From the glyphs which mark each cut to black to the frequent shout-outs to David Bowie, Fringe indulged its fans with a language of symbols and references which made sense to only long-time viewers. If there were any casual onlookers dropping in on the series finale, the last moments of the series, as Peter opens a letter to find a drawing of a white tulip, would have been mystifying. That's because the heartbreaking significance of the white tulip lies way back here in season two. Fringe's episodic plots were patchy and sometimes so silly that they were impossible to take seriously, but White Tulip's is faultless. Scientist Alastair Peck tries to travel back in time to save his dead fiancée, which of course reflects Walter's own desperate bid to save the alternate Peter. Walter spends the episode struggling to force the devastating truth into a letter, but he's waiting for something. That something, he explains to Peck, is a white tulip, or a sign of forgiveness from God for his accidental kidnapping of Peter, in the hope that such an impossibility would mean that Peter would forgive him too. Peck chooses to die with his fiancée, but ensures that Walter receives his drawing of a white tulip; due to time travel, Walter doesn't remember their conversation, but has the sign he needed. It's a beautiful episode with another tour de force from Noble and a masterclass in the art of marrying the case of the week with serialised storytelling.
