Underlying Sexual Tension
POSTED BY: Allisa
UPDATED: Monday, August 28, 2006 00:44
VIEWED: 8575
PAGE 2 of 4
Lol, ChrisMoorhead. Indeed, clearly humanity has evolved in the series to a near asexual point.
Allisa, good question. I think Simon and Inarra's connection is more a shared high-society past, like an understanding between people that grew up in the same neighborhood. Joss' coments on the pilot about Jayne crushing on Kaylee hang w/ me so as I rewatch it seems obvious. Though there are no clear signs, I could see Kaylee attracted to Jayne on physical level but he's far to crude for her to consider (so perhaps some tension). I see Mal's/River's feelings for one another as little more than platonic affection. Though w/ complex characters and stories there's no telling what could have developed.
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Great topic!
I noticed a bit of Simon/Inara in Objects of Space, and in a few other episodes where Simon looks at her like she is some kind of wonderful.
I think Jayne/River have great on screen tension/chemistry. The way River’s always smiling at Jayne, and the way he spends most of his time making comments about her. Like the boy who teases the girl he secretly likes. Mind you I don’t think he thought of her in that way yet, but maybe later on when he stopped being “Jayne” and tried to understand her. I think their dynamic would of made for an exciting/interesting relationship.
I feel nothing for Jayne/Kaylee. Kaylee’s so intent on Simon, and she’s not dark enough for Jayne. I get brother/Sisterly vibes from the pair.
Same with Mal/River. They have a Father/Daughter sort of relationship. Moreover, the way Mal pines over Inara, leaves little room in my imagination that he could ever feel that strongly for anyone else.
Who are we missing… Oh, if Wash didn’t already complexly love Zoe, I think him and Kaylee would work well together. I can also see a post-Serenity sexual type relationship between Zoe/Jayne.
That's all folks!
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Jayne: What the hell is up? You all right? What's goin' on?
He holds her, as she whispers, wide-eyed...
River: Reavers.
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I agree with most of the other people out there with regards to Jayne/Kaylee being more of a big brother thing. Mind you, he's also impressed with her being able to easily do something he has no aptitude for (look at the engine room scene in the pilot for an example).
As for Simon/Inara, I just don't see it myself, apart from the fact they both come from similar backgrounds, they have nothing between them, and besides, Simon is intent of Kaylee, and Inara, Mal even if she doesn't admit to it.
As for River/Jayne, I don't really see it, despite all the River/Jayne videos popping up on Youtube.
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For every battle honour, a thousand heroes die along, unremembered and unsung...
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I never saw the Simon/Inara thing, though I've read the 'Dead or Alive' script, and see what some folks might see in it. But Inara is designed to be drooled over by men - it's what she has trained for. We only get glimpses of the 'real' Inara.
Zoe, post BDM, is not going to be too interested in other folk for some while, and I think she's probably too used to rough military types to be interested in Jayne. Ever. Also, she likes soap.
I think Jayne had a crush on Kaylee, but she just saw him as a big brother type - too familiar a type from her childhood, I'm guessing. And I don't think he would have a crush on River - 'sick ain't sexy, and I don't go chasin' children'. I have a little theory on the type of woman Jayne likes. And I have my own theories on what River likes, too - a little smarter and cleaner, about six foot or so, with a roguish grin and sad eyes...
Because I can see something very interesting happening there. Mal might think he's being fatherly, but River - 'adequately parented, biologically. Don't need another' - is just about the age to go getting a crush. And a war hero with a wounded soul (and those tight pants) is just prime material. Of course, what the war hero then does about it...(panic, denial, guilt, the usual adept handling of emotional crisis etc)
*immodest cough* for elucidation of this thesis, please check items in Blue Sun Room.
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Inara/Simon – let me preface by saying I know this would never actually happen – Inara would never do that to Kaylee ;)
1. Simon seems the typical stammering, virginal boy Inara tends to choose.
2. Granted I don’t think he IS a virgin…hmmm could his father possibly have hired a Companion to see to that little detail?
3. In Serenity (Pilot) when Mal barges in on Simon and Inara (she’s giving him the immunization kits) and Inara tells him “I was giving the boy a last thrust since he’s not long for this world” the look on Simon’s face is….priceless. It’s an odd combination of wistfulness and embarrassment. I know Inara said it just to tick Mal off but….
4. In Out of Gas they comfort one another. That moment when Simon says “It was my birthday” and Inara reaches out to hold his hand. I don’t think that’s all “comfort”.
5. They seem to hang out a lot, watching the other crew members play…was it basketball…comes to mind.
River/Jayne
1. In Serenity (once again Pilot) when Jayne is interrogating the mole he says “It’s a girl….pretty too. She ain’t all there tho….course not all of her has to be.” *charming grin*
2. In Safe (and this is actually the final scene) everyone is gathering for “chow” River sits next to Jayne and steals his roll, giving him a beautiful smile when he realizes it lol. He gives her a look back and shrugging grabs another roll for himself. There’s something in that look….
3. I always got the feeling while watching Ariel that it wasn’t really about the money for Jayne (well…not entirely). I think River maybe stirred up some stuff in him he wasn’t willing to acknowledge. The looks he gives her in that episode vary greatly but you can tell he’s struggling with himself. Selling her out the Alliance is a great way to squash those mushy feelings.
AGENTROUKA! Thanks my hubby made it for me ;) he’s much better with photoshop than I lol.
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Heh, I saw Joss saying somewhere (don't remember where) that in his shows he was aiming for actor dynamics where it was possible to 'ship anyone with anyone. So here you go. :)
But in Firefly I hope we can at least exclude Book and Wash with Zoe, but the rest is a fair game, I say - I can certainly see hints of something between various people which may come about if the current relationships fall through.
I can certainly see Jayne's attraction for Kaylee - not only in the pilot, but also in TJ, and in Trash and Message - especially in Trash. The looks he gives her when she explains the heist mechanics - "OMG, you're so smart and adorable!" I don't see much coming back from Kaylee, though.
And Simon and Inara - oh yes, not a sexual tension as I see it, but they are very fond of each other, they are open and relaxed with each other as with no one else. Something might have grown out of it if their current 'ships got burned, and there were even more hints in the earlier scripts of the pilot, Bushwacked, and Janestown, and not just in Dead or Alive. I wonder if they really planned some intrigue here, but then abandoned it - out of 4 women on board 2 are already hanging on Simon, add a 3rd one would be too much. :)
One might even say that Inara is Simon's only friend on the ship, and Simon would also be extra crabby in the beginning of BDM because of Inara's leaving, but for a different reason than Mal. As for Kaylee - he can't really relax around her as he has to step very carefully to not to offend her, especially in how he feels about being on the ship. When he really speaks his mind, like in Safe, Kaylee gets mad at him. And in OiS when he jokes with her he doesn't speak his mind, as we've learned from River.
But sexual tension between Simon and Inara I don't quite see. Simon is a bit smitten with her, yes, just like other men on board. Heh, Jayne is a bit smitten with Inara too, in the same way. But I see more of that kind of feeling between Inara and Kaylee than between Inara and Simon. :)
As for River - she's still crazy, she should get better first before anyone could touch her. While I see Jayne as the only one immoral enough to not care about her being insane ("she's cute, too. Not all there, but not all of her has to be"), he's scared of her - butcher knife, "kill you with my brain" etc., and self-preservation would alwasy come first to him. :)
Just my IMHO - as I said, there are hints there for all kind of 'ships for all people to enjoy.
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I think sexual tension is a fluid, there's-always-potential kind of thing.
You can be off the market generally (married, celibate by choice) or off the market for any particular person (not your type, too close a friend, a colleague and therefore a bad idea), but I think the awareness of possible sexual activity is always going to be there with someone you're not actively turned off by (immediate family, thug in a dark alley).
