Characterising Kaylee
POSTED BY: nbz
UPDATED: Saturday, October 27, 2007 00:51
VIEWED: 25909
PAGE 3 of 9
My take on Kaylee -
She comes from a dusty, poor world (evidence - Mal calls it 'a rock' in OoG, and there isn't a job there for them. There isn't much work, full stop.) So, she has spent her life in a small town. I know other folks see her as being one of a large family, but I think she might be an only, so she takes the 'son' role in helping her father, in addition to being girly.
She's comfortable with herself to a certain extent, but she hasn't had experience of Core living, and sees it as glamorous. A small town girl hankering after the bright lights of the big city.
But...I don't see her as being hellbent on snagging Simon into matrimony. At least, not just yet...
“You think that was all I bin wantin’? If I’d wanted nothin’ more’n a ring an’ babies, I’d’ve stopped with my folks. I wanted to do more than stay in one little town, mending engines that flew off and I never got to see the where.”
She's sunny and friendly, and can find the good in people. But she's inexperienced, rather than naive or stupid. She clearly has no moral problems with the life they lead, and I think that cheerful acceptance of the 'Verse is very key. When you don't have a lot, you make do with what you have got.
And Simon is a complete idiot when it comes to talking to girls. I'm not surprised she gets pissed with him.
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Yeah, I agree with most of that. Especially about the small family. (but that could be because I like to be different and since most people write her with a large family...)
What I call "ambition" you call "hankering after the bright lights of the big city". (I think it is the same thing, but I would push it a lot further as a character trait. Show its negative side as well.)
Simon does put his foot in it, but like in Safe, he was not really that bad (or was he? I sometimes do miss out on the subtleties of conversation).
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I don't think he was either. He was merely articulating his frustrations and anxiety (all in a very civilized fashion, thank you), and Kaylee, true to herself, overreacted. I find Kaylee to have low people awareness, in that she has her ideas as to how people should react/interact and won't deviate from them. Oh, she cares about people, absolutely, but she can't see them beyond her own point of view. She's unable put things into perspective. I'd call it puerile narrow-mindness.
I just can't abide Rayne. Or River/anybody. Or Jayne/anybody. That just doesn't make sense. And I don't think Joss ment for his wonderful creation to end up as a love-boat with a slightly different setting that other love-boats. Joss didn't do that in the show, or the movie, so why do you people assume that it would have happened? ----Riverflan
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Yeah, I fail to see how Simon was a "total idiot". Other than the scene in The Message, he actually seems a good deal more in tune with how communication works than most guys I know. For example, in Safe, he immediately realizes that Kaylee is hurt, though his apology is weak because he really did mean all those things, just wouldn't have said them if he thought more carefully. He makes a lot of mistakes, but he at least realizes that he has a problem and tries to fix it, which is not, in my book anyway, a total idiot. Just a flawed male. 
--
"My way of being polite, or however...well, it's the only way I have of showing you that I like you. Of showing respect." Simon Tam, Jaynestown
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See, now, Simon is a complete idiot when it comes to talking to Kaylee, because he so wants to get it right.
And she, of course, is overly sensitive to what he says because she wants him to get it right, too.
They're a sweet pair of kids. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. I don't know a single person who has not developed foot-in-mouth disease around a crush at some point in time.
I don't think Simon comes from a place or a background with a great deal of displayed and open affection. If you take on board that idea of the Sinatic influence in the culture, then there probably was a great deal of pressure to perform and conform, especially as the son.
Kaylee, on the other hand, has never been under any pressure not to display exactly what she feels.
It's the cultural clash between Core and Rim worlds.
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...And then, there's the fact that Simon is on the run from the government, and has a clinicaly insane sister to attend to. Cut the guy some slack for Christ's sake, he's under a tremendous amount of mental stress already. I keep thinking Kaylee is a little bit shortsighted. Maybe out of innocence, or inexperience, but shortsighted still.
I just can't abide Rayne. Or River/anybody. Or Jayne/anybody. That just doesn't make sense. And I don't think Joss ment for his wonderful creation to end up as a love-boat with a slightly different setting that other love-boats. Joss didn't do that in the show, or the movie, so why do you people assume that it would have happened? ----Riverflan
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Kaylee shortsighted? You know, that's probably one of the best one-word descriptions of her. She is always thinking of the here and now. When things are good, she's good, and when things are bad, if she can't find something good in the moment, she's down. She'd be down a lot if she didn't also have a knack for finding the good in everything. This trait reaches over into her relationship with Simon as well. She wants him to be willing to commit to a physical relationship right then, but she also wants an emotional attachment, and anything he says that hints otherwise puts her off.
