General Discussions

Okay, we did this before, but let's do it again.

POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Monday, February 22, 2010 00:58
VIEWED: 7120
PAGE 1 of 3

CHRISISALL

Saturday, February 20, 2010 2:53 AM

When Mal shot the surrendering guy on Haven, was it justified? Did they have time to take & care for a prisoner?
Was the guy, even if he was just a tech dude on the ship that killed everyone on Haven, deserving of being waxed?
Was he (the surrendering fella) taking his chances? Did he know the score?
Was Mal a force of nature then?
Was Mal wrong?
Was he evil?

Thoughts?

The laughing Chrisisall

KWICKO

Saturday, February 20, 2010 3:05 AM

Was it "justified"? Maybe not. But that ship had just killed one of Mal's crew, even if he was no longer part of Mal's crew. So he acted out of vengeance and blind fury. And no jury in the 'verse would convict him, unless it were packed with Alliance scum. :)

So yes, Mal was a force of nature, quite possibly wrong, and not at all evil.

Dong ma?

We shiny now?

Mike

Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde

CHRISISALL

Saturday, February 20, 2010 3:09 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:

Dong ma?

Shi.

The laughing Chrisisall

TRAVELER

Saturday, February 20, 2010 4:14 AM

Surrendering after killing women children can be rather stupid. I would say Mal was temporarily insane with the scene before him.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

KATESFRIEND

Saturday, February 20, 2010 4:39 AM

I agree with the temporary insanity. In the pilot Serenity, Mal clearly tells Simon that if he were ever to shoot him, he would be awake, armed and facing Mal. To shoot an unarmed man was unethical at the time in Firefly, but in Serenity, Mal does it three times, maybe for Joss to show how desperate their situation had become. If that is so, you would have to know Mal's moral high ground in Firefly to know how far he had sunk in Serenity. And also to contribute to the moral conundrum that is Mal.

BYTEMITE

Saturday, February 20, 2010 6:39 AM

I've always thought that the promise Mal makes to Simon is mostly because Mal has determined Simon is not a threat, and not a liability so long as no one waves at the Feds and says 'Hi! Fugitives here!"

I don't think, morally, it was right, no, but it was practical. Of course, at that point, practicality was the last thing on Mal's mind. But that doesn't really justify it either. And that's the point. Mal is over the line in that entire scene.

PLAINJAYNE

Saturday, February 20, 2010 7:54 AM

I'd have splattered his ass, too. He stuck his head up out of a ship that just killed everybody in the settlement. No better than a Reaver. He was lucky he got dropped on the first shot.

Mal did the right thing, given the situation. No evil. No force of nature. Just a human being trying to survive in a brutal, nasty world.

Day late an'a dollar short...Story of my ruttin' life!

THESOMNAMBULIST

Saturday, February 20, 2010 10:28 AM

Originally posted by chrisisall:

Quote:
When Mal shot the surrendering guy on Haven, was it justified?

He didn't exactly surrender though. He poked his head out and had his arms up but I heard nothing about ' I surrender'. It was justified as they weren't at war. I think one of the terms of war is that you take prisoners if they surrender but this wasn't war. So those rules don't apply...

Quote:
Did they have time to take & care for a prisoner?

I'm sure they could have locked him up somewhere aboard SERENITY - but chances are it would have slowed them up.

Quote:
Was the guy, even if he was just a tech dude on the ship that killed everyone on Haven, deserving of being waxed?

Yes. As to who had the right to wax him that's a different story.

Quote:
Was he (the surrendering fella) taking his chances? Did he know the score?

He knew the score and most likely bent them aswell. We'll never know but I'm pretty sure some of those dead folk would not have put up a fight when it came to them, so chances are the guy & co went on a massacre.

Quote:
Was Mal a force of nature then?

Yep.

Quote:
Was Mal wrong?

Yep - but sometimes being right aint all that. This is one of those times.

Quote:
Was he evil?

Nope.

Quote:
Thoughts?

I've had a few..... :D

SIMONWHO

Saturday, February 20, 2010 11:53 AM

If you slaughter a bunch of unarmed men, women and children, you've lost any moral rights. Mal just finished what Book started and I doubt he'd lose a moment's peace about it.

AURAPTOR

Saturday, February 20, 2010 3:13 PM

Book had just been murdered.

So had all of those civilians.

Having volunteered for the war, more than one tour, I'm guessing Mal had seen something like this before, from the Alliance.

He wasn't in the mood to 'talk'.

Also, it was a pretty good shot Mal got off w/ his pistol, huh?

Bones: "Don't 'rawr' her!"
Booth: "What? she'rawred' me first.