why not Mal?

POSTED BY: SouthernSlayer
UPDATED: Saturday, February 26, 2005 14:58
VIEWED: 10652
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COSMO

Thursday, February 24, 2005 9:10 AM

The question should actually be 'why didn't Inara do something about it ?' a woman with her profession and her training should have been able to get to the core of the issue much faster than shown in the series.

I would have expected more of an Anya approach, I like you you like me why dont you come over for tea and we'll see what happens.
Instead we get a high school romance with lingering looks and little forward movement completely inappropriate for the strong willed woman she is supposed to be. In addition we have the fact that they spend long stretches of time coped up in a small starship with no one else to talk to, it makes little sense that they would not hook up.

BROWNCOAT1

Thursday, February 24, 2005 3:43 PM

Elwoodmom wrote:

Quote:
I think it's because if they DID confess their love for each other, ratings would drop. It's called the Moonlighting syndrome.

I remember Moonlighting, and you are right. The second Mattie & David got together ratings dropped and the plots hit rock bottom.

Cosmo wrote:

Quote:
The question should actually be 'why didn't Inara do something about it ?' a woman with her profession and her training should have been able to get to the core of the issue much faster than shown in the series.

I think that Inara did do something. At the end of Heart of Gold when Mal was about to confront her w/ his feelings, she told him she was leaving the ship. I think she did this partly because of his being on the brink of admitting his feelings and partly due to her reaction to seeing him coming out of Nandi's room.

I think that Inara has known for almost since the beginning that Mal was attracted to her and that he was starting to fall for her. She tried to deny it and her own feelings for him and stayed longer than she should have, partly out of a desire to be near him, and partly to stay on the move for whatever she is running from.

Quote:
In addition we have the fact that they spend long stretches of time coped up in a small starship with no one else to talk to, it makes little sense that they would not hook up.

Actually it makes perfect sense if you recall what Inara told him in the flashback sequence from War Stories. She told him she would not under any circumstances service him or any of the crew. Of course that was when she looked upon Serenity and Mal as a mere business arrangement. Their travels and tribulations have changed the relationship dynamic a good bit, but I think Inara believes for her sake and Mal's she must not cross that line.

__________________________________________

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COSMO

Friday, February 25, 2005 10:05 AM

Some good points there, I still think that Inara was inconsistently written given her supposed profession. She is supposed to be a person who have survived on her own for quite some time, part of her training would have had to be to make a difference between 'sex' and 'love' still in regards to Mal she is acting like a teenager.

Her reaction in 'heart of gold' makes little sense to me, why is she crying ? If she wanted him she could have done something about it long before that.

The flashback in warstories also makes little sense, she could have said 'I will not service you or the crew because you cannot afford my price' and/or 'you are not my kind of clientele' since she didn't give a reason she left the door open for speculation.

In conclusion the whole role of a companion in the firefly universe is not easily understood, maybe it would have been developed further in a longer series.

EMBERS

Friday, February 25, 2005 1:52 PM

I do think that Joss' point was that things happen to people,
that you cannot control your own emotional response.
Mal assumed he couldn't fall in love because he was isolated and bitter,
and Inara assumed she couldn't fall in love because she was a professional,
and in control always of her situation....
they were both wrong.

Living and working side by side and created a bond which turned into love in spite of themselves.
Against their volition.

Of course her response turns out to be, to run away....
showing she is definitely NOT like Anya.

At any rate Cosmo, I think you are thinking of Inara as a whore (someone who would go with anyone who has the price),
while I think she was supposed to be more of a Geisha (a highly trained entertainer and courtesan who has to maintain her place in society...and can't be caught 'slumming').

SIXGUN

Friday, February 25, 2005 6:55 PM

Nandy observed in "Heart of Gold" that neither of them liked complications. In "War Stories" we find out Mal didn't want Zoe to marry Wash because he felt ship board romances were a bad idea.

Mal has to consider other things too. If they profess their love for each other what if Inara decides to remain a companion? How would he deal with that? If she gives it up she gives up her status in society and leads a life of crime and running from the Alliance with him. Maybe he doesn't want that for her. As for Inara, we've been given hints that she has her own agenda, leaving Senon (or however you spell it) when she could have been house mistress or whatever. And that syringe we saw in the pilot that we all assumed was a suicide kit, Joss hinted in the audio commentary was for something else entirely. Getting involved with Mal might interfere with that agenda.

Well, as a rule I say girl folk ain't to be trusted.

FIREFLYGAL

Friday, February 25, 2005 7:12 PM

I think it's because Mal loves Serenity more. He's never looked at Inara the way he looked at Serenity for the first time in Out of Gas. I don't deny he loves Inara but Serenity's his number 1 gal.

SIXGUN

Friday, February 25, 2005 7:12 PM

I'm going to throw out a wild theory about Inara here. Inara has been shown to be a very nurturing person and has taken to looking after Kaylee and even River almost like a mother.

If you watch closely, many times when there is imminent danger or a very emotional scene, she places her hands or a pillow in her lap or cradles her belly. She's either very protective or very aware of her child bearing regions, if you will.

Companions are apparently governed by a set of regulations. I strongly suspect one of the regulations is that they're forbidden from bearing children and are probably medically altered to ensure it. The mysterious syringe from the pilot might be what could reverse that. I believe Inara yearns to have a child and I believe her travels on Serenity meeting clients from all over is a quest to find the perfect father and when she does she'll resign from the guild. She would naturally look for someone in her own class of people which Mal certainly doesn't fit in and I think that's why she balks at the idea of it being him whatever her feelings toward him might be.

Like I said. Just a theory.

Well, as a rule I say girl folk ain't to be trusted.

HORSEPLAYER

Saturday, February 26, 2005 2:51 AM

The major difference between a whore and a companion seems to be the official sanction.

In HOG Inara says something like "They are whores, they're not registered with the guild"

Knowing how Mal feels about offical sanctions and permits, is it any wonder he not only refuses to recognize the differnce, but actively fights it.

ELWOODMOM

Saturday, February 26, 2005 8:03 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo:
The question should actually be 'why didn't Inara do something about it ?' a woman with her profession and her training should have been able to get to the core of the issue much faster than shown in the series.

I would have expected more of an Anya approach, I like you you like me why dont you come over for tea and we'll see what happens.
Instead we get a high school romance with lingering looks and little forward movement completely inappropriate for the strong willed woman she is supposed to be. In addition we have the fact that they spend long stretches of time coped up in a small starship with no one else to talk to, it makes little sense that they would not hook up.

Maybe because Inara is in love, and that makes her communicating abilities all befuddled...

BROWNCOATFAN1

Saturday, February 26, 2005 2:58 PM

maybe he did not say anything because he doesnt want to complicate things. maybe if things went bad in the relationshiip (which i dout they wouldnt) he wants to know that they are still frends.

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