Decoding River's letters from 'Safe.'

POSTED BY: asarian
UPDATED: Friday, March 6, 2009 09:21
VIEWED: 10187
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ASARIAN

Friday, March 3, 2006 5:13 PM

Okay, today real life stuff demanded my absolute attention. So, I took a fine-tooth comb, and... went hairsplitting over River's letters in "Safe." :) LOL.

Okay, waxing serious now. River talks about events that never happened, like a vacation at the lake, last summer. That itself is, obviously, part of the "code" Simon refers to. But I think I may perhaps also have stumbled on some of the more specific "code" River is to have used. First, I recall a line from Objects in Space:

"They didn't want her here, but she couldn't make herself leave, so she melted. Melted away."

I tried to decode one of River's letters Simon holds up. I'm terrible at deciphering handwriting (especially from an awkward angle off a video still, lol); but this part of the relevant portion I could make out (words in curly brackets I was uncertain about):

"... my thoughts often {wander to} the {grand} time we had last summer at the lake. I {miss} you and {daddy} and the lake. The deep BLUE, crystal {clear} waters just made those summer days melt away."

It seems River, using analogous OiS language, is either indicating she wants to leave the Academy (e.g. wants to "melt away"), or is saying the BLUE Hands (Sun?) are destroying her (by first fabricating an illusion, representing the promises made to her about the Academy; which illusion she then says the BLUE Hands (Sun?) are melting away). I lean towards the latter, actually.

Anyway, I thought this was cute. If none of this is true, or has already been dispelled earlier, then that's perfectly fine, because I still spent my entire day doing exactly what I wanted: thinking, dreaming, and obsessing about River. :)

Stay shiny!

EDIT:

Here is the letter, btw:

(more below)

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

EARLYSUMMER

Saturday, March 4, 2006 12:16 AM

WOW. That's pretty cool. I never even thought about trying to read that letter from River, even though I've seen that episode a zillion times (slight exaggeration), I'm so ashamed.
'Safe' is one of my favorite episodes (River's in it the most) I'll have to check out that letter, another good excuse to watch that episode, not that I need one. Thanks for sharing.

"I hear crickets"

GORBISHUN

Saturday, March 4, 2006 10:20 AM

You could be on to something... But who (besides you that is) would take the time to do what you did? Do you think the letters from River might actually have something important on them (which would mean Joss wrote them with purpose, thinking someone as crazy as you would come along and try to read them), or are they just meaningless props that needed some writing on them.

We do tend to like to explore every new detail in every new way, just so we can have something new to think about. Not that that's bad, it’s all we have... for now.

Personally, I think you could be on to something. But that could just be because I'd like to have something new about River to think about...

«°-:-°»
Also... I can kill you with my brain.

ASARIAN

Saturday, March 4, 2006 1:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Gorbishun:

You could be on to something... But who (besides you that is) would take the time to do what you did? Do you think the letters from River might actually have something important on them (which would mean Joss wrote them with purpose, thinking someone as crazy as you would come along and try to read them), or are they just meaningless props that needed some writing on them.

Yeah, I ain't quite right. :) It's the popular theory.

Conversely, though, who else but Joss would actually use a real letter? In any other series, this would have been just a useless prop ("Just an object. It doesn't mean what you think."). And it would probably not even contain real text; or just jibberish. But not with Joss.

And, in case you wondered, the text in River's letter is not just some unrelated prop text, either. Because those few lines I already deciphered (still working on the rest), talking about last summer at the lake, while that material isn't in the aired episode, it WAS, however, in the shooting script:

SIMON
She talks about last summer at the lake.

GABRIEL
So?

SIMON
We weren't at the lake, we were in the mountains.

So, this letter really WAS written for the original episode! In the actuallly aired episode, Simon says:

SIMON
Did you have a good time at the Darbanvilles' ball this year? River thought it was duller than last year's. But since we don't know anybody named Darbanville, I'm having trouble judging. Did you even read these?

To answer his question, lol, yes, I did. :)

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

JACQUI

Saturday, March 4, 2006 1:56 PM

This is what I got from the letters... the ellipses are the words I couldn't decipher.

Quote:

Dearest Mother and Father.

I hope you both are well and feel fine… I am doing well in school. My teachers and professors all say that it is so… Some days I love it more than I thought I would.

My thoughts often wander to the grand time we had last summer at the lake. I… and swimming in the lake, the deep blue… made the summer days melt away.

We all had such a good time…”

*~*~*
"He's hurting a woman, he really *is* a bad guy... and I wouldn't call him a gentleman."
- Kyle, 9, watching 'Serenity'.

ASARIAN

Saturday, March 4, 2006 2:59 PM

Thanks, Jacqui!

