Poll: When Crow goes through Serenity's engine...
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Thursday, March 5, 2009 18:50
VIEWED: 13685
PAGE 2 of 9
Quote:Exactly.
Originally posted by Bytemite:
It doesn't suggest Mal would extend the same courtesy to someone else
And it's not murder- it's self defense. Crow admitted to fully intending to carry out an illegal act of ending someone, Mal just skipped the red tape. It can happen on the frontier, y'know.
"Thanks." -Hero, 2009
The laughing Chrisisall
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
It's what hooked me on the show. It's what made me sit bolt upright, grab the remote, hit "rewind", and say out loud, "What the...? What the hell did he just DO?!"
That was the moment I went from being, "Eh, this is kind of okay... I guess I can sit through a few more before giving up on it..." to "I have to see what happens next, because there's no way you can figure out what this guy's going to throw at you!"
I'd say my reaction was similar to others': shocked amusement - that out-of-the-blue unexpected out-of-character thing that tells you you're in for one hell of a ride.
Mike
If you're going to assume anything, assume you're wrong.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
The thing about Mal is... He does have a sense of honor, but time and again we see him forced to twist it or even have to ignore it. It's not out of character: for Mal, it's just a fact of life. Sometimes he may be proud of giving some sumbitch whatfor, but do you really think he's proud of being a thief in general? My impression is he's not.
He says that to Simon, I think, because by that time he's sized up the kind of person Simon is, and feels he can make that promise. It doesn't suggest Mal would extend the same courtesy to someone else; it depends on the circumstance, and whether or not the person is a threat to his crew. He'd like to be able to face every one of his enemies with honor, but it often just doesn't work out that way.
Well, we certainly know Mal isn't exactly the perfect hero all the time. So I agree that your assessment holds true for Mal, in general. Still, my point kinda was that Crow's death is made to be funny, while maybe it really was a bit uncalled for. Even for Mal. I mean, the Captain let Niska live, after all, and he done much, much worse to Mal than spouting off some silly, hopelessly transparent bad-guy rethoric, like Crow did.
--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:LOL, I wouldn't call it "letting him live", as much as "unable to kill."
Originally posted by asarian:
I mean, the Captain let Niska live,
"Thanks." -Hero, 2009
The laughing Chrisisall
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:Quote:LOL, I wouldn't call it "letting him live", as much as "unable to kill."
Originally posted by asarian:
I mean, the Captain let Niska live,
What do you mean? Mal had broken free, gets up and asks Niska: "You wanna meet the real me now?" Niska on the floor, cowering against a wall. Clearly Niska -- a rather old man, sans the aide of his henchmen -- is helpless at the time. I thought, in fact, this was one of that show's highlights, that, where you least expect it, Mal DOES show his real self.
P.S. Mal doesn't kill the Operative either (when they're fighting at Mr. Universe's place). And the Operative had given him plenty reason, too.
--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Given what I (we) know about The Train Job being the second pilot, my take on Crow's demise is exactly equivalent to the moment where Reynolds, without hesitation, puts a bullet into Dobson's eye in order to bring about a fast solution to both River's being a captive and the more pressing need to get the boat in the air soonest, what with the Reaver ship bearing down on Reynold's crew. In TTJ, they needed to be flyin' before the locals changed their minds about letting Serenity's crew fly free, and before Nishka sent around backup mercenaries.
If the audience didn't understand that Mal is a man of action in the pilot Serenity, they surely figured it out when he gave Crow the boot in The Train Job.
I'm impressed that Whedon/Minear, given that they needed to give us this crucial character development, managed to portray it in such diverse contexts.
I'm even more impressed that they managed to create such a fine shock moment to describe an aspect of Reynold's character over just one weekend -- which, to my understanding, is the time frame given to write the second pilot.
Dollhouse needs a 'Crow through the engine moment', one that rivets the audience to Echo's special, uncompromising nature. Don't y'all agree?
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
The Mal who kicks Crow through the engine is the same Mal who siccs an entire fleet of Reavers on the Alliance waiting on Mr. Universe's moon.
Most of those Alliance soldiers had no idea what was going on, had never heard of River Tam or Miranda, had no real way to defend themselves, and sure as hell weren't given any warning.
Even if you hate the Alliance, Reavers aren't something you'd wish on your worst enemy. Mal did what he had to then out of pure survival and necessity. There wasn't anything honourable about it.
Mal is, if anything, inconsistent at best. The only thing that saves him from hypocrisy is that he really is trying to live up to his own ethical and moral standards.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I MEAN, if the bodyguard hadn't saved Niska, Mal would have pounded him TO DEATH.
Originally posted by asarian:Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:Quote:LOL, I wouldn't call it "letting him live", as much as "unable to kill."
Originally posted by asarian:
I mean, the Captain let Niska live,
What do you mean?
"Thanks." -Hero, 2009
The laughing Chrisisall
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
The Mal who kicks Crow through the engine is the same Mal who siccs an entire fleet of Reavers on the Alliance waiting on Mr. Universe's moon.
To keep it in perspective, first they sicc an entire Alliance fleet on Mal's one bitty boat!
Quote:
Most of those Alliance soldiers had no idea what was going on, had never heard of River Tam or Miranda, had no real way to defend themselves, and sure as hell weren't given any warning.
No real way to defend themselves?? You're working this deal all crabbed! They come at Mal with gorram high-tech Alliance crap, a whole fleet no less. And what does Mal got? Can't the purple-belly yokels even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it? All Mal does here is even the odds a bit. Boo-hoo on the Alliance.
Quote:
Mal did what he had to then out of pure survival and necessity. There wasn't anything honourable about it.
Nor anything particularly dishonorable, for that matter. Devising a clever strategy against a whole fleet ain't exactly on par with shoving a man thru an engine -- a man who had his hands tied behind his back, no less.
And there weren't any immediate hurry, in terms of fearing Niska might send reinforcements, as they first went all the way back to town to return the stolen medicine.
As for Dobson, he threatened his crew -- not just in word; and took a young girl hostage, to boot. At that point we simply know his life is forfeit.
But, on a whole, I maintain that Mal is not given to killing folks unnecessarily.
--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:He renounced his person-hood and declared himself a mindless weapon.
Originally posted by asarian:
a man who had his hands tied behind his back, no less.
He gambled on Mal's goody-two-shoes nature & his ability to be intimidated, and lost.
Ida done the same as Mal.
"Thanks." -Hero, 2009
The laughing Chrisisall
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME