I figure he knew but figured saving lives trumped it. He didn't seem a bit surprised that Olivia saw the glow.
That was how I rationalized it as well. I'd hope the crew didn't simply make a silly typo and not realize it.
I was joking but I guess it would be a kind of a neat way of hinting to perceptive audience members that something was off.
For me, the eventual revelation of Peter's status has been one of the main reasons I watch. I can't imagine wanting it to end on anything else. I don't think it was supposed to be a big shocker since Walter is not a stupid man and would know that Peter qualifies. Like I said, I think he figured risking the secret was more important than letting hundreds die to protect it. The only change I would have made was during the scene where he first had Olivia looking for objects in the classroom. I was hoping he'd say, "Peter, would you mind stepping out into the hall for a moment?" But, this is where it gets good. I can't wait until Olivia corners Walter to have the discussion, though she's sharp enough to have it mostly figured out.
/forum/thread/293060/fringe-season-2/90#post_3658457
I'm not so sure how all this works, and how it will play out. "Our" Peter was dead - so weren't the two universes already out of balance? Does each universe have to have copies of the same individuals, or is there some kind of over-all balance that has to be kept? Would the "other" Peter (the one from the Other Side, who is now in our universe) have died if Walter hadn't brought him across? And what about the "other" Walter? Is he still alive? (Until the conclusion of the last episode, I wasn't entirely sure that Walter was "our" Walter. I thought that instead of going to the Other Side and stealing a replacement for Peter, the Walter from over there might have crossed into our world to raise the Peter who had survived. I didn't think it likely, but I considered it as a possible twist.)
The ratings have actually been decent for a non-flagship FOX show (American Idol, 24, et cetera). It's running on par with Lie to Me, at around 2.6-3.0 in the key demo (18-49). It's actually had its best ratings this season (other than the pilot), so that's a plus, too. However, the real question is if there is room for both Lie to Me and Fringe (you can possibly add Human Target into the mix), of if one *must* go, to make room for a new experiment next season.
I think another thing that Fox would look at is that it's on an incredibly tough night.
That's assuming the concept of "balance" is crudely physical. It may not be. Walter may think so, but he doesn't know everything.
The complicating factor is that only one of those three shows (Lie to Me) is a Fox production. The other two come from Warner Bros. All Fox makes on a show like Fringe, which is costly, is advertising revenue - less the license fee they pay Warners. Depending on how much of the production cost WB is willing to absorb (to be made up by foreign sales, DVDs and eventual syndication) Fringe could cost more, less or the same per hour as a show like Lie to Me or Human Target. (All three shows have pretty serious SFX budgets.)
