Firefly 9 - 11

[schneefink]

Still sick. I am very grateful that I'm living in an age with computers and internet, because I haven't found the time yet to either go to a bookshop or get a library card.


To be honest, after the first few episodes I was a bit puzzled by the hype surrounding this series. Sure, it's good fun and has interesting characters, but not more than other shows. But the third DVD has "Out of Gas", "Ariel", "War Stories" and "Trash", and if it continues like this it's no wonder.

Ariel: Simon planning the perfect heist! I loved him coaching everyone and using his skills for good evil. And they finally showed us that he's an excellent doctor instead of just telling us (even though it wasn't very subtle.)
Jayne selling the siblings out was realistic, especially after River spontaneously cut him with a large kitchen knife ("he looks better in red", seriously.) I was surprised that he was surprised at being double-crossed, though.
Good job making the people with blue gloves really scary. Poor River.
Mal almost spacing Jayne! I do think he would have done it if Jayne hadn't said that last sentence. Probably. I wonder what he would have told the others.

War Stories: How much do I love continuity? Lots. They suddenly have money! I like that money is actually an issue. (The title song, with the line "you can't take the sky from me" - um, actually, that'd be very easy: cut off the fuel supply, or one faulty compression cord...)
If DVDs were fanworks I would have insisted on a torture warning (for Ariel, too). I loved the conversation Mal and Wash had while being tortured (what a weird sentence), I loved all the Zoe & Wash & Mal stuff in there. Believable interesting relationships ♥ and characters ♥
I also loved Kaylee and River playing, apples, Book shooting people in the kneecaps, Simon trying to shoot people, and Kaylee not being able to shoot people. It's okay, River can do it for you! And say "no power in the 'verse can stop me" and look generally scary. In hindsight, that's after Simon tried the new medication - I wonder what else she'll remember.
And great lines, too. Awesome episode.

Trash: Someone (michelel72?) complained about episodes where we first get one scene to "makes things interesting" and then the whole backstory. This was exactly the case here, and it was totally unnecessary. Running across Mal's wife would have been interesting enough for an opening.
Again: continuity, yay! Not only Mal's wife, also all the references to Ariel.
I hated the scene with Mal and Inara. He calls her a whore, but suddenly she's so rude because she calls him a petty thief? Wtf.
As always in science fiction, mechanical engineers and programmers are exactly the same thing, whatever.
The plot wasn't particularly interesting, but I liked the crew being smart and Inara in the end.
Also the Tam siblings and Jayne: priceless. Jayne is a girl's name, heh. Simon talking to Jayne was great, and then River: "I can kill you with my brain." Good cop, scary cop.


Do I really only have three episodes left? :(

Comments

[sholio]

I already talked about War Stories, but Ariel was another episode I really loved. ♥ And, see, things like this are why I like Jayne so much as a character, though not really as a person: because even though he's working with and for the good(ish) guys, he is not a nice guy. He's a career criminal and thug, and he's in it for the money. Well, I think he enjoys the camaraderie as well, but camaraderie vs. money is a really hard call for him that tends to come down on the "money" side. The show could easily have left Jayne on the level of wisecracking comic relief who makes the occasional crude joke and otherwise does the right thing, but they don't, and I really appreciate that.

And again, I talked a little bit about the contrast between the show's treatment of Jayne and Mal. I think they are actually rather similar people in many ways, it's just that their lives took a different turn, with one of them going into the military and the other into a life of crime before converging again. Well, obviously that's by no means the only difference, as Mal is quite a bit smarter and a better person all the way around *g*. But it bugs me that the show is so good about calling Jayne on his asshattery, but doesn't do such a good job with Mal.

[schneefink.livejournal.com]

I wonder what it would have looked like if the writers had been aware of the problems with Mal? Obviously he would have treated Inara better and/or someone would have called him on it.
Actually I do like that the show doesn't hide the fact that Mal kills people when he thinks it's right or if they're not part of his crew, and he doesn't lose sleep over it. (On the other hand he didn't shoot his "wife", instead "leaving her to die", knowing perfectly well she would probably end up on the ship. Pretty women are always special!) I did believe that he could have spaced Jayne. They just prefer to have him do "the right thing" in the end. Leave no man behind, now where have I heard that before...

In the pilot, where Mal first tells Simon that if Kaylee dies he'll space him and later tells him that Kaylee's dead, and everyone finds it hilarious - yep, those guys are screwed up and occasionally thoughtlessly cruel.

Jayne in the military is an interesting idea! I already have a mental list of fic I'm looking for once I'm finished with the series.

I wonder, if the series had been continued, Jayne would eventually have "converted" and put camaraderie first. I could see it happening - he does seem to get fractionally closer to the others - but only if done very well.

[tari-roo.livejournal.com]

Ah, War Stories is my all time fav Firefly episode and that sure as hell says a lot for my fanfic prefs too :)

Ah, memories.

[schneefink.livejournal.com]

You mean relationship troubles, lots of torture, and guns? ;-)

[tari-roo.livejournal.com]

And suprising character reveals, determination to save the one you love, gratitutious hurt fest :)

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

I have certainly complained about teaser openings followed by "[timespan] earlier ...". Oh have I ever. I don't mind when it's used to good effect — there's an A:tLA open that works well, with con games in the Fire Nation — but it's so overused that unless it's used to really good effect, it annoys me beyond all reason. (Pet peeve ahoy!)

I too wish they'd been a little better about seeing Mal as flawed. I think I bought the hype a little too easily at the time. I also remember being surprised whenever he would take a dark or selfish-seeming option, though, so I may just have had the "heroic main character" goggles on a little tight ....

[schneefink.livejournal.com]

It did work well int he A:tla episode! Exceptions prove the rule.

I think the writers did their best to make Mal a lovable rogue, which works more or less for different people.

[sholio]

Threadjack here, but I think the times that technique does work are the times when it adds something narratively to the episode, rather than simply being in there for maximum melodrama. There's an episode of White Collar that used it to good effect too, I think -- I'm not sure if this is one of the ones you've seen, but it opens with a flash-forward sequence, and as the episode builds to that point, you start to realize that what you thought you were seeing in the opening scene was, in fact, the opposite of what's actually happening. Played straight, though, it's generally just an annoying ploy to keep the viewer from switching channels.

[schneefink.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've seen that one! I think you're right; it was like that in the A:tla episode, too. Mal sitting in the desert naked, on the other hand, adds nothing. To the plot, I mean.

(It's very unrealistic that he doesn't have any scars, btw, and while I might buy that Simon is that good a doctor there is no way Mal always had access to that kind of technology.)