Episodes getting darker?

POSTED BY: christhecynic
UPDATED: Thursday, June 12, 2003 22:37
VIEWED: 4727
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JAYNESGIRLFRIEND

Thursday, June 12, 2003 6:45 AM

Except that if Jayne stays that way there really is no point to his character. The character has to have some sort of an arc, either learning to be a better person or falling into being a worse one. Otherwise the momentum of the character staggers and there's nowhere to take him story wise.

"I was gonna get me an ear, too." - Jayne

TALONPEST

Thursday, June 12, 2003 8:02 AM

He can change in other ways than becoming a better, more civilized person. I'd like to see something less cliche done with him.

MANIACNUMBERONE

Thursday, June 12, 2003 8:14 AM

I'd like to see a Jayne/River relationship. I could see Jayne learning about some wierd aspect of River that really brings him out in an interesting way.

TALONPEST

Thursday, June 12, 2003 9:08 AM

You know Maniac, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually kind of like that idea! Of course, it would have to wait a while until River gets it a little more together so it's not as if Jayne's taking advantage of the crazy girl (though I can see her taking advantage of him). It may even be useful to see her actually kill someone with her brain to ensure that he can't hurt her.

Jayne and River are even more polar opposites than Simon and Kaylee. I can imagine River messing with Jayne's mind 'till his head is ready to explode, then winning him back in the sack. They could do all kinds of things with Jayne in that situation- he'd have to have more self-image issues being around a genius all the time, and being unable to surprise her. Could drive him to do some pretty crazy stuff. And can you picture River being jealous of Veera?

It would also make Simon hate Jayne even more than he already does- he threw away his life so River could be with someone like Jayne? Plus he'd be jealous of their relationship, since he got her out so they could be together again (in a sibling capacity, of course). They'd also bump heads trying to protect her in their own ways. Jayne would think Simon is sheltering her too much because he'd like seeing her experience new things, and Simon would think Jayne is putting her in danger by overexposing her. One of the things I like most about a Wheadon show is how much some of the characters hate each other.

I think Mal might actually approve of it, too- it would give Jayne a reason not to sell them out for the right price.

And of course, this would satisfy my requirement of Jayne not changing into the kind of guy who can hold down a normal relationship- this would be anything but normal.

The only problem I see here is (provided nobody else's reltationships explode) that would leave us with three couples and a preacher, and I don't know if I'd like the show to turn into The Love Boat in space. Must we pair everyone up?

GINOBIFFARONI

Thursday, June 12, 2003 12:00 PM

The thing of it is he will always be the same core person,

But over time he will want to change, for various reasons. A Simon / Kaylee / Jayne triangle, to try to win Mals respect, many things.

I think his struggle with himself to change and maybe try to supress his natural insticts would be quite a bit of fun, and the hurt he would feel when being rejected for just being the old Jayne would fit nicely into the shows themes. I myself think Adam Baldwin could portray this with a bit of brillance, and after all the show is about the journey right. Having one character standing still would be no fun.

MANIACNUMBERONE

Thursday, June 12, 2003 7:17 PM

We don't need to pair eveybody up, but it seemed like the thing to do. It just seems almost too good to be true, if that were the way Joss worked it out to be.

CHRISTHECYNIC

Thursday, June 12, 2003 8:06 PM

Jayne is more rounded, he sends money home to his family and loves his mom and siblings, that isn't the simple ruthless mercenary we saw him as in the beginning. He seems to be quite protective of Kaylee, as if she were a sibling, and loyal to Mal (he isn't willing to betray him in spite of the incredibly large reward he could get on River, he goes in after Mal, and gives his money to buy him back in War Stories even though he gets nothing back and thinks it's suicide.)

Even in The Train Job, where he was going to be leave Mal while he completed the deal he planed to come back for him after.

That makes me think that Jayne is a bit deeper then the mercenary you cant trust already, seeing him in a relationship, or showing some more depth wouldn’t be surprising. Hell he’s got depth visible when he talks about death in The Message.

TALONPEST

Thursday, June 12, 2003 10:37 PM

I think that the backstory of Jaynestown pretty well establishes what Jayne is capable of- he worked with a guy for six months and then dumped him out of a moving vehical 30 feet off the ground rather than dump the loot. And he DID try to collect the reward on River and Simon in Ariel, remember? He would have too if the Alliance hadn't double crossed him.

Mal doesn't trust him at all- he flat out says so on multiple occasions.

Frankly I don't see much of Jayne looking out for Kaylee in particular, other than in Serenity when he wanted to kill Dobson after he shot her... though I suspect that had as much to do with the fact that he was a Fed that had tried to rat them out as anything else.

True, Jayne has demonstrated some loyalty to Mal. In Serenity he didn't turn on him when Dobson offered him money, saying "the money wasn't good enough." And yes, he went in to Niska's station with everyone else to get Mal back... 'course that could just have been him not wanting to pass up a fight.

Jayne is still very much a mercenary, and he's still very willing to kill people without much provocation. He's not a good person and I don't want to see him become a good person any time soon, because it would cheapen him. I don't want him to get all warm and fuzzy- let him keep his moral flexibility, and you can make him as complex as your heart desires.

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