Long time no see! It’s been months since I sent you a message last time and I hope everything has gone well in this period. In the passing half year I’ve discovered some unnormalcies with myself, like some attention problems and autistic properties. This gives me a new view on fringe, and somehow explains why I was so into this show throughout my teenage years. I wonder what you think of the main two characters of Fringe regarding autism. It’s very obvious that there is something with Olivia, however she seems capable of understanding and feeling other people. Peter seems more comfortable and competent with socializing, but it feels more like a learned skill for him. Hope to hear your thoughts
Hi!!
It was really lovely seeing your name in my inbox again 🥹 I apologize for how long it took me to reply, I've had a very busy month!
Such an interesting question, too. Thinking back to when Fringe was airing and the fandom was really active, I genuinely can't remember ever seeing any sort of conversation regarding the main characters' possible/probable neurodivergence. But back in 2010/2013 (my time in the active fringe fandom), neurodivergence wasn't talked about much at all, at least not in my corner of the internet. What's even more interesting is seeing how new viewers discovering Fringe nowadays regularly bring up Olivia as being autistic, which goes to show how much things have changed in the last 15 years--for the best!!
These days (and for a few years) I definitely would describe Olivia as being on the autistic spectrum. I wouldn't necessarily put the "autism" label on Peter, but I would say he's on the neurodivergent spectrum, as is Walter. As far as Olivia's ability to understand what others are feeling, to me that doesn't negate a possible austism diagnostic at all. I myself am definitely somewhere on that spectrum, and I've been an emotional sponge my whole life. Same goes for Peter's ability to socialize, which like you said looks like a learned skill. It could honestly be an expert form of masking, that comes from all the coping mechanisms he developed from the traumas. Struggling with social cues/empathy/socialization in general are traits very often associated with austism, but not something every autistic person might experience.