how did river get the gun?

POSTED BY: est120
UPDATED: Friday, November 25, 2005 09:09
VIEWED: 20571
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LADYSTARHAWK

Sunday, June 12, 2005 1:48 AM

I suppose it’s possible that the gun had been forgotten there from War stories. But I doubt it could have been left there for that long with no one noticing a nice bright shiny gun lying there in the cargo bay. And I can’t believe Jayne would not notice one of his guns was missing for that length of time. Possible, but not very probable.

I guess I always thought that she had gone into Jayne's bunk at some point and gotten it herself.

She walks through the whole ship and sees everyone, but no one sees her. Nobody talks to her, or even says "hi", not even her brother. I believe she was physically in the cargo bay the whole time, we just see her mentally going through the ship. She had already gotten the gun from Jayne's bunk and loaded it herself. She might not have even consciously known she was doing it. It could have been her mind trying to make sense of things on its own. We pick up "real life" with someone noticing her and the gun in the cargo bay and snapping her out of her reverie.

If you look at the wide shot when she finds the “stick” there's another stick very similar a little ways away from her too. She might have stepped on something else, looked at it, and then noticed the gun in her hand. She wasn’t seeing things for what they were, so it’s possible other things looked like sticks as well.

Jayne's never been a good liar, at any point in the series. The only time he even covers up what he's thinking is when he's double-crossing them, the rest of the time he seems to say what he thinks when he thinks it (part of why I like him).

Jayne seems like the kind to take care of his weaponry. I can't imagine him leaving one of his guns around, even accidentally. He might not be too smart, but he's very good at what he does. He cares about his tools and takes very good care of them. I just can't picture Jayne leaving one of his guns lying around. Plus, you don't leave a gun loaded when it's not going to be used because it's not good for the hardware.

It may look like he's got them all out on display for the world to see, but I have a feeling he keeps his bunk locked, and if he was smart (and when I comes to weapons I know he is) he'd keep the ammo locked up in a different place from his “gun rack”. At my uncle’s place I know that the ammo is securely locked up in the basement, even though the pretty glass guncase is in the living room. Even if Jayne’s guns are available, the ammo wouldn't be. River has shown some unique talents over the course of the series, and I have a feeling picking locks isn't beyond her abilities.

Now, I admit, Jayne's my favorite character in the series, so I might be a bit biased, but I honestly think we need to "move this conversation in a 'not Jayne's fault' direction". He takes care of his guns. If he didn’t he wouldn’t be able to do his job, seeing as how being intimidating and shooting stuff are his main assets to the team.

I blame the crazy girl that can read people's minds, sees guns as sticks, and kills people with math.

Lady Starhawk
Beware of the run-on sentence

My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle. - Mal

PRETTYINPINK

Sunday, June 12, 2005 11:38 AM

This is just something I saw posted elsewhere (the Official movie site I think), but the point was made that in Out of Gas Mal pulls one of Jaynes' guns that was taped under his work out bench. Maybe this is not the same gun, but it is possible that Jayne has more than one gun stashed away around the hold or anywhere on the ship for emergencies. Just a thought.

TALLGRRL

Sunday, June 12, 2005 2:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Claudius:
Okay, Okay....
But why was it left there, and for how long?

That's all I want to know

=================================================
Wash: Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction.
Zoe: We live in a space ship, dear.
===============================================

It doesn't matter WHY it was left there.
(And as far as it being there from OoG, the episodes are not real-time, day to day. By the time we reach OiS, OoG could have been weeks hence. "Trash" takes place almost 6 months later than "Our Mrs Reynolds".)
And it was left there long enough for it to be found...by the wrong person.
By the way, River is walking around the ship very quietly. She doesn't go into the rooms where people are talking and...whatever.
Simon and Kaylee don't see her, but she hears and sees them.
Zoe and Wash definitely don't see her...but she feels them.
Jayne and Book don't see her, but she sees and hears them.

If Joss...or any writer...had to do that much explanation, the story would never get told.
What you need to know, you're told.
The rest (who left the gun and why)is up to you.
Me? Knowing what I know about the crew and the ship...and knowing what I know at my age about human nature...it is plausible to me that Jayne--or someone--accidentally left a gun laying around.
Had River not been on the ship, it wouldn't have been that big a deal. Mal would have been annoyed, but not angry and scared.

