S01.E09: Ariel

[jhlipton]

That was a tight, taut episode.I liked how, when they got to the hospital, Jayne was "I learned this line, by gorram, I'm going to use it!" and the desk clerk was "Eh, whatever..."

 

Mal got Jayne to join his crew by having him desert his former pals for more money (and his own bunk).  He's shouldn't have been so surprised when Jayne did it for him.  In fact, Mal figured that someone might offer Jayne enough to betray him.  Mr Frog should not be too surprised at the actions of Mr Scorpion.  I think that's the reason he shut the air lock -- he knew that Jayne had learned that hurting any of the crew meant he was hurting Mal, and he wouldn't do that.

[decembar13]

Oh, Jayne...
In the first episode Serenity Jayne commented that it would be interesting day when money is good enough to betray Mal (something along that line).
Also, in Out of Gas we find out that Jayne betrayed his last employer to join Mal's crew.

 

It played well with the whole plot of "money was good and he got stupid" in this episode.

 

Then, in Jaynetown we all saw that this man does have morals (they're rarely seen and I'm pretty sure he hides them well not that he hasn't any) by witnessing his reaction to boy's death - anger, confusion and sadness that someone thought he was worth saving that he lied down his life to save Jaynes.
In the end of Ariel he pleads with Mal not to tell the rest of the crew why he's been killed. He is ashamed of his actions and he doesn't want anyone to think less of him.

 

And in just a few episodes we saw progress in characterization of Jayne (or his personal growth).

 

Btw, I always wondered about "he looks better in red" scene - did River "saw" Jayne's betrayal and that's why he slashed his chest or River, being crazy, attacked him and that proved to be a final straw for Jayne so he decided to call Alliance and sell them out... or both... hmmmm... Maybe it's one of those wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff. 

 

And to all English speakers/readers I apologize for butchering your language. I'm well aware that my English (oh, grammar, I hate thee) is deplorable at best, but shouldn't I get some points (or cookies, I love cookies) for trying?

Edited April 24, 2014 by decembar13

[Wilowy]

I think you're grammar and usage is just fine! You do an excellent job! 

[decembar13]

I think you're grammar and usage is just fine! You do an excellent job!

Is this where I insert Mal's "drunks are so cute" line?  :)))

[jhlipton]

decembar13, your English is better than most Americans.  (Are you Hungarian!?)  Please accept this plate of cookies.

 

I hadn't thought of River attacking Jayne because he's going to sell her out; although it kind of makes for a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Had she acted nicer to him, he might have been more inclined to think of her and Simon as "crew".  But if time is immutable, then he had to call the Feds.

[halgia]

I do love me a good heist, and this had that plus the whole Jayne betrayal thing.

 

About "he looks better in red" – I just thought it was her being crazy, and that was the final straw that drove Jayne to the betrayal. I kind of like the idea of her seeing his betrayal, but it seems like it was definitely the thing that pushed Simon to even propose the heist, which was needed for Jayne to be able to betray, which would be needed for her to slash him, which....

 

Kaylee and Wash's enthusiasm for going on shore was great, as was the complete nonchalance at the front door encounter they had practiced for so many times.

 

I guess Book was gone so he wouldn't be all moralizing about stealing or whatever?

 

I'm not sure how I feel about Simon randomly stopping to save some dude's life. I guess it didn't really jeopardize the mission (unless some more confident doctor showed up and asked who he was), and it's maybe to reinforce that Simon should be in some hospital saving lives and not running around the galaxy patching up a gang of criminals, and also to remind us "hey they're criminals but they're not bad criminals." 

 

The secret agent guys were sufficiently creepy, but their whole look and pulling out the blue rod felt very Men in Black-ish – until it made blood come out of everyone's eyeballs instead of erasing their memories. That's creepy, but practically speaking, what advantage does that have over just a silenced pistol? I don't see one, and it actually worked against them (letting the fugitives hear their approach).

 

When Mal got on the ship, he was all "get us into space, stat" – and then said "oh, hey, Inara, you're back!" Would he have left her if she had been an hour late?

 

I liked Jayne's almost-symmetric head wounds at the end.

I think that's the reason he shut the air lock -- he knew that Jayne had learned that hurting any of the crew meant he was hurting Mal, and he wouldn't do that.

I'm not sure about that – Mal didn't close it after giving Jayne the speech saying that was the case, but after Jayne told him to lie about why he was dead to save the rest of the crew's respect for him. I think the fact that he gave a shit about what everyone thought of him told Mal that Jayne does, at least at some level, consider himself part of the crew, and maybe that realization means that he's less likely to betray them in the future.

