No kidding. Typical Whedon family, the Tams.
I’ve watched the series so often, I’ve had to start looking for other things to notice. 
This actually isn’t one of my favorite episodes (looking forward to next week!) but watching it yesterday gave me a new appreciation for it.
I’ve never really seen any other Joss Whedon shows, so I’m lacking in the parallelisms there. It’s plain he’s got a great style and deserves all the accolades he receives, but Buffy never really interested me the way Firefly does, simply because of the genres.
Excellent observations! The lesson for Simon: Money and power mean nothing compared to the bonds of friendship and family. When the series started, he absolutely hated where he was, missing all the trappings of a privileged life. At the start of this show, he still does. He’s walking about fuming because he’s on a backwater moon, travelling around in a grungy spaceship, instead of living the high life back in Capitol City. But by the end of the episode, you can tell he’s discovered that warm feeling that comes from being part of a group that really cares about you. A great character-developing episode for Simon.
What’s interesting, though, is that outside of Kaylee, nobody on the ship actually likes them, including Mal himself. Most of the crew is, at best, indifferent to him. But they’ll go to extraordinary lengths to help him and his sister. Whereas his actual family does seem to have a great deal of affection for him, but they won’t stick their necks out for him when he needs help.
I think that’s a bit too simplistic, both as an analysis and as a reading of what Wheadon meant. Most parents raise their kids to be just like themselves and with the goal of making their lives better than the lives the parents themselves have had. When a kid makes a sharp turn and gets totally sidetracked, most parents react with denial at first and then turn estranged.
I disagree, but will wait 'til the “Out of Gas” discussion to discuss further.
I think Inara and Book are quite fond of Simon and River.
Spoilers for “Jaynestown”:
Both volunteered to watch River while the rest of the crew is out doin’ crime (although not very well, in Book’s case ;)).
Inara also sticks out her neck for Simon and River in the pilot, while Book describes Simon as “very brave” in “The Train Job.”
Wash and Zoe don’t interact with Simon and River much, although this seems to be more of a plot/ “not enough time” issue rather than one of avoidance. When they do, there’s no sense of hostility or awkwardness (with the one exception being the deleted scene from “Serenity,” but that was before Simon joined the crew). Wash, whose emotions are often as open as Kaylee’s, is visibly affected by Simon’s story of River and the academy in the pilot,
That is certainly true. But notice that, in all three flashbacks, the parents are continually going on about Simon and how great a doctor he’ll be (and is). But when he starts getting concerned about River, to the point that he takes such action as to get himself thrown in jail, they continue to impress on him how important his status as a great doctor is and how he’ll throw that away.
Yes, they’re concerned for his success, but why aren’t they concerned for River? Why aren’t they concerned that an otherwise brilliant man like Simon is doing something that on the surface seems ridiculous bordering on insane? Why don’t they pay attention to River’s odd letters? Simon points to a sentence that talks about a family the Tams don’t even know or have ever socialized with, and the parents write it off as one of their silly little games. Strange that they’d think so, given that Simon sure doesn’t think it’s a game.
All the signs point to the Tams not caring about Simon and River as their children, but as mere vehicles to better success and stature for the Tam family. Simon certainly, River possibly.
I’m not sure it’s that complicated – I think that the Tams are simply part of the system and , as such, don’t think the system can do any wrong. They’re convinced Simon’s flaking out because the alternative is that the State is rapacious and consciousless, and they’ve lived their whole lives being taught that the State is a beneficial presence. Who is easier to believe?
–Cliffy
Ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? “It’s just one of her stories…”
Good article about Firefly in the San Fransisco Chronicle
This episode was definitely a character episode for Simon. To a lesser extent, it showed us some facts about River and Book, but not really their characters. Simon, it showed (not told us) how he feels about his sister (what he would give up for her); how he feels about being a doctor (as soon as there are patients, he starts treating them, and stops worrying about the fact he was kidnapped); how he feels about being on the frontier (his comments in the shop, for instance).
It also gives the other characters a chance to show how they feel about Simon. Jayne has obviously never liked him, but it’s hilarious how he reads the diary, raids their room, and dumps the stuff at the end. Mal trusts Simon to take care of himself while they go see to Book, but still comes back for him. Kaylee’s obvious feelings show more here (don’t you wonder if they’ll get together in an episode soon? 
).
Book and River don’t get much character development, but you learn a few key facts. I think this is the first episode where it is absolutely obvious she can read minds. It was pretty clear with Badger in Shindig, but some of that could have been guessing, and none was confirmed by another character; this could not have been. Book, while we never find out the details, obviously has some connection other than just a plain ol’ (figurative) Shepherd.
I really like the juxtaposition of technologies in this one. The Alliance cruiser, a few hours out from the planet, has a state of the art medical facility. On the planet, the outlying settlements don’t even have one doctor. I’m not sure what that woman’s role was, but she obviously couldn’t do much for the patients. I got the impression, although it was never clearly stated, that it was the superstitious attitudes of the townsfolk as much as their lack of medical knowledge that cause them to have such problems with the ill.
I also think Cliffy is spot on. It isn’t that they value Simon less. They think that he’s going to be a successful doctor, and that River’s going to be successful in whatever she’s doing. It is completely out of their mindset that there is any chance whatsoever that something could be going wrong where River is. From there point of view, Simon is having delusions, throwing away his career, and trying to mess up River’s as well, along with ruining the family reputation. They aren’t too happy about that. Rather than listening to Simon’s talk about the letters, that’s just an example of Simon’s delusion.
One of my favorite lines was Mal’s: “Don’t go mistaking that for a suggestion.”
She was the teacher, if what Simon yelled at her was correct. He was frustrated that she of all people was freaking out over River. I’m not even going to chance a paraphrase, but he does say ‘You’re the teacher!’ at one point.
Yeah, maybe I was reading a little too much into it. Still, it makes for a nice transition. One family’s disowned him while another accepts him.
No, you are right about the comparison, even if it’s not a sign that his family doesn’t care about him. (They did care, but within their context in society). Having Simon go from a family that cares only to the extent that he fits in their society, to one where he’s part of an imperfect “family” that cares in spite of the fact that they’re cut off from society, is an interesting contrast.
By the way, I’m not going to reliably be near a computer this weekend nor a few days after. Would some kind soul start the next thread (about Our Mrs. Reynolds) on Sunday or Monday?
Thanks.
Be glad to, assuming I can remember. I’m sure I’m not alone, but that’s my favorite episode.
That’s an excellent way of putting it. It’s not that Simon’s father only loves him conditionally. I’m sure their father loves them as much as any father loves their children, but he’s coming at it from a very different perspective. Simon and River are young, brilliant, yet naive. Their father is older and more mature. He’s showing his love the best way he knows how, which in modern Alliance society means protecting the family’s social status and wealth, since the loss of either will surely result in the loss of the other.
The father deals in a world where simply walking through the front door of a police station goes on your permanent profile and can have negative effects.
Simon lives in a somewhat more idealized, romantic world I think many of us viewers share, that is if someone loves us, they’d love us unconditionally, do anything for us and damn the consequences.
Simon’s father has been hardened to a more “realistic” approach towards life. “You do this again, I won’t come for you.”
As opposed to Mal’s “don’t worry, we won’t leave you.”
Of course, Mal did leave them, which must have hurt Simon deeply. But then there was the (possibly) prescient River with her, “don’t worry, we’ll be home soon. Father will come for us.” With Mal being the obvious father figure to them.
Oooh, I’d forgotten the line “Father will come for us.” Very interesting in the context of the episode.
Aw, you’re going to the special hell.
SPECIAL… hell.