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Post by TechnoSlut on Jun 14, 2004 12:38:06 GMT -5
Written by: Joss Whedon Directed by: Vondie Curtis Hall Air date: 10/4/02
The discovery of a stowaway leads to an even more shocking find---she's actually Mal's payment for a past job. Meanwhile, the Alliance has its eye on the Serenity. Or at least someone aboard it.
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Post by raenstorm on Aug 2, 2004 19:46:00 GMT -5
Sometimes innocents aren't so innocent are they, eh?
Sometimes it's just a very good seduction.
I don't have anything intelligent to say about this episode. Can't tell if it was about being seduced into things despite your best intentions or innoncence not always being what it seems. Actually, I'm sure there is another message there because it's nagging at the back of my brain but I can't figure it out.
In the meantime... this is one of my favorite episodes. It makes me laugh every time! Some of my fave quotes:
"You aren't the man I met a year ago." I love Jayne and Mal together.
"Mr. Reynolds, Sir, I'm your wife." Aww, Mal is speechless, that is so very unusual.
LOL! "This is Zoe, we need ALL personnel in the cargo bay." "All?! I said Wash." That line always cracks me up because you don't expect it of her from her matter of fact, ok-sir, attitude about doing what he is asking.
"He makes everyone cry. He's like a monster." "I'm not a monster!!"
"Don't you ever stand for such a thing. If anyone ever tries to kill you. You try to kill them right back!" Ahh, Mal's motto if ever I heard it.
"If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater." {Later} "Oh, I'm going to go to the special hell."
There are more but I started my nails in the middle so I didn't get them typed up.
Ahh, Joss, how much I miss your characters and dialog.
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Post by Lola m on Aug 2, 2004 20:45:16 GMT -5
This is just such a funny funny ep, I want to just quote my favorite bits and not point out anything else at all! But my favorite bits will be the same as everyone else's, so maybe I better just jot down some of my babbly notes as I took 'em and not try to make them be funny or meaningful or anything. Just spill them out. And then I'll come back and babble some more. ;D * Love the Mal and Jayne show evertime we get another slice. They just play off each other soooo well. * Mal strolling with Inara, flirting and bantering, but softer and nicer than we've seen before. They're both more relaxed. When Mal says "you gotta play at being a lady", she just kind of smiles and says "well, yes". And I love his "You can't open the book of my life and jump in the middle. Like woman, I'm a mystery." A fun and playful conversation. * And Jayne is just . . . sweet, getting the rain stick from Elder Gommen. Although, the way they were all acting, they seemed more than drunk. I wanted to be Spike and say "is everyone here stoned?". * I love all the bits where Mal is being a good guy. A really noble good guy. "Someone tries to kill you, you try to kill 'em right back!" Telling her about getting a job and how she can have a good life and that that was a "crappy planet" when she asks if he's gonna kill her. "We're the only ones don't think this is funny." And how he actually talks to her and tries to say she's doing a good job at stuff even if he doesn't want to be married to her. * I wanna know what specific things Inara was thinking of when she yells at Mal in her shuttle. Yes, the line about "making commitments and not keeping them" fits a couple of different ways with the supposed wife thing and just the idea of him having this wife and how it happened would be enough to make her mad and sharp with him. But those particular words come so readily to her. Inara seems thinking of some specific commitment he didn't keep with her. So, which one was it? * Jayne and Mal and Vera. Just. So. Funny. (Tho' I think we need to keep Jayne's statement about "takin' him seriously" in the back of our minds. 