"Take me, sir. Take me hard." -- Zoe

MER

Sunday, June 12, 2005 6:09 PM

What if River seperated herself from her mind? Her mind is going through the ship while her physical body is going through Jayne's bunk, getting his gun and ammo to go to the cargo bay.

Her mind eventually comes back to her physical body as a way of snapping out of it (since everybody's yelling at her to drop the gun for god knows how long).

And didn't Joss say she subconsciously knew Early was going to get on the ship? Maybe she was on her way to where he was and the crew saw her in time before she could use the gun.

Either way, I hope Serenity explains how her body works. Maybe we could put two and two together on this without the reading between the lines ^-^;;

JACQUI

Friday, August 5, 2005 8:03 PM

In "War Stories" we're clearly shown that there is a cabinet in the cargo bay for guns and ammo together.

It's entirely plausible that she was able to get into that cabinet. Meaning that no one actually left guns lying around willy nilly.

I find it hard to believe Jayne would just leave a gun, or any weapon, by itself in the cargo bay like that. He does keep them handy (ie: in 'Shindig' he has a gun sitting on the weight bench as he does chin ups), but I doubt he would have walked away and left it there.

As for not knowing who found her with the gun and how long she was alone with it... I've only ever seen the DVD version (I'm a late comer to the fandom), so I always assumed it was Mal and Inara on the stairs, where she would have been perfectly visible the whole time.

SONMICA

Saturday, October 15, 2005 3:54 PM

Imho, the point is that River sees the twig/gun as harmless. She's curious about it, but she doesn't think it's dangerous. A twig could be many things to many people. It could be a weapon or a tool. It could be a toy. Anyway, River looks at it as if it comforts her.

If she had to go into Jayne's bunk or a gun cabinet or something, load the gun, take the lock off, just so she can gaze at it like it was a harmless but interesting object, that would sort of defeat the point.

GIANTEVILHEAD

Tuesday, October 18, 2005 11:56 PM

It seemed like no one noticed River when she was walking around the ship so it could have been some sort of clairvoyant ability of hers, being able to perceive things beyond the range of the five senses or it could mean that she didn’t want to be seen. Plus her telepathic abilities seems to be involuntary so it is possible that she was unconsciously channeling something into the minds of the people around her and somehow clouded their perception.

River didn't notice the branch until she stepped on it and it snapped, which could mean that the gun went off which alerted the entire crew.

"I swallowed a bug." -River Tam

CORNCOBROB

Thursday, November 3, 2005 5:06 PM

i dont know if anyone else said this i read most of the posts, but when river steps on the twig, it is the only twig on the ship. only AFTER she picks up the twig, does the bay become filled with brush. what that represents i have no idea, but it is clear the gun is laying on the floor, in between crates and a set of stairs.

also there are pleanty of loaded weapons 'laying' around on the cargo hold. dont forget the eppisode when the life support fails,

Select to view spoiler:

and Mal lets those people on the ship, and gets shot. when the salvegers backs are turned he grabs the gun off the quad.

GIANTEVILHEAD i like that possibility. it makes alot of sence. why else would EVERYONE have been alerted and on the ground in seconds

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry

GIANTEVILHEAD

Thursday, November 3, 2005 9:18 PM

I wonder why River didn't get into Kaylee's head.

"I swallowed a bug." -River Tam

GILTHANASS

Friday, November 4, 2005 7:25 PM

Here is my take on the matter. umm, possible spoilers underneath? (I don't know what counts as spoilers)

Anyway, river was obviously "programed" by the alliance. The way I see it, something in her head snapped, and she started to initiate one of her programs. Her body went, got a gun, loaded it, etc. At that time, the river that we know was kind of "locked out" of her body. It was then that the wandering around hte ship happened. As has been mentioned, this never happened, it was her mind going free of her body, and noticing everyone around her (I think kaili wasn't there because she is innocent, she has no secrets). Now, her mind rejoined her body when she stepped on the twig (setting off the gun, putting her concious back in control). She picks up the twig like a child, because she "the innocent core river" does not get it. She does not get the gun. Then everyone yells at her.

So basically, I think her programing was set off, and that is what it is like from rivers perspective when that happens.

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