Now, if she was a little more long-sighted, she would see this: Simon is a loving, loyal, intelligent man, who is actually trying to adapt to a new life and learn how to talk to girls. And from what we've seen of the 'Verse (or real life), she should recognize that he's a rare specimen. Of course, he has his imperfections, but they are mostly things he'll outgrow (his poor communication skills and slight arrogance). But, she's not only seeing his imperfections and despairing, she's also with him at the time when getting attached to anyone is the farthest thing from his mind. His best qualities make it so that he can't involve himself completely with Kaylee, and if he did, he wouldn't be the man she fell in love with or deserved.
A long-sighted Kaylee would look at the situation, see the possibilities inherent in Simon's desire to improve his flaws and the facts that River is getting better and might be well enough one day that Simon would feel freer to be involved with Kaylee, and she would help and encourage him until things were better. But then, if Kaylee was long-sighted, and able to keep in check her desires and be cheerful all the time, she'd be a Mary Sue and frankly uninteresting.
--
"My way of being polite, or however...well, it's the only way I have of showing you that I like you. Of showing respect." Simon Tam, Jaynestown
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Yes! I agree 100%.
And I can't think of anything to add either, you pretty much covered it all.
I just can't abide Rayne. Or River/anybody. Or Jayne/anybody. That just doesn't make sense. And I don't think Joss ment for his wonderful creation to end up as a love-boat with a slightly different setting that other love-boats. Joss didn't do that in the show, or the movie, so why do you people assume that it would have happened? ----Riverflan
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I think I have started the official "Kaylee hate club"!!! (should I be fearful or proud? I don't dislike kaylee, but I can no longer read her in most fic. She has no depth whatsoever.)
To be fair, in Safe, Simon WAS being mean when trying to give his frustrations words.
(and why does it always have to be utter and true love? can't Kaylee be looking to scratch an itch, or just have a crush? [That is a general complaint about all TV/movies though...] It does not have to be "love".)
By the time we get to Jaynestown, both have made their feelings known to each other, so you gotta ask why did nothing happen for the next 5 or so months?
I will not put that down to Simon messing up every time or Kaylee being over-sensitive. Simon has a lot on his plate as has been mentioned. Maybe he was trying to avoid complications. But he did pull back. Have a leg in and out of the ship. (Mal called the crew/ship a waystation for him...)
Kaylee is obviously massively frustrated by all of this. She is more accessible. Any remarks about his old life have a whole new meaning. She is not good enough. Worse, she would love to have that old life of Simon, so she misses out both ways. Blames Mal for everything. As you do.
And from naive and inexperienced I would put Kaylee in the camp of naive (even though both have many similarities). Watch the Pilot where Mal is trying to size the Doc up over the meal. Kaylee goes in about how young he is to be a doctor. Perfect talk for her, but at the same time she stops Mal (and Zoe) from sizing up the newbies to see if there is any threat. And Jayne was not too far off on his crude remark. Apart form the gynaecologist bit.
I would still say that ambition did play a part in the attraction a long with nature. The hurt at remarks was also some insecurity.
A "longsighted Kaylee" would not be Kaylee. IMO.
Onto Simon - he is from a more formal background. Probably did go though all the courting rituals with some formality too. it is a part of him. Something he does not want to lose. A part of him that he does not have to lose with everything else.
Besides learning the way to ingratiate himself with others is probably not the top of his priorities. He is (almost) pretty secure on Serenity, and has bigger concerns than learning local tribal customs.
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Kaylee hate club? Good grief, no! Not for me, at least. Though it seems that no matter what fandom I am discussing, and no matter what character, people think that if you discuss a character's flaws, you must not like them.
I adore Kaylee. I think she's one of the sweetest people in all of fiction, and the one person on that crew I'd trust completely. That doesn't mean she's perfect, and I like her the better for her flaws. As you and I both said, a long-sighted Kaylee would be Mary-Sue. Just like a smooth-spoken Simon would be a Gary-Stu.
I agree with you about Simon's top priority not being learning "tribal customs"...at least in the beginning. By Jaynestown, though, or at least somewhere around there, he seems to be trying somewhat. He has a little casual talk with Kaylee in the beginning, he's secure enough to snark at Jayne in a manner he wouldn't have done in the first few episodes, and he even goes along on the job instead of disdaining it and staying hid. He does seem to want to belong, from what I see, even if it still isn't the most important thing in his life. You say that Simon was being mean in Safe...do you think he was trying to be hurtful? I suppose I would call his words misjudged, but "mean" seems to imply some negative intention behind those words, which by themselves aren't so terrible.
It's interesting what you say about the crush vs. love in Kaylee. In the beginning, I think Kaylee is just nursing a nice crush, but I don't see her continuing to try with Simon if there wasn't something deeper than that. Perhaps it's just because he's constantly around and he is awful swai, but she seems to have more motivation than that, so I'd guess some sort of love grew after a while.
So long live the short-sighted, ambitious, manipulative, overly emotional Kaylee...I love her dearly.
--
"My way of being polite, or however...well, it's the only way I have of showing you that I like you. Of showing respect." Simon Tam, Jaynestown
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