The infamous catalyzer.

POSTED BY: kayleesboy
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 11:16
VIEWED: 6923
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BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 3:29 PM

I would think that the ambulance got dumped or sold by Mal and crew. Mal does not strike me as the type to try the same stunt twice and press his luck. I think he will be happy w/ the payoff of that job and move on.

Static wrote:

Quote:
Without the need to sneak Simon and River in as well, it might go even easier this time. . .and I'm pretty certain Niska would be alot more willing to listen to his henchman say, "Listen. . .ummm. . .Captain Reynolds would prefer that you and him just stay out of each other's way from now on. Is that cool?"

I have to disagree w/ this line of thought. As Niska told Mal in "Train Job" they both are perceived as their reputations. If it gets around that Niska has been burned by Mal, and that Mal and crew got away from him after he had captured him, Niska's rep goes down and a lot of people will be convinced they can pull a fast one on Niska as well. Niska obviously holds a grudge, and money can not buy him off. I think Niska will rear his ugly head again down the road somewhere.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

WERESPAZ

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 4:24 PM

Quote:

I have to disagree w/ this line of thought. As Niska told Mal in "Train Job" they both are perceived as their reputations. If it gets around that Niska has been burned by Mal, and that Mal and crew got away from him after he had captured him, Niska's rep goes down and a lot of people will be convinced they can pull a fast one on Niska as well. Niska obviously holds a grudge, and money can not buy him off. I think Niska will rear his ugly head again down the road somewhere.

I put a little though into this, and unfortunately, the episode doesn’t really explain what transpired on the station after they found Mal. Did they pretty much clean house and were able to get their money back? Or was it a quick insertion/extraction only involving a small portion of the complex? In any case, Niska must’ve been pretty severely weakened after that, both troop-wise and reputation wise. He got burned by Mal & Co in a big way, and won’t be likely to recover soon. He’d be extremely angry about Mal ruining his reputation and will probably seek some form of retribution, however he’s a must pretty smart guy and ought to realize that Mal & Co make a pretty formidable force, so there’s a possibility that he’ll change the way he does business, mostly because he won’t inspire quite so much fear in people anymore. I’m sure there are lots of people that are very happy about his downfall and possibly some people who would be willing to help Mal, even at a great expense to themselves (i.e. “Niska killed my Mother/Brother/Nephew/Dog” type people) these people are also more like to try and strike back now that Niska is weaker. I’d also have to believe that Niska “learned who the true Malcolm Reynolds is” after torturing him for that time, and something tells me he’ got to have some fear of him after that.

Just some thoughts..

-The SpAz

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 5:00 PM

Originally posted by Werespaz:

Quote:
I put a little though into this, and unfortunately, the episode doesn’t really explain what transpired on the station after they found Mal. Did they pretty much clean house and were able to get their money back? Or was it a quick insertion/extraction only involving a small portion of the complex? In any case, Niska must’ve been pretty severely weakened after that, both troop-wise and reputation wise. He got burned by Mal & Co in a big way, and won’t be likely to recover soon. He’d be extremely angry about Mal ruining his reputation and will probably seek some form of retribution, however he’s a must pretty smart guy and ought to realize that Mal & Co make a pretty formidable force, so there’s a possibility that he’ll change the way he does business, mostly because he won’t inspire quite so much fear in people anymore. I’m sure there are lots of people that are very happy about his downfall and possibly some people who would be willing to help Mal, even at a great expense to themselves (i.e. “Niska killed my Mother/Brother/Nephew/Dog” type people) these people are also more like to try and strike back now that Niska is weaker. I’d also have to believe that Niska “learned who the true Malcolm Reynolds is” after torturing him for that time, and something tells me he’ got to have some fear of him after that.

The impression I got from the scene where the guy that had tortured him had Mal hanging over the catwalk was that the bulk of the interior of the station was some sort of mining operation or processing plant. Remember how we got a shot of the fall Mal would take if he got tossed over? Looked like a lot of conveyors, lifts, and machinery down that shaft. I figured it must be some sort of operation Niska had in the area where Mal was captured.

I am pretty sure the op was a quick extraction and they got Mal out as quick as possible. I would highly doubt they would do any sort of mopping up.

I do agree that Niska may have caught a glimpse of the real Mal and may rethink taking a personal hand in dealing w/ Mal in the future. I do not, however, doubt that Niska will still be looking to exact revenge, if for no other reason than to repair his reputation.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

DORAN

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 6:34 PM

"...since Ariel was after Out of Gas, that wouldn't really be foreshadowing, would it?"

No, that would be irony.

MANIACNUMBERONE

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 6:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Doran:
"...since Ariel was after Out of Gas, that wouldn't really be foreshadowing, would it?"

No, that would be irony.

And very like Joss and Tim Minnear to do as well.
It extends the story-line for the culmination of the "compression coil" subplot.
In the Pilot episode, Kaylee tells Mal that they need a new compression coil. If it busts she says, they are floating. He responds by saying lets not bust it then.
In the Train Job, Mal confronts Kaylee with the state of the engine room (space monkeys, terrifying space monkeys) and she responds by saying that if he would replace the compression coil she wouldn't have to rewire the grav thrust.
Then, of course, in Out of Gas, the catalyzer blows on the port compression coil, and like Kaylee said, they were dead in the water.
Then Kaylee (wrongly) takes the blame and apologizes to Mal for not taking better care of the engine.
So, the new catalyzer that Mal eventually fits into the engine is the same type of piece that Wash throws at the salvage shuttle in the dump in Ariel. (from Kelly's weblog - stored on this site - we know that it is actually the very same prop.) It's damn funny really. Finding the catalyzer right after OOG is like, well wouldn't this have been a handy part to have had a few weeks ago?

JAVIDRHO

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 7:22 PM

One thing no one seems to be considering, is that the catalyzer Wash picked up on Ariel, could easlily have been damaged, and therefore of no value to them. It was a salvage yard afterall - not everything would be in perfect working order.

Just a thought...

DRAKON

Wednesday, February 11, 2004 11:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat1:
I have to disagree w/ this line of thought. As Niska told Mal in "Train Job" they both are perceived as their reputations. If it gets around that Niska has been burned by Mal, and that Mal and crew got away from him after he had captured him, Niska's rep goes down and a lot of people will be convinced they can pull a fast one on Niska as well. Niska obviously holds a grudge, and money can not buy him off. I think Niska will rear his ugly head again down the road somewhere.

You may be right, but Niska has been beaten by Mal twice now. Last time, I suspect he lost his precious space station as well. But in either case, Mal has shown that he is bad for Niska's business.

Niska may take a hit in reputation. But that has to be weighed against the loss of 2 top leutenants (at leats), a space station (maybe) and Niska's own life. Another confrontation would not be good for business.

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

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