The Guild, Serenity, Mal, and Inara

POSTED BY: Bytemite
UPDATED: Monday, January 15, 2024 00:21
VIEWED: 20583
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BYTEMITE

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 4:57 AM

Well, he technically can't use Harrow because he utterly botched that job and got the contacts killed. I think it sounds like in Leaves on the Wind Mal and the crew have been pretty desperate for any jobs. Probably taking crappy jobs and really stringing out their supplies.

And I note that Mal went into hiding after Miranda and refused to become involved anything political until absolutely necessary. Mal has grown from when he was a sergeant in the war, he doesn't just trust blind idealism to be able to accomplish anything anymore.

I was wrong (maybe) about Miranda not having much real verse-wide impact, except maybe in the end result where all effort seems to have gone for mostly nothing. And I also get the feeling like Miranda might have been like a combination of Benghazi/Edward Snowden, where it's a scandal but only a select few factions really care about it.

Agreed about Blue Sun, though the Alliance seems to be equally pissed about everything too, and assassins like the Operative don't scream to me that the Alliance has much respect for their own laws either. I think it's that twofer that really has Mal and co on the run.

It's interesting to reread my thoughts and see where I was right or wrong.

I never expected Inara to just get kicked out of the Guild. That seemed like too convenient a solution, and also something Inara would resent Mal for, but then I also never expected Zoe's pregnancy for the same reason (too easy closure for Zoe and Wash).

Maybe there is some resentment about the Guild (she seems pretty angry about it when she brings it up in the first issue), but they're just not addressing that right then because of all the other issues they have to deal with.

Or maybe Inara has suggested to Mal that she's been kicked out but it's actually more that she's chosen to leave or that she's been given leave because of things going on with her. Decommissioned doesn't sound so ominous as the shunning that Nandi supposedly got.

I did actually predict Inara would go "native" on Serenity so to speak. I always saw Inara as more adventurous than people gave her credit for. I always thought Nandi wasn't so much a contrast but a foreshadowing.

THGRRI

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 5:43 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by KiMbEr:
If Mal gave up his ship, I would think he'd live on a ranch =) As for the guild, I think it frowns upon dating because that means less clients...but I think if Inara made her mind up, no guild would keep her from being with Mal.

Kim

Inara says to Kaylee in Ariel before going to get her yearly check up having a boyfriend is complicated.

si shen

THG

Monday, January 15, 2024 12:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
So after digesting some of the "More about Sex and Inara" thread that Mal4Prez posted (here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=12&t=38801), I've been trying to sort through some ideas I have about Mal, Inara, and their lifestyles/careers.

I thought I'd throw some of these ideas out into the ring and see which ones survive and which ones get torn apart by tigers.

So, houses of the guild. Obviously they'll all have some things in common, like no forced prostitution and the rules on subscription fees and client payments. But do they all same policy on relationships, or might there some that might be more traditional and strict than others? And by traditional and strict, I mean geisha-like, having to retire to marry, versus the opposite end, French courtesans who could have spouses AND practice. Could individual Guild Houses have their own culture (more Christian, more Buddhist, less strict, more strict, etc.)? Could differences among Houses lead to widespread confusion over whether Companions can have relationships, as is suggested in the scene cut from War Stories?

I believe I've heard that Joss describes Companions as being like Greek Hetaerae, who upon marrying had to give up their privileged status. But it could be he was just using Hetaerae as an analogy to the privilege they enjoy.

Priestesses. What might being a Guild Priestess entail? To me, it sounds like the Priestess may put more emphasis on the spiritual and counsel side of the profession than on the money-making, and likely act as the administrators and diplomats of the guild. If Inara were to fulfill her dream of becoming a Priestess, and if a priestess has the option of not maintaining a client database, would this disenfranchise Inara as much as teaching, choosing to leave the guild, or being kicked out would?

Finally, Serenity. Both Mal and Inara love the ship, but I really think that as beneficial as the ship has been to him reconstructing himself, it's also become a destructive factor in his life. Out of Gas shows that it's a risk just flying in her, let alone the kind of jobs they have to take to keep her flying.

I've said before, that I think Mal needs to give up Serenity before he gets himself killed, and that Joss would write Mal giving up Serenity as symbolic of Mal finally healing from Serenity Valley. And, in starting a relationship with Inara, there would likely have to be some compromise in regards to career/lifestyle that both would need to make. Serenity is the biggest one I can see.

The only problem is, neat as that sounds, if Mal becomes landlocked, even if he's healed enough that he doesn't drive himself crazy with restlessness, how can this be balanced with the travel requirements of Inara's career? As a Rim-traveling companion, or even as a Guild ambassador to the Rim, she would need to travel.

That's all I can think of for now, but as things are discussed, I may come up with more.

EDIT: Another reference thread. http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=2&t=37626]