Walter explains that every time you make a choice another branch forms on the ‘reality tree’. And with every choice after there is another fork and so on. The reality that Olivia visits, the reality where Bell is and the reality that Jones is trying to get to are all the same one. But shouldn’t there be an infinite number of realities? So maybe there was one single event, one choice that connected a particular reality to ours. One main occurrence that built some sort of bridge between this universe and one single other universe.
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So what was that one occurrence? Here’s my theory…
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We see Walter standing over a tombstone that reads ‘Peter Bishop 1978 - 1985′. Walter has mentioned on a couple of occasions about Peter being very sick as a child, and Peter doesn’t seem to recall any of this. What if Peter died from that illness when he was seven, and Walter grabbed himself a new son. Walter spoke of bringing back a Doctor to save Peter. What if Walter was actually traveling through dimensions to bring back a Peter from another reality? This would explain why Peter doesn’t remember the same things as Walter.
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Walter expected Peter to be chubbier, maybe the original boy carried a few extra pounds. Walter immediately checked Peter’s eyes when they met at St. Claires, was Walter worried that this Peter might also catch the same illness that killed his Peter? Peter doesn’t remember his toys being the same way, like the scar on G.I Joe. What about Peter’s medical records that Walter referred to. Would it be a dead giveaway? Perhaps this Peter had his tonsils out, and the Alter-Peter didn’t, or something to that effect.
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Maybe this is why the Observer saved Peter from drowning…he knew his importance to the other world and to this one. Or, maybe the Observer helped Walter bring Peter through, and in exchange, he would call upon Walter for a favor someday. It’s possible Walter couldn’t do it on his own. Perhaps the car accident was a ruse to cover up what really happened, and help explain Peter’s ‘memory problems‘. A little amnesia is common for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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What about the Walter in that universe? ‘How far would you go for someone you love? ‘ Is it possible that he is flashing back and forth between the two worlds trying to get his son back? Maybe this is the Alter-Walter that Walter saw in St. Claires. Maybe, without the Observer’s help, the most he can do is slip in and out for a moment or two at a time, Much like Olivia at first. That would definitely be enough to drive me insane.
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Alter-Walter at St. Claires
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OK, I’m rambling now. My point was that perhaps it was the kidnapping of Peter from the other world that set in motion a chain of events that led to the catastrophy that Olivia was witnessing in that world. I’m not sure how, but you know what they say ‘…step on a butterfly…’. I think Peter is much more important than we realize.