'Cuz, funny tho' it is, I gotta think it is also pretty true and this contributes to events we'll see later.) * Gotta say, though, if you looked at it strictly from her supposed background, if she really was who she's claiming to be, Jayne would probably have been considered a fairly appropriate "match" for her. The elders and so on, from the little we hear about their society, would probably have thought him a good man. And he probably wouldn't have been that bad a guy to her. When he says he'd "protect" her, I think he does mean it. Not the way Mal does, understanding that she needs to be protected from the very system that sold her off to some man. Jayne would mean it in a "big guy fight off people to keep woman safe, bring home money" kind of thing. I don't think Jayne is really capable of understanding what Mal is talking about (at least not yet). * Important Mal line: when Saffron says "Does your crew never show interest in your life?" and he replies "No, they're... they just know me well enough to..." Need to tuck that in the back of my mind too. The crew seems sooo tight, and they are. But only so far. Like a lot of work places. You see these folks so much, spend more time with them than your family, really, share a lot of stuff with them. But you only know that part of them. There's always more to a person that what they show "on the job". Mal's home is Serenity, but he's also the captain, and that means he is always "on the job". * Important lines that we get from the chop shop guys. "You don't see the whole. The parts are crap. But you put it together you got a Firefly." Just like our gang on Serenity. * Then, we have the fight between Zoe and Wash. I found this very very interesting, 'cuz it's a nice counterpoint to the lovely happy scenes we got in Shindig. This is not a fakey, perfect couple. Zoe is still mad about how Wash was acting in the kitchen and she taking it out on him (somewhat unfairly) now. It also shows their different viewpoints - I love Zoe, but she can be a bit "there is only one way to do things, my way". Wash is, as usual, spinning a joke around things to lighten the mood (Wash, love ya guy, but wrong time to pick to do this), and is actually just trying to be broad minded. He really doesn't want to "defend" Saffron or to have his wife be like her. As he proves later. (Love the "madly in love with a beautiful woman who can kill me with her pinkie!" line. ;D ) * Woah. Good Bible! and Whoa. Good Myth! 'Nuff said. * "Not everyone gets me and Zoe at first glance." Shades of Xander and Anya and Spike and Dru, anyone? * Boy, Saffron is good at her job. I mean, she has observed enough to see that Inara has an interest in Mal so she knows that saying "Malcolm Reynold's widow" will get Inara to run and see what happened to him, thereby letting Saffron get away. But, her little act didn't work, partly because of the relationship between Inara and Mal. It's Saffron's lines that contradict what Mal told her that you can see make Inara pause and start to question what is going on here. Also, Saffron so totally relies on the same scam each time - just seduce whoever gets in her path - that she is bound to have trouble whenever she runs into someone that is not suseptible to her charms. And there's bound to be at least a few. * Hmmmm. The scene where both Book and Mal know about the net and Jayne doesn't? Makes me wonder. Is this really just a criminal thing? Then why doesn't Jayne know about it? And Wash doesn't know what it is either. Maybe it's a war thing. In which case, we gotta really wonder about Book. I wish Zoe had been there so we could have gotten her reactions too. * Yay! Vera saves the day! And the shots are silent on their end, 'cuz of the space and all. Nice, that. Lola Brain go bye bye now. And Lola go to bed.
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Post by Rachael on Aug 2, 2004 21:11:17 GMT -5
Well, Lola and I have many of the same favorite bits, but I have a few new ones:
I think a large part of this episode is to show us, explicitly, that Mal isn't an amoral person. It's the first strictly legal job they pull off in the show, for starters. And he goes to sooo much trouble not to do the wrong thing with Saffron.
"I swear by my pretty floral bonnet that I will end you." Hee.
"You can't open the book of my life and jump into the middle." Interesting, 'cause that's what we've all been doing.
Inara moments: when Zoë first says "Mrs. Reynolds", and also when Mal says "We're the only ones don't think this is funny," Inara has this hurt/angry look on her face. Nope, Mal, you're not the only ones.
Mostly, this episode is about fun lines, for me:
"That's a dumb planet!"
"Preacher, you got a smutty mind!"
"Remember that sex we were planning to have, ever again?"
"My days of taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
"It's my very favorite gun."
Oh, yeah - Jayne is different in that scene. His voice is nearly unaccented - his words are very nearly, well, complete. He seems deadly serious, and more adult than we've ever seen him.
