Along with a double agent, Olivia's investigation is hampered by the appearance of Sanford Harris, an old adversary hired to audit Fringe Division.

Frederick E. O. Toye served as the episode's director, and sought to create a "creepy and weird" atmosphere for Olivia's kidnapping scene to help emphasize her "terrible circumstances."

Other guest actors included Chance Kelly, Michael Gaston, Lily Pilyblad, Sara Wilson, Stephen Schnetzer, and Peter Jay Fernandez.

Following Olivia Dunham's (Anna Torv) kidnapping from the previous episode, "Safe", Fringe Division works to find her location.

They soon hear of the murder of epidemiologist Miles Kinberg, who was killed by a chemical which created a giant, slug-like single cell of acute viral nasopharyngitis in his stomach.

Olivia learns that Kinberg was about to start a job at the Centers for Disease Control, and that another scientist, Dr. Russell Simon, is also set to begin working there.

"[2] Toye and the crew wanted to make it "as visually interesting and dramatic as possible," and added in dripping water and "creepy" lighting to emphasize Olivia's "terrible circumstances.

"[2] First assistant director Gary Rake noted that the episode "took the character Olivia to a higher level... She's a lot more active, which is very exciting for us.

"[7] Actor Joshua Jackson believed the episode was important developmentally for the series, explaining it was "creatively when the show really hit its stride in the first season.

"[8] In December 2008, Entertainment Weekly reported that actress Ari Graynor would be joining the cast as a guest star for a minimum of three episodes, beginning in January.

[10] Other guest actors included Chance Kelly, Michael Gaston, Lily Pilyblad, Sara Wilson, Stephen Schnetzer, and Peter Jay Fernandez.

IGN's Ramsey Isler rated "Bound" 9.6/10, explaining that the episode is "an energetic start to second half of the season, and it's hopefully a sign of things to come.

Club, critic Zach Handlen also praised the "badassery" of the opening sequence as well as Olivia herself; he graded the episode with an A, calling it "a gripping, bizarre, occasionally wince-inducing hour of television; after a spotty first half of the season, Fringe is finally hitting its stride.

"[17] Jane Boursaw of TV Squad enjoyed the episode; like Isler, she also compared Olivia to Jack Bauer, and expressed suspicion that new characters Rachel and Ella were "part of a bigger conspiracy".

[15] Bryant L. Griffin of Airlock Alpha compared Olivia to the character Sydney Bristow from the television series Alias, and opined that Fringe "continues to exhibit a satisfying stride.

"[18] Griffin however was disappointed that events from the previous episode were ignored, believing it to be a mistake to continue emphasising formulaic storytelling rather than a serialized format.

"[20] At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, director Frederick E. O. Toye submitted the episode for consideration in the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series category,[21] but did not receive a nomination.

[22] J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, the writers of "Bound", also submitted their work in the episode for consideration in the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series category,[21] but received no nominations.