[decembar13]

decembar13, your English is better than most Americans.  (Are you Hungarian!?)  Please accept this plate of cookies.

 

 

Chocolate chip? Why, thank you!  :)  May I ask why do you think that I may be Hungarian? I find it funny 'cause I am certainly not one... but I do live in a country in their close proximity - we are, what you would say, neighbors.

 

 

About "he looks better in red" – I just thought it was her being crazy, and that was the final straw that drove Jayne to the betrayal. I kind of like the idea of her seeing his betrayal, but it seems like it was definitely the thing that pushed Simon to even propose the heist, which was needed for Jayne to be able to betray, which would be needed for her to slash him, which....

 

 

Wibbly-wobbly, Dougal, with just a dash of timey-wimey stuff... Sometimes I should just accept things as they are and try not to look for something else in them; I think and thinking is hurting my brain. And I'm not fond of any part of my being being in pain.

 

 

That's creepy, but practically speaking, what advantage does that have over just a silenced pistol?

 

 

None. And that is what's so creepy about them. They are in it for the pain, as much as for doing their job. Sociopathic SOBs. 

[SVNBob]

River didn't so much attack Jayne as cut too deep on the shirt he happened to be wearing.  Look again at just the shirt. 

It's a Blue Sun shirt. She was lashing out against those that hurt her.

  It didn't have much, if anything to do with Jayne's future actions.  Jayne just wore the wrong shirt that day.

Edited April 27, 2014 by SVNBob

[Danny Franks]

This was such a fun episode, with so many laugh out loud moments, while also not shying away from the darkness of the show. We learn about the torture River has been subjected to, see anew the price Simon has paid to rescue her. We see Jayne reveal his true, opportunistic colours, but also the underlying love he has for the crew. He just never figured to include the Tams as a part of that crew, and I always thought he seemed truly baffled that Mal did.

 

I think Summer hit it out of the park in this episode, with her initial portrayal of River as completely out of it, then going after all the Blue Sun labels, including Jayne's shirt (love the double meaning of "he looks better in red"). Then her fear when Simon explains the plan to her. My heart breaks when she whispers, "I don't want to do it". And then her confusion and not-quite-suspicion when she seems to realise that Jayne is betraying them, after she wakes up from the sedative.

 

And we got to see the other side of the world, a little more. Away from the Western-style frontier planets, we got to see the Alliance in all its wealth and technological superiority. The wastefulness and ease with which lives are led on the core planets (seriously, throwing away an entire ambulance?). The medicine that could be replaced within a day at the hospital, but would be worth a fortune on the outlying planets.

 

I alway, always laugh at Jayne repeatedly failing to get to grips with his line, and then being so determined to say it that he does, even after the nurse on the desk clearly doesn't give a shit. Brilliant set up and execution, by the writing and by all the actors involved. And Mal thinking that everyone smiles all the time on the core worlds, and immediately arousing the suspicions of a grumpy doctor by doing so.

 

One moment that I always absolutely adore is that bit where they've just returned from the heist, and Mal grabs Kaylee from behind and gives her a big hug. It's clearly an impromptu bit of business by Nathan, because Jewel looks startled, and then shares a smile with, the suddenly-not-River, Summer Glau. Love seeing that sort of affection between the cast.

[decembar13]

One moment that I always absolutely adore is that bit where they've just returned from the heist, and Mal grabs Kaylee from behind and gives her a big hug. It's clearly an impromptu bit of business by Nathan, because Jewel looks startled, and then shares a smile with, the suddenly-not-River, Summer Glau. Love seeing that sort of affection between the cast.

 

 

I read interview with Joss where he actually said that a hug Nathan gave Jewel was Nathans' improvisation and that it sat so well with Joss (he believed that it is what Mal would do) so he left it in a final cut. If only I could find that interview - I read it recently.

[femmefan1946]

The Firefly Companion shows the name badges that Mal, Jayne and the others wear.

Jayne's gives his name as Nurse Kiki. 

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎24‎/‎04‎/‎2014 at 6:06 PM, decembar13 said:

Oh, Jayne...
In the first episode Serenity Jayne commented that it would be interesting day when money is good enough to betray Mal (something along that line).
Also, in Out of Gas we find out that Jayne betrayed his last employer to join Mal's crew.