"Go play with your rain stick." ;D
"Whoa, hey, flesh!"
I gotta say, I never saw it coming - she had me believing she was the little farm girl. Almost until the kiss.
And - Inara is not seduced because she doesn't think Mal would lie to her. And because, well - she recognizes the signs of an attempted seduction, as opposed to a clumsy attempt by a teenaged girl.
"You're good." "You're amazing - who ARE you?"
"Some people juggle geese" - is going to be my new phrase for explaining weirdnesses. ;D
"But she was naked! And all. . .articulate!"
Okay - did I miss something, or was Jayne not gonna shoot out the window of the net, and then did it anyway? Thus killing the entire crew? Anyone?
Ahem. Mal is so frickin' clueless it's painful to watch, sometimes: "I knew you let her kiss you!"
So, what is the motivation for Saffron's crimes? If not the payoff, then? Is it to get something back from a society that she feels shunned her? Is it to combat loneliness? What?
I think, maybe, part of the point was again about family - Mal survived, as did his crew, because they back each other up. Wash's loyalty to his wife, Inara's love for Mal, all of it, made it possible for them to weather the storm that Saffron, alone and maybe lonely, caused.
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Post by Patti - S'cubie Cutie on Aug 2, 2004 21:14:35 GMT -5
Sometimes innocents aren't so innocent are they, eh? Sometimes it's just a very good seduction. I don't have anything intelligent to say about this episode. Can't tell if it was about being seduced into things despite your best intentions or innoncence not always being what it seems. Actually, I'm sure there is another message there because it's nagging at the back of my brain but I can't figure it out. In the meantime... this is one of my favorite episodes. It makes me laugh every time! Some of my fave quotes: "You aren't the man I met a year ago." I love Jayne and Mal together. "Mr. Reynolds, Sir, I'm your wife." Aww, Mal is speechless, that is so very unusual. LOL! "This is Zoe, we need ALL personnel in the cargo bay." "All?! I said Wash." That line always cracks me up because you don't expect it of her from her matter of fact, ok-sir, attitude about doing what he is asking. "He makes everyone cry. He's like a monster." "I'm not a monster!!" "Don't you ever stand for such a thing. If anyone ever tries to kill you. You try to kill them right back!" Ahh, Mal's motto if ever I heard it. "If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater." {Later} "Oh, I'm going to go to the special hell." There are more but I started my nails in the middle so I didn't get them typed up. Ahh, Joss, how much I miss your characters and dialog. yes...this is the ep that had me going 'huh.' Funny, sexy, and made me want to rip my hair out. That ending line...argghh!
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Post by William the Bloody on Aug 2, 2004 21:30:30 GMT -5
First off, great points all, Lola! Our Mrs. Reynolds was the show that hooked me. I saw it following Jaynestown (and I think they tossed in Shindig after Our Mrs. Reynolds) and I knew that this was a great series. It hit all the right points for me and had a truly memorable, lovable "villain." I had no doubts I would be seeing Saffron again...and if the series had gone on, you jsut know she woulda been back more than the one time! Joss is pretty good about returning to the interesting characters, and I am sure that the actress that played her would have jumped at the chance. Wouldn't it be GREAT if she showed up at least for a few minutes in Serenity: The Firefly Movie (StFM)? This is just such a funny funny ep, I want to just quote my favorite bits and not point out anything else at all! But my favorite bits will be the same as everyone else's, so maybe I better just jot down some of my babbly notes as I took 'em and not try to make them be funny or meaningful or anything. Just spill them out. And then I'll come back and babble some more. ;D * Love the Mal and Jayne show evertime we get another slice. They just play off each other soooo well. Eeetah! I loved the way they kept bringing that stick back up. I love a running gag. Personally, I would have liked to see at some point in the future Jayne doing something with that stick...trading it off, breaking it, using it as a defensive weapon and it "paying off" as his reward, given in good faith. Joss already used the part that broke in Out of Gas in the episodes Serenity( Kaylee mentions needing a new one), Out of Gas (it breaks, causing a major problem), and in yet to be rewatched Ariel (While on planet in the junk yard, Wash picks up that same so vital part, carries it for a bit and finally chucks it ...into a huge pile of the same part. I loved the irony!) Well, for one thing, he keeps calling her a whore when she told him he couldn't. He has barged into her quarters a countless times when not doing that that was a part of their business agreement. Those are jsut two off the top of my head. But I think you are thinking more along the lines of something done off stage between the two of them. *shrugs* I still wonder why Inara is on that ship and whether her infatuation with Mal started before or after she signed up. *mentally goes through his assorted conspiracy theories, yet again.* Oh yes....but she's good! And she is very, very smart. She is obviously capable of thinking on her feet...she can fight (witness fighting with Inara)... Any decent criminal knows that if you break the law often enough, you are bound to get caught or in major trouble or dead eventually. It's an odds game. If you are serious about it, arent jsut after the thrill, then you have to pick your battles and know when to get out. Oh me too since I personally go with the theory that Book is that General that won the war in Serenity Valley on Hera. It would have been nice to know that it was "military" knowledge coming out.
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Post by Patti - S'cubie Cutie on Aug 2, 2004 21:38:41 GMT -5
First off, great points all, Lola! Our Mrs. Reynolds was the show that hooked me. I saw it following Jaynestown (and I think they tossed in Shindig after Our Mrs. Reynolds) and I knew that this was a great series. It hit all the right points for me and had a truly memorable, lovable "villain." I had no doubts I would be seeing Saffron again...and if the series had gone on, you jsut know she woulda been back more than the one time! Joss is pretty good about returning to the interesting characters, and I am sure that the actress that played her would have jumped at the chance. Wouldn't it be GREAT if she showed up at least for a few minutes in Serenity: The Firefly Movie (StFM)? oh yeah - cause you're right - Joss doesn't throw away characters like that, even if he kills them. Yes, it would be fun for them to -for instance - see her doing the same sort of thing in some bar at some way station they stop at - and they just look at each other and move on....I can see that sort of little in joke payoff being done.
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Post by William the Bloody on Aug 2, 2004 21:49:26 GMT -5
oh yeah - cause you're right - Joss doesn't throw away characters like that, even if he kills them. Yes, it would be fun for them to -for instance - see her doing the same sort of thing in some bar at some way station they stop at - and they just look at each other and move on....I can see that sort of little in joke payoff being done. Yes, and that would work really well! I could even see it done in such a way as the "new" audience would know what had gone before, but still leaving a little somethign special for the faithful. Vlad
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Post by William the Bloody on Aug 3, 2004 3:47:52 GMT -5
Oh yes....but she's good! And she is very, very smart. She is obviously capable of thinking on her feet...she can fight (witness fighting with Inara)... Speaking of this... anyone notice that Inara CAN fight? She does rather well with Saffron here, and in Shindig she obviously has some understanding of fencing/swordfighting. I wonder jsut how much she knows and why. It would make sense that a woman in her profession would know some self defense maneuvers...and the fencing thing... hmmmm... okay its of her "class", but somehow I don't think that many women in her profession are fencing. Yet she knows plenty of pointers to give Mal. Perhaps these are jsut things she has picked up from the men she has known... but lets also face it... for all her "worldly" ('Versely???) ways, Inara is not that old. I would guess mid to, at most, later twenties. How long has she been performing her job? How long was she trained. Was she raised in the Companion's sisterhood? Was her mother a Companion? Later (Heart of Gold) we know that she could have REALLY been someone in the Companion organization...a leader if not THE leader... but threw those opportunities out hte window when she chose to travel out on the Rim. Yes, more than anyone but Book, Inara is a mystery. I hope we get some answers. Btw. I read somethign somewhere in a thread on this site that made me wonder if they were implying that Mal was the son of a Companion or former companion (or a prostitute anyway). He does mention his mom and ranching on the moon or planet Shadow, but not his father. Be an interesting background, and could possibly explain his love for Inara and at the same time hating her profession and hoping he could make an "honest" woman out of her. Vlad
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Post by Queen E on Aug 3, 2004 9:02:55 GMT -5
Speaking of this... anyone notice that Inara CAN fight? She does rather well with Saffron here, and in Shindig she obviously has some understanding of fencing/swordfighting. I wonder jsut how much she knows and why. It would make sense that a woman in her profession would know some self defense maneuvers...and the fencing thing... hmmmm... okay its of her "class", but somehow I don't think that many women in her profession are fencing. Yet she knows plenty of pointers to give Mal. Perhaps these are jsut things she has picked up from the men she has known... but lets also face it... for all her "worldly" ('Versely???) ways, Inara is not that old. I would guess mid to, at most, later twenties. How long has she been performing her job? How long was she trained. Was she raised in the Companion's sisterhood? Was her mother a Companion? Later (Heart of Gold) we know that she could have REALLY been someone in the Companion organization...a leader if not THE leader... but threw those opportunities out hte window when she chose to travel out on the Rim. Yes, more than anyone but Book, Inara is a mystery. I hope we get some answers. Btw. I read somethign somewhere in a thread on this site that made me wonder if they were implying that Mal was the son of a Companion or former companion (or a prostitute anyway). He does mention his mom and ranching on the moon or planet Shadow, but not his father. Be an interesting background, and could possibly explain his love for Inara and at the same time hating her profession and hoping he could make an "honest" woman out of her. Vlad Wow. I never thought about that...it would certainly parallel the events in "Heart of Gold." And add a certain squink to his feelings for Inara. Hmm.
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Post by Nickim on Aug 7, 2004 16:31:34 GMT -5
I just keep coming back to the "appearances can be deceiving" theme. Right from the opening frame things are not what they seem. We have Mal in the bonnet--loved that exchange about "an ugly wife"--and Zoe hiding in the wagon. Maybe Zoe's the better shot?
"One of these days we're gonna find out how a preacher knows so much about crime." But, as Lola said, that web seems like a military thing. Was Book a general in his past life as Vlad has speculated? Will we ever know?
Even the lines about the Firefly just being pieces of junk--can't remember it exactly--are deceiving. Firefly's are apparently pretty good ships to have--they last a long time, have lots of cargo room--some of it well hidden--but they're not flashy. (Again with the deceiving appearances theme.) The may look "la suh", but they're really valuable ships.
Obviously, Saffron isn't what she seems. Have to wonder what the other people in the village got out of the deal. They knew her story was a lie, since she didn't live her whole life there.
Inara and Mal. What are we going to do about those two? Inara is so hurt when she thinks that Mal willingly got married. Why can just see the words forming in her head. Why doesn't he want me? When Inara thinks Mal might be dead or dying, she kisses him passionately. She can show how she feels when no one else can see. She knows the trick of the poisoned lips--something they teach at Companion Academy? Vlad mentioned Inara's ability to fight, again she seems so delicate and refined and yet she knows martial arts and fencing--not what you would expect from someone so ladylike.
I think my favorite part of this episode is Wash telling Saffron that he'd like to kiss her, but he's "completely in love with his wife". I think his comment about her being able to 'kill him with her pinkie' is just a bit of masculine pride. I don't think he would be unfaithful even if his wife were half his size and no fighter at all. Wash is a real man, one who truly loves his wife and is happy staying faithful to her.
These people are like onions, we keep peeling away to reveal a new layer. Are any of them what they seem? I hope StFM gives us the chance to find out.
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Post by Lola m on Aug 18, 2004 20:21:40 GMT -5
Oh this was just a lovely analysis, Sara! First, total agreement on the idea that order of presentation is important. All the little bits of continuity and flow may not have seemed important to Fox execs, but they are the glue that hold a series together. That make it’s imaginary world seem more real, make it live in your heart, and make you a loyal viewer, may I add. Eetah of course on your comments re: Mal and Inara and the not-to-be expected welcome the Tam siblings got on Serenity (really only possible because of the way Mal has kept his integrity). We even discovered some background of Mal that matches my expectations from previous eps (yay, continuity!) But in particular, add my applause to yours for Christina Hendricks’ performance. Saffron is just . . .an amazing character on paper, but truly brought to life by the way she is played. I’m not surprised the character returns and truly believe that had the series continued we would have seen much more of her. Lola
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Post by Queen E on Aug 20, 2004 18:19:18 GMT -5
Masterful review, Ms. Sara!
I like, too, how you pointed out in such clear terms how the order makes all the differences; it's these subtle things that can really turn a Joss fan off...I know some expressed disappointment with the show when it aired on Fox, because in many ways it didn't seem like the characters were progressing the same way they did on Buffy and Angel.
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Post by Linda on Aug 30, 2004 5:16:13 GMT -5
Hi Sara! You know I'm going to say "Excellent review!," right? Yeah. The ONLY thing that bugs me about your review is that you had to go and mention how Christina Hendricks would have made an amazing Eve on AtS. Dammit! It hadn't occured to me. And now it does. Grrr. Argh. For everything else, eetah! eetah! eetah! Ok, possibly, I didn't need to know about the Glitter connection, either. Although, that makes the little exchange between Spike and Faith in BtVS's Dirty Girls even funnier. So, on second thought, thanks for that, too. ;D I loved the continuity you pointed out in your review. This series was SOOOO rich in subtle storytelling and character development. It's like everything Joss learned on the job from BtVS and AtS was put to use here. Have I mentioned www.soulfulspike.com/membersavatars/smileys/badrazz.gif[/img] to Fox lately? And Mal's proving his belief in equality between the sexes in his own inimitable style: by punching Saffron out. Hee. Linda, not thinking here. Just *squee!!* Fun, fun, fun episode.
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Post by Linda on Aug 30, 2004 5:21:53 GMT -5
Hi all! I LOOOOVE this episode. This is the one that hooked me on the show for good. (I would have been hooked by Serenity, but for some reason, it wasn't shown first..... to Fox.) Rae, Lola, Rachael, Patti, Vlad, Erin & Nicki: Thanks for your posts. Everyone seems to have pointed out my favorite bits, except for: I *loved* the look on Mal's face when Saffron asked him if he wanted her to wash his feet. And then the glance towards Zoe & Wash before he wordlessly left the dining room. Hee! Mal (when Saffron told him she cried when she learned she was to marry him): Why, is there blubber? (Complete with a Glory-like glance at his behind...) Regarding Inara's reaction to the marriage news: I was wondering if she believed that there was an "understanding" between herself and Mal. I've always thought that as of Shindig, they've demonstrated their feelings for one another in just about every way except for physically and actually *saying* the words "I love you." In Inara's hyper-trained world, perhaps there's a real, but subtextual way of communicating such things. That Mal has absolutely *no* clue about. Really, really *no* clue. Really. No. Clue. Oh, and because I am obsessive about all things Spike: I thought that Saffron would have made a wonderful trouble-causing divisive force ala Spike in The Yoko Factor. As Rachael pointed out, she failed to divide them this time, but everyone was in a pretty good place to begin with: successful job & a great celebration & for our two couples - some nice intimate moments. And her attempts did reveal some of the fault lines present on board. (Wash & Zoe's marriage, Inara & Mal's [non]-relationship, Mal's wariness about Jayne - he seemed more surprised about Vera being offered in trade rather than as a threat, Kaylee's complete faith in people, Mal's complete refusal to share anything about his past...) Her return at a later date, when the crew had a few more scars, could have been great & illuminating. Perhaps there were some additional developments along this line in Trash, but I don't recall right now and I am waiting to watch it on the S'cubie schedule. Have I said: to Fox lately? Linda, to Fox.
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