Scenes that have you in awe
POSTED BY: MerryK
UPDATED: Sunday, November 30, 2008 21:34
VIEWED: 19876
PAGE 3 of 5
This is kind of a personal reference with me, and again it is Out of Gas.
My father has for a long time said he knows he will die alone. It hit home hearing Mal say that in Out of Gas.
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Another one is the war scene at the beginning of the pilot (have you figured out that Serenity's one of my favorite episodes?). It's all action, all humor, and then suddenly the music changes and Mal just stands there with the perfect look on his face. It's not just horror, it's not just sadness, it's not just disbelief...it's something you understand but can't describe. The music is perfect, and the slightly slow motion, and the framing as Bendis gets shot down right next to Mal as the ships land. We don't need any other explanation for why Mal is who he his.
This is one of my favorite Mal Moments too.
I always thought of it as pure and total loss. Loss of freedom, loss of trust, loss of hope.
I was going to add to this list, but I found I couldn't pick out one single scene, and the more I read, the more I said to myself, yeah, that one too.
I used to identify myself as a Trekker, but I cannot think of any moments in ST episodes (or movies) that have moved me as emotionally as our little Firefly and BDM. I am hanging up the Troi dress and hunting for a Browncoat.
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There is a scene that isn't spectacular or anything, but does awe me. In Out of Gas, when they are embarking on the shuttles, where Mal and Jayne Say their final farewells, it's just Jayne saying "Yeah. Well." in true western he-man fashion. The exchange in that one scene, has so much behind it. From what I've read and hear in commentaries, it may have been Adam that came up with all that was (un)said there, and it strikes me every time. Craftsmen at work in this scene.
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Originally posted by wytchcroft:Quote:
Originally posted by Waltzing:
I'll narrow it down to my favorite scene. It's the scene in the very beginning, right after River's been walking through the ship and listening to thoughts, where she ends up in the cargo bay. We've been following River, and suddenly there's this shot from above, showing the floor strewn with orange leaves, as though a wind had just blown through a stand of trees in autumn. The sudden juxtaposition is both startling and breathtaking. The soft warm color of the leaves starkly contrasts with the cooler colors of the ship. Also, the appearance of something so natural as leaves catches our attention because they're so rare in the somewhat artificial and cold setting of a spaceship cruising through endless space. In addition to the beautiful image, what I love about this scene is that everything is suddenly silent. All the voices and ship machine noises stop, almost as though River had indeed stepped into a forest. In this moment, we are truly in her mind, separate from the ship and everyone else, staring at objects that 'don't mean what you think.' The scene ends abruptly when the real world of the ship comes crashing in with the crew shouting in consternation at River's possession of the branch-turned-gun. The leaves are gone and we are back on the ship, pulled back into the real world of the other characters. Every time I watch I am continually impressed with the subtlety of this scene, and the incredible attention to detail that makes it wonderful.
well that was the one i'd have picked too! but i wouldn't have said it a tenth as well - lovely description/summation of that scene. great post:)
To be clear, there is a lot of this episode I don't get. For one thing, how does the gun get to the cargo bay floor? Jayne had it locked up, there is no inplication that River took it there with her, but that she just discovered it there. Are we to think she "walked" the ship in ephemoral form, merely thinking/imagining/sensing the walk through, with all the reading of mind, and she was in the cargo bay the whole time, with the gun? Or was she actually walking, and reading when in proximity to each of the others, then "coming upon" the gun in the cargo bay? I don't see why she would have broken into Jayne's weapon arsenal, if that's what she did. I don't recall any commentaries or such which explain this.
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Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:
To be clear, there is a lot of this episode I don't get. For one thing, how does the gun get to the cargo bay floor? Jayne had it locked up, there is no inplication that River took it there with her, but that she just discovered it there. Are we to think she "walked" the ship in ephemoral form, merely thinking/imagining/sensing the walk through, with all the reading of mind, and she was in the cargo bay the whole time, with the gun? Or was she actually walking, and reading when in proximity to each of the others, then "coming upon" the gun in the cargo bay? I don't see why she would have broken into Jayne's weapon arsenal, if that's what she did. I don't recall any commentaries or such which explain this.
