What Is Inara Running From?

POSTED BY: ManiacNumberOne
UPDATED: Sunday, August 6, 2006 04:35
VIEWED: 19510
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MANIACNUMBERONE

Saturday, July 26, 2003 8:31 AM

In Bushwacked, at the beginning, when Simon is talking with Inara, she essentially says that everone is running from something. She is, of course, trying to give some ease to Simon with her inclusive statement, but I got the feeling that she was talking about herself more than anything. Anybody else get that? What do you suppose she could be running from? The Guild life and responsibility? I'd be curious to hear what everyone is running from.

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Who's winning?
I can't really tell, they don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules that I know.
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-=ZERO=-

Saturday, July 26, 2003 9:11 AM

I think that Inara is running from the truth and her conscience. I believe that Inara is beginning to realize that her lifestyle is wrong. I say this because of the way she acts around Mal. Whenever Mal makes fun of her or disrespects her about her line of work, she just kinda shrugs it off without really giving a good retort other than making fun of him about being a smuggler. There's obviously chemistry between the two, but Mal hates her being a prostitute but secretly wants a woman that it better than him, while Inara hates him being a smuggler but secretly likes a rugged tough man.

As for the rest of the crew, this what I think they are running from:
Book: Thats a secret...
Mal: Memorys of the his past in the war.
Jayne: Any kind of attachment to human beings.
River: The Alliance
Simon: The Alliance
Kaylee: Backwater homeworld.

Zoe & Wash are the only mystery to me other than Book, their motives and desires (other than for each other) aren't talked about much in the show. Wash is the comic relief while Zoe is Mal's sidekick, which are hard to elaborate without taking them out of their respective roles.

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-=ZERO=-
Check me out on WinMX, I have all Firefly episodes in SVCD format.

DRAKON

Saturday, July 26, 2003 9:58 AM

"I think that Inara is running from the truth and her conscience. I believe that Inara is beginning to realize that her lifestyle is wrong. I say this because of the way she acts around Mal. Whenever Mal makes fun of her or disrespects her about her line of work, she just kinda shrugs it off without really giving a good retort other than making fun of him about being a smuggler. There's obviously chemistry between the two, but Mal hates her being a prostitute but secretly wants a woman that it better than him, while Inara hates him being a smuggler but secretly likes a rugged tough man."

I hope you are wrong about this. I think Joss is better than that as a writer.

First off, I don't think its the sex. I think what has Mal bugged is the fraud, the illusion a good Companion weaves around her client. Yeah you know its an illusion, and she does too. Its play acting, its fake love.

And I think there is the fact that she is better regarded socially bugs him a bit. She supported the Alliance, and probably gave a lot of aid and comfort to her soldiers. Soldiers that killed his friends during the war. He is a war hero, yet cannot get an honest job. She wasn't, and yet makes a higly lucrative living play acting at love.

Mal will never know what Inara's real feelings are. He'll always suspect she is playing him, manipulating him, etc.

I think Inara's take on Mal is reflective and defensive. He obviously has a problem with her and she seems to believe it is his "puritanical attitude about sex" But at some level, she has to know that it is the difference in status, or else she would not call him "petty" as frequently as she does.

It is also my guess that since "Heart of Gold" Mal will never call Inara a whore ever again. Cause she ain't. Whores are independent of the guild, and Inara is still trapped in the Alliance.

"my kind of stupid"

TRAGICSTORY

Saturday, July 26, 2003 1:33 PM

Even though I love the explaination in the post above, I think Inara was "ousted" from the guild house. Internal politics and the like.

If I had to write a fanfic for it the plot would be Inara supports allience, realizes that the gov. she supported is not the idealistic society she belived (or was led to believe). Another companion, who was also in the higher ranks of the guild, set up a plot to discredit her within the guild and further her own position. Inara falls in the trap, finds some clever way to avoid being procecuted for treason by the allience, but needs to flee the center planets until things cool down. So she just happens to get on a ship with a captian who happens to be supportive of them types which don't like the allience so much and smuggles her off the planet.

Maybe in the movie we will learn more!

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"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

DRAKON

Saturday, July 26, 2003 1:48 PM

It works up until "Out of Gas". Inara said she supported unification, when she first comes aboard Serenity.

What we know is that she was good at her job, on her way to being House Priestess, (whatever that means. I do know some pagan religions, some variants of Wicca that perform the Great Rite as initiation, but for some reason, Inara does not strike me as a witch.) Nandi does not know why she left, and she ain't saying.

