Is Inara just faking by msg

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Is Inara just faking

POSTED BY: MSG
UPDATED: Saturday, May 20, 2006 23:36
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Friday, May 19, 2006 8:56 AM

We all agree Inara's job is to read men's emotional states and respond. Why does she seem so completely oblivious to Mal's emotional state. She constantly mis-interprets his comments/behavior. So either she understands and is choosing to mis-interpret to keep him at a distance, or she's just strangely blind where Mal is concerned. Any thoughts?

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:00 AM

SAMEERTIA

She is blind where Mal is concerned.
Her own feelings towards have him have her going up, down and sidewise.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:03 AM

STDOUBT

Love is blindness?

I also believe she's decided to wait for him
to 'make the first move' or confession of love.
I think she's too afraid of opening up and for
whatever possible reason (complications?) he'd
end up rejecting her. Crazy, yes, but I think
that's about where her head is at.

Either that or she's a soulless tease.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:06 AM

MSG

ok I love the concept. Souless tease:)

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:08 AM

CHRISTHECYNIC

I think she's trained to objectively assess. She is not objective when it comes to Mal, also Mal and her clients are very different kinds of people.

For example:
Inara's clients ask her not to leave, an offer that she rejects uniformly but sees as a sign she is doing well, and would have liked Mal to do the same when she said she was leaving. To her that would have been a sign that he cared.

Mal did the opposite, he didn't tell her what to do and he didn't question her ability to make up her own mind. He probably saw that as the only respectful thing to do, but Inara didn't interpret it that way.

They're operating on different levels, Inara isn't trained to deal with a person who thinks the way Mal does (he's just too low class for her teachers to bother with), it could be much of her training or instinct is giving her the wrong ideas.

-

Mostly though