First let me say that OIS is simply the greatest episode of sci-fi EVER. EVER. Waltzing delivers a wonderful description of the cargo hold sequence, and that's just one slice, one small sliver, of the layers of wonder this episode offers.
To answer your question JSF, I think you might be crossing two seperate issues. We must consider what "actually" happened in the physical world to be different from what "astrally" happened in River's psyche. The only solid known of the event is that River is at some point in the cargo hold with a handgun that belongs to Jayne. All other thoughts are speculations. Now given that, and the subsequent result that what I offer is speculation, I nevertheless offer it to you.
Bluesuncompanyman's theory based on 4 years of thought on this subject:
River's walk through the ship was entirely a psychic journey. It explains why nobody seems to "see" her apart from their psychic statements to her. The things people say are all secrets they hold in their hearts. Some are obvious, like jayne's and Simon's. Others are not. In the commentary Joss tells us that some statements are "things we do not yet understand" and sadly never will. One thing that I think catches people in a confusion about her journey and her sudden "waking up" with a gun in her hand is an assumption that all things follow in a linear timeframe. There is no actual reason to believe this. River is insane. She perceves the world differently than the rest of the crew. At times she does have moments of clarity and I believe the stick-to-handgun transition was a moment that she "woke up" so-to-speak. If you watch closely there are other times in the show that she shows clear thought. A good example is in the episode Safe when she tells Simon that she knows she is a burden. I think she had pulled this out of his mind eariler (it was a secret he kept) and in a cogent moment she voiced it.
If one makes the assumption that her journey at the start of OIS was linear, one becomes confused about how the gun came to be in her hand. A better way to think about it is to postulate that she is "thinking" herself one way and "walking" herself in another. Perhaps she physically just walked herself into Jaynes bunk and took the gun, all the while astrally walking elsewhere. Maybe the psychic journey actually happened hours earlier and this whole time she was physically walking in a zoned out psychosis gun in hand. The point isn't what actually happened, it's the window we've been given into her mind, to begin to understand the disjointed and abstract way she views the world.
An intresting scene that would help shed light on things would be to see what happened in the "real" world just prior to the sick-to-gun swicharoo. By the time of her awakening, the crew has had ample time to rally around. Obviously this standoff started at least 60 seconds previous. I'd imagine that Kaylee came around a corner or some such and saw River standing there zoned out with a gun in her hand, called for Mal and everyone came running. Did River say anything in that timeframe? If so what? And if anything was said...RIVER CAN'T HERSELF REMEMBER IT. What I'm trying to convey is that nothing about River's psyche is linear. Time doesn't exactly flow at the
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I pretty much agree with Bluesuncompanyman's post and it's also the scene I'm most in awe of, although it isn't actually my favourite.
I believe Jayne when he stated that his gun was locked up. I believe River must have taken it (why would anyone else need to). Also that the 'walk' through the ship was mental not physical. It wouldn't surprise me if the crew weren't even in those positions, that they were only there in River's mind and in reality were in other parts of the ship (i.e. Kaylee in the cargo hold or about to enter it).
I would compare River's state of mind to the bar scene in the BDM. She wasn't herself in either case. This was just a precursor to that. An early version if you will. It had already been established that she was comfortable with guns in some circumstances but not in others. This was an example of a transition between her two mindsets.
Don't you just wanna hug her and tell her it's alright when she realizes what she's doing and becomes scared.
"I don't believe in suicide, but if you'd like to try it it might cheer me up to watch."
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As I read these, it reminds me.... there were actually two other times when handguns were somewhat haphazardly laying about the ship. One saves Mal in OOG, (though he may have conveniently stashed that one), and the one Tracy discovers on the bridge in "The Message". Perhaps firearm security was a bit lax??
