“Bad Dreams” is episode seventeen of season one of Fringe.
A woman is pushing a pram through Grand Central Station whilst singing to her child. She reaches the subway but has just missed the train. She’s waiting on the platform as a train is coming; there seems to be someone watching. As the train arrives, another woman pushes her in front of the train. The other woman is Olivia. Who jolts awake in bed.
In the morning, the news is on as Olivia is talking to Rachel and Ella. One article is about a suicide in New York. The woman from Olivia’s dream.
Olivia asks Broyles for permission to go to New York to investigate the case. She thinks the woman was murdered. She’s not really willing to say why. Broyles asks if she’s okay; she’s seemed distracted and on edge the last few weeks. Olivia hasn’t been sleeping well. Broyles gives her 24 hours.
In the lab, Olivia is telling them what happened as Walter is scanning her. Peter is saying it was just a nightmare. Walter was using a Geiger counter and is asking about what sounds like radiation sickness. Olivia asks and Peter confirms that it is a Geiger counter. Walter thought that maybe Olivia teleported to New York in her sleep and killed the young woman. Which would be wondrous. Likely not what the others would call it. But there’s no radiation, so she didn’t.
Walter next suggests astral projection. Peter insists it was just a bad dream. Olivia says she saw too much for that. How is that possible? Walter suggests opium. Olivia leaves and Peter starts to follow. Walter is excited about going to New York. Until Peter says he’s staying.
At Grand Central Station, Olivia and Peter meet an NYPD detective who first wants to know if they’re safe. Olivia isn’t sure they are ever really safe. The detective says it was a suicide; the security cameras got it all. Olivia wants to take a look at the footage later. Olivia isn’t sure what they’re looking for, but tells Peter there’ll be a red balloon floating at the ceiling. On the platform, Olivia says you don’t take your kid to the circus then give them a front row seat as you kill yourself. And Peter indicates the red balloon as well.
At the precinct, the husband says his wife would never have done that. The footage just shows the woman throwing herself in front of the train. Olivia wants a copy.
Back at the lab, they’re watching the footage and Walter is suggesting ways and reasons how and why Olivia might have killed the young woman. Peter wants him to stop. Walter is just being his version of helpful; why only believe what Olivia says when she says what Peter wants her to say? Mankind’s oldest dream is to wish someone dead. Peter says it’s ridiculous. Walter says he’s right. Unless is happens again.
Olivia is taking caffeine tablets. But then she’s in a restaurant, watching couples. Suddenly the wife in one couple accuses her husband of flirting with the waitress. She picks up a knife from the table. Olivia knocks her coffee cup off her table, comes over and makes the woman stab her husband. Olivia wakes at home and calls Charlie. There’s been a murder.
At the hospital with Peter, they’re told that the man is going to die, which is why the wife was given permission to see him. Under guard. She’s spoken to and says it doesn’t make sense. She suddenly knew her husband was going to leave her and got so scared and angry. Olivia starts asking if someone else made her do it, until Peter pulls her away. Olivia is sure she made the woman do it, but Peter says she’s running on no sleep and caffeine pills and isn’t thinking straight.
They head to the restaurant and Olivia sees the table she was seated at. She starts demanding to know who was there and if it was her. No; just some guy who comes in every now and then. Blonde hair, scar on his face.
Olivia recognises that description. Back at the lab, she finds the man on the subway footage after the death. He was at both scenes. Walter says that, as she saw the details of the scene in her dream but not the man, she might have been dreaming about him.
This case is weighing heavily on Olivia. Then they discover a connection to the ZFT manifesto. Which, in “Ability”, Walter discovered was typed on his typewriter. And a connection to Olivia’s childhood.