The relationship between Olivia Dunham and Peter Bishop, the two main protagonists of the TV show.
Early History[]
When they were children, Olivia was a subject in the Cortexiphan trials run by Peter's father, Walter Bishop, and William Bell. Olivia ran away to a field of white tulips, and Peter was the only who managed to find her and encouraged her to tell Dr Bishop about her abusive stepfather. (Subject 13) As far as we know, neither of them remember this encounter.
Season One[]
Olivia starts off the series with John Scott. When he gets injured, she tracks down Walter Bishop to a mental institution, and needs Peter, his son, to get him out. She finds Peter in Iraq, and they instantly seem to take a dislike to each other. He refuses to do what she says, so she threatens him with a fake FBI file to make him stay. He also calls her sweetheart, which she really doesn't like. Many times Peter goes to leave, but she eventually convinces Peter to stay with the Fringe team.
The two eventually form a friendship. Olivia is still getting over the death of John, however, it is pretty clear Peter is starting to develop feelings for Olivia. Once she gets out of the tank in Walters lab, while getting out of the state the tank put her in, she breathlessly says his name and hugs into his side. Also, when Peter tells Olivia "If you need me, I'm here." and when Walter tells Olivia; Peter was worried when she was taken.
Season 1 is essential in developing a close relationship between Olivia and Peter. Due to the fact it would make no sense if they forced the two together from early on, this makes it more natural for the two to end up together eventually
Season Two[]
Season Two is essential in the relationship between Olivia and Peter. It throws you right in with Olivia dying in hospital and Peter doing all that he can to avoid seeing her die. He is visibly upset. He eventually goes to say bye to her and leans in to kiss her head, before she wakes up and starts asking for him immediately.
For a few episodes, you see them having their normal friendly relationship, but their feelings are pretty clear. Even, in a deleted season one episode aired during season 2, it shows a young girl assuming they're in a relationship, and seeing the relationship between the two. In the episode Grey Matters, Olivia lets Newton go so she can go help Peter. In the episode What Lies Below, Olivia is visibly upset when Peter becomes infected, and in The Bishop Revival Walter asks Peter, "Do you think she'll call me dad?" When Peter asks who, he replies "Agent Dunham!"
These episodes lead up to Jacksonville. Olivia, Peter and Walter go to Olivia's old daycare, where she was first tested on with Cortexiphan. They have a conversation on the swing set outside about how all of this doesn't seem right to Olivia. When Olivia is under the drug, Peter is rushing about obviously worried about what's going on. They eventually figure out that Olivia needs to be scared for her to see the other side, which will appear like a glimmer. Back in New York, Olivia gets upset when she can't figure out what she needs to. When she goes to Peter, upset, he reminds her how great she is. She tells him she's scared, but he tells her she shouldn't be, as they both lean in to kiss when Olivia stops as she realises she's scared like she needs to be. At the end of the episode, Olivia and Peter go to go out for drinks, when she sees him glimmer.
From here on the relationship changes. Olivia keeps the fact that Peter is from an alternate universe hidden from him, and Peter thinks the reason she is acting strange is because they nearly kissed. When Peter eventually finds out and leaves, Olivia seems to act a bit more downhearted. In the episode Brown Betty, in the story Walter tells Ella, Peter and Olivia have a weird relationship that strongly hints at them liking each other.
Then we are given Over There: Part 2. Olivia and Walter have already crossed into the alternate universe and are actively looking for Peter. When Olivia and Olivia (Alternate Universe) become face to face, alternate Olivia realises there is something between the two. Normal Olivia eventually finds Peter, and tells him what Walternate was planning, and eventually tells him, "You have to come back because you belong with me." and they share their first kiss. They both head back to the Opera house to go back to the correct universe, the Olivia's are swapped, causing damage to their budding relationship.
Season Three[]
After sharing their first kiss, Olivia and Peter are separated for 8 episodes. With our Olivia trapped in the Alternate Universe and the wrong Olivia being with Peter, Peter begins a relationship with Alternate Olivia. Meanwhile, his Olivia, in the alternate universe, begins to see visions of Peter, who kisses her and tells her that this isn't right. She eventually remembers who she is and manages to cross back to the correct universe, telling Peter he was the only thing that kept her tethered to her universe.
Olivia goes back to her work in the episode Marionette. Peter feels bad about the relationship he shared with the alternate Olivia and even tells Olivia "I thought she was you". Olivia's obviously distraught but plays it off to Peter, however when she goes home and sees Peter's MIT top in her washer, and breaks down crying. The episode has one of the most memorable endings, where Olivia is crying to Peter, asking him why he couldn't see it wasn't her, and how she doesn't want to be with him because 'she's taken everything'. When Olivia walks away, Peter simply says "I'm sorry."
Their relationship has now changed. Anything that happens with the two hasn't got the same feeling, as there is now this distance between the two caused by these events. Olivia has obviously been greatly affected, as she has been missing for a while, and has come back to her life being changed. Peter seems to still have all these feelings for Olivia and seems so downhearted that Olivia doesn't want to be with him.
This goes on for a few episodes, then there is the episode 6B. The episode starts with Walter trying to heal the riff between the two, but what ends up with them arguing, as Peter wants to be together, and Olivia feels as though that's been taken away from them. When they visit a bar, Olivia tells Peter that she wants to know what their relationship was like, and so they kiss, however, Olivia runs out when she sees him glimmer. Eventually, by the end of the episode, Olivia goes to Peters house, where they kiss, and eventually, Olivia leads him upstairs to the bedroom.
We finally get the relationship we wanted from Fringe. There was a little break, where William Bell was inside Olivia for two episodes, but when they go into Olivia's mind Peter manages to find her and bring her out of her own mind. They seem to have an amazing open relationship where they are deeply in love.
Of course, once Peter enters the machine, there is the episode The Day We Died, set in the future. The first time we see Olivia is when she is rushing to the hospital to see Peter, and eventually you find out they've been married for years. Also, when looking at a picture a young neighbour drew of Olivia, Peter and 'the little baby [they] are going to have', that Olivia decided she wasn't going to have a child, but it seems Peter does want one. When Olivia "dies", Peter says how she meant everything to him, and you see him break down crying over that drawn picture of her and the family they should've had. of course, that timeline never happens, but their relationship disappears when Peter does.
Season Four[]
In the beginning of Season 4, no one knows who Peter is, not even Olivia. In fact, it seemed as though Olivia had a budding relationship with Lincoln Lee (Prime Universe). When Peter shows back up, he's having dreams about him and Olivia, and so is she, which is confusing her as she doesn't know who he is.
There isn't much of Peter and Olivia, as she doesn't remember him, However, then there is the episode Welcome to Westfield. The episode starts off with Olivia and Peter in bed, with them telling each other they love each other, but then Olivia wakes up and you realise it was her dream. In the episode, she mentions a case in Edina, the case that happened in Johari Window, which confuses Walter and Peter, as they investigated that case together in the original timeline, not the new one they were in. They also have a conversation about their relationship in the original timeline. At the end of the episode, Peter goes to Olivia's, where she kisses him with familiarity, which causes Peter to be taken aback. Over the next episode, Olivia manages to get all of her memories back from the original timeline {TBC}
Season Five[]
Quotes[]
Olivia in Pilot- "Call me sweetheart one more time I'd really like that"