Kaylee: Do people not give her enough credit? by TrueBlue

TALK STORY

Kaylee: Do people not give her enough credit?

POSTED BY: TRUEBLUE
UPDATED: Saturday, April 14, 2007 04:58
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007 5:44 PM

I often see posts refering to Kaylee as "too soft".

Most recently in the 'Jayne is Hot' thread... but really Kaylee never came across as soft to me, sensitive: yes; soft: no.

'Sides I reckon she would be more than able to handle Jayne (if that's what she wanted). Do people forget how she came to be on the ship? I think that proves she is happy to have fun with a dolt, if he is a handsome dolt (preferably in an engine room: strange little fettish there).

Kaylee can get her feelings hurt because she is so sensitive, she has been shaken, but she always managed to pull out and do what she needed to in any given situation no matter how shaken she was. She is a strong person, and I think that is the best part of her character: her confidence and the ability to remain strong while also being sensitive and caring.

She can't shoot a gun to save her life (don't think I could either, can't aim), but she won't crack when it comes to pulling out the stops to do everything she can do for her friends and crew-mates.

As for men: the situation surrounding her joining Serenity and the way she has managed to maintain any semblance of sanity in the face of Simon Tam I think is testament enough to her resiliance in that area.

Do other people see her with more strength? Or do you think she is a damsel in distress waiting to happen?

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I will think of a signature later. It will be so stunningly brilliant your entire life will pale into insignificance when compared to the few words that will be written here.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007 8:55 PM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

I love Kaylee a ton. I think she's cute as a button, funny, sexy, smart, and sensitive.

That said, she was turning into a disappoinement to me.

In Safe, after Book got shot, all she could so was stand there and mope about him not moving.

In Out of Gas, she'd have been killed if Zoe hadn't knocked her out of the way, thereby getting clobbered herself.

In Shindig and The Message, both, she went all helpless and got herself taken hostage.

And, of course, in War Stories, she completely froze in combat. Hadn't'a been for River, she'd have been killed in another minute, and the entire operation gone bad, and the whole crew lost.

Maybe it's just that she's so young and sweet and innocent, maybe she'd grow out of it, but she doesn't hold up well in a crisis. In those several life or death moments, she blew it and had to be saved by others. She's not a person with good survival skills, and has a very short life expectancy.

Note, of course, that she did do well in her moment in Heart of Gold; and that I have no problem with her in Objects in Space. Faced, up close and personal, with the very real terror of Jubal Early, that she survived without going mad or hysterical is a triumph.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007 10:00 PM

ROMANCEGURU

Maybe you were referring to my comment?

Don’t get me wrong, I think Kaylee strong, you’d have to be to live the life they lead. She does have the whole sexually adventurous thing going for her, but she’s still bright-eyed and bushy tailed about it, and possibly a little naïve.

The “too soft” comment was directed towards her in a relationship with Jayne. When you place a character along side another, their dynamic changes. Next to Jayne (and even Mal), Kaylee’s a picture of girlish innocence.

I do believe Kaylee is just sassy enough for Simon though, and she has more edge to her character when paired with him, because he doesn’t. That’s why they work.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 2:28 AM

AGENTROUKA

I adore Kaylee for daring to be emotional and for unabashedly asking things of life. She's not restrained in the way everyone else is and has no fear of letting it be known she wants something.

That said, she is not what I consider a strong person, not in all the ways. "Too soft" for me translates to an unwillingness to be an adult and take "no" as an answer to her asking. She gets.. whiny. Instead of just dealing. She doesn't, generally, try to find her own solutions to problems (aside from mechanical ones), always depending on someone to rescue her.

She has these insecurity issues about social status that can drive me up the wall because they are so childish and passive-aggressive.

And she always takes them out on Simon.

As if he HAS to reciprocate her interest. As if he being on Serenity is supposed to be a wonderful thing for him. She shows zero understanding there.

So, her child-like nature also has the downside of making her childish and occasionally helpless.

But I still adore Kaylee. In spite of her flaws she is the absolute personification of sunlight.

On the upside. I do think she already got better in the movie.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 3:33 AM

DERANGEDMILK

Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRouka:
So, her child-like nature also has the downside of making her childish and occasionally helpless.

But I still adore Kaylee. In spite of her flaws she is the absolute personification of sunlight.

On the upside. I do think she already got better in the movie.

I think these three statements sum Kaylee up pretty well. We all lover he b/c she is just so damn....SHINY! Sure, she almost completely useless in a firefight but thats what makes her so real. To many shows and movies try to have fun loving, happy-go-lucky, cheerful characters like Kaylee and then turn around and have them kill and fight folks. The two traits don't jive so well. But thats whats great about Firefly, it has realistic characters with real flaws and personalities not altered meerly to meet the demands of the situation.

I think any true fan of Kaylee shouldn't love her inspite of her flaw but because of it. The inability to kill someone, the fear of violence and death, these are good traits. Its sad how some of the others are so desensitized to it all.
-e

"Storms getting worse."
"We'll pass through it soon enough."

Vote for Firefly at http://richlabonte.net/tvvote/index.html

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 3:37 AM

SHINYED

Without Kaylee there is no Firefly or Serenity. Mal states very eloquently that Love is absolutley vital for a ship & its' crew...Kaylee is the heart and soul of that love. She's not on board to be a fighter.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 4:05 AM

AGENTROUKA

Quote:
Originally posted by ShinyEd:
Without Kaylee there is no Firefly or Serenity. Mal states very eloquently that Love is absolutley vital for a ship & its' crew...Kaylee is the heart and soul of that love. She's not on board to be a fighter.

To be fair, while Kaylee is heart-warming and the strongest bit of glue holding the crew together, she is not the only source of love in the ship and the show could exist without her. It wouldn't be the same, but Kaylee is not the sole center of the show. That'd be Mal.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 4:24 AM

SHINYED

Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRouka:
To be fair, while Kaylee is heart-warming and the strongest bit of glue holding the crew together, she is not the only source of love in the ship and the show could exist without her. It wouldn't be the same, but Kaylee is not the sole center of the show. That'd be Mal.

OK..yes, saying "no show" w/o Kaylee is a bit of an overreach...and yes, I'd still would have loved it if she was never on the ship.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:02 AM

REDLAVA

Well to come to Kaylee's defense I think she is a strong female character just not in the way that most would think. She may not be good in a fire fight, and gets taken hostage quite easily, not much you can do in those types of situations when you are unarmed and probably not raised around guns and violence. Maybe not the best nurse either, but she does have a great bedside manner. She isn't a grizzled war veteran like Zoe nor is she a mind reading genius who knows karate like River. So comparing her to those two is the whole apples to oranges thing. But put her in the engine room and you see her strength come out. And she may not be a crack shot with a gun, but she was more than willing to put her life in danger to help the captain.

Not everybody can be superhuman in the face of danger, that would make it very boring in my opinion. I think Kaylee is the weakest strong woman that Joss can create whom isn't completely helpless. Which ain't half bad considering.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:29 AM

DRACONUS

I have to agree with Redlava. Considering Joss's history of strong women, I think we just have to consider that she's strong in her own right. Yea, she's a little hepless at times and you just want to cover her up and protect her, but she has her moments. And let's not forget, the entire crew is afraid of Kaylee's wrath.

May you have enough.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:51 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Quote:
Originally posted by Redlava:

I think Kaylee is the weakest strong woman that Joss can create whom isn't completely helpless. Which ain't half bad considering.

Thanx... You hit it exactly on the head.
Boiled down to a telegram, that's the perfect analysis.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:57 AM

AGENTROUKA

Quote:
Originally posted by Draconus:
I have to agree with Redlava. Considering Joss's history of strong women, I think we just have to consider that she's strong in her own right. Yea, she's a little hepless at times and you just want to cover her up and protect her, but she has her moments.

In looking for strength, I think we shouldn't be focusing on physical strength (as compared to Zoe or River) or natural talent (Kaylee's engine gift) because both say nothing about strength of character.

About Kaylee's character, I say that she is strong enough not to be a weak woman, but not strong enough to be a strong woman. Yet. If that makes sense.

I do think, had the show gone on, Kaylee would have become an amazingly strong woman. Just as soon as she learned to trust her own ability to take care of herself.

Her journey was still every bit about growing up as River's.

Quote:
And let's not forget, the entire crew is afraid of Kaylee's wrath.

...since when?

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Saturday, April 14, 2007 4:58 AM

ALLIETHORN7

Kaylee is strong, no question about it. No, not in the conventional way, like Zoe or River or even Inara- boo.
Still, to keep on smiling after all the go-se she's been through-that takes a strength that mst don't have. She will get up and keep on- sure, she may resist and not like it, but the fact is that she WILL, which most folk are too regimented and scared to do.

Having fun yet?

-Danny

I wanna take the Bullet,
The one aimed straight for your Heart;
I wanna meet the wolves halfway,
And let them Tear me APART,
But that's not the way they do it here...
THRICE RULES!!!!!!!!!

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