STOP THAT!!! Those of us who haven’t seen the movie yet are getting more and more jealous. (NE Texan warned you about this in the opening disclaimers!)
Somehow, I completely missed:
I’m sure there’s more that passed me by; gotta go watch it again.
At the moment I’m feeling like I need to go re-watch the whole series because parts of it are getting foggy, but I’m still inclined to rank this one above Bushwhacked: 1)because of some of the clever dialogue already cited, 2) because it gives you more of a backstory for Zoe and Mal, and 3) because it really does feel like a sad farewell to the series.
I agree that the stuff about Book in the movie is set up so it can be interpreted the way bauble suggests. It’s pretty ambiguous, though.gardentraveler:
You bastards with your Serenity spoilers are killing me! Killing me!
Anyway, humorous inconsistency from Alan Tudyk: in the commentary track for “War Stories,” which he recorded with manly-man Nathan Fillion, he laments that his character apparently sat out the war. In the commentary track for this episode, which he recorded with cute-girl Jewel Staite, he says that he’s glad his character sat out the war! Double standard much there, Alan? Hmmmm?
I’ve been aware for some time that I’m the exception, because this episode IS one of my favorites. Sure, the plot’s thin, and sure, it’s sentimental. For me, (1) the thinness of the plot is overcome by the moments of character development, and (2) the sentimentality works.
People have already mentioned the stuff about Jayne and Book, but the obvious (to me) implication of Kaylee’s falling for a voice on a recording is that a part of her has finally given up on Simon, and the rest of her would be, too - if there were any other men in her universe, to flip Simon’s unfortunate line around. But since there are only two more episodes, we never get the chance to see if that’s where Joss was going with that.
To me, her and Simon holding hands at the funeral is simply her forgiving him for just not being enough. Like I say, I could be just reading all this in. But that’s how it reads, to me.
The other thing going on is when they’re all talking around the dining table, the way Inara, with her hair down, is hanging on every word Mal says. Oh, to have a woman like Inara look at you the way she’s looking at Mal! Sure sets up the next episode, doesn’t it?
One thing I didn’t mention earlier, is my relief that they stopped at a space station instead of a planet, at the beginning of the episode. I still have a problem with there being hundreds of worlds in one solar system, but it helps to imagine that some of the “worlds” are space colonies.
I agree that Simon is far from smooth, but it seemed to me that Kaylee was too quick to jump on his fauxpas in that scene. I know with the crushes that most of the posters here have on Kaylee it’s probably blasphemy for me to post anything that doesn’t show her in the best possible light. Still, Kaylee knows by now that Simon is inept with the ladies. She also knows from previous episodes that he really likes her. He manages to say something she likes and she literally asks for more. Simon tries to comply and starts off ok, but stumbles. It’s not like he meant to say something to hurt Kaylee’s feelings. Sorry, but in my eyes she was the one being kind of shallow and prickly in that scene.
I hadn’t thought about it that much, but you’re right, Kaylee does come across a bit over sensitive. But that’s Joss Whedon for you. Men rarely get to say the right thing to women, and as well intentioned as they may be, usually disappoint women. Yet the women love them anyway. ::sigh::
Working my way through the DVDs in preparation for finally seeing the movie Sunday–interesting they reinforced that the Alliance and others have encountered no aliens in their travels (so far) and that carnies are carnies 500 years from now.
Yes, not one of the greats like Ariel, but pretty damn good. Tracey was well-done and believable and I screamed “HOLDEN!” as soon as I saw him. The flirtation with Kaylee was done perfectly. Flashbacks for Zoe and Mal are always fun.
The Book/Rogue Cop scene was well-played but a little weird. The guy sneers at Jayne he’s been shot so many times he’s not scared of guns, but oooh! Zoe has a gun too, I’m outta here (unless I missed the whole point).
Wash is a great pilot but had a Khaaaaan! moment–two dimensional thinking. Loved the sight of the police ship just hovering above, watching them dodge canyons.
I agree that Mal and Tracey seemed to have the same or close to same tattoo. Hmmm. Haven’t seen enough of Zoe, even in her great sex scene with Wash, to know if she has one too, but maybe it was a thing a bunch of Rebel guys did while drunk to show their camaraderie. Zoe not only would disdain to mark up her gorgeous bod but would be in the corner drinking Chinese club soda, the designated ship operator.
Got a big Max Headroom vibe from the flashy trashy ad-filled space station. That, or Times Square.
And oh yeah, not enough love in the 'verse for Jayne’s hat. And Missus Cobb mentioned that the credits had helped pay for “Matty’s treatment for ‘damp lung’” or something; so perhaps he has a little sister too, like Simon? Wife doesn’t sound right, daughter maybe.