I was just scrutinizing the letter again, myself. I couldn't make out "professors" and "swimming". Thanks for filling in the gaps! Okay, here is what I have, so far:

"Dearest mother and father,
I hope you both are well and doing fine. {Things are great. I am home. .. a little} ... I am doing well in school. My teachers and professors all say that it is so. I do love {...} the {...} surroundings of home. {And} .. a lot more than I thought I would.
My thoughts often wander to the grand time we had last summer at the lake. I was {playing} and swimming in the lake, the deep blue {crystal} ... waters just made those summer days melt away.
We had ... and a good time swimming and {...} and {...}."

EDIT:

He, I was just thinking: trying to fill in the missing words/letters is like playing hangman, the advanced class. :) And I love hangman! And I Love River! A good combo. :)

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

CABOT

Saturday, March 4, 2006 5:29 PM

Quote:
"Dearest mother and father,
I hope you both are well and doing fine. {Things are great. I am home. .. a little} ... I am doing well in school. My teachers and professors all say that it is so. I do love {...} the {...} surroundings of home. {And} .. a lot more than I thought I would.
My thoughts often wander to the grand time we had last summer at the lake. I was {playing} and swimming in the lake, the deep blue {crystal} ... waters just made those summer days melt away.
We had ... and a good time swimming and {...} and {...}."

Edited: to fix quote code...

Okay my first post on the forums although I've been lurking now for a while. This item just broke down my resistance. First I'd like to say I'm impressed with what you were able to glean from the screencap of the letter. I would never had tried to tackle it if not for the head start you provided.

The first bold item in the quote above and just reading it for context I'd say it is "homesick a little" although I don't read that line quite the way you do. Things (are) just great here at the school, as I am doing well in school. Is the best read, I can make out of it. The sentence is grammatically bad but probably River intended it to be so as a clue, and hoping it would sneak past as letter-writing-shorthand-speak.

I have missed the familiar surroundings of home quite a lot more than I thought I would.

The deep blue, crystal-clear waters,

We all had such a good time swimming and boating and all ...

I'm not sure I improved the understanding of the letter or not, but there are my thoughts with only one other thing to mention...Simon did say she misspelled some words so keep that in mind as you work out the rest of the visible message.

I'd really love to see the whole content of this and the other letters to decipher the code(s). Oh well.

ASARIAN

Saturday, March 4, 2006 6:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cabot:

Okay my first post on the forums although I've been lurking now for a while. This item just broke down my resistance. First I'd like to say I'm impressed with what you were able to glean from the screencap of the letter. I would never had tried to tackle it if not for the head start you provided.

Hey CABOT!

Wonderful to meet you! And what a great way to make a first post! :) Welcome!!

"homesick a little"

Yes! Excellent! Thank you!

"Things are just great here at the school, as I am doing well in school."

Lovely! I thought it had a second "school" in there; but couldn't make it out properly. :)

"I have missed the familiar surroundings of home quite a lot more than I thought I would."

Yes! Yes! :) "missed the familiar" That's what it says! :) I knew it said "surroundings" (instead of "some days"), but I missed the first part! Brilliantly done!

"The deep blue, crystal-clear waters."

Good; you see crystal "clear" too; that is what I first saw, too. :) Glad to see it corroborated!

Interesting how she uses BLUE and "crystal clear" in one breath: trying to tell Simon it's "crystal clear" what she's trying to communicate to him?

"We all had such a good time swimming and boating and all."

"boating" Very good!

You certainly improved the understanding of the letter!! And since I Love River very much, you now have my undying gratitude for your valuable contribution! :)

So, let me just gather, in one space, what WE (no longer I) have so far:

"Dearest mother and father,
I hope you both are well and doing fine. Things are just great here at the school, as I am doing well in school. My teachers and professors all say that it is so. I have missed the familiar surroundings of home quite a lot more than I thought I would.
My thoughts often wander to the grand time we had last summer at the lake. I was {playing} and swimming in the lake, the deep blue, crystal-clear waters just made those summer days melt away.
We all had such a good time swimming and boating and all."

Thank you!

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

NUCLEARDAY

Saturday, March 4, 2006 7:04 PM

Very interesting stuff. Good on you guys for going through the trouble of trying to decode that. Also find it interesting that they're referencing the letter directly in the shooting script, so I'd imagine that it's something they went to some manner of trouble to actually write out at least the page you see in the episode.

(And then I always wonder what made them change it in the aired version... maybe a better fit for the Tam's talking about a fancy party?)

Joss and all the writers have always seemed to be committed to going that extra mile with all the little details, that's part of what keeps me re-watching the episodes over and over. ;p

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

SIMYLEE

Saturday, March 4, 2006 8:09 PM

I might be a little silly and not reading the posts how they are meant to be, be you folks are decoding the letters from the series. Right? Well, in Serenity, the book for the movie, it shows has Simon decoding them, how he is decodes them, and what they say. But, if you folks are trying to do something entirely different, I am sorry.

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