Jayne: Time for some thrilling heroics
Bar Brawls and Starship Rescues
The Train Job opens in a fairly typical Western bar/saloon. The only thing that lets you know that this isn’t a Western is the Belly Dancer. It’s not the fact that she has an array of glowing, sparkling lights dangling off of her, but the fact that she is a
Belly Dancer. Not a common sight in The Wild West, but in the cross-cultural world of
Firefly, it makes complete sense.
The above-mentioned dancer subtly slips Mal, Serenity’s captain, a piece of paper. Mal is not just in this bar for fun: he’s working.
But wait: does Mal perhaps have another reason to be in this bar, on this day? A drunken… drunk… decides to toast on this ‘auspicious occasion’, namely,
Unification Day, the day when Mal saw his Browncoats defeated at Serenity Valley.
Why are we then not surprised at the ensuing brawl? Mal throws everything he can these Unification supporters: wit, punches, humour, and, willingly, his own life. It takes some impressive skills from Zoe, Jayne, and Wash (in his hilariously deadpan way) to get him out of a sticky mess.
Not The Evil Empire
There’s something bizarre about seeing people supporting their government in a sci-fi show. Rather than
Star Wars’ Evil Empire, this Alliance is simply another government in the eyes of many. It’s also not engaged in a war with anyone, as is often the case other sci-fi series. It’s just your bland, typical government that happened to put down a rebellion recently.
In this sense, it’s just like every other government. There’s a minority who don’t like it, and a majority who don’t care.
Mal: That sounds like the Alliance. Unite all the planets under one rule, so that everyone can be interfered with or ignored equally.
A Very Bad Man
Adelei Niska is not a nice person. Unfortunately, Mal needs work, and Niska has some for him, so the Bad Man is unfortunately drawn into Mal’s world.
It should be a simple job for Mal: steal some stuff from a train, give it to Niska, and collect your pay. It’s so simple that even Jayne understood it. However, there’s that strange Firefly morality creeping up again. What would give Mal more delight than to steal from his hated Alliance, and under the very noses of their finest troops? And yet, he risks the wrath of Niska and his goons in order to get the medicine back to the people it was meant for.
Perhaps these people represent what Mal stood for when he fought the Alliance: their own place in the galaxy, fighting to stay alive and earn their freedom. Mal balanced thwarting those he hates and aiding those who need it, and came out with a plan that may just hurt him in the long run.
Mal put it best when he said:
Mal: Now this is all the money Niska gave us in advance. You bring it back to him, tell him the job didn't work out. We're not thieves. Well, we * are * thieves. And then he kicks Crow into a turning engine. He’s a very difficult man to understand.
Inara and Kaylee
Inara and Kaylee have an interesting relationship that isn’t quite mother-daughter, but isn’t exactly sisterly either. Inara has taken to caring for Kaylee, though they’re probably not much different in age. In turn, Kaylee is fascinated by the glamorous world of the Companion, and tries to escape to Inara in between her time in the ship’s engine room. Inara helps Kaylee to stay in touch with the less brutal and tough side of life. Kaylee seems to do the same for Inara.
Inara reminds me very much of female Mal. In fact, with her keen intelligence and her aura of calmness, she'd probably make a better captain than any on board.
But then, where'd be the fun in that? Jayne's 5 minutes of Captaincy were pure comedy gold.
Hands Of Blue
Well, ok, maybe there’s a case to be made for assigning this Alliance ‘Evil Empire’ status. I’m still not sure if those blue hands were gloves, or some sort of stain, but they were sure as hell one thing: creepy.
If River’s rambling weren’t clear to you: those men are after her and Simon. Whatever they did to River, they did in the name of the Alliance Government.
River is still yet to come out of her shell. Next week, she’ll freak the crap out of you.
A Real-World Perspective on ‘Browncoats’
The Browncoats were a group of people fighting for independence from a larger group. While this is a fairly understandable Revolutionary theme, there’s this quote from a speech by Joss Whedon (
Firefly's creator), which solidifies the whole Firefly experience:
“Firefly went on the air a few years ago and was instantly hailed by critics as one of the most cancelled shows of the year. It was ignored and abandoned, and the story should end there. But it doesn’t, because the people who made the show and the people who saw the show—which is roughly the same number of people—fell in love with it a little bit too much to let it go, too much to lay down arms when the battle looked pretty much lost.In Hollywood, people like that are called unrealistic, quixotic, obsessive. In my world, they’re called Browncoats.”(
Full speech here)
Jayne Moment of the Week
At the top of the page is a picture of Jayne in one of his trademark hats. Just seeing him in those hats makes me all warm inside. However, there is another moment that takes the prize this week:
After trying to take over the ship in the Captain’s absence, Dr Simon slips Jayne a little something to calm him down:
Jayne: You can't change that… by gettin' all… bendy.Wash: All what?[Jayne's expression softens; his breathing becomes laboured.]Jayne: You got the… the light… from the console… keep you… lift you up. They shine like…[He looks up and starts snatching invisible things from the air.]Jayne: … little… angels…[Jayne falls ove, unconscious.]Wash: Did he just go crazy and fall asleep?Simon: I told him to sit down.
Next Week
In the next episode (
‘Bushwacked’), the crew of
Serenity encounters a ghost ship. Unfortunately for them, it’s not completely dead.
Not for the faint-hearted.
* Thanks to Tsukiko-chan for inspiring most of these thoughts. Watching Firefly is a team sport; remember that.**(Firefly is on Action-X at 19h00 on Wednesdays - repeated at 18h00 on Tuesdays and 16h00 on Sundays).***(All quotes reproduced from WikiQuote (Firefly) under the GNU PL - this quote site contains spoilers).