Jubal Early's survival

POSTED BY: spikeandjezebel
UPDATED: Monday, January 26, 2004 22:39
VIEWED: 7112
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SPIKEANDJEZEBEL

Friday, January 9, 2004 1:55 AM

Hello fellow Firefly Fans,

I've been reading this site for quite a while, but haven't posted anything until now. (Mainly because somebody else had usually posted a thread that echoed my thoughts before I had a chance!)

After watching Objects in Space again, I was thinking about Jubal Early floating off into space, and it seems to me that his potential survival could be explained rather easily. A bounty hunter as intelligent (although crazy) as Early would surely have a backup plan if he makes a habit out of leaving his ship floating in space on its own. Would it not make sense that he would have a remote control system for his ship built into his suit, in the event that he couldn't get back to it? This seems very logical to me, and would leave him alive to return to some future incarnation of the show.

Wishful thinking perhaps on my part?

ANJIN

Saturday, January 10, 2004 4:02 AM

I'm all surprised no I responded to this, if even to say the topic had been done to death. I haven't seen it before, so here's my two cents.

I was wondering the same thing, but from this perspective. Early's ship seemed rather small to me, which makes me think short range. I wonder if he's floating around close enough to something that he could get picked up.

It would give a different spin to his last line, "Yep, here I am," if he was saying it to an off-screen rescue ship.

--Anjin

---
Raven's Prayer
http://webpages.charter.net/anjinm

HEX20

Saturday, January 10, 2004 4:25 AM

I totally agree with the both of you. I think that Early's potential for survival would be high. I bet that Early would have been a returning character if the series was still on.

----------------------------------------
Jayne: "Dear diary: Today I was pompous and my sister was crazy... Today we were kidnapped by hill folk, never to be seen again. It was the best day ever."

PHLEBOTININ

Saturday, January 10, 2004 4:35 AM

I'm thinking after listening to Joss's audio commentary on OIS that sadly, Early probably won't survive. I think Joss says something to that effect on the commentary -- a sardonic comment about the chances not being good or something.

Based on Joss's existential musings on the OIS commentary I'd interpret Early's last line, "Yep, here I am," as a kind of coda/summation to one of the main points of the episode: that Early (and River) are both unusual people in that they see that we and all living and non-living things are just "objects in space." Any overarching significance or meaning to "objects in space" is added on after the fact, I guess by the perceptions and feelings of us crazy humans. Joss goes on about this for most of the commentary, tracing his thoughts to Sarte.

Jubal Early's last line and what he's doing while he says it is the perfect literal representation of Joss's point: Jubal has literally become an object in space, and because he's unusual, he can step outside the situation and see it.

Oh, heck, am I insane? Pompous, definitely.

A muscle cramp? In your...pants?

FEAELIN

Saturday, January 10, 2004 6:37 AM

I have to agree with Phlebotinin. I don't think Early would have survived...I think any return story would feel contrived and not fitting with the character's "closing" comment, which to me indicated his acceptance of his situation.

One thing that bothered me about the episode is that it appeared River kinda shoved Early's ship off somewhere and left it. I would have thought there'd be some value in hauling the thing to the nearest *cough* "used ship dealership" *cough*, or stripping it for parts, etc. etc.

KERNELM

Saturday, January 10, 2004 8:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Feaelin:
One thing that bothered me about the episode is that it appeared River kinda shoved Early's ship off somewhere and left it. I would have thought there'd be some value in hauling the thing to the nearest *cough* "used ship dealership" *cough*, or stripping it for parts, etc. etc.

While Mal would certainly think of that, would River? Though it seems Mal doesn't try to stop her or anything. Fankwanks regarding this I've heard include the theory that River set it on a course to meet with Serenity later on where they can get at it easier, they don't want the liability of something that perhaps the Alliance could track, River sent it to rendezvous with Jubal since he's no longer an immediate threat and she doesn't want to kill anybody, etc.

Could be Mal was just happy the plan worked and wasn't thinking about the ship when River sent it off.

SPIKEANDJEZEBEL

Saturday, January 10, 2004 6:03 PM

Perhaps they feared that the ship might be booby-trapped in some way, and didn't want to risk it....

LTNOWIS

Saturday, January 10, 2004 6:04 PM

Let me say that Joss Whedon LOVES returning bad guys. He may have said something to this effect on the DVD. Just think about it:

Badger, Neska, and Saffron all return. (Badger isn't really Mal's enemy, but whatever.

It would've been perfectly logical to kill Patience and Neska, but Joss leaves them alive. The only big badguy he kills off is the guy in Heart of Gold.

SAINT JAYNE

Saturday, January 10, 2004 6:19 PM

I'm not writing these stories, so I couldn't say if Early is coming back. What I can say is that Early most certainly could come back. Heck, in the RP he has come back. The only ones that might have trouble are Dobson, Crow and Tracey (et al) due to the lack of undead, time travel and magic; even then, anything's possible in Hollywood, right?

TALONPEST

Saturday, January 10, 2004 11:04 PM

If he were going to die, I think they'd have shown him dying- the fact that they left the slightest possibility for his survival implies that they ment to bring him back. I don't think Joss would want to kill off such a great character after only one episode anyway. As for the "Well, here I am" line, I think that based on the commentary where Joss was paralelling Early and River, he could just as easily have had a line from River looking out at his body in space to the same effect.

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