What's the deal with Henry (cab driver)?

[tatka_sn]

So I rewatched the 3.01 and noticed some things about Henry. The way he talks about Laura's room and looks at the photo (specifically in the scene at the gas station) suggests to me that there is no Laura any more, only her room remains.
And than he tells Olivia about him being in the bad place a few years ago.
For me it all sounds like he'd lost his daughter. I didn't spend enough time on it to arrive on definite conclusion, was his daughter caught in alt-fringe incident, or she died from some more mundane cause (illness or accident). The former would be promising for plot.

[ditroia]

Is it possible his daughter is trapped on the other side??

[bookworm2342]

Something has happened to his daughter, I agree. I'm just not sure what.

[tatka_sn]

Is it possible his daughter is trapped on the other side??

Everything is possible on Fringe :P.
But wouldn't it be too soap-opera-y like coincidence? Just doesn't sound like Fringe. And Peter is unique:D

[xevious]

We know too little at this point. The fact that he changed his mind and started helping Olivia shows that there's something afoot inside his mind. Maybe the government did something horrible to him or one of his loved ones, and he's got a grudge. Olivia's plight fell right into his anti-government feelings.

But now what? One additional weakness I saw in the show was the fact that there's a tightly controlled fare mechanism. He drives around all day racking up hundreds of dollars, with nothing to show for it--no monetary transactions. How is he going to account for that to his superiors? He's really going to have the latitude to just drive around helping out Olivia again? No... doesn't make sense. I have a feeling Olivia will seek him out once she has shaken loose AltLiv's memories. And he'll help her out in whatever way he can.

[paburrows]

Yeah and with the way that he hung around near the end makes me think that he might be back in a future episode to help Olivia snap out of her programing?

[itsalldark]

Well his name certainly is interesting. Henry A. Higgins? My Fair Lady? Who does he bring up from the streets and transform into a well mannered socialite? They must have named him 'Enry 'Iggins for a reason. I just don't know how it fits in with the plot. :confused0006:

[antelocapra]

Interesting idea with his daughter. Perhaps she's been quarantined? That would fit with his seemingly increased empathy after the theatre got quarantined, and would go with the episode's secret word. It wouldn't be that much of a coincidence, given the large number of people that have been quarantined.

[tatka_sn]

.... the government did something horrible ... and he's got a grudge. Olivia's plight fell right into his anti-government feelings...
Yes, this seemed quite obvious although I do not think his government/daughter issues are connected

.... no monetary transactions. How is he going to account for that to his superiors?
Is it nesessary for him to have superiors? Meaning can't there be free taxi (like taxi license - got it, drive on you risk, no boss, no company insuranse)?


...Henry A. Higgins? My Fair Lady? Who does he bring up from the streets and transform into a well mannered socialite...
Maybe he'll transform ugly duckling born from b-limphocites back into Olivia:) ? According to imdb.com, there is cab driver in 3 and 5 episodes, and enough people assumed he would play role in returning Olivia' memories.


Perhaps she's been quarantined?
Yes, that was my initial thought.

[Matthew]

I definitely think his daughter is one of the people that was declared dead from being inside the quarantined areas. His daugter looked old enough to be around when he was talking about "being in a bad place" and it was only his wife that helped him out of that place. So it makes me think his daughter wasn't there. (of course it could have been before she was born, but it didn't sound that way to me).

Also, like others have said, the way he was staring at the picture and was willing to help Olivia seemed like there was more to his story.

Yeah and with the way that he hung around near the end makes me think that he might be back in a future episode to help Olivia snap out of her programing?
I was really hoping he was going to follow Charlie and see where Olivia was going, but then he turned off. I definitely think he'll be back in a future episode, and I hope so, cause I liked his character.

[andrewk512]

I was really hoping he was going to follow Charlie and see where Olivia was going, but then he turned off. I definitely think he'll be back in a future episode, and I hope so, cause I liked his character.
Ditto. I was like "follow oliva! follow her! WHAT?! NOOOO!".
I definitely thought they developed his character enough and made the viewer feel attached to him enough that it would be a waste to not bring him back.

OP could be onto something about the picture scene.

[paburrows]

"being in a bad place" That conversation had a double meaning to it. On the outside it seemed like he was talking about a drug or alchohol addiction, but I was thinking when he said that he hadn't been himself if he may have been brainwashed by the government also and his wife helped him to over come it? Probably too far fetched though.

[doremi123]

I do believe he will play important role in future such as he will help Olivia to get away from the memory programming. I think he knows a lot things about the government, that's why he stayed around 'the safe house' and followed her.
I hope it will happen as I like his character.

[Pagemaster]

I agree; I definitely noticed the way he was talking to his wife that indicated that perhaps Laura had died somehow... I think he'll be the one to snap Liv out of it or to help her cross back over.

I REALLY hope we see more of him. Seems like a nice guy :D

[geometric_sum]

Great discussion - I agree that we'll see Henry again in a future episode, probably more than one. The writers don't put that sort of effort into a character and then just let it float away.

I also agree that his daughter is no longer with him - most likely dead or quarantined. Could he have been the cause of this and that is what put him in the "dark place"?

The fact that he turned away and did not follow Olivia as she drove away with Charlie is interesting (and I knew he was going to stick around "just in case"). On the one hand, he says he's just getting his life back together. On the other, he acts like a guy with nothing to lose (unless he's got other forms of income) - for example, pulling the tracking transponder from under the dash.