A favorite moment, and another brief view of Mal's softer side (and feelings for Inara); near the end of OIS, just outside the infirmary, he reaches up tenderly and holds Inara's chin, asking about her cut lip.... she puts her hand over his and for just a flash... it's all there! Then it's over, and the series is over, and there's so much potential and so much unexplored mystery... aaarrggghhhh - it kills me!
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As for Mal finding a gun inOoG, I thought the script said it was one of Jayne's stash hiding places, under the carriage of the mule, in it's holster. I recall the script said where Tracey's gun came from in Message, but I don't recall the detail of where/why/how.
For River in OIS, I don't have a problem with river's journey being ephemoral or non-linear. I asume you mean non-linear in time as being possibly surging in time, compression and expansion of time. I don't agree she is crazy, tho many of you do. I don't think you are referring to non-sequential time, because Joss has stated that he considers psychic to be fantasy, and apparently he doesn't understand or believe it, so he probably doesn't understand the lack of chornological constraint on reading of psychics. It does seem the other writers understand it all better, but because Joss does not, it seems reasonable to assume his intent was not to film the scenes in non-chronological sequence (except when obvious, in OoG or Trash).
So how does River unlock Jaynes lock? So far we all agree that Jayne did have this specific handgun locked up. Did she unlock the lock with her mind? What?
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Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:
So how does River unlock Jaynes lock? So far we all agree that Jayne did have this specific handgun locked up. Did she unlock the lock with her mind? What?
Jayne would say: "Maybe she used some of that Math we've been talking about"
A joke. But to be more serious, it's just another mystery. I believe River possesses all kinds of pre-programmed skillsets. You might note as a sidebar that Joss's new show Dollhouse is using the same theme.
She picked the lock. She broke it. It was a combo lock and she pulled the combo from Jaynes mind. It was a key lock and she stole the key and returned it later. You can make up just about any scenario. Maybe when Jayne said the gun was "locked up" he meant his whole bunk is locked (like when Early locked them all in) and if someone unlocks the bunk they'd have free reign to look around. Remember when he pulled the blanket off the wall? Lots of firearms there.
And what I meant by "non-linear" time was refering more to our new window into River's human experience. Multiple personality subjects often report feeling no sense of time passage when they "drop out" and a new personality comes forth. For such a person one moment it's monday and their having lunch with co-workers, and then suddenly they are in bed at home. It must be frightening. I notice you don't think she's "crazy". I guess that's more of an issue of word definition. She certainly experiences "layers of psychosis" per Dr. Mathias in the film. Jayne keeps it simple and calls her crazy. I describe her as occasionally uncogent.
Hey, I think we have a new Con question for Joss. For those of you going to comicon 08, if Joss does a panel Q&A ask him: "How did River get the handgun in OIS if Jayne had it locked up?" If I was him I'd answer that she used math. haha.
Do not fear me. Our's is a peaceful race and we must live in harmony.
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Practically all of the scenes/episodes mentioned above I view as favorites. With this series there are so many little perfect scenes within each episode. Whether it's Simon's dialog in the pilot, or Jayne's cunning hat, they all have a special place in my heart.
However my number 1 favorite sequence of all time is the introduction of Serenity in the movie. Regardless there's no cast or dialog, it is what gets me the most. The serene silence of space accompanied by the slow mournful beginning of the song with the cello, pulling back to see Serenity moving through the black. The music building and exploding into an adventuresome, frontierish anthem as she prepares to break into the atmosphere, and as it reaches it's crescendo.... a part flies off of the ship. That thirty seconds to me is the essence of the series intself. It's all about the ship, it's all about the home Serenity is and the struggles in the new frontier. It's so beautifully done with the CGI and the soundtrack that it still leaves me in awe.
Your Indian Pirate Lord,
Ash
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