Question about OiS...

POSTED BY: zoid
UPDATED: Monday, April 19, 2004 21:13
VIEWED: 6434
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ZOID

Saturday, April 17, 2004 10:28 PM

Hey, 'coats:

Could somebody please explain where the gun on Serenity's deck came from?

River's suddenly walking through twigs and leaves, does her little cambré (and I thought ballet wasn't sexy) and picks up a branch. The branch becomes a nice, but otherwise standard handgun.

The problem is, I never heard anyone on the show -- or in the commentary for that matter -- nail down the origin of the gun. We may reasonably assume it's one of Jayne's, but that's not established. It occurs to me that had it been Jayne's, Mal would have ripped him off a strip; but he didn't.

They just sort of let the subject of ownership and improper security slide right past. Does anyone know who's gun it was? Where did they identify it in the show? Because I obviously missed the reference somehow, and keep missing it, because it's a favorite repeat-view ep... I just get caught up and neglect to go frame hunting for the answer.

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"River? I thought she was a sweet girl. Of course, we were all sure she was crazy, too."

- Inara Reynolds, Secretary of Ecumenical Affairs
from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

WILDHEAVENFARM

Saturday, April 17, 2004 10:56 PM

The crew did not know where the gun came from, though Jayne swore he hadn't left it accessable. Keep in mind, things involving River are not going to make 100% sense, since her world doesn't make sense to her.

Mary
Always a beast, never a burden.

DARKJESTER

Saturday, April 17, 2004 11:40 PM

And I don't think river herself knew where it came from.
Insanity isn't a problem to be fixed in and of itself, it's a solution to a problem with unacceptable consequences in the eyes of the one so afflicted. That is why a mother will carry around her dead child, insisting that it is only sleeping; the alternative (facing the truth) is too terrible for her to bear.
I don't think river is that far gone, but her perceptions of reality wander. I think she found the gun, and her mind invented the leaves on the deck so she could accept seeing the gun as a twig, something harmless.
The surgery done to her brain lets her perceive things beyond the five standard senses. The way she could "feel" Zoe and Wash making out, the way she could tell what Mal and Inara were really thinking. But that extra information is presented to her as seeing, feeling, etc. Like her phrase "It's getting very crowded" after Mal takes the gun and as she storms off. I think that she felt Jubal, felt the presence of another person. 10 people on the ship instead of 9. Getting crowded.
Well, those are my thoughts on the subject. Anyone else?

MAL "You only gotta scare him."
JAYNE "Pain is scary..."

ECGORDON

Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:06 AM

This has been discussed on at least one other thread. A general consensus is that when we see River in those scenes it does not mean she is physically present in those locations at that time, it is possible all of those confrontations and "readings" of the other crew members are all in her head. Notice how no one seems to acknowledge her presence until their "reading," which does not mean they actually say those things to River directly, she is just reading their mind.

Everything about this episode (which is my favorite) is highly symbolic, not that I understand all the symbolism yet. Nothing should be taken at face value. Even if River is actually wandering the ship, it is possible she has the gun in her hand all the time but no one notices, and she herself doesn't even notice it (hence we are not shown it either) until the cargo bay scene. Where it came from is still a mystery to me, but perhaps she wandered into Jayne's room and took it without realizing it at the time.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

ZOID

Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:08 AM

Hmmm...

Let me put it another way:

As was pointed out, Jayne says it's not his gun.

My question isn't "Why didn't River see a gun instead of a tree branch?", rather it's "Where the aitch eee double hockey sticks did the real gun she found on the deck come from?"

Unless River created it with her mind -- which I'm not even saying -- then the gun had to come from somewhere, right?

Whose gun is it? And why didn't Mal lose his mind going off on whomever was responsible for leaving it loaded, with a round chambered, just lying on the deck?

Then again maybe the military and sergeants have changed a bit over the course of 500 years, and leaving an unsafed weapon lying on the ground is acceptable practice, and...

Nah!

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"River? I thought she was a sweet girl. Of course, we were all sure she was crazy, too."

- Inara Reynolds, Secretary of Ecumenical Affairs
from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

SHINY

Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:14 AM

Couldn't it have been the same gun she used in War Stories to shoot the three guards? Maybe she dropped it/hid it somewhere afterwords and picked it up later in OiS in her 'dream' state.

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ZOID

Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:14 AM

ecgordon wrote:

Quote:
...Where it came from is still a mystery to me, but perhaps she wandered into Jayne's room and took it without realizing it at the time.

Wellll, maybe so. Looked like a blooper or writer's sleight of hand to me...

Great episode, but troublesome gun, IMO.

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"River? I thought she was a sweet girl. Of course, we were all sure she was crazy, too."

- Inara Reynolds, Secretary of Ecumenical Affairs
from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

AURAPTOR

Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:46 AM

Ok, the whole opening sequence of OiS had me a bit confused. We see River wandering around and eves dropping in on others conversations. We see Simon and Kaylee/ Mal and Inara/Book and Jayne , casually chatting away only to see them make a turt, abrupt comment out of character- perhaps revealing their own inner thoughts, then to carry on as if nothing was said at all. Did River imagine these comments? Was she doing a form of mindreading ? Clairvoyance ? Who can say for sure.

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. Worked that out myself. "

CORWYN

Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:50 AM

I think that rather than a blooper, this is a deliberate mystery on the part of the writer. We are _supposed_ to wonder where it came from.

Mal does indicate that it is one of Jayne's guns (while they are arguing on the bridge). But I am inclined to believe him when he says he didn't leave it there. He is not a man careless with firearms.

Other have said that they think River picked it up earlier, that doesn't make any sense to me. Everybody seems to notice immediately, and River seems to be saying when she says to herself, that it is 'just an object, it doesn't mean what you think', that picking it is ok, it doesn't mean she is going to kill people with it. The object is not 'imbued' with malice.

Thank You Kindly.

KARENKAY99

Sunday, April 18, 2004 1:03 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
As was pointed out, Jayne says it's not his gun.

Actually, it is Jayne's gun.

MAL and JAYNE are talking as they climb up the stairs to the bridge.
MAL
Those lockers are sealed. Only way
she can get in there is if she knows
the combination.
JAYNE
I don't leave my guns around, Mal,
and I don't leave 'em loaded.
MAL
Well, somehow she got her hands on your
hardware. Now, supposing she took up
something with hull-piercing bullets?

And I believe Jayne when he says he doesn't leave his guns around.

"They say the snow on the roof is too heavy. They say the ceiling will cave in. His brains are in terrible danger."

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