What did Book mean by .......

POSTED BY: Cain
UPDATED: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 06:47
VIEWED: 9663
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AGATSU

Monday, May 22, 2006 12:55 PM

Did anyone notice that Book didn't look at River when he said that (while Jayne did). Think that means something?
I think the quote marks a critical point in Books life. He said that to a person right before he killed them, and his regret for it later drove him to become a shepherd. Or something.
Since he said it in disgust, I doubt it's about his forgiving attitude towards Jayne.

I also think that Inara is very afraid of dying and has some sort of disease. "I'm a big girl, you can tell me." I don't think she was "talking" to Mal or River - that quote marked a turning point in her life, the reason why she left the temple.

It's nice that later in the episode you find out that Simon was thinking that he could be there right now if not for THEM. He doesn't blame River for screwing up his life, he blames the people who did it to River.

BROWNCOATS UNITE!

CAPTAINWALDO

Monday, May 22, 2006 1:03 PM

I think that at one time Book was an Operative or something similar within the Alliance. I believe his thoughts may be part of what made him quit. Perhaps hunting down & killing someone who he found later to be innocent. Causing him to loose his belief in the alliance, much like the Operative in the movie. Therfore representing an inner demon that he struggles with.

*Edit* Haha your post beat mine in there Agatsu, glad to see we are thinking along the same lines though.

MASTERCHIEF

Monday, May 22, 2006 1:40 PM

problem everyone looks at river when she hears there thoughts if they are talking to her or about her, bar mal and book. and when we see book he is looking down and into himself, meaning this is a dark and evil thing but its in him! i think joss is suggesting that inside of the man is something powerful, un-controlled and wild if you may! that he fights to keep down, and away from people! just look at how he hits the fed in the first episode! and then he jumps back into preacher man, where he protects him! i think the sentence is from the darkness inside him, he is two people one "the man of god" (good guy) and two "a man of darkness" (evil guy) sorry i talked a bit just what i think!

"Zoe: Oh yeah, this is gonna go great.
Mal: If anyone gets nosy, just, you know... shoot 'em.
Zoe: Shoot 'em?
Mal: Politely."

EMMARIGBY

Monday, May 22, 2006 2:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Agatsu:
Did anyone notice that Book didn't look at River when he said that (while Jayne did). Think that means something?
I think the quote marks a critical point in Books life. He said that to a person right before he killed them, and his regret for it later drove him to become a shepherd. Or something.
Since he said it in disgust, I doubt it's about his forgiving attitude towards Jayne.

I also think that Inara is very afraid of dying and has some sort of disease. "I'm a big girl, you can tell me." I don't think she was "talking" to Mal or River - that quote marked a turning point in her life, the reason why she left the temple.

It's nice that later in the episode you find out that Simon was thinking that he could be there right now if not for THEM. He doesn't blame River for screwing up his life, he blames the people who did it to River.

BROWNCOATS UNITE!

Oooh! That would make so much sense about Inara! I was watching the commentary for the pilot the other day and Joss went all cryptic about what the syringe she was holding was supposed to be. That would fit in nicely!

The first time I saw that scene with Book it seemed to me that he was flashing back to when he was a hard-ass lawman or judge. As I watched more I became convinced that he used to be an operative

Select to view spoiler:

and that now he is gone it followed, in my mind, that the natural progression would be for the Operative to become a preacher in a nicely cyclical arc.

AGATSU

Monday, May 22, 2006 3:18 PM

The syringe is filled with a poison that does not kill the user, but anyone who has sex with them - that's why Inara pulls it out when the Reavers are coming. Tim Minear allegedly said that at some writer's conference or some such. He also said it would have come back in a later, very dark episode.
(I remember Morena saying in some interview that what the syringe is about is very cool and very sad.)

BROWNCOATS UNITE!

DAVESHAYNE

Monday, May 22, 2006 3:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Masterchief:
sorry i talked a bit just what i think!

That's what the board is for. Sharing experiences of the verse.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

CAIN

Monday, May 22, 2006 11:00 PM

That is a good point that Book was not looking at her when he was thinking this.....

PHOENIXROSE

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 11:20 AM

There's quite the big damn discussion of this here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=4&t=16456 If I recall correctly, many other character's lines were also discussed.

*************************************************
One summer.
One mission.
One legion of Browncoats.

Starting June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.

RUGBUG

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 6:22 PM

I think Book is referring to his past. That he was involved in something untoward, in a capacity where there was no physical "blood on his hands" but it is still on his conscious. He couldn't accept what he had become so he became a shepherd. He is trying to inhabit this new role of "innocent" but he can't forgive himself and thus is as guilty as the next guy.

I think Early's comment that "That's no shepherd" further supports that Book is trying to define himself as a shepherd, but hasn't become one yet. Book has chosen the role of an innocent, but that doesn't wipe out the past and the responsibility for who he was previously.

I don't think the comment relates to River. Simon's and Jayne's comments do, but because that is what they are diligently trying to hide. Mal and Inara's seem to relate to each other. Zoe and Wash aren't hiding anything at that moment and River can feel their passion. It would've been interesting to hear something from Kaylee. At first I thought it was because she doesn't have to hide anything. She's pretty open about how she feels. But then there's the whole War Stories secret that comes out later. Maybe she didn't say anything only because it was going to come out soon?

DREADPIRATE

Thursday, May 25, 2006 8:23 PM

The way I took it was that some of River's "visions" or "voices" aren't necessarily true or real to life. The following quote from "Safe" I think is a pretty good indication of how her psycosis mixes with her psycic abilities:

"I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and... some of it's made up, and... some of it can't be quantified, and... there's secrets..."

I think that her vision of Book may have been affected by the fact that he makes her a little nervous and she doesn't understand him very well.

Or, he could be talking about Jayne, or someone he tortured or something in his sordid, mysterious past.

-Rach
Love is what keeps me in the air.

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