Inara's secret
POSTED BY: meatpuppet42
UPDATED: Saturday, August 22, 2009 18:37
VIEWED: 7073
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Um, wait. Is it possible that, being new, this person didn't realize that there are any such thing as archived threads?
Although on the other hand, the others do have a point. The insults don't exactly encourage anyone to want to help our new member. >_> *shrug*
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Um, wait. Is it possible that, being new, this person didn't realize that there are any such thing as archived threads?
First thing that's written:
Quote:
Originally posted by meatpuppet42:
I looked in the archives and did not find anything on this
But, to be fair the archives aren't exactly search friendly, especially for new members.
I have no idea about Inara's secret. As far as Nandi's comment about her appearance, I've heard many women say that to each other after a long separation (I just attended my 20yr HS reunion just a bit ago). BUT, knowing Joss...there is something to it.
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I just assumed that the vial in her little box was something to kill her with. She took it out when the reavers was about to dock them right? I have to watch that episode again.
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That's what you're supposed to think, but in the commentary Joss says it is something else.
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Interesting theory..............
The idea has been bandied about that Inara took anti-aging serum to combat... well, you know.
Perhaps that's what is killing her.
SGG
Tawabawho?
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Quote:
Originally posted by Shinygoodguy:
Interesting theory..............
The idea has been bandied about that Inara took anti-aging serum to combat... well, you know.
Perhaps that's what is killing her.
Perhaps you are talking about a different "..well, you know"?
What I definitely do NOT see is Inara taking an anti-aging serum for the pupose of not aging alone. She's not that vain, and if it was harming her, she is not that stupid.
The other "well, you know", the one I think bytemite is talking about, I could buy. Although I would find it silly if they had approached that angle from an "OMG, Inara doesn't age, I wonder what she's hiding" direction, as opposed to the far more obvious "Inara is clearly running from something, I wonder what she's hiding" direction.
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We simply don't have all info yet to be sure, either way. We do know she was, in fact, dying:
An anti-aging serum, though? That sounds like something out of science-fiction. And I doubt Joss would have taken our beloved show into a lame "Fountain of Youth" direction. A dying Inara, that might cause her a few problems, though, occupation-wise, that is. So, here's the lay-down, from my perspective.
One day Inara has a her annual check-up and gets to hear the bad news ("I'm a big girl, just tell me.") We don't know her illness, but it's easy to imagine that it's something she wants hidden from the Guild: she'd either be put on non-active, or have a 'taint' on her for ever. It's likely Inara let Nandi -- one of her best friends in the Guild prior to leaving her House -- in on it. In that light, Nandi's "You haven't aged a day." is not so much to be taken literally, nor as a common courtesy even, but should ere be seen as an inside, supportive comment by Nandi, letting Inara know she's happy 'Nara's still doing so well.
Back to Ariel,
ZOE
(to Inara)
How long you going to be planetside?
INARA
Shouldn't be more than a day or two.
WASH
Big stop just to renew your license
to Companion... can I use "Companion"
as a verb?
INARA
It's Guild law. All Companions are
required to undergo a physical exam
once a year.
Wash half suspects something is off. because it IS, in fact, a big stop just to renew her licence to Companion! Inara brushes him off, much like she does Kaylee, at the end:
KAYLEE
Hey, 'Nara. How was your checkup?
INARA
(dismissing it)
Same as last year.
(re: her peering)
What's going on here?
If it were really just a regular exam, professional as she is, Inara would have no reason whatsoever to be 'weird' about it. So, I'm thinking she has a special Doctor on Ariel, one she confided in (and possibly bribed, to keep things silent: 'Nara's not exactly without means).
Out of Gas,
INARA
I love this ship. I have from the first
moment I saw it.
SIMON
I just don't want to die on it.
INARA
I don't want to die at all.
Inara's comment is a bit redundant: I mean, nobody wants to die there, really. So, I'd say her saying it after all has extra meaning. Maybe she wanted to confide in Simon? Or maybe it was a simple reaction to Simon going on how he has no intention of dying on Serenity. I mean, kinda like: "You worry about dying on Serenity? I have to worry about death, everywhere."
