Why didn't Mal flush Jayne out of the air lock?

POSTED BY: TheSomnambulist
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 18:34
VIEWED: 5680
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THESOMNAMBULIST

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 2:07 PM

Hey all.

I was rewatching Ariel again last night and I began to wonder just why Mal didn't flush Jayne out of the air lock?

Jayne's betrayal is a very significant act. Something that I would have imagined a character like Mal just would not tolerate.

(Don't get me wrong) I love the character of Jayne, but I wonder what it would have done for the show had Mal opened the air lock?

Would that have changed the show for you guys for the better or for the worse?

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GORRAMREAVERS

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 2:28 PM

I also thought Jayne went WAY over the line in Ariel. Mal keeps Jayne around even though he seems to know that Jayne will turn on him as soon as 'the money is good enough'. I also think that Jayne has learned his lesson with trusting any Fed and seemed to be more part of the crew after Ariel. So yeah...that really isnt much of an awnser :)

I am glad Mal didnt kill Jayne though. Last night I was watching Deadwood (great show on HBO (western) that they are showing the repeats 2 at a time on monday nights) and one of the main characters took a bullet to the back of the brain. That sucked.

"..it is my very favorite gun."

BYTETHEBULLET

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 2:35 PM

I believe that Jayne saying 'don't tell 'em what I did'(from memory) is what kept him alive.

Oh, and Deadwood is a really good series also. I have been watching the reruns again and learning more this time around.

ByteTheBullet (-:

GWEK

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 2:37 PM

Seems to me that Mal doesn't kill Jayne because, at the last second, Jayne cares what the others think of him. That, more than any apology or excuse our favorite mercenary could come up with, tells Mal that Jayne wants to be part of the crew.

Once he knows that, once he knows there's "hope" for Jayne, Mal is not a cold enough bastard to kill him in cold blood. Who on that ship hasn't needed a second chance, after all?

If Jayne ever crosses him again, though, I suspect there will be no leniency.

SIGNYM

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 2:38 PM

Because by saying "don't tell them what I done" Jayne is showing a glimmer of loyalty. He's beginning to actually care what the others think of him.

STATIC

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 2:43 PM

I think Mal is very slowly starting to gain a little faith back piece by piece...episode by episode. Maybe not in God, but definitely his fellow man.

Jayne has ALOT of bad points as a character, but the thing is...he's part of the family. He's the older brother who dropped out of college, has a drinking problem, constantly shows up to borrow money, maybe even steals the silver...but when little sister gets hurt by some guy at school, big brother shows up and folds the bastard up and stacks him neatly in a corner somewhere.

Mal is 'Dad', and Jayne, for all his faults, is one of HIS. Mal would NEVER have let Zoe or Book flush Jayne because it's HIS place to do so, and his place to decide on mercy.

The ONLY thing Jayne could have done to show GENUINE remorse is to accept his pending death and ask...finally...not to be SPARED, but only his dignity. "Please...I'm a sonofabitch...but don't let them know how BIG of a sonofabitch I am?"

Mal saw the one glimmer of hope in Jayne that he wishes he could find in himself and decided that it was his responsibility to allow that glimmer to grow.

I think Jayne also understood without question that if he ever betrayed the crew like that again, that Mal wouldn't bother to make it look like an accident. . .he'd just put a bullet in his head without question.

What Mal did was FINALLY buy Jayne's TRUE loyalty with something no measure of cash could 'trump'.

And I think Mal knew the whole time that's what he was doing.

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

THESOMNAMBULIST

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 3:05 PM

I think that line also convinced Mal of Jayne's character also, but then again Jayne's devious enough to target Mal's weak spot for sentiment...

Static[/] I think you've hit on something. Mal is gaining his faith in others and maybe in a way this giving of a second chance is his defining moment.

I'm going to rewatch the following episodes now so as to see how much Jayne's character towards others' changed... I remember he shares his spoils to the rest of the crew later on.

Cheers for that - always nice to read what others think.

:)

TheSomnambulist

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TAUSETIPRIME

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 3:05 PM

I asked this same question in a previous thread, and I got basically the same answers.

I believe this is more complicated than a simple "because he said what he said", although that is the most direct reason.

I was at DragonCon, and during one of the panels with our BDH's, Nathon said that true remorse was shown in that scene. It does explain a lot, but our good captain is, above all, interested in keeping his boat in the air. Jayne is one of three good fighters (we'll debate shepherd Book's abilities later, ad nauseam I imagine). Jayne is a resource, and generally he is good at what he does. Keeping him around is a risk/benefit question. At least Mal knows where Jayne stands. When you have that kind of understanding of a person, you can easily calculate what his motivations are.

Anyways, Jayne is Adam Baldwin, and he makes a great, likable, and a very important character. Had they killed him off that early, I'm not sure the show would have had as many fans as it did.

They didnt call it the dark ages because it was dark.

WILDHEAVENFARM

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 3:06 PM

In a word, remorse. Jayne's, that is. And the statements "That ain't no way for a man to die" and "Make something up, don't tell 'em what I did," which reveal a greater depth and sincerity in Jayne.

Also, I doubt Mal has stood face-to-face with many of the people he's killed. Shooting down an airship with a .50 or pciking off faceless henchmen at 50 yards leaves you safely isolated from your victims.

Mary
Always a beast, never a burden.

THESOMNAMBULIST

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 3:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Gorramreavers:
I am glad Mal didnt kill Jayne though. Last night I was watching Deadwood (great show on HBO (western) that they are showing the repeats 2 at a time on monday nights) and one of the main characters took a bullet to the back of the brain. That sucked.

Cool! I've not watched that. The only other time I remember watching a show where a character you didn't expect to die does die, was in the first Maimi Vice. I remember being totally shocked when the police chief got it!

Oh and Jesse in Buffy being bitten - but then I think that was obvious. Still cool, but obvious.

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