Series: Firefly

Firefly was released around 2002-03, so it's taken me over a decade to get with the program despite my siblings (and surprisingly, my father) being huge fans of the show. I suppose on some level I didn't want to be pressured into liking it, so I waited until I had enough alone time to watch it by myself.

Boy, was it worth it.


Firefly is a great example - arguably the prime example - of how masterfully Joss Whedon can handle big casts and hone characters so well that they hold their own when paired with one another. Throughout the (very unfortunately) short span of the first season, the thing that really sucked me into the series were the character interactions. From the more obvious character pairings (e.g., Wash and Zoe, Zoe and Mal, Inara and Kaylee, etc.) - not in the sense that you ship them but in the sense that it makes sense to put them together in a scene because they react well to one another - to the most unlikely ones like Jayne and Inara, or Zoe and Kaylee, everything was just a joy to watch. Seeing the characters play off of one another and interact really brought them to life, and that was what made the series to addicting to me.

I also loved the dialogue. Such great writing. My god. Conversations flowed so naturally, and I'll be the first to admit: bickering is my weak point. Literally any series or movie with people bickering - I'll probably say I enjoyed it after, whether or not it was actually a good series/movie. And Firefly had tons of bickering - really, it can be argued that 90% of the dialogue was bickering and the rest was just River saying random things. I also liked that they spoke Chinese and they did so very easily, and that they had little catchphrase like "gorram" or "shiny" - those really add to the depth of the 'verse and helped solidify the context of the story.

Kaylee would have to be my favorite character, to the surprise of exactly zero people, haha. I love her optimism, her talent with machines, and that she's nice but she takes on shit if you offend her. Amazing. See, those are traits that, for a less skilled writer, would not have been found all in one person (especially a female character, since they seem to be given bad treatment in media most of the time), but I can't imagine Kaylee any other way. Her easy acceptance of Inara's job, her cold shouldering of Simon, her strange friendship with River - they all make sense because we're all so familiar with how she is as a person in that universe.

I love, love, loved Wash and Zoe, and how their relationship was never in question - for me as a viewer anyway. I love that they had their doubts, but they worked through it (never mind that it had to happen via torture), and I love how naturally they gravitated toward each other, and I think I shed a tear and Zoe said that the one time she'd gone against Mal's orders was when she married Wash. TEARS. Zoe is so incredible - she's stoic and competent, and a total sap around Wash. Yes. And Wash, oh my god, he's so hilarious and I love that he's not afraid to be a little wimpy around everyone else because he isn't trained in combat like the rest are. Also, his goddamn - sorry, gorram - mustache in Episode 8. HAHA.

Inara was a very fresh character, and I can't say that even with my very long relationship with TV that I've seen many characters similar to her. She's very direct, but very subtle, competent and skilled at manipulating people and situations, but uses it for the greater good, absolutely stunning and confident, but hesitant when it comes to things that matter. I really, really love Inara, okay. Her presence was really my anchor, calming me down whenever things got too intense in the show.

Book was also great! But I still want to know what the hell his deal was?? What was he? Why did they give him special treatment at the medical facility? Why does he know the things he knows? Really, Book was arguably a larger mystery than River ever was! At least we know - objectively - what happened to River. Book is a complete blank - he could say anything, and know anything with authority, and I wouldn't know any better to question him for it.

And of course, I loved Mal. Heart of gold, and an ass that won't quit ♥ I don't think "heard of gold" has ever been personified as perfectly it was with Mal. He's so incredibly well-meaning and he's really just a softie deep down inside. But he can also command the attention of the ship, gain and regain the respect of the crew, and beat your ass up if you give him reason. Maaaaaaaal. Yess.

If there's anything I'd be critical of, it's probably that I think how Kaylee was introduced to the ship was somewhat uncharacteristic? She was having sex with the original, stupid mechanic, and she ended up solving a problem with the ship that took the actual mechanic over a week to solve. While I like that she was portrayed as a smart girl, I have to question why she'd go for someone like that mechanic guy?? I mean, Kaylee, come on. If Simon's your taste, I get that, but how could you also go for this mechanic guy? Or maybe it was just a one time thing, I guess we won't know for sure.

Also, Jayne. Sheesh. Never have I loved-hated a character simultaneously like I do Jayne. One minute I'd be all for Mal killing him off for double-crossing the Tams, the next I'd find him adorable because of his stupid orange hat from his mom. The handling of Jayne's character was actually, I think, very skilled, because they were able to balance the more abrasive aspects of his personality with softer sides to him.

The Tams, I didn't really feel very strongly for in one way or another. I was definitely drawn to the mystery of what happened to River, and what she was kept for and what they did to her and why the Alliance so desperately wants her back. As characters though, they were a little ... I wouldn't say flat, but I wasn't very interested in their personalities. Simon was a doctor so he was smart and he was good of heart enough to want to heal people, and he loved his sister enough to give it all up to rescue her, and River is a traumatized genius who is borderline schizophrenic. I suppose since their story arc is mostly propelled externally, they had to work to give them simpler personalities. Which worked for the better in the end!

All in all, this show is a definite must-watch. Absolutely incredible. I'm definitely going be re-watching this soon to see what I missed and relive the fun (and not-so-fun, sometimes) times. This series was ahead of its time in terms of its plot (literally, haha), handling of characters, dialogue, values, and okay fine I'll say it - its handling of female characters. So, yay! A pluses all around!