A Thought about 'Safe'.

POSTED BY: SerenitysGirl
UPDATED: Friday, May 27, 2005 05:57
VIEWED: 8863
PAGE 1 of 4

1 2 3 4 NEXT PAGE

SERENITYSGIRL

Monday, May 23, 2005 7:49 PM

Hi

After watching the Episode "Safe" a thought occured to me. Simon and Rivers parents didnt even seem to care about Simon's concerns. You would think the way Simon was acting they would of atleast checked it out.

Did the parents know what the alliance was doing to there daughter?

After watching the episode a few times it lead me to believe that they may of new something was going on and obviously didnt want Simon to know.

Serenity's Girl
YIM: Danitg31
AIM: fanoffirefly
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/luvfirefly/

STEVETHEPIRATE

Monday, May 23, 2005 7:53 PM

My thoughts: Mr. and Mrs. Tam trusted the Alliance, therefore they had no reason to suspect something bad was happening to River. Plus, they were waspy elite-types, so Simon's concerns were always going to take a backseat to whatever dinner party was being conducted at the time.

----------------------------------------------
STEVEthePIRATE smells burnt popcorn ... someone in this office burned some popcorn ... alright, who was it?

CALLMESERENITY

Monday, May 23, 2005 8:04 PM

I've asked myself the same question. My thoughts were:
1) they were told some "story" about what the alliance was doing (though not the real story) and were keeping it from Simon
2) they knew the truth, i.e. they knew WHY the blue hands were messing with her brain and that reason seemed good enough for them to allow it (again, they probably didn't know they were opening up her brain over and over, they got the sugar coated version)but didn't want Simon to know because they knew he'd get upset.
3) what Steve said, they were too concerned about appearances and social standing to take Simon seriously. (I seriously hope not. Mr. Tam seemed so nice in the first flashback when they were kids.)

We have such a small piece of the puzzle that it's hard to give the story all it's flesh. We dont know, Mr. Tam could have been secretly trying to rescue his daughter through connections he had. They could have just been idiots and refused to see the signs. We just don't know enough to judge them, I guess. Drives you crazy, doesn't it?
I haven't seen Serenity, and I DO NOT WANT any spoilers, but I'm really hoping we learn a bit more about all this. I don't think the dad was serious when he told Simon to never come back. Parents say that out of anger and rarely mean it.

"He looked bigger when I couldn't see him."

SERGEANTX

Monday, May 23, 2005 8:46 PM

The Tam's struck a deal with the Blue Hands, before the kids were even born. They signed up to have their kids genetically altered. In exchange for money, social standing, and a genetically superior son, they'd turn over their second born for whatever nefarious plans Blue Sun was working on. Thus the emotional detachment shown toward River in the first flashback, and the hasty dismissal of Simon's concerns later on.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

BRUISERSMOM

Monday, May 23, 2005 9:09 PM

Quote:
I've asked myself the same question. My thoughts were:
1) they were told some "story" about what the alliance was doing (though not the real story) and were keeping it from Simon
2) they knew the truth, i.e. they knew WHY the blue hands were messing with her brain and that reason seemed good enough for them to allow it (again, they probably didn't know they were opening up her brain over and over, they got the sugar coated version)but didn't want Simon to know because they knew he'd get upset.
3) what Steve said, they were too concerned about appearances and social standing to take Simon seriously. (I seriously hope not. Mr. Tam seemed so nice in the first flashback when they were kids.)

We have such a small piece of the puzzle that it's hard to give the story all it's flesh. We dont know, Mr. Tam could have been secretly trying to rescue his daughter through connections he had. They could have just been idiots and refused to see the signs. We just don't know enough to judge them, I guess. Drives you crazy, doesn't it?
I haven't seen Serenity, and I DO NOT WANT any spoilers, but I'm really hoping we learn a bit more about all this. I don't think the dad was serious when he told Simon to never come back. Parents say that out of anger and rarely mean it.

I agree and I hope that the movie will answer some of the questions that I have about how much Simon's parents knew, what they did, if anything, for River while Simon was trying to rescue her and what happened to them after Simon left.

ZEEK

Monday, May 23, 2005 9:14 PM

I've wondered the same thing. Makes me sort of think that we would have seen more of the Tam parents if the series had lived on.

Possibly as antagonists. I could see Mr. Tam as being in on the whole thing. Blue hands and all perhaps. How far would he go for power?

WEICHI

Monday, May 23, 2005 10:08 PM

I agree with the trust the alliance and worried about status camp. I think these folks are comfortable, and they want to stay comfortable, and they keep themeselves purposefully ignorant. Now, what they think in those private moments, deep in the dark of night, lieing in bed and wondering whether they locked the door? Who knows. People have an unbelievable ability to deny the truth when the truth is too darn umcomfortable to deal with.

See how I'm not hitting him, I think I've grown!

MALICIOUS

Monday, May 23, 2005 10:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by CallMeSerenity:
They could have just been idiots....

That. ^. Up there. What CallMeSerenity said.

Also, what Sarge said too.

Mal-licious

"Let's go be bad guys."

HELL'S KITTEN

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:43 AM

In some of the earlier script drafts, it was more of a fear thing than social status or malice. Almost as if they didn't know what was really going on until it was too late, followed up with a "you lost one kid, keep it up and lose the other" kind of threat. But who knows. Joss seems to not have many happy child / parent relationships in his writing....

But an even bigger question for me was: how the hell did crickets get to that backwater planet?? They certainly didn't bring 'em on purposes, cuz they don't provide much in the way of protein. And, sure, I imagine a few could have stowed away as bitty little bugs tend to do, but that many, enough to make that much cricket noise? Or... were River and I just hearing things?

无党派人士

REGINAROADIE

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 3:20 AM

You know, I always thought that that was the real reson behind the whole thing. That maybe River was the breakthrough in human evolution they were trying to attain, and Simon was just a trial run.

Of course, in my story YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN, I went with the hypothesis that the elder Tams didn't want to rock the boat, like any member of bourgeoise society is taught, and by the time they realized that something was wrong, it was far too late, and that theres this huge pressure and tension between the four of them.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And wow! Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like ... ow ... ound ... round ... ground! That's it! That's a good name - ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?

1 2 3 4 NEXT PAGE