Well there it is. YMMV. And, subject like this, it probably does. :)
--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam
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asarian-
I think it's very likely that Nandi didn't know. Everything she does with Mal would probably have been very different, as it would have given Nandi vast insight into Inara's motivations (for leaving Sihnon and otherwise), which - as she tells Mal - she has no clue about.
As for the conversation with Simon... it works on both levels. She tells Simon that she loves the ship, so when he points out that he doesn't want to die on it, she points out that she doesn't want to die at all - to counteract the implication that her loving the ship she is going to die on makes it better somehow. She's trying to bond with Simon, communicate, so she emphasizes that while she loves the ship.. that's no comfort and she understands his feelings about dying. Allows him to feel upset the way no one else on the ship probably would.
Of course, knowing what we know, it gains more layers. Inara IS remarkably calm through it all. She says she doesn't want to die, but she doesn't seem to require any comfort the way Simon does. There's a resigned air about her that contrasts a lot with Simon's nervous fear. It could just be her Buddhist nature, but... we know better.
I don't think she wanted to confide him in, exactly. Why now? To me, it's more Inara's peculiar way of being honest without being honest. She rarely outright lies, but she says things well knowing that her conversation partner won't get the whole truth. A weird one-way version of honesty. All on her terms, but no contradictions that might trip her up down the road.
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Ok, all you doctors out there, what could Inara have which shows little or no side effects, lasts for years, is non communicable, yet is fatal.
A bad heart? Not exactly something a companion could hide easily.
Cancer ? Possibly, but she's got plenty of vitality and endurance in her still.
She left the training house, presumably to 'see the 'verse '. Could be she wanted to truly see the sights before she passed, while getting out of the spotlight of being a house Madam ( or what ever the term ) However, she's still registered w/ the Guild, and as such, still subject to their rules and annual physicals. Would the Guild allow Inara to continue working if she had a fatal condition ? Does anyone in the Guild know ? Nandi didn't seem to know, so if so, it's an extremely well kept secret.
Inara mentions in Shindig that she's not afraid to admit to liking the finer things in life. The question I have, is she so vain, or so self motivated that she'd lie to the Guild , so as to carry on her work, which enables her to see the 'verse for one last glorious journey ? She seems to be embracing all life has to offer, while rejecting the most precious and sought after human instinct - companionship.
Until she associates herself w/ Mal, that is.
Very curious , indeed.
The T.Rex they call JANE!
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Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRouka:
asarian-
I think it's very likely that Nandi didn't know. Everything she does with Mal would probably have been very different, as it would have given Nandi vast insight into Inara's motivations (for leaving Sihnon and otherwise), which - as she tells Mal - she has no clue about.
Fair to say. I figured if Inara had told anyone, it would have been Nandi. But you're right, Nandi appears clueless as to why Inara left. Also, I now wonder, had she known Inara was dying, would she then still have slept with Mal? That would have been like stabbing her in the back, and to her face.
Quote:
Of course, knowing what we know, it gains more layers. Inara IS remarkably calm through it all. She says she doesn't want to die, but she doesn't seem to require any comfort the way Simon does. There's a resigned air about her that contrasts a lot with Simon's nervous fear.
Good observation. So used to the idea of dying, the notion of death doesn't seem to take Inara by surprise much.
Quote:
To me, it's more Inara's peculiar way of being honest without being honest. She rarely outright lies, but she says things well knowing that her conversation partner won't get the whole truth. A weird one-way version of honesty. All on her terms, but no contradictions that might trip her up down the road.
Could be that's true. And it certainly holds true for Inara, in general.
Quote:
I don't think she wanted to confide him in, exactly. Why now?
Why, people have been known to share secrets when death is imminent. :) But looking back at it again, Inara's "I don't want to die at all." almost seems like her thinking out-loud, really, more than wanting to tell Simon per se. Like flashes of all struggles with her illness sighed out in a single reflective, out-loud moment.
So many questions left, so few episodes left to see them answered. :(
--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam
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