Who was Shepard Book?
POSTED BY: 6ixStringJack
UPDATED: Friday, November 23, 2007 11:21
VIEWED: 14404
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Really... who was he?
I haven't read the side stories or graphic novels or anything outside of the Firefly/Serenity videoverse, so perhaps others might have more insight on him that I would (or that I might even care to know).
Shepard Book. My favorite character in the 'verse. Sure, I loved Mal's character because what boy didn't grow up wanting to be the hero who , no matter how much pressure, always says and does the right things? Who hasn't wanted to either be or be with Wash? I couldn't think of another man in movie/tv history that women would want to be with more... particularly strong independent women like Zoey. 
And who could forget Jayne? Certainly not any guy who grew up wishing they could kick the ass of any guy who would kick sand in the face of the scrawny kid and take his girlfriend?
But then there's Book.... nobody knows anything about him. Complete, utter mystery. Not only is he mysterious, but we know that he has seen some unimaginable horror in his life. Book is a man who has stared deep into the eyes of the devil and turned away, rather than be seduced by the power that comes with the dark side.
Is he a hypocrite? By the very definition of the word, who could claim that he wasn't? He is a man who had lived a horiffic past and realized that what he had done was wrong and wanted to spend the rest of his life repenting by trying to help others who may have wandered down the wrong path. I'm not trying to preach here at all... just trying to point out what a smart and caring individual he was.
Book was the most dynamic character in the series, and that's saying a lot since during the first 5 or so episodes, I couldn't figure out if Jayne was a bad guy even though I thought his character was great. Sure... during the season, Book's character was mainly static. He preached at the beginning and he preached at the end after showing us one wicked bed-head scene. But his dynamicity was all played out long before the show and was all meant to be inferred by the audience.
Let us learn a lesson from Shepard Book. Let us not be so quick to judge and label our brothers and sisters trying to help us as hypocrites. Perhaps they too have seen the face of the devil and are only trying to spare those they care about from suffering the same fate.
"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack
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I can't pretend to know everything that goes on in Joss's head (I wish...), but I do tend to think that Book is similar to Paul (Yeah, the Paul from the New Testament). I'm certain that he did something, or was something terrible. And some event made him change his life.
"We may experience some slight turbulence, and then... explode."
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I believe that Book is the biggest single mystery remaining after Serenity, but I do not think he was the most dynamic character, and I think his death in the movie was the less tragic of the two the crew experienced. Now the reason I feel this way between the two deaths is that Book did seem to have a long and prestigious past, and if Firefly were to go back into series run several episodes could be written of the crew researching the Shepard’s former life. If the crew were to revisit Wash’s past, there might be a few minutes of him flying for the war, and being a prisoner of war, and in all maybe an entire episode of his relationship with Zoey. Perhaps that episode would show the depth of the pair’s arguments and their passion for one another with the culmination of Zoey giving birth to Wash’s child, but other than that I cannot see any more future episodes with Wash’s character present and that is why I feel his death was the most tragic of the two. 
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I agree with you totally about who was more valuable to the charisma of the characters and the show. Wash wins hands down.
I just know that whatever Book did or had ordered to be done in the past would make Gitmo torture look like Candyland.
Think for a moment about the Mafia and what you've seen in TV shows and movies about them... If someone such as Book were to be a loyal and devoted right had man for the Don Corleone and then one day was to decide that what he was doing was so horrific that he had to quit.... how many days do you think he would survive when the Mafia decided that because of what he knew that he was too much of a liability that he had to die?
Not only did the Alliance not have a bounty on his head, but when they discovered who he was when he was injured they gave him the royal treatment.
Whatever Shepard Book was involved with it was deeper and darker than any horror story we've ever heard about torture at Gitmo bay.
That's where his Dynamicism comes from.... In fact, I can't hardly even think of another character in literature's history that was more dynamic. "A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack
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If you add up all the little clues about Book, you might come to the following conclusion...:
He was once an Alliance Agent...a special agent who acted as liason between Parliament and Operatives and Bounty Hunters on covert and non-covert missions.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
If you add up all the little clues about Book, you might come to the following conclusion...:
He was once an Alliance Agent...a special agent who acted as liason between Parliament and Operatives and Bounty Hunters on covert and non-covert missions.
Yes... there is very little doubt that that was the case. But go a few years further back. What could make a man so trusted in an organization as powerful as the Alliance that he could hold a title like that?
My guidance counciler never told me about how to do that or how to be a CEO.
Stupid public schools!
No child left behind with my stupid computer babysitting job... grumble grumble.....
"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack
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I agree with that assessment, but I wonder what his assignments covered since he had a wealth of knowledge about crime and torture, and almost none about Reavers.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack: Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
If you add up all the little clues about Book, you might come to the following conclusion...:
He was once an Alliance Agent...a special agent who acted as liason between Parliament and Operatives and Bounty Hunters on covert and non-covert missions.
Yes... there is very little doubt that that was the case. But go a few years further back. What could make a man so trusted in an organization as powerful as the Alliance that he could hold a title like that?
My guidance counciler never told me about how to do that or how to be a CEO.
Stupid public schools!
No child left behind with my stupid computer babysitting job... grumble grumble.....
He may have been the guy that Operatives & bounty hunters delivered their prey to. He may have been in charge of their interrogations and/or de-briefings. The brief glimpse of what River sees in him in Objects In Space is enough for me to know that he was not very sympathetic to his detainees, a very scary man.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack: Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
If you add up all the little clues about Book, you might come to the following conclusion...:
He was once an Alliance Agent...a special agent who acted as liason between Parliament and Operatives and Bounty Hunters on covert and non-covert missions.
Yes... there is very little doubt that that was the case. But go a few years further back. What could make a man so trusted in an organization as powerful as the Alliance that he could hold a title like that?
My guidance counciler never told me about how to do that or how to be a CEO.
Stupid public schools!
No child left behind with my stupid computer babysitting job... grumble grumble.....
He may have been the guy that Operatives & bounty hunters delivered their prey to. He may have been in charge of their interrogations and/or de-briefings. The brief glimpse of what River sees in him in Objects In Space is enough for me to know that he was not very sympathetic to his detainees, a very scary man.
That is a very imaginative guess Jongstraw, and I am willing to bet you are at least partly correct. Let's say for arguments sake that you are completely correct, what do you think was his light to turn him from that life into that of a Shepherd? We saw in Serenity that Operative turn when he glimpsed his better world, so I wonder what catalyst forced Book’s change.
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I believe Early referred to Book as "That," not "He." A small distinction, I know, but I think it's important. This means one of two things. Either Early didn't know him personally, but knew of him (or a "duplicate" of him). Or he knew him and had a lot of contempt for him.
The Alliance boat that gave Book medical attention did not recognize him. So, likely not a "duplicate," unless his age or lack of uniform made him unrecognizable. But his ident card immediately told them who he was. If Book was retired, then he probably would not have gotten such a warm welcome.
I've heard theories that Book was on board Serenity from the beginning because he was supposed to go after River. I don't agree, because I think Book was genuine in the beliefs he professed. Didn't he get on Serenity before Simon anyway? But I do think he may have known who the Tams were.
Personally, I have a few theories. But like I said, I'm not Joss. Those are my observations anyway. I agree completely that Book is probably one of the richest characters we'll ever come across. I wish we could have found out more.
"You'll have to tell me about that sometime."
"No, I won't."
"We may experience some slight turbulence, and then... explode."
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