He was on-hand at the first documented arrival of the Beacon at Quantico MB in 1987.
- In 2011, following the timeline reset, Walter and the Fringe team have no idea who 'Observers' are. The man claiming to be Peter Bishop (Novation) learns from Walter that his son Peter died, and that the Peter Bishop from the alternate universe that Walter tried to cure never survived the trip. He drowned in Reiden Lake when The Observer did not intevene in the mishap.
Quotes
- "It has arrived..." - (into his cell phone just after the Beacon resonated itself to the surface)
- "Thank you for hiding the Beacon. I can't touch it myself. I know you have questions. Soon you will have answers." - (to Walter after Walter drugged Astrid and hid the Beacon from Mosley)
- "Departure on schedule." - (into his cell phone just after the Beacon resonated itself back into the ground)
- "This coin looks similar to the one you're thinking of. But it is from another place. There is more than one of everything. I have said too much, I am not supposed to get involved. I have taken you as far as I can." - (encouraging Walter to search his old beach house to find the device hidden there that can seal the gap between the parallel universes)
- "They are all unique. That is not reason to interfere with the course her life was meant to take" - (to August, about his fixation with Christine Hollis)
- "It is impossible. The timeline has been rewritten. He was erased. And yet traces of him continue to bleed through" (to December, in disbelief that Peter transcended the very timeline that he erased himself from)
Appearances
(See images here).
- In Pilot, he walks past the Massive Dynamic building.
- In The Same Old Story, he stands at the hospital desk where the rapid-aging "man-baby" lies dead.
- In The Ghost Network, Olivia passes by him at the South Station rail terminal.
- In The Arrival, he has a lead role throughout the episode.
- In Power Hungry, he exits the doomed elevator seconds before it crashes.
- In The Cure, he passes behind David Esterbrook and Olivia at the humanitarian fund-raiser.
- In In Which We Meet Mr. Jones, he is seen at Frankfurt International walking away from the arrival gate.
- In The Equation, he is seen while Olivia and Charlie are searching for Ben Stockton.
- In The Dreamscape, he is seen behind Mark Young in the hallway after exiting the elevator.
- In Safe, he is seen on the bank's security monitor.
- In Bound, he is walking just behind Olivia as she parks outside of Walter's Lab.
- In The No-Brainer, he stands on a corner while Olivia is driving to save Ella.
- In The Transformation, he is seen standing on the soccer field just before the plane crash.
- In Ability, he is seen ducking out of the way of the news vendor's grasp as the vendor stumbles down the street.
- In Inner Child, he is seen walking along a snowy sidewalk, as The Child is driven away in the opposite direction.
- In Unleashed, he walks behind an on-air TV news reporter as she tells of the recent animal attacks. Charlie's wife is watching.
- In Bad Dreams, he crosses the street as Olivia and Peter arrive at the scene where Nick Lane is threatening to commit suicide by jumping from a building roof.
- In Midnight, he passes behind Bob Dunn in The Cavern, just after the ladies man arrives and is poised to begin introducing himself.
- In The Road Not Taken, he arrives to collect Walter from the Lab, speaking for the first time since The Arrival.
- In There's More Than One Of Everything, he escorts Walter to the old Bishop beach house and prompts him to find the device that is needed to plug the opening between parallel universes. He also accompanies Walter to an old graveyard.
- In A New Day In The Old Town, he crosses the blocked street in front of the empty vehicles from Olivia's crash.
- In Night Of Desirable Objects, he stands in the field near the Hughes' house, around the time Agent Jessup shows up to investigate.
- In Fracture, receives and reviews photographs of Walter that were delivered by a secretive courier.
- In Momentum Deferred, he is seen observing Olivia and Charlie's conversation outside of Massive Dynamic Headquarters.
- In Dream Logic, he is seen walking down the stairs in Dr. Nayak's Clinic as Olivia is interviewing the nurse.
- In Earthling, he walks behind Broyles at the airport, while the agent is on the phone to Olivia.
- In Of Human Action, he is seen observing the police car enter the multi-level parking structure.
- In August, he is seen in company of other Observers and watching Olivia in an amusement park.
- In Snakehead, he walks on Ping-On Street as the triad thug is called to follow Astrid to the lab.
