In her 2011 book Into the Looking Glass: Exploring the Worlds of Fringe, author Sarah Clarke Stuart observed that two unrelated Fringe characters, Conrad Moreau of "The Transformation" and Moreau (Brad Dourif) of "The Day We Died", are allusions to H.G. Wells' 1896 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau.
Like the pilot episode, "The Transformation" begins on the passenger section of an airplane in flight.