Did the 'Companion' thing ever bug you in Firefly?
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Saturday, February 7, 2026 14:42
VIEWED: 45553
PAGE 11 of 21
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Originally posted by Bytemite:
...my thinking is, in the Core, that same feeling might not be attached, or people might not take it as seriously...Maybe the problem with Inara is that she has some kind of core world "sex isn't very important, it's just for fun" mindset. So to her, maybe it's not the sex that's important, maybe for Inara, sex DOES fit into a list of more vanilla comfort activities. For Inara, maybe it's the RITUALS associated with the sex that's important, rituals that come from being a companion.
Not take it seriously? If that is the case then the human race will have evolved beyond recognition! - have they also gone off food and death? :)
How could a ritual be that important? How could a ritual be more important than sex, unless it is ENTIRELY a religious/quasi-religious thing - in which case, how can it be plausible that she practices religious rituals - important - and has sex with cients - highly not important - both as part of the same work? Isn't this what chrisisall's question is about?
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Bytemite wrote
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Ehm... I have to disagree with you on the first part, about Mal thinking ahead. Mal has always struck me as a pretty impulsive, "flying by the seat of his pants and change course on the turn of a dime" kind of guy. He says and does PLENTY of things that it seems to me he's kicking himself about later, even if they seem necessary at the time (and sometimes they aren't). Look at his terse comments to Kaylee in Shindig, or in the movie, after they leave Haven, and he goes to the shuttle and kind of just pauses there to absorb what he's done. He probably did have to do this, but turning Serenity into a Reaver ship and defiling their friends is a very "shoot the poor diseased dog" kind of thing. The thing is, a lot of his ideas are good ideas, so even though he has absolutely TERRIBLE luck, he's able to adjust on the fly and save as many people as possible, which makes him a good captain. Mal isn't the chessmaster, thinking several moves ahead. That's River.
Well I couldn't disagree more. Impulsive! No Mal thinks about his moves. They may appear impulsive but actually he has usually thought the situation through first. More through benefit of experience.
1 - The deploying of the 'Cry Babies' in SERENITY pilot episode
2 - The removal of the Pulse Beacon in SERENITY the Movie.
3 - Using the Reavers to engage in battle with the Operative and allow his/Serenity's escape.
4 - Allowing Saffron to 'organise' the taking of the Lassiter in "Trash"
5 - Taking River along with the 'Vault job' in Serenity the Movie
6 - Posting Jayne as sniper to take out Patience's men in pilot
7 - Shooting the Alliance officer as he's climbing out of the wrecked ship in SERENITY the movie.
I could go on... And River doesn't think ahead - she has seen ahead and therefore knows what's coming. Whole different ball game.
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If it's not about jealousy, why does it upset Mal so much? And why should it hurt Inara?
I'm not sure what you mean here? Do you mean why does he get upset at Inara's occupation? It's not jealousy. Inara's clients don't get closer to Inara than Mal so why would he be jealous? She isn't in love with her clients. If you think it's because they have sex with Inara and Mal doesn't well I'd suggest that love goes beyond just sex. But that's my take on it.
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And also, is this really something Mal does? Hurt people he cares about in a pre-calculated way? He hurts them, no question about, and insults them, but it always seems to me like he was just being insensitive, speaking off the cuff, or that he was mad and not really in control of what he was saying. If it's pre-calculated to rub in Inara's face and hurt her, isn't that a little sadistic?
As stated before, they'd reached an impass. It's a deliberate intent to spark a reaction from Inara. You've heard the old addage about when someone is cheating they're usually waiting to be caught out... Same thing.
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This is quite a bit different from telling Simon that Kaylee's dead and terrifying the poor boy into thinking he and his sister are a few minutes from airlock city. That was a mean joke. I don't really think either he or Inara thought his night with Nandi was funny.
Good examples of how twisted Mal can be.
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And it's almost like you're suggesting Inara needs to be hurt to be shown the error of her ways... Almost like she deserves it?
From Mal's point of view YES. In the past Mal has; insulted, humiliated, and challenged Inara about her occupation, and [in his mind] it didn't sink in. She still continues to be a companion. So he takes upon the opportunity with Nandi as a last ditch effort. Bare in mind the only other occassion that a woman showed interest in Mal was Saffron and that resulted in HIS humilitation. So with Nandi it's a chance to even the score a little. It's a situation Inara is all too familiar with and if she really is as confortable with her occupation as she would have Mal believe then she surely wouldn't have a problem with him engaging with Nandi...?
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Pizmobeach wrote:
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Very interesting Som. When I first read your post I thought, "hmmmm.... that's pretty good!" But the more I think about it the more I think Mal just wanted to f*ck. In fact, he's just that much of a clod that he DOESN'T think those kinds of things through, which only ads to Inara's pain. "He didn't even have the decency to think about how it would affect me!"
No Mal has an old fashioned honour. It's not just about knocking boots. Look at the way he did his level best to resist Saffron in 'Our Mrs Reynolds' (In fact a little too much! If that episode had any realism he'd have been doing the whoopee in zero gravity with Saffron in a nanosecond!!!!) but Mal has honour.
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So despite what she's facing, it doesn't lend any sort of sensitivity or consideration to Inara's behaviour, which in general is clueless, naive, selfish, and immature. Meanwhile, Mal is right about everything he says and does. And he doesn't get jealous?
We really do have different takes on all of this. ^_^'
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Aliasse: because even though sex may be part of the rituals, in Inara's mind it could be that the ritual is what's important, not the sex. For example, clearly she had sex with Fess Higgins in some sort of coming of age THING, right? And obviously, Magristrate Higgins thought the sex was what's important. But what does Inara emphasize? TEA!
Maybe there's other stuff that happened with Fess that in Inara's mind is more what made Fess a man than the sex, you know? And maybe that's how it is with her other clients and any other rituals she might be performing.
And what with birth control, maybe sex in the core doesn't symbolize sacred creation or romantic/marriage union anymore. Maybe what people think of as meaningful and indication of attachment is pregnancy. Except for single mothers and in vitro fertilization, which is probably also popular.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
So despite what she's facing, it doesn't lend any sort of sensitivity or consideration to Inara's behaviour, which in general is clueless, naive, selfish, and immature. Meanwhile, Mal is right about everything he says and does. And he doesn't get jealous?
We really do have different takes on all of this. ^_^'
Oh you miss understand me. I'm not justifying Mal's actions, I'm merely explaning why his character does what he does. I'm on Inara's side. In fact I've said many times how that scene of her breaking down crying, tears me up something awful. (and this was before I knew about her 'secret'). But I'm being dispassionate in terms of 'reviewing' the material. And I'm doing this within the context of the show. (Please don't think this is how conduct myself in real life!?)
Oh and yes - we do have very different viewpoints on the characters don't we. Interesting huh?
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Okay, so, I'm just trying to understand here. So, this is Mal's motivation for having sex with Nandi, that he secretly or not-so-secretly wants Inara to find out, so that she'll break down and cry over what a hypocrite she is. And then leave him. Because he's planned it all out ahead of time. And this is what he wanted and intended?
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i'm not convinced mal had even the faintest inkling that fornicating with nandi would upset inara, or even the sense that he'd get caught out. but something tells me mal probably doesn't frequent whores.
but i'm curious, byte. how does inara's "secret" add context to her little crying fit over mal's sex life? i would assume that, you know, considering how she broke down into tears right afterwards, that primacy and recency might suggest it was the main reason she was all weepy.
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Originally posted by Bytemite:
Quote:- up to this point yes. Because it illustrates to her, first hand, how painful it is for Mal when she goes with her clients.
Okay, so, I'm just trying to understand here. So, this is Mal's motivation for having sex with Nandi, that he secretly or not-so-secretly wants Inara to find out, so that she'll break down and cry over what a hypocrite she is.
Quote:At this point no. Inara leaving is her regaining the upper hand. This Inara knows will hurt Mal, because Mal is all about 'Family' his 'Crew', and her leaving is the first sign that all is not well with his family so much so that one is prepared to leave.
And then leave him. Because he's planned it all out ahead of time. And this is what he wanted and intended?
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how can it be plausible that she practices religious rituals - important - and has sex with cients - highly not important - both as part of the same work? Isn't this what chrisisall's question is about?
Yep. The ritualistic stuff (and the therapy/life coaching stuff) seems to me a kind of 'dressing' on what is essentially a very basic physical service. Joss was trying to force the idea that Companionship is inherently noble, but ultimately the whole thing just seems a bit pretentious and vainglorious to me, Inara putting across her job so seriously and loftily.
No, the best way I have to think of the Companion service is like 'Goddess for hire' - like a Greek goddess, Athena or Aphrodite attending on you. 'The kiss of a goddess', for a night. And that's quite a service.
But ultimately it's illusory isn't it? It's a mere human woman - just a very pretty one; who has undergone years of training to be refined, classy, graceful; who has learnt psychological techniques to put you at ease etc. - in short, knows everything to provide that 'goddess' experience.
A good-hearted woman could enjoy that I conjure, and find it fulfilling, bringing 'divine' joy and pleasure to the lives of the men and women she selects. But it's an illusion, and money changes hands.
If Inara took an attitude towards Companioning that it was all a fun, harmless charade, and had a sense of humour about it, I would like her better.
Heads should roll
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