- In Grey Matters, he stands across the street as the tactical team attempts to locate Walter's tracking device.
- In Unearthed, he walks behind Agent Dunham as she talks to Maureen Donovan outside of St. Brigid's Church.
- In Johari Window, he is seen standing in the background as the sheriff walks out of his office and the locals from the town are gathered outside concerned.
- In What Lies Below, he walks behind CDC Field Director McFadden in the tent compound when Level-6 Eradication is being coordinated.
- In The Bishop Revival, he walks past the window of the diner just before the attack there.
- In Jacksonville, he walks in front of a large fire truck just as Broyles and the science team are arriving in front of the building from the alternate universe.
- In Peter, he accidentally distracts Walternate from discovering a cure for the other Peter's illness (in the alternate universe) and subsequently must save Walter and the other Peter from drowning in Reiden Lake (in this universe).
- In Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver., he crosses the street in front of Miranda Greene's car, just before she dies of cancerous tumors.
- In White Tulip, he stands in a doorway near the accident that kills the time-travelling astrophysicist and his fiancee.
- In The Man From The Other Side, he is standing in line at the bank when Thomas Newton walks up to the teller.
- In Brown Betty, he is standing down the street from Walter's house as Walter comes home, concerned that Peter has not returned.
- In Northwest Passage, he is standing behind the police tape with the crowd as Peter meets Sheriff Mathis.
- In Over There, Part 1, he passes behind Olivia in a bar and drops a file for her to read on the seat next to her.
- In Over There, Part 2, he passes behind Olivia, Walter and William Bell as they sit and talk at a fast food restaurant in the alternate universe.
- In Olivia, he passes next to Henry's taxicab shortly after Olivia enters the park where she expected to find the parallel universe's version of Massive Dynamic .
- In The Box, he enters the subway station just as Thomas Newton abandons the box in order to visit the lavatory.
- In The Plateau, he stands on the pedestrian overpass near Milo Stanfield as Milo throws a bicycle from it.
- In Do Shapeshifters Dream Of Electric Sheep?, he transits the elevator lobby at Massive Dynamic while the science team meets nearby.
- In Amber 31422, he lingers fifteen feet to the left of Olivia's parked vehicle when Agent Francis informs Colonel Broyles that her car is parked near the Riverdale Mutual quarantine site.
- In 6955 kHz, he stands with the crowd behind the crime scene tape after Peter discovers that the shapeshifter's dorsal memory chip is broken.
- In The Abducted, he stands across the street from the diner as Olivia and Henry Higgins wait for breakfast and talk.
- In Entrada, he stands outside of Penn Station, next to a taxicab, while Bolivia Dunham meets a shapeshifter to receive harmonic implants.
- In Marionette, he stands across the street and reports on the Bishops as they enter Peggy's Malt Shop for a late night treat.
- In The Firefly, he sets things in motion to prove December that Walter changed and would willing to let Peter die when time comes.
- In Reciprocity, he stands behind the crowd at the Port Authority as disabled shapeshifter Michael Baird is extracted from the pond.
- In Concentrate And Ask Again, he saunters into Congressman Thorn's gala fundraiser just before Olivia intercepts the final assassin.
- In Immortality, he looks out the window at the Empire Docking Station while Bolivia waits for Frank to return home.
- In 6B, he walks past Chris and Sylvia en route to the Kimball's party.
- In Subject 13, he walks into the lobby at Bishop Dynamic in the alternate universe, while Walter Bishop makes his way to his office.
- In Os, he watches the crime scene with the gathered crowd outside the Metal Depository.
- In Stowaway, he stands across the street from the science team as they begin to investigate Jim's suicide and Dana's survival.
- In Bloodline, he watches Brandon intercept a blood sample in the hospital stairwell.
- In Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, he strolls through the halls of the hospital after Bell/Olivia are wheeled in for treatment.
- In 6:02 AM EST, he walks behind Bolivia and her nanny as they examine Bolivia's child in a square.
- In The Last Sam Weiss, he walks on the sidewalk behind Peter after his expensive taxicab ride to New York.
- In The Day We Died, he stands with his colleagues on the grounds of Liberty Island in this universe after Secretary Bishop, Bolivia Dunham and Brandon Fayette crossover from the alternate universe.
- In Neither Here Nor There, he meets with his colleagues about the problem they created when they eliminated Peter from the timeline. He creates an electronic device from various components to influence Walter's memory. He is with a colleague near the crime scene following Danzig's murder.
- In One Night In October, he enters the hospital recovery ward after Olivia chats with the disoriented Professor McClennan.
- In Alone In The World, he walks in front of Walter's lab building as Olivia and Agent Lee begin to interview young Aaron Sneddon.
- In Subject 9, he loiters at Reiden Lake as Peter returns to the current timeline from the bottom of the lake.
- In Novation, he waits behind the crime scene perimeter outside of Karen Truss' house when Olivia arrives to join Agent Lee.
- In And Those We've Left Behind, he walks past the front entrance of Ann's apartment building in Central Village just a few moments before the flash-fire time anomaly reverts five year-old Samantha back into an infant.
- In Wallflower, he stands in the crowd behind the police tape when Olivia tells Broyles that she and the canine unit failed to locate Eugene.
- In Back To Where You've Never Been, he gives Olivia a message while she waits at the opera house. He disappears before Olivia can get him to a hospital to treat the bloody wound in his chest.
- Not sighted in Enemy Of My Enemy. His colleague walks behind Agent Lee in the plaza as the crowd hurries to collect the money that Jones is distributing during his evasion.
- Not sighted in Forced Perspective. His colleague stands across the street from Olivia's apartment while Nina tends to Olivia inside.
- Not sighted in Making Angels. His colleagues are covering his terrritory. They discover the device "September" lost at Reiden Lake, and recovered by Neil Chung.
- In Welcome To Westfield, he watches Atlantic Flight 591 crash with the stranded motorists near Westfield, Vermont.
Trivia
- Video - montage of The Observer's appearances.
- The press release for Peter, at FOXFlash.com, refers to the character as September, though he has never been referred to that during the course of the show.
- Fellow Observers in Making Angels refer to the character as September when they recover his time travel device.
- He was in attendance at a presentation by Walter Bishop (Fringe Comic #1, 7th page - bottom left).
- He was spotted during a NFL football game between the Giants and the Eagles, standing on the sidelines observing the game.
- He was spotted during the episode of American Idol that aired before the episode Inner Child.
- He was spotted at the NASCAR Sprint Cup auto race in Texas, on April 5, 2009.
- He was spotted in the stands at Yankee Stadium during the bottom of the fourth inning of the Indians/Yankees game on April 18, 2009.
- He was spotted sitting in the stands at the 2009 MLB All Star Game.
- Many of the network and studio staff associated with publicizing and distrubuting FRINGE refer to the Observers' brief, recurring cameo appearances on the show as, "Where's Baldo?" - a play on the title of the popular illustrated books, "Where's Waldo?"
- Similarities To Other Fictional Characters
The Observer shares some commonalities with the Marvel Comics character Uatu the Watcher. Uatu is a member of the alien race known as the Watchers whose people have taken an oath to observe other species but are sworn to never to interfere with their affairs. The Watchers are depicted as being Caucasian and bald. Uatu the Watcher assigned to earth frequently observes alternate realities. The series "What If" revolved around Uatu telling the audience about how events in an alternate reality differed from those of the mainstream Marvel Universe timeline.
The Observer resembles The G-Man of the Half Life series of first-person shooter video games. Similarities include:
- Identity and motives are not entirely explained
- Displays abilities beyond that of ordinary humans
- Does not seem to age
- Frequently carries a briefcase
| — Plot Relevant Questions — | Address theories about questions on The Observer/Theories Ask minor questions on the Talk Page |
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1) Do not answer the questions here. |
- Why does he consume extremely spicy foods?
- What are his responsibilities beyond monitoring pivotal events?
- Why can't he touch The Beacon (The Arrival)?
- Did he exceed his authority at Reiden Lake?
- Do his binoculars have any abnormal/paranormal function?
- What language is he using when he writes in his notebook?
- What is his connection with pattern events?
- Why did he receive photos of Walter in a briefcase from a courier?
- What is his connection to the child from Inner Child?
- Who is he reporting to when he uses his handheld communication device?
