Simon and River were a whole other mess that my brain had to figure out. It wasn't an option, it was a mission. Jayne cracked me up for so many reasons. And how did "warrior woman" Zoe end up with Wash?
Not that I had a problem with Wash personally, as my geek crush on Alan Tudyk expanded a bit. I hadn't realized he was a part of the cast. The more I watched, the more things made sense, as is normally the case. The episode "Out of Gas" helped tremendously. But instead of the intrigue wearing off as my questions were answered, it only grew.
I wanted more. I felt the addiction forming before I'd made it halfway through the episodes, not to mention the movie, Serenity. Due to parental obligation it took me a over a week to finish the series, being forced to wait until after bedtime to indulge and needing to remind myself nightly, that I too had a bedtime. I loved, and craved, the show but it is definitely not appropriate for my three year old. I watched each episode, soaking it all in, pleased by the appropriate level of drama balanced by comedic relief.
I heart Alan Tudyk, might have mentioned that already. Witty sarcasm and clever dialogue plus an ingenious little bit of plot and subplot development appeased the writer in me.
In a way, technology has evolved but people have not. Humankind continues to struggle with wars, authoritarian centralized governing, and personal freedom. The questions Firefly throws at the viewers in well-dosed bits are often those that young adults ask themselves for the first time. They explore the world and how it works and discover their values and stances on societal and ethical topics.
And this TV show gives a lot of food for thought to such viewers. The whole season is one big journey for these nine renegades who gradually fall into this familial dynamic. Watching it back, several things immediately struck me. I forgot about the now-famous guest stars Zac Efron! Christina Hendricks! Which, fast forward to and a world where Whedon has been accused of verbal abuse toward women and more , feels both less shocking than it should be, and more shocking than you remember.
From that episode on, world-building and action fall into the background and the people, as well as their relationships, become the drive. Unfortunately though, it just The executives at Fox had other ideas though and the show ends without any sense of closure.
And let me tell you, after binging Firefly , Serenity plays like the ultimate series finale in the history of television. It just feels right, and the movie itself is wildly propulsive, exciting and revealing, tying up most of the big loose ends you were curious about during the run of the show.
What I realized after watching the movie though was most of my memories of the show itself had been replaced by ones from the movie.
For viewers, this translated into plenty of derring-do, as Mal somewhat recklessly led his crew into one dangerous job after another. This allowed the production to keep its budget in check while still exploiting the inherent adventure of landing on new planetary outposts each week.
Unlike the crew of the Enterprise, whose mission was to explore the galaxy, the misfits of Serenity welcomed the viewer on board, taking them on an adventure of exploration that felt more organic and down-to-earth. And it shows. Plotting, pacing and dialogue worked in near-perfect synchronization as Whedon and his collaborators peeled back the skins of their characters and deepened our understanding of the Verse they lived in.
After successfully robbing a train of desperately needed medicine for Adelai Niska, Mal returns the purloined goods, when they realize just how sick the people they stole it from really are. This is a show that is at times laugh-out-loud funny, reveling in the interplay between its diverse characters and finding humor in the darkest corners of the human psyche. The show never takes itself too seriously but also thankfully lacks the annoying self-awareness that usually comes with self-deprecation.
Zoe Washburne is a fierce warrior woman, whose career in the military ended with the defeat of the Browncoats. Inara is another example of strength of a different kind. More than a match for Mal intellectually, she has no problem knocking him down a peg or two, captain or not. There is an obvious and undeniable personal connection between all of the cast members that allows for easy repartee and delightful improvised moments.
Serenity has Malcolm Reynolds. One part revolutionary and one part swashbuckling rogue, Mal was born on the doomed border planet Shadow, far from the Core and served as a Browncoat in the Unification War, fighting against the Alliance.
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