So, sure, there's going to be a little bit of the awareness of sex, and therefore a little bit of sexual tension, between Simon and Inara -- they speak the same language, they're both attractive, they're both available -- but they have no real desire to do anything about it, due to Simon's interest in Kaylee and Inara's friendship with Kaylee.
Ditto Kaylee and Jayne -- they're both single and attractive and available -- but they aren't really each other's type, so they won't do anything about it either.
And Jayne and River -- River's just coming into availableness, and of course Jayne is going to notice that, even if overall she isn't his type.
Mind you, people change, and people's desired types also change, so I wouldn't say that real attraction wouldn't develop between any of the above in the future -- just that right now, the sexual tension is of the below-threshold variety.
Interesting insight by the person who posted about the fact that Mal would see River as a daughter, and therefore feel actively repulsed by the idea of sex, whereas River is primely positioned for a crush on him. But then, that's part of the nature of a crush -- it's at least partly about calibrating one's sexual attractions and practising those feelings on a safely unavailable object of desire.
Anyway, just MHO,
Indigo S.
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ALLISA,
You seem to notice many of the same little moments as I. I think a lot can be said with a look or body language.
I don’t remember what epi it is in, but Simon is talking with Kaylee and Inara descends the stairs making her regal entrance. It was the way that Simon looked at her in that moment (like she is some sort of goddess) that had me thinking of the possibility. I really don’t think Joss would of went any where with it, besides maybe to make there OTP’s a little jealous.
As for River and Jayne, I agree with the moments you pointed out, and there are a few others. Although, I think it takes several runs through the series to open up to the idea enough to notice body language between the two. Whether it was intentional or not, it is enough to spark the possibility.
Arguments:
1) They are not one another’s type, too different.
River and Jayne are both unconventional characters (outcasts in society) and I can see many other commonalities. The are both fighters, both have their child-like moments, they like to taunt and tease one another, both are misunderstood to an extent, and they both are always touching and smelling the objects around them.
The way’s in which they’re different just adds to the exciting dynamic between them. After all Mal/Inara, Simon/Kaylee and Wash/Zoe are all opposites. Zoe didn’t like Wash right off the bat, ect…
Yes she is young, but I think that what she’s been through (and her intelligence) makes her astute beyond her years. If people think the age difference between Mal/River is acceptable, why can’t it be for River & Jayne?
We know Jayne’s type, whores, and River is obviously not one. If and when Jayne continued with his character growth, I believe there is a possibility for his type to change. River after all is gorgeous, and Jayne is a lover of all women.
2) Rivers nuts, Jayne’s too scared of River, dislikes her, and wants her gone.
Obviously, River was slashing at the logo on Jayne’s shirt (this is in the transcripts) and not him. I think he would have figured out eventually that River does not secretly wish him dead.
In Ariel, if he really wanted to get rid of River and Simon, he still could have left them handcuffed and made his get away.
By the end of Serenity, he has actually agreed with her, thus in a way understanding her plight. Also, in the BDM River say’s with emphasis “I’m all alright.” Telling us she’s on the path to sanity.
I think Jayne respects people who are strong and invaluable. After seeing her fighting skills and saving their pi gu’s. I believe he would form a new found respect for the girl.
I can go on with the various counters for people’s arguments against the idea, but you get the gist. I don’t think the ship is for everybody, but I will always wonder if Joss would have taken it there.
P.s. If you’re interested or haven’t already been, check out this community over at LJ: http://community.livejournal.com/rayne_shippers/
In addition, this page helps you go back and sort through the vast amounts of FF. http://community.livejournal.com/tea_dumplins/
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Jayne: Ruttin' pigs! Where's...
And River is holding out his weapon before he can ask for it.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Allisa:
Inara/Simon – let me preface by saying I know this would never actually happen – Inara would never do that to Kaylee ;)
1. Simon seems the typical stammering, virginal boy Inara tends to choose.
I was going to make both of those points but you beat me to it.
David
"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de
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