I don't think it was politics. Possibly an affair of the heart? Perhaps a customer she got too close to, decided to go back to his wife and kids and normal life. Or made her feel less than respected for her service?

"my kind of stupid"

SERGEANTX

Saturday, July 26, 2003 2:48 PM

Since seeing "Heart of Gold" I've formulated a few theories about what's up with Mal and Inara. Call them wild ass guesses. Anyway, I think both of them have the same problem.

Inara has been trained, apparently most of her life, to be a Guild Companion. A successful Companion would no doubt be required to excercise complete control over their emotions and maintain a certain detachment in their relationships, especially with sexual relationships. I'm guessing that the reason Inara left the Guild is somehow related to her being unable to maintain this kind of detachment. Given her training, she likely sees this as an unforgiveable weakness. I think this is the reason for her reluctance become involved with Mal.

Select to view spoiler:

Her speech at the end of "Heart of Gold" makes more sense in this context. "...when you live with that kind of strength you get tied to it. You can't break away and you never want to...".

As much as most of us aspire to find longlasting loving relationships, for a Companion this is the worst mistake.

Mal's experience with the war, and whatever losses he suffered, has left him feeling burnt.

Take my love, take my land,
take me where I cannot stand.
I don't care, I'm still free.
You can't take the sky from me.
Take me out to the Black,
tell them I ain't comin' back.
Burn the land, boil the sea,
you can't take the sky from me.
I think his pain was so great that he swore to never again have any attachment that could lead to that sense of loss. Even his faith in God has been sacrificed in his desperate attempt to never again be tied to something he can't stand to lose.

But he can't help himself. At his core he is a passionate, loving person who wants to believe. And so is Inara. Seeing both of these characters deal with the conflict between what they've learned and who they really are is fantastic drama, and just another reason why this story MUST be continued.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

WHOODAHN

Saturday, July 26, 2003 3:54 PM

Inara doesn't seem to be in any kind of legal trouble. When the Sheriff checked her papers on Train Job, her papers were in good shape. (Alltho she took a big risk by helping Mal & Zoe)

When Atherton threatened to blackball her, she turned it on him. His threat and her comment wouldn't make sense if she was already in trouble with the Guild.

I think she was disillusioned with her life and decided to see the world. She fell in with a group that were just as disillusioned as she was and she fell in love.

Does anyone know how long she was on Serenity? In SERENITY, she tells Book she has been on the ship 8 months. Then in BUSHWACKED, she tells the Alliance she was on the ship almost a year.

TRAGICSTORY

Saturday, July 26, 2003 4:26 PM

To defend my view:

She could have supported unification and after the fact grown to regret that.
I.E.
"I supported the war in Iraq, but after an ungreatful Iraqi population I have come to regret it."

I don't think she was disillusioned with her life and lifestyle because she still continues to do it.

I'm saying that Inara left because of internal politics. This gives her a reason to leave the central planets, keeps her legal and prestigious status, (since internal politics are never aired to the public)and explains why she ends up working alone in Serenity instead of a cruise liner and so far has only gone to a core planet to get her physical, not to bed a client.

The best example I can think of is a high ranking military officer who crosses the wrong superior or equal and ends up manning a weather station in Alaska.

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"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

FREMDFIRMA

Saturday, July 26, 2003 5:06 PM

>>First off, I don't think its the sex. I think what has Mal bugged is the fraud, the illusion a good Companion weaves around her client. Yeah you know its an illusion, and she does too. Its play acting, its fake love.<<

In Shindig Mal says this more or less directly, while dancing with Inara.

Just so ya know,

-Frem
die fux die

SIRENKAIN

Saturday, July 26, 2003 7:05 PM

I think it could be something much more simple. Such as more freedom, to come and go as she wants. Inara is always going on about how she can choose anyone and do whatever she wants by guild law. She is however putting alot of space between her and other guild members. She was also part of a "House" I would think as a house member she would have followed the will of the house.

Mal seems to have no problem with whores just companions. The above stated status issue is an obvious thorn for him. The illusion (as stated by him and above posts) is the big problem. Just because you call them companions doesn't change what they are.

Mal has always been very blunt and likes to have things on the simple side. "I do the job I get paid" kinda thing doesn't seem like a man with alot of need for fluffy words. He actually seems to give Saffron more respect because in Trash she makes no excuses about who she is. A women who uses whatever she has to get what she wants.

Morbid and creep-ifying I got no problem with.

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