Firefly Episode Discussions

Safe - Some things I noticed.

POSTED BY: JCobb
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 16:57
VIEWED: 11985
PAGE 3 of 4

MER

Thursday, August 5, 2004 10:47 PM

So how do the Tams treat River? I keep thinking they neglect her, but I'm not sure.

CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG

Friday, August 6, 2004 11:21 AM

Impossible to say from the SS, it's a completely different scene in which River isn't even in.

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KALIMEERI

Friday, August 6, 2004 12:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MER:
So how do the Tams treat River? I keep thinking they neglect her, but I'm not sure.

The parents do seem to 'dismiss' River a bit, but she is, after all, the 'baby' of the family. In family dynamics, a lot of the time parents tend to discount the youngest in favor of the oldest.

It does seem to go beyond this, though. The parents do seem to be totally involved with their own lives, rather than with the kids. The two children, IMO, had only each other.

One of the scripts (which was revised) explores Simon's resentment against his father. It left me with the impression that the children were given everything ... except love and support. It goes a long way into explaining why Simon can't relate to Kaylee. He doesn't know how.

Jen dao mei.

SHEPHERDQ

Monday, August 9, 2004 4:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by kalimeeri:
Quote:
Originally posted by MER:
So how do the Tams treat River? I keep thinking they neglect her, but I'm not sure.

One of the scripts (which was revised) explores Simon's resentment against his father. It left me with the impression that the children were given everything ... except love and support. It goes a long way into explaining why Simon can't relate to Kaylee. He doesn't know how.

Just my HO, but I would think that he also has a problem trying to find a common ground to talk to her on. He concentrated on schooling so missed out on many of the social graces needed for peer.. has the graces for fancy dinner and polite company, just not with the opposite gender.

Bless you

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BRUISERSMOM

Monday, August 9, 2004 5:21 PM

I wonder if we'll see Mr. and Mrs. Tam again in the movie too. I wonder what happened to them. I think that they denied knowing anything but wonder if they had any exposure to information about Simon's actions during the legal process that would compromise their safety. They were probably brought in for questioning at the very least which means they have to know the charges and something about what Simon did in order to say that they don't know anything about it. Blue Sun doesn't like people knowing anything about their operation. They killed the cops in Ariel just for taking basic information while booking Simon and River.

BLEYDDYN

Monday, August 9, 2004 8:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BruisersMom:
They killed the cops in Ariel just for taking basic information while booking Simon and River.

Did they? Another interpretation just sprang to mind. What if they keep killing people not because of what they might have learned from River, but because of what River might have done to them? Subverted them in some way, maybe.

Ok, seems less likely to me than the more usual explanation that they are just removing any possible witnesses, but it is another possibility.

--Bleyddyn

ZEEK

Monday, August 9, 2004 8:34 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bleyddyn:
Quote:
Originally posted by BruisersMom:
They killed the cops in Ariel just for taking basic information while booking Simon and River.

Did they? Another interpretation just sprang to mind. What if they keep killing people not because of what they might have learned from River, but because of what River might have done to them? Subverted them in some way, maybe.

Ok, seems less likely to me than the more usual explanation that they are just removing any possible witnesses, but it is another possibility.

--Bleyddyn

ooohhhh I like it. Nice theory.

I would have to go with the standard theory of cleaning up evidence but I like the second and still plausible possibility.

BRUISERSMOM

Tuesday, August 10, 2004 4:26 PM

I came up with my interpretation from the name of that chapter in the on the DVDs. The name was No Witnesses or No Evidence or something like that. I also came up with that interpretation from the conversation between the Blue Hands Men and the police officer. The police officer just seemed to be asking routine questions and that was a problem for the Blue Hands Men and so they pulled their weapon out and killed everyone in the station. They even killed people who hadn't talked to River and Simon. Very ruthless men. Their actions make me wonder what happened to Simon's parents and if nothing happened to them, why not? They know more than those cops did. Daddy Tam even went into that blackout zone to get Simon out of trouble in Safe. He had to know something by then.

BRUISERSMOM

Tuesday, August 10, 2004 4:35 PM

It's an interesting theory but my question is how would River have subverted them? By subverting someone, you undermine their authority in a way that limits their ability to operate at full power. So far, Simon and River have done nothing to bring down Blue Sun's operations at the Academy. They're just trying to keep one step ahead of the Alliance and bounty hunters, so that River doesn't have to go back to the Academy. If they turned around and became proactive in trying to destroy the Academy, they would be engaging in acts of subversion. For example, if Simon or the people who helped him smuggle out River, alerted the press to the situation at the Academy and the press started to publish stories on the Academy with smuggled out documents or interviews with students or if Simon, instead of running with River, had brought a case on River's behalf in court. But just running isn't subversion.

BROWNCOATFAN1

Thursday, August 19, 2004 2:23 AM

i think that since mal is the captin the the ship, so that does make him a sort of "father" to the crew.

browncoatfan1