Heart of Gold Motivations
POSTED BY: Bytemite
UPDATED: Thursday, September 8, 2011 22:33
VIEWED: 8287
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So yeah, yet another thread exploring the Nandi/Mal/Inara triangle. This time not about Inara's reasons for leaving, as those have been covered fairly well here and elsewhere already, but rather about the pre-fight shenanigans.
I actually am still not sure why Inara didn't want to spend more time with Nandi, and feel free to discuss that as well. I just wanted to toss out a different line of speculation that probably hasn't been looked at closely.
Before I'd been thinking that Nandi had seen Mal's feelings for Inara and had decided they were unreciprocated. I also thought she felt indebted to Mal and, because of her sense of independence, wanted to even things up between them, so she offers him the chance to live out some of the fantasies he has about Inara with her.
In the episode itself, afterward, Inara suggests that she thinks Mal was comforting Nandi, an explanation Mal accepts, because, as he says, he doesn't want Inara to think he was taking advantage.
Most of us probably dismissed this explanation out of hand, simply because this is Nandi we're talking about, tough talking Rim-world Madam who knows how to use a gun and got her current business by killing the prior owner. She doesn't need comfort, right?
But just because someone is confident, independent, and scrappy doesn't mean they don't have worries or need comfort. For example, Mal - he's one of the most broken down characters on the show, probably second only to River. Just because he steels himself with and hides behind his role in command and a tough guy facade doesn't mean this isn't a very damaged person underneath who is struggling to heal.
And I was thinking recently, just because Nandi does seduce Mal, doesn't mean she wasn't also looking for comfort. How else was she going to ask, really?
So what if Inara's assessment that Mal was comforting Nandi actually is right?
We know Mal is a hero archetype, with protectiveness being his primary trait and determination being a supporting trait. We also see that he has plenty of the heroic inspirational charisma. But another side of the hero is the kindness aspect, a nurturing side that Mal shows now and then. It's easy to forget about it, because Mal often has to be hard by necessity, but that hardness isn't necessarily who he is.
And, if Mal WAS comforting Nandi, more than indulging fantasies about Inara, then that creates an interesting parallel between Mal's nurturing side and Inara's nurturing tendencies. Both Mal and Inara would hero and nurture (respectively) even if there was no one paying them, and it's possible both actually prefer to act out of the goodness of their heart.
So the question I'm posing to you all is, was Mal companioning the companion? Does Mal gain any insights into the hows and whys of that profession this way?
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You bring forth some interesting points, Byt, about Mal and the act of companioning.
Post HoG, there’s a subtle shift in his degradation of the vocation. At the end of the episode, Inara says she learned about the strength of family. I wonder if Mal learned the wanting of comfort sex and emotional closeness in trying times is not so much of a weakness, but simply being human, from his time with Nandi, and that’s what brought him to his truth some talk at the end with Inara. Perhaps he recognized, on some level, it’s essentially what Inara provides to her clients, especially ones like Fess and the Councilor.
Or does he stop calling her a whore because she’s already decided to leave and it would be pointless in continuing the charade of respecting the person, rather than the person who values being a Companion as a worthy life endeavor?
In retrospect, I’m really glad Inara left, exercising her independent streak.
Regardless of how painful it was for Mal, he can respect that, above all else.
And, oh, I think Inara was busy helping Simon with the baby, again providing comfort and that’s why she didn’t have her time with Nandi. Or, picking up from another thread, Inara is a genetic clone, an exact replica of Inara from House Madrassa and she has no idea who Nandi really is, except for Nandi recognizing her, as she plays along.
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I wonder if Mal learned the wanting of comfort sex and emotional closeness in trying times is not so much of a weakness, but simply being human, from his time with Nandi, and that’s what brought him to his truth some talk at the end with Inara.
It could. I've wondered just how self-aware Mal is of his own problems sometimes - he might not recognize how that revelation relates to himself, or in the very least is too proud to really admit it to himself. But if he saw something of being human and needing comfort but also having strength in Nandi, perhaps he starts to wonder if Inara also needs comfort, and that brings him to her to see how she's doing after the loss of her friend.
I don't think he's approaching Inara thinking that maybe grief might put her in the mood, I think he goes to see her because he wants to comfort her, swallows his own pride out of concern for her to admit his feelings and try to cross that gap to help her. Predictably, Inara can't let him.
I think Inara's focus on Petaline probably is her nature, but I also see a few things in Inara - the way she nests in her shuttle, the way she behaves towards Kaylee and River, the way she gets upset when Mal talks about having children - that suggests that she really wants to be a mother. But for some reason, she doesn't believe she can.
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Could be, I've just never understood how Mal got to a place of truthfulness with Inara, after his post coital bliss with Nandi, unless he also learns something from what happened.
At first, it would seem, it was because Nandi had died, and she was the one who called Mal out for NOT being entirely truthful about Inara’s feelings for him, (which I’m sure Mal was in denial about, anyway) but then that explanation makes little sense when you consider the context of their night together, as Mal genuinely was attracted to Nandi, and her, him, unless that attraction was based on preconceived pretentiousness of similarities, which obviously doesn’t carry over to the next day, leaving Mal, still in love with Inara and realizing life’s too short to let things stay the same. Or maybe, Mal simply recognizes he can’t emotionally move on with anyone until his feelings for Inara are out in the open, and resolved, which of course they’re not, because she leaves with words unsaid between them.
Also, I think the writer was focused on Inara in this episode, her reaction to Mal sleeping with Nandi and her ultimate decision to leave, and her secret which she hasn’t shared with any of them. So Mal’s motives are muddled and left ambiguous. But, I have found it interesting how Mal tones down the negativity about her work, life’s a learning process. I guess he figured he lost that battle, but then I’m not a guy.
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At first, it would seem, it was because Nandi had died, and she was the one who called Mal out for NOT being entirely truthful about Inara’s feelings for him {...} realizing life’s too short to let things stay the same
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Or maybe, Mal simply recognizes he can’t emotionally move on with anyone until his feelings for Inara are out in the open
Both of those are interesting, and possible. Though I think he ought to at least be sensitive to the fact that Inara is in mourning and probably not particularly receptive to any romantic overtures. Putting his feelings out there with the intention that he could comfort her after might explain why he chooses that particular time to come clean.
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Well, she does try to comfort him by saying, it's not his fault... in the realm of romantic relationships, Simon may be a boob, but Mal, he's down right moronic.
Of all times to express his romantic feelings for her, he chooses to do it when she's mourning a friend who has died, the one he slept with, essentially their client.
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That's why I think his primary motivation might not have been romantic at the time. Maybe he wasn't being selfish or make a move on her, maybe he was just trying to be there for her.
I know he's not great at being comforting, but as a hero character he's compelled to try sometimes. He actually hung out for a while with Jayne after Jaynestown, and he usually puts the kid gloves on with Kaylee whenever she's upset about something.
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I'd like to give Mal the benefit of the doubt too, but usually you don't start a supportive moment between crew members with "life's too short for ifs and maybes" unless you’re writing Jayne and Mal slashy fanfic.
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Hmm. Good point. Well, he could have had two agendas, with comforting Nandi and then being confronted over his dishonesty about his feelings for Inara, both might have played some role in shaping how he tries to approach Inara.
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Or maybe, that could still work as a him just trying to get close enough to comfort her, or offering to be there for her, while at the same time pushing ahead and admitting how he feels. We don't exactly get to finish hearing him say whatever he was going to.
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