 

It played well with the whole plot of "money was good and he got stupid" in this episode.

 

Then, in Jaynetown we all saw that this man does have morals (they're rarely seen and I'm pretty sure he hides them well not that he hasn't any) by witnessing his reaction to boy's death - anger, confusion and sadness that someone thought he was worth saving that he lied down his life to save Jaynes.
In the end of Ariel he pleads with Mal not to tell the rest of the crew why he's been killed. He is ashamed of his actions and he doesn't want anyone to think less of him.

 

And in just a few episodes we saw progress in characterization of Jayne (or his personal growth).

 

Btw, I always wondered about "he looks better in red" scene - did River "saw" Jayne's betrayal and that's why he slashed his chest or River, being crazy, attacked him and that proved to be a final straw for Jayne so he decided to call Alliance and sell them out... or both... hmmmm... Maybe it's one of those wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff. 

 

And to all English speakers/readers I apologize for butchering your language. I'm well aware that my English (oh, grammar, I hate thee) is deplorable at best, but shouldn't I get some points (or cookies, I love cookies) for trying?

Cookies aplenty, your English is fine

 

On ‎25‎/‎04‎/‎2014 at 5:14 AM, Dougal said:

I do love me a good heist, and this had that plus the whole Jayne betrayal thing.

 

About "he looks better in red" – I just thought it was her being crazy, and that was the final straw that drove Jayne to the betrayal. I kind of like the idea of her seeing his betrayal, but it seems like it was definitely the thing that pushed Simon to even propose the heist, which was needed for Jayne to be able to betray, which would be needed for her to slash him, which....

 

Kaylee and Wash's enthusiasm for going on shore was great, as was the complete nonchalance at the front door encounter they had practiced for so many times.

 

I guess Book was gone so he wouldn't be all moralizing about stealing or whatever?

 

I'm not sure how I feel about Simon randomly stopping to save some dude's life. I guess it didn't really jeopardize the mission (unless some more confident doctor showed up and asked who he was), and it's maybe to reinforce that Simon should be in some hospital saving lives and not running around the galaxy patching up a gang of criminals, and also to remind us "hey they're criminals but they're not bad criminals." 

 

The secret agent guys were sufficiently creepy, but their whole look and pulling out the blue rod felt very Men in Black-ish – until it made blood come out of everyone's eyeballs instead of erasing their memories. That's creepy, but practically speaking, what advantage does that have over just a silenced pistol? I don't see one, and it actually worked against them (letting the fugitives hear their approach).

 

When Mal got on the ship, he was all "get us into space, stat" – and then said "oh, hey, Inara, you're back!" Would he have left her if she had been an hour late?

 

I liked Jayne's almost-symmetric head wounds at the end.

 

I'm not sure about that – Mal didn't close it after giving Jayne the speech saying that was the case, but after Jayne told him to lie about why he was dead to save the rest of the crew's respect for him. I think the fact that he gave a shit about what everyone thought of him told Mal that Jayne does, at least at some level, consider himself part of the crew, and maybe that realization means that he's less likely to betray them in the future.

 

Killing rod rather than silent pistol because these are armed police officers and you couldn't get them all before they started to shoot back. Also that would overtly be murder rather than some mysterious accident or natural phenomenon that leaves everyone baffled

 

On ‎25‎/‎04‎/‎2014 at 5:52 PM, decembar13 said:

 

Chocolate chip? Why, thank you!  :)  May I ask why do you think that I may be Hungarian? I find it funny 'cause I am certainly not one... but I do live in a country in their close proximity - we are, what you would say, neighbors.

 

 

 

Wibbly-wobbly, Dougal, with just a dash of timey-wimey stuff... Sometimes I should just accept things as they are and try not to look for something else in them; I think and thinking is hurting my brain. And I'm not fond of any part of my being being in pain.

 

 

 

None. And that is what's so creepy about them. They are in it for the pain, as much as for doing their job. Sociopathic SOBs. 

I never got that impression, they were just the guys who did the dirty work, think of The Conspiracy on CITW and may be their lineal descendants (and of The Initiative/Shield gone wrong).

On ‎27‎/‎04‎/‎2014 at 8:02 AM, SVNBob said:

River didn't so much attack Jayne as cut too deep on the shirt he happened to be wearing.  Look again at just the shirt. 

  Hide contents

It's a Blue Sun shirt. She was lashing out against those that hurt her.

  It didn't have much, if anything to do with Jayne's future actions.  Jayne just wore the wrong shirt that day.

