Sam Weiss throws a pen to the Wave Sink Device, which bounces back and hit the computer monitor. Pen seems to be a recurring item in the show.
- Pilot: A drawing of Pen and Rose, which is an easter egg to the next episode The Same Old Story – Penrose.
- Northwest Passage: Sheriff Mathis received a pen with a phrase “find the crack” from her partner Bill.
- Olivia: Peter claimed to have an ability to save a dying pen.
- The Plateau: Milo triggers a chain reaction using a pen, and its foreshadowed by “The Pen is Mightier” graffiti in The Box.
I don’t think it is just coincidence that this item had been in many episodes of Fringe, not to mention, it is present in all 3 seasons.
So, what does the pen means?
I know there could be a lot of interpretations to this but I’ll try to reason out my own understanding of the incorporation of pen on the overall story of Fringe.
Pen is a very important writing tool. The invention of the pen makes it easier for us to communicate to one another. Not to mention, pen and paper are the two most important invention – because it allows us to make records and thus, history books, etc.
And it is not surprising that the storyline of Fringe revolves around many books. The two notable plotlines are the ZFT manuscript and the First People book. Both of which got some missing parts… but I digress.
Perhaps, the pen refers to the people of Fringe writing their own history or… the history of their universes. The show starts off with a pen reference, which unknowingly rewrites the whole genre of sci-fi in television.
Sheriff Mathis somehow had her own life story radically change and rewritten after encountering Peter. And notably, this episode could easily been have the first spin-off show of Fringe.
Milo, who had been suspected to be a way of writers to describe The Observers, could also have been used as a device to tell us that The Observers are more than just observing… but they are influencing how the history of the two universes is written. Well, arguably, it is September who made the very first mistake which prompts writing out the storyline of the two universes colliding.
And the most important of all, Peter. He claimed to be able to save a dying pen. Perhaps, this is a foreshadow on how he can actually rewrite the history of a universe. Further to this, he was sent to the future by the Wave Sink Device, to perhaps, rewrite the future… erm, that is kind of farfetched and so abstract, but maybe… just maybe, the observers want him to go to the future to course-correct the mistake of Walter more than 20 years ago. Therefore, he was not allowed to die… yet.
Sam Weiss throwing a pen to the Wave Sink Device is perhaps an allusion to how he eager he is to influence the history of the universe. But… failed. The pen bounced back… because he is no Peter. He is not a First People. He is just a ordinary person, a bowling boy… a history enthusiast.
Anyway, what do you think? Am I overthinking?
I love all these thoughts, especially the notion that Peter, savior of dying pens, is going to rewrite the future!
I don’t think you’ve overthought this one. While pens are ubiquitous, they’ve certainly been highlighted in several episodes.
I feel the same way about coffee on this show. It’s EVERYWHERE! It’s gotta mean something…
I don’t disagree with the idea that pens may hold some dualistic meaning, but a lot of the objects people shoot out and say, “There’s so much of ____!” are just as present in the real world as they are in the Fringe world. There are just as many pizza eateries in New York as there are coffee places, and in my cold little area of Minnesota I’ll be damned if I can’t find a coffee place on every corner. Just sayin’.
Pens are the source of so many metaphors, and have been, historically, between writers/poets and scientists alike, so it draws together a world of academia and art. It’s simple and most people catch onto the puns or metaphors that are intended when a person either holds a pen, uses a pen, or references a pen when writing isn’t necessarily involved (i.e. “Have you signed on the dotted line?” or “The pen is mightier than the sword.” ).
Anyway, one thing that could be interesting is how the pen was, for centuries, viewed as a very phallic symbol. Not trying to be crude, just in the nature of the times. The pen was the “means” by which many men made a living (journalist, poet, novelist, philosopher, etc); the approach to a blank page they laid akin to virginity; and the “cultivation” of a piece of work, or using the pen to guide the formation of the piece, like child-rearing. Women have been doing their best in the last 100 years to veer away from this idealism 🙂
This reply is getting long, but just one last thing. What I love about the metamorphosis of the pen is that it began as a device, developed prior to 400 A.D. I believe, that required being dipped into ink (quill pen) in order to work. Over MUCH time it was developed into a device that had “self-filling” ink (1897 the fountain pen, or “Crescent Filler”) and then onwards to what we use today. The utilization and continual need for a device that allowed men to experiment, transfer information, and change the modern methods of communication was constantly changing and improving. And then RoseArt crapped on that idea in the 00s and made a host of non-functional, cheap, and ridiculous pens.
THIS HAS BEEN AN ADVERTISEMENT WARNING AGAINST PURCHASING ROSEART PENS.