Inara's secret.

POSTED BY: peacekeeper
UPDATED: Saturday, June 6, 2009 20:50
VIEWED: 50550
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BYTEMITE

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 3:31 AM

Could be, but it was speculation from either one of the crew members, or one of the writers besides Joss Whedon.

Considering how they adopted some of Alan's ideas about Wash...? That doesn't necessarily count against it. But only if I can find the damn reference... Hmm.

They are pretty friendly from the get go, though, even though I don't think it's in a romantic attraction way.

CELLARDOOR

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 3:42 AM

Well, they're both from more civilized portions of society. It's only natural that they would gravitate towards each other for conversation and be more at ease in each other's presence. Plus, their jobs both come with the professional/client confidentiality responsibilities, so there's another later of kinship. I do NOT see a romantic attraction, just mutual respect.

BEATLESFAN

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 3:49 AM

I saw Serenity tonight, so no more worrying about spoilers :)

That being said, I think that at the end, his remark was more of a "Yay back to the way things were before." I think that they were sort of okay in the roles they played never really voicing their feelings. I think they both wanted to say something, but that "Ready to get off this heap, back to civilized life?" "I, uh, I don't know" "Good answer" exchange, I think, had the subtext of, "I want you to stay, will you?" "Of course." "I'm glad."

CELLARDOOR

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 3:51 AM

Exactly, Beatlesfan! Just like how "As you wish" can mean "I love you"! :)

BEATLESFAN

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 4:05 AM

PERFECT analogy. And I really think the only way they would say something would be in a situation similar to "Our Mrs. Reynolds" where Mal DOESN'T say something stupid like "I KNEW you let her kiss you!" before Inara spills her guts. Cause you know if one of them does then the other will.

BYTEMITE

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 4:16 AM

If Mal believes she's not just messing with him, that is. Always kind of an issue he has.

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 5:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
At the end of the movie? Not really... he came for her when she needed him, but he really wasn't too affectionate about it. He thought it was amusing, up until the point he remembered what it was like having her around and started getting confused and feeling cut down.

He tries to play the hero role for Inara, but she doesn't really want that, and that's the only way he knows how to be there for anyone. The inspiring big brother former rebel sergeant bolstering up the people under his command.

It's unfortunately not too effective in a romantic capacity or something requiring a little more sensitivity, unless hero worship turns into something else. Not likely in their case.

Maybe he showed some sensitivity towards her while she's struggling to figure out her new place in the verse. I figure it took about six months after Mr. Universe's moon to get Serenity flying again.

Hoo doggy…lots of tasty tidbits to contemplate when it comes to Mal and Inara, I must say! And boy howdy do I have few things I’d like chew on with y’all!

;)

Firstly, I honestly don’t see Mal’s decision to sleep with Nandi as a sign of emotional fragility on our Capt. Tightpants’ part. If Jayne has supposedly had opportunities since joining the crew of Serenity to visit bordellos, brothels and houses of loose morals to have himself a good ole time (at least up until around the time of Inara’s departure post-Those Left Behind,” since I get the impression from Mal’s mini-rant to Zoë after leaving Lilac in the BDM that things have been thin on the ground re: jobs for a little while) while in port, then Mal certainly has had the same amount of opportunity to release the tensions generated by Inara’s desire to keep business and pleasure two VERY separate things. To me, Malcolm Reynolds is a contradiction in personality in that he can do familial and leader-subordinate relationships quite well (his paternal/big brother role for River and Kaylee, and his ‘master and commander’ role for Zoë, Wash and Jayne) BUT 1-on-1 interpersonal relationships that have NOT evolved from the two previously mentioned roles freak him the hell out…especially when it’s Inara he’s dealing with. His success at familial and organizational-oriented relationship obviously come from his past as an Army NCO for the Independents and from living on a ranch in his childhood…it’s familiar, it’s ingrained, and it allows him to move at a personally comfortable pace as he builds up a relationship. However, as we see with his interactions with Inara and YoSaffBridge (and possibly from how Mal treats Zoë’s relationship with Wash) during the series, individual interpersonal relationships are things that Mal notably struggles with when they start creeping into his worldview; Mal’s daemons, I think, play a major part in his struggle, as Mal’s remark to Inara during the BDM about how she will be all too aware of when Mal has begun to fight hits me as Mal telling Inara “I have a monster inside of me you’ve yet to meet and you’re REALLY not gonna like what you see if it comes out to play.” Mal, to me, is someone who perceives himself as someone who has had to (to paraphrase lyrics from the 80s band Quaterflash) harden his heart and swallow his “tears” as a manner of coping with his personal losses and the consequences of taking actions he has come to deem as monstrous (i.e. booting Crow through Serenity’s port engine, shooting one of the Lilac trading station’s guards during their escape from the Reavers, etc.) to protect himself and others close to him. I think, to Mal, Nandi was someone who he could actually relate to outside of his usual comfort zone because he saw her as a kindred spirit in eking out a life completely different then they grew up in via cleaning up and efficiently running the Heart of Gold; his ability to let down his guard enough to share a night of comfort and passion with Nandi definitely struck a blow against the fragile relationship Mal and Inara were developing on screen, but not because Mal ca

ANOTHERSKY

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 6:11 AM

Bytemite: Simon can't lie to save his life? I beg to differ.

If and when Simon tells, it will be patently obvious and no longer really a secret--he'll just confirm.

BlueEyed: wooo-eee. That's some post. I think you got quite a lot of it. :)

PLATONIST

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 6:38 AM

Nice post BEB, like I said if Mal can only connect intimately with a women when "the moon is in the second house" to borrow from an earlier song, there's not a chance in hell he’ll be ready to offer Inara any emotional comfort when she needs it. If kindred, free, and available are his criteria for an intimate liaison, how can she ever trust him to be human enough to understand her plight which is void of choice and bravado.

There’s nothing empowering in the way she is dying, there’s no choice in it either. Mal’s never going to relate to that unless he grows beyond judging people in terms of how useful they can be and how similar they are to him. He needs to move out of his comfort zone.

In his defense I think Mal is the one who recognizes this by stating that he wishes he had never met Nandi. He sees his own weakness in, again, not being able to save her, he reverts to his Captain mode once again. Unfortunately, it confirms Inara's intuition that Mal is not strong enough emotionally to be trusted with the knowledge of her fate.

PEACEKEEPER

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 9:46 AM

Wow.what did I start here?

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