 

I NEVER picked up on that!

 The good; Lot's of it, if I were to have 2 favourite scenes it would be the admissions nurse just casually accepting the dead bodies into the hospital and Mal remembering what drugs to take by writing it on his hand. Mal's final interrogation of Jayne also excellent, you get the idea he saves him to spare the rest of the crew having to deal with his betrayal rather than for his own sake. The scene where River, Simon and Jayne flee the blue-gloves is a masterclass in building suspense, they haven't seen anything but the approaching screams of their victims coupled with River's terrified babbling produce a real sense of dread.

The bad; Simon saving the patient is very blatantly designed to make us feel better about the crew stealing medicine from a hospital (but I love River's smile of pride when he does it).

Best line; Inara; "What have you guys been up to?" Kaylee; "Oh, we killed Simon and River, stole a bunch of medicine"

Kinky dinky; Wash wants to take Zoe to a naked beach

Inarra;1-a paying customer who wishes to make her his kept woman, 1 possible, Atherton. Wash; 1-the missus Zoe; 1-the hubby Kaylee;1-Bester

Capt subtext; Inara is going for a medical examination which she says is routine. But if we follow the theory that she's actually sick ....? Mal once again demonstrates his intimacy with Kaylee, hugging her in a very familiar fashion at the end.

How'd they get away with that? The blue gloved men repeatedly cutting into River's head to perform brain surgery, ugh! Then to top it all they slaughter the cops with a device which causes uncontrollable bleeding from its' victims.

Total Serenity crew; 8 for this ep, Book is 'away at an abbey'? Do we ever get any other explanation than that? Simon refers to Serenity as 'home'. Mal makes it clear that he continues Jayne's act of betrayal against any of the crew to be against them all Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Wash, Kaylee, Inarra, Simon, River

Subverting the Hollywood cliché; Simon teaches Mal, Zoe and Jayne enough ER speak to get into the hospital but the admitting nurse just accepts their word as paramedics that the patients died. But Jayne's put so much effort into learning all these medical terms he insists on using them. Which I think is very human. When struggling with the guard it's Jayne who is the one to be bitten when it's normally the other way around, the hero is the one who traditionally does the biting to even the odds against a superior opponent.

Knocked out; Simon and River drugged into near death. Jayne knocked out by Mal. Book; 2 Simon; 2 Kaylee; 1 Jayne;2 Mal; 1 Wash; 1 Inara; 1 Zoe; 1 River; 1

Kills; Jayne kills the Alliance marshall with his bare hands Mal; 11- Zoe; 6- Jayne; 7-

Happy high-class hookers in Space; Inara is expected to undergo a standard medical as a companion once a year (or is she? see subtext). She states the Companion policy about non-commercial dating is 'complicated'.

Alliance good or bad?; Zoe and Mal are so rabidly anti-Alliance they won't even set foot on a core world or even look out the window (afraid they might like what they see?). The rest of the crew doesn't share their prejudice and are keen to get off the ship, Kaylee never having been on a core planet before. Does Mal protect River and Simon from the goodness of his heart or to stick 2 fingers up to the Alliance? The Serenity crew steal medicine from a hospital, sure they can replace it but still? On the other hand the blue-gloved men have conducted horrific medical experiments on River and brutally slaughter a station full of cops just because they heard River talk?

Reminds me off; Simon saving the patient is a scene right out of The Fugitive whilst the blue-gloves are very X-files. Forget to mention it in Out of Gas but of course Bester is the name for both a famous sci-fi author and Walter Koenig's character from Babylon 5.

Questions and observations; Ironically the ambulance is a Soviet Hind-model helicopter gunship in disguise. What does 'copper for a kiss' mean? Is it like 'Penny for the guy'? Why do the blue-glove men seem to kill anyone who has heard River talk, even Alliance police? To cover up the secret of what they did to her or does she have some form psychic illness that they're scared she's passing on? Ironically the one time they actually make some decent money it's all the idea of Simon, who Book aside is probably the least criminally inclined of the entire crew, even Jayne impressed by his plan. Do they sell the drugs they steal for their medical or narcotic value?

Marks out of 10; 8/10, very good stuff, hugely entertaining, we see the Firefly crew pull off a complicated heist and do it with much more aplomb than the Scoobygang or Angel investigations ever managed. We think the main character of the piece is going to be Simon but in a clever turnabout instead it actually turns out to be Jayne and his crisis of conscience is very well written and acted by all.