Of course, Olivia made it clear that she would get him if he tried anything foolish... (thinking out loud here). :confused0006:

[RETLAW]

Interesting idea with his daughter. Perhaps she's been quarantined? That would fit with his seemingly increased empathy after the theatre got quarantined, and would go with the episode's secret word. It wouldn't be that much of a coincidence, given the large number of people that have been quarantined.


This.

The episode glyph is "A M B E R".

This is the first episode where we see the process of "amberizing", see the protesters (Amber = Death signs, etc.), see the Amber Response team.

We already know that the quarantined over there are legally declared dead (Over There Pt. 2).

Perhaps the process can be reversed, and those quarantined freed if the tears in the universe can be fixed.

Perhaps that would be of great motivation to someone with a daughter trapped in amber.

[tatka_sn]

Perhaps the process can be reversed, and those quarantined freed if the tears in the universe can be fixed.
Perhaps that would be of great motivation to someone with a daughter trapped in amber.
Yes, this is a good idea in general, just not applicable to what we knows about AU now. As we've seen AU, the existence of our universe it's not a general knowledge.
For Henry to reach that motivation at this point, he must beforehand:



know that tears could be sealed (it is possible - Walternate must be promising this kind of thing to his people)
know about our universe (it looks like classified information - to Fringe division and it's likes only) and therefore understand tear’s connection to it.
believe Olivia’s crazy story (this he’s nearly done) that she is not “whom they told I am”
make a gigantic jump from government experiments as a reason for split personality to AU crossing and doubles idea.
obtain ungrounded faith that Olivia is just the key to all those problems :)

So, the three of these steps are nearly done for Charlie and Lincoln. And fifth is done for Walternate (for him it'not not faith but solid knowledge)
If Henry got through them all, either he would became another Weiss–like entity, or he is deeply conspirated fringe agent :D.
If he’ll be meeting with Olivia in the future, than he can progress through steps 3 and maybe 4. While Our Liv believes herself to be Alt, there can’t be any progress on 2, 3 and part of 4…
If his presence can make Olivia’s real memory resurface, that'll be another story.

[RETLAW]

Yes, this is a good idea in general, just not applicable to what we knows about AU now. As we've seen AU, the existence of our universe it's not a general knowledge.
For Henry to reach that motivation at this point, he must beforehand:



know that tears could be sealed (it is possible - Walternate must be promising this kind of thing to his people)
know about our universe (it looks like classified information - to Fringe division and it's likes only) and therefore understand tear’s connection to it.
believe Olivia’s crazy story (this he’s nearly done) that she is not “whom they told I am”
make a gigantic jump from government experiments as a reason for split personality to AU crossing and doubles idea.
obtain ungrounded faith that Olivia is just the key to all those problems :)

So, the three of these steps are nearly done for Charlie and Lincoln. And fifth is done for Walternate (for him it'not not faith but solid knowledge)
If Henry got through them all, either he would became another Weiss–like entity, or he is deeply conspirated fringe agent :D.
If he’ll be meeting with Olivia in the future, than he can progress through steps 3 and maybe 4. While Our Liv believes herself to be Alt, there can’t be any progress on 2, 3 and part of 4…
If his presence can make Olivia’s real memory resurface, that'll be another story.

Henry has already taken a leap of faith with Olivia in helping her (tearing out the transponder, following her even though he was let go, etc.)

He said something to the nature of "sometimes you just have to believe in someone" (when speaking of his relationship with his wife).

It wouldn't be that inconceivable that if he were presented with some information that would open his eyes to the possibilities of Olivia's "crazy story" that he would help in some way.

It would be enough for a grieving father who is spiritual to simply hope that the his daughter might be somehow saved if he finds some evidence to Olivia's story (thus covering your points 1-5 essentially, 2-4 basically go together if Henry sees something amazing and decides to believe Olivia).

There is already evidence of Henry's willingness to help based on blind faith and intuition, and we last left him following Olivia of his own accord (even though she let him go).

I'm not suggesting he will do something drastic in the war of two universes storyline, but he seems on path to help out Olivia in some way, and if he is indeed the parent of a daughter stuck in amber (remember the glyph for each episode is a thematic clue pertaining to that episode, i.e WEAPON for OT pt. 1) then he might help free Olivia or aide her on her journey.

BTW If you want some more insight you can also check out the spoilers section :shhh:

[tatka_sn]

...I'm not suggesting he will do something drastic in the war of two universes storyline, but he seems on path to help out Olivia in some way...
Mostly feel the same... That he would help Olivia as a person, not fighting the war.

BTW If you want some more insight you can also check out the spoilers section :shhh:
I'm the faithful fan of any kind of spoilers. I even read books from the last page to first:D Seriously, are there any new spoilers on Henry except that he would be present in next few episodes? Just show me the way...

[RETLAW]

This.

The episode glyph is "A M B E R".

This is the first episode where we see the process of "amberizing", see the protesters (Amber = Death signs, etc.), see the Amber Response team.

We already know that the quarantined over there are legally declared dead (Over There Pt. 2).

Perhaps the process can be reversed, and those quarantined freed if the tears in the universe can be fixed.

Perhaps that would be of great motivation to someone with a daughter trapped in amber.

I would not be surprised if the topic of amber resurfaces again. Perhaps they will go into how someone in the AU has to deal with after losing a victim of amber quarantine in the future. How this plays on the hearts and minds of the regular people. Perhaps an important amber victim?