Unpopular Opinions
POSTED BY: Lexan
UPDATED: Monday, August 3, 2026 22:05
VIEWED: 61897
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I don't know...I understood from your other post that you were saying that you could not see Mal and Inara loving anyone but each other. I see that as saying that they are "soulmates", even if you don't use that word. I disagree with that, and furthermore think that Mal and Inara are capable of having relationships (Inara would find it hard, but not Mal) just not with each other. Perhaps I missed your point though.
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"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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Quote:
Originally posted by Platonist:
Soul mates don’t always equal a "relationship".
ah, how many many tmes have i had to point that out to poor youths convinced of the opposite - hey ho.
I don't think Mal and Inara would work long term... Mal is about being 'free' - but it seems to be on his terms - Inara gets little freedom - just a deal of privacy and the odd client.
i think she is also beginning an arc of discovery/change - it is after all clear that mal affected her... but people are messy when it comes to self dicovery - arcs are generally more noodley - up down forward back and several strands at once - so if she missteps... ant no biggy is just temporary.
serenity gives her family - but to Inara that may not be enough... or it may have made her realise she has famly already - girls in training, fellow techers etc
a good writer for series 2 could have had her like marion in the church - in an audry hepburn style - her dialogue with Robin (sean connery) is of the mal/innara sort.
i think mal is destinded for the will they won't they friction with Saffron...
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I should clarify, I think Mal and Inara have quite a bit going for them as far as a relationship, which I personally think they already have. On a score of 1 to 10, it may be a 1, but it does exist. LOL
They both share a love of home (Serenity), family (she was in agony leaving both), a sexual attraction, a free spirit (their independence), trust, ("she wouldn't set us up willingly") and on one level respect (she's a real cherry blossom, no denying it"). They laugh together; even their arguments are funny.
And, strangely, there is a lot of honesty in the words "whore" and "petty thief". Honesty is a big component in my experience for a successful relationship.
And I think, most importantly, they have ironically, a mutual willingness to sacrifice that which they deem most important to themselves.
Inara was willing to sacrifice her "freedom" to spare Mal in Shindig and Mal was willing to use "Serenity" as bait from the Reavers, in the pilot, so she could fly to safety. The whole scenario was played out again in the BDM with her rescue/escape, in case you are looking for another example.
Will it be a "fairytale" relationship, where we are to expect them to live happily ever after? No...But what real relationship is? And in Mal's line of work it doesn't look like he is going to live that long anyway.
So, I guess my unpopular opinion (since that is the thread), is that Mal and Inara actually have a strong foundation for a good relationship, never a perfect ten, but maybe a seven...OK a 6 tops!
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Mal/Saffron...wytchcroft, I told you before, enough with that gose... that is about the most unromantic pairing...and stop cracking me up...keep busy, go find your lost stuff in the BSR!
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Quote:
Originally posted by Platonist:
So, I guess my unpopular opinion (since that is the thread), is that Mal and Inara actually have a strong foundation for a good relationship, never a perfect ten, but maybe a seven...OK a 6 tops!
in a shindig style!
you could be right but - i just don't feel it - yet -
i agree that they know each instinctively - but hookin up - for real??? i dunno... would take a long time - the BDM shows mal acknowledging love for the first time - but the love is the love of his ship and the love for River (non sexual).
my unpopular opinion is that Mal kinda has a thing for Saff..
but 'nuff - we're nearly talking 'ship ehre! sweet lords of kobol!:(
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Ok, here's my unpopular opinion. I think Mal & Inara have a better chance than Simon & Kaylee. Quite frankly, I can't see Simon being happy staying on Serenity. The man is a gifted surgeon whose job is pretty much waiting for someone to get shot. That's gotta get boring after awhile. I don't see S/K lasting beyond a year or two at the most.
Now, M/I (and I am an ARDENT M/I shipper) I can see that if they work through their issues, which could take several years, they could make it long term.
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Quote:Really? Its unpopular? I thought that all along. The only reason nothing happens 'with that' is that Saff isn't 'on board with that.' ;-)
my unpopular opinion is that Mal kinda has a thing for Saff..
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Oh, I'm glad someone else also holds that opinion. If Simon and Kaylee continue to live, I don't see that relationship lasting.
Simon's talents and profession (his original first love) are wasted on Serenity. Once River is well enough to stay on as crew and the warrants are lifted, I see him making a move to re establish his career, probably out on the rim. River is his first love and his profession is his second, with Kaylee trailing a distant third. Doesn't River read his true thoughts in OIS to this effect, when he is with Kaylee on the couch.
Poor Kaylee, I wish SHE was the mind reader.
Sorry for the running analogy, my daughter is a long distance runner and was just offered a scholarship this weekend.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Platonist:
I should clarify, I think Mal and Inara have quite a bit going for them as far as a relationship, which I personally think they already have. On a score of 1 to 10, it may be a 1, but it does exist. LOL
They both share a love of home (Serenity), family (she was in agony leaving both), a sexual attraction, a free spirit (their independence), trust, ("she wouldn't set us up willingly") and on one level respect (she's a real cherry blossom, no denying it"). They laugh together; even their arguments are funny.
And, strangely, there is a lot of honesty in the words "whore" and "petty thief". Honesty is a big component in my experience for a successful relationship.
Exactly.
I think the relationship between Mal and Inara would have worked out; for one, they're both too invested in their antagonism about it for it not to. :) I think Inara, though she knows she loves Mal, is nonetheless self-prohibited from declairing said love; primarily because her higher social status keeps bringing her back to thinking there can never be anything between them (an idea, indeed, shared by some folks here). And Mal? He's not ready to admit his love for Inara, pretty much for the same reasons. :) By the end of Shindig, when they're sitting on that grid together ("I got stabbed, right here!"), it's clear to me that they're meant for each other, though. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a solid 7. Provided Joss don't kill her first, of course. :)
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"It's the unpopular theory." -- Yours Truly
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