Was it the right thing to defang Jayne so quickly?

POSTED BY: HATEHATEHATEFOX
UPDATED: Friday, September 17, 2004 14:16
VIEWED: 4419
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BROWNCOAT1

Wednesday, September 15, 2004 2:13 PM

Welcome to the board Thereur.

I do not see Jayne as "defanged" at all. I think what we were seeing as the series progressed was Jayne struggling w/ his greed and self serving ways. I believe in time Jayne would have grown to be more trust worthy and more reliable.

In Serenity we see his anger over the shooting of Kaylee when he tries to kill Dobson, who only lives through Book's intervention on his behalf. We see his concern for Kaylee when he is outside the window of the infirmary, the look of concern on his face and in his posture plain to all of us.

In Jaynestown we see his confusion over the Mudder's mistaken interpretation of the money Jayne tossed out of his damaged shuttle. He seems to struggle w/ how to deal w/ the Mudders adoration during his speech before Stitch interrupts. There is also his talk w/ Mal on the catwalk over the young Mudder taking the shotgun blast meant for Jayne. Jayne's pain and confusion are apparent and a sign that he is not the heartless mercenary that he would have everyone believe him to be.

Ariel though seems to be the most significant instance of his inner turmoil w/ who he is during the air lock scene w/ Mal. When he tells Mal to "make something up" & "don't tell them what I done". Jayne was visibly upset and his remorse was obvious even to Mal. Had it not been for his remorse I have no doubt Mal would have airlocked Jayne.

Jayne is selfish and always out to make a buck, but as we have seen he does have his soft spots. His joy over the letter from his Ma in The Message and the hat she made him shows he loves her. Jayne's solemn look and removing his hat as Mal & Zoe sit down Tracy's coffin show that he is a caring person under that rough exterior.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

GHOULMAN

Wednesday, September 15, 2004 3:30 PM

HATEHATEHATEFOX! ... oh, I love that nic.

Reading this thread I feel the need to point out that Jayne isn't "defanged" imho but he now lives with Mal.

Mal keeps Jayne in line. Jayne knows that when he makes a mistake Mal will punish him. Even kill him if Jayne goes too far.

Mal has made this very clear to Jayne.

I completely agree with Adam Bs' description of Jayne - he's an eight year old thug. Mal is that eight year olds father figure. Without Mal, Jayne would be uncontrolable and try to take over the ship... unless someone drugs him. Right?

Am I way off?

BROWNCOAT1

Thursday, September 16, 2004 1:02 PM

I agree w/ you Ghoulman, many times Jayne acts like a petulant child. When he steps out of line Mal is there to straighten him out.

I think the comparison of Mal to a father figure for Jayne is not too far off the mark. I think that Jayne looks to Mal for leadership, and as we have seen in "Jaynestown" as someone he can confide in when it is necessary.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

YT

Thursday, September 16, 2004 7:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TheRealMe:
In my mind, even at the time of the pilot, Jayne would not turn on his family, that is, Mal, Zoe, Wash, and Kaylee (maybe Inara, too, I dunno). I think the "interesting day" talk with Mal is all bluff.

But Jayne has trouble seeing the Tams and even Book, at first, as anything but troublesome passengers. I think that Jayne thought that he was doing Mal a favor by getting rid of the Tams (not that he would turn down the reward!). Note that he did not try it until he was sure that the action would be far away from Serenity. Jayne did not want to endanger his friends.

I concur entirely, from the time of the pilot. In Out of Gas (flashback), we see Jayne abandon his then Captain for a paltry improvement in his situation, yet he turns down Dobson's offer of "enough to buy your own ship".

Jayne may not be intrinsically loyal, but he is loyal to Mal and, by extension, his crew. I think he would be, unto death.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

KOZURE

Thursday, September 16, 2004 7:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by YT:
I concur entirely, from the time of the pilot. In Out of Gas (flashback), we see Jayne abandon his then Captain for a paltry improvement in his situation, yet he turns down Dobson's offer of "enough to buy your own ship".

Jayne may not be intrinsically loyal, but he is loyal to Mal and, by extension, his crew. I think would be, unto death.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

Ah... but I happen to believe that Jayne was playing both sides (Dobson and Mal) the whole time and just happened to come down on the side of right near the end. Remember, Dobson did manage to escape... and Jayne was responsible for tying him up.

On a completely unrelated note, I seem to recall a very unconfirmed rumour that went around at the time of the series' airing that Adam Baldwin wasn't contracted for the full run - i.e. there was a strong possibility of him being bumped off halfway through the first season. This might have dramatically underscored just how vulnerable the crew was.

Was this just rumour/heresay, or did anyone else hear this?

Kozure the Kamikaze Highlander

Proud Citizen of Canada-That-Was

DIXIEFLATLINE

Friday, September 17, 2004 2:16 PM

Here's how I've always seen Jayne: Dumb as a rock. Helluva fighter. Gifted with a good deal of low cunning, and always on the lookout for Number One. Under the crass exterior beats a heart, not of gold, but of some semiprecious metal at least. Unfortunately, his instincts tend to overrule his loyalties at the worst possible moment.

He's not a bad man, but he tends to forget that fact until it's far too late and he's in way over his head, at which point he scrambles to cover his ass (usually in vain) and hope nobody notices his unconsidered treachery.

So I wouldn't have been at all surprised to see Jayne get himself in a heap of trouble once again, when a bundle of untraceable cash gets dangled in front of his nose and he momentarily forgets to consider the consequences.

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