Did the 'Companion' thing ever bug you in Firefly?
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Saturday, February 7, 2026 14:42
VIEWED: 45553
PAGE 12 of 21
1. The companion thing did bug me, mostly because the 'sex is power' thing bugs me. Sex isn't power for men, why does it always end up that way for women? And what does 'sex is power" mean for older women who aren't as sexually attractive? I prefer the power of someone like Patience. :D
2. With the job title being "Companion" there is a lot more than just sex. A companion isn't trying to be "friends" with someone, that requires the client knowing and caring about the companion as a person. Rather, the companion is being a friend to the client...always on the giving side, never the receiving. They are listening, comforting, pleasing the client It's all about the client. That is no friendship. Can attachments/fondness form? Absolutely, but it is still very one-sided and therefore not friendship. IMO, it's the reason Inara is so offended by Atherton's offer of keeping her. He is not interested in her as a companion but simply as a whore. Inara kidded herself into believing that he cared for her as a person. When she tries to throw it back at Mal, it falls flat because he knows they don't care for her on that level.
3. Interesting reads on HOG. I have to admit I'm a little slack-jawed at some interpretations. My take is along the lines of Bytemite...except that Mal was actually acting as a companion. Nandi needs the comforting and release, Mal's just a willing participant for that release. Inara even correlates Mal sleeping with Nandi as companionship. That isn't to say that Mal doesn't benefit: he opens up more with Nandi than he does with his crew...but I think that's a factor of Nandi's training...she knows how to draw him out, and his own lack of true companionship.
***************
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
So you think hurting each other is intentional on both their parts?
When Inara leaves, and regains the upper hand, does that negate the sympathy you say you had for her when she was crying about Mal and Nandi?
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Mincingbeast: It's because what Mal and Nandi had, Inara can't ever have herself. Or at least that's what I think.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Good points Rugbug.
Quote:
I prefer the power of someone like Patience. :D
And Nandi perhaps? (a bit similar to Patience, though with some sexual power admittedly)
How about Zoe? The kick-ass variety of female power? Or River - kick-ass + superhuman ability?
Just a little curious on how women view male representations of powerful women...
Heads should roll
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
1. The companion thing did bug me, mostly because the 'sex is power' thing bugs me. Sex isn't power for men, why does it always end up that way for women? And what does 'sex is power" mean for older women who aren't as sexually attractive? I prefer the power of someone like Patience. :D
Wasn't always this way. Back in Greek and Roman times, it was WOMEN who theoretically couldn't control themselves around MEN. So the men supposedly had the power then, and it justified rape in a lot of cases.
But you're right, it's pretty dumb. It's not like there aren't both men and women who crave sex, and men and women who couldn't care less.
Quote:
2. With the job title being "Companion" there is a lot more than just sex. A companion isn't trying to be "friends" with someone, that requires the client knowing and caring about the companion as a person. Rather, the companion is being a friend to the client...always on the giving side, never the receiving. They are listening, comforting, pleasing the client It's all about the client. That is no friendship. Can attachments/fondness form? Absolutely, but it is still very one-sided and therefore not friendship. IMO, it's the reason Inara is so offended by Atherton's offer of keeping her. He is not interested in her as a companion but simply as a whore. Inara kidded herself into believing that he cared for her as a person. When she tries to through it back at Mal, it falls flat because he knows they don't care for her on that level.
Now this I agree with. The sad thing is, I think Inara does think people are her friends, because this IS a way in which she is naive.
But that doesn't mean that's how it is with companions, or that companions are offering anything more than what's on the package. I think that's a personality issue with Inara more than it is her profession, because of the point about objectivity I brought up earlier, I doubt companions are encouraged to make friends with clients.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:
Pizmobeach wrote:Quote:
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.
Saffron appeared to be an innocent castaway, nearly a slave that was left on the ship, whereas Nandi was an Ex-Companion, very different. There's respect and hospitality for the wayward stranger and then there's LUST for a Companion that has training.
Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Quote:
So you think hurting each other is intentional on both their parts?
Yes - This is a Joss show after all, and he frequently shows the ugly side of people falling in love.
Quote:
When Inara leaves, and regains the upper hand, does that negate the sympathy you say you had for her when she was crying about Mal and Nandi?
No not at all. I understood the characters choice as a consequence. This is why Joss' work is so interesting, especially when it comes to character. He gives 'reasons' as to why his characters do what they do. As a viewer it puts you in an unusual position. The hero often does unheroic things and this causes you to shift loyalties. It's pretty clever stuff.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Mincingbeast: It's because what Mal and Nandi had, Inara can't ever have herself. Or at least that's what I think.
sex? not to be flippant. mal and nandi had sex. or do you mean, connection, time, etc...?
actually, hate to say it, but i really liked mal and nandi as a couple (horrible acting performance aside).
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
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.
Now here's an interesting thought...
It seems to me like Inara is only defensive about her profession to Mal and people who belittle it because it's her source of independence.
It also seems to me like Inara is someone who has layers. So what if she DOES have a sense of humour about it with people who aren't constantly putting her down and disrespecting her?
Like, maybe to the people who are jerks about it, she acts the way she does to keep up the mystique?
But for someone like Jayne, asking if she has some funny whoring stories, she doesn't have to act all offended. Though she does have to respect her clients privacy.
You comment makes me wonder, do we really know how Inara feels about her job? I don't think it's negative, otherwise she wouldn't defend it, but what if she doesn't really take it seriously?
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Som: I have to say, if your interpretation of Mal and Inara's characters are correct, and they really are that petty, shallow, and spiteful, I can't say I really like them much or have much sympathy for them.
I should rewatch the series and try to see it from your perspective. I might be surprised to find myself agreeing, and start to hate the two of them. I wonder if this would change my enjoyment of Firefly? For the longest time, I've had kind of the most interest in the Mal and Inara dynamic, because they're so fascinating to watch. If I were to suddenly find both characters utterly unlikeable, would I be as interested in Firefly as I am? It's an interesting question, and definitely something I should look into.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME