The "Real" Malcolm Reynolds

POSTED BY: DarkLady
UPDATED: Thursday, December 12, 2002 17:30
VIEWED: 6024
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LIVINGIMPAIRED

Saturday, December 7, 2002 5:14 PM

First of all, staying on Serenity in OOG had several practical purposes. The crew was an odd number. Any shuttle Mal left with would have had one more person to support, and would have had a disadvantage over the other ship with only four passnegers on it.

Furthermore, someone had to stay on the ship in case the distress call was answered. And--lucky them--it was. If Mal had not stayed on Serenity, the pirates would have come to an empty ship and claimed it as thier own. Meanwhile, the whole crew, stranded in the shuttles, whould all have slowly died.

Finally, everyone, and I mean everyone, on that ship believed that this was the end, and they were all going to die. So whether Mal died on Inara's shuttle or on Serenity is simple a matter of Geography. Besides, Mal loves Serenity. I think, if he had to die, he'd rather die there. Once again, the name of the ship is not a concidence.

Oh, and as for War Stories, if Mal had wanted the baddie to kill him, he would not have told Zoe, Jayne, and Wash to shoot the bad guy.

________________

INARA: Mal, you don't have to die alone.
MAL: Everyone dies alone.

RAULENDYMION

Saturday, December 7, 2002 7:29 PM

I am not really sure if I would say that Kayle failed. My reasoning is as follows: she never actually claimed to be proficient with a gun, but she was willing to try. Granted since she was put in the kill or be killed situation and didn't react (I seem to recall she could have shot a guard without him seeing her) she failed in that respect, on in a strict moral sense their is no distinction between acting and failure to act. It just seemed to me that she didn't have the killers heart, granted this is a weakness, but it is not an unexpected one because as we have seen in the past even though she enjoys working on machines and is often covered in grease, inside she is warm and delicate, such a person would BY their charcater have a hard time taking the life of another. So basiclly she failed in her moral duty to pretect herself and the ship, but failed BECUASE of her character.

DARKLADY

Saturday, December 7, 2002 7:42 PM

I think his going down with the ship had more to do with what you mentioned, that without the ship Mal doesn't feel there's a reason to live. If Serenity dies, so does he, and he was gonna be there until the bitter end.

That seems more a will to fight than a death wish to me.

TWIRLIP

Sunday, December 8, 2002 8:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LivingImpaired:
So what is Mal afraid of? Losing his freedom.

Sorry, but I don't get that at all. I haven't seen nor read Serenity, so I reserve the right to be proven wrong and then to deny everything and claim y'all misunderstood me all along and that that's what I really meant, so cut me some slack.

But it seems to me that the only thing Mal is scared of is outliving his crew.

I just watched Saving Private Ryan on TV about a month ago-- a movie in which, coincidentally, Nathan Fillion plays a small part-- so this is fresh in my mind. Mal has a lot in common with Captain Miller from that film. Remember the scene in the church where Miller is talking to Horvath late at night? He gave a great speech about how you have to figure that one man's dying in war saves the life of ten, maybe even a hundred others, "and that's how simple it is." Then he says, "Do you know how many men I've lost under my command? Ninety-four." And in that instant, you know that he carries the weight of every one of those men with him. None of the rationalizations can change the fact that he's been responsible for ninety-four deaths.

Mal was a sergeant in the war. He's surely led dozens of men, maybe hundreds, into battle. He's probably watched most of them die.

I'm just guessing here, but I'll bet the only thing that scares Mal is the prospect of having to bury yet another man or woman under his command.

LIVINGIMPAIRED

Sunday, December 8, 2002 8:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Twirlip:
Quote:
Originally posted by LivingImpaired:
So what is Mal afraid of? Losing his freedom.
Mal was a sergeant in the war. He's surely led dozens of men, maybe hundreds, into battle. He's probably watched most of them die.

I'm just guessing here, but I'll bet the only thing that scares Mal is the prospect of having to bury yet another man or woman under his command.

First of all, were're both right.

You make some very perceptive observations, and I believe they have weight. So Mal's afraid of two things. But really, I'm right too, and once you've seen "Serenity," I won't even argue with you when claim to have agreed with me all along. :)

________________

Say, don't I know you from beating the crap out of you?

DELVO

Monday, December 9, 2002 12:42 AM

As far as the death wish is concerned, there is some evidence for it in that silly mindless sword escapade. But that whole thing was so out of character and so stupid and crazy that I don't count it as the real him. Everything else about him's been pretty "survivalist".

LADYILA

Monday, December 9, 2002 3:24 AM

I think the appeal of Captain Mal (besides being good-looking) is that he is the one you can count on! His relationship with Zoe is beyound a romanatic relationship, I think they both found someone they can trust and depend on completly, and that is a special thing.
Everybody want someone like this, someone who you know will be there and do what ever it takes to save you!

SIGNYM

Monday, December 9, 2002 12:18 PM

Who is the "real Mal"?

What I saw was a "berserker", someone who was completely in the realm of killing the enemy. I don't know how Mal survived the battle of Serenity, but however he did, psychology tells me it was a very rewarding response- after all, it got him out alive.

What is Mal afraid of??? I don't think he trusts concepts like "freedom". It was concepts that probably got him into thw war in the first place- ideas like justice, fairness, freedom, God... I think he's afraid of HIMSELF. Whatever dragged him into that hell... and it was his own choices that did... is to be feared.

As far as a death wish is concerned, many ppl who survive terrible circumstances when others have died do suffer from "surviror;s guilt".

BTW, my dad was a prisoner in the Ukraine tin mines and a Siberian labor camp. I didn't find the ear scene or the torture particularly gruesome. It happens every day, we're just sheltered from it.

GROOVYAL

Thursday, December 12, 2002 5:30 PM

I wouldnt call Mal a brainless suicidal who is trying to get himself in everykind of mortal danger.
This man has seen quite a lot and he knows he can handle most of the situation, no matter how hard it can be. Every time he is in this "if i die i want you to die with me" is simple survival instict. He had no choise when he tried to attack this big torture fellow, the other option was to lie on the torturetable and watch the guys killing him. You can definetly see that he is a very experienced leading charachter. He never let somebody down and he inspires loyalty, we all know what happens if someone does break this loyalty - airlock scene -. He is perfectly aware of the mortal danger he is but he is used to it, due to the war.

and this "kaylee-failing-issue". Her reaction was perfectly right. She is this "small-town-sweet-little-girl" kinda woman, she isnt outstandingly smart nor courageous, she is just good at repairing engines. she gets very easily overwhealmed by a stress-situation, which basically had happend. She seems like a little child thrown into this whole "gangster" milieu.

And about the weaknesses of Inara. She has one. She seems to have feelings for Mal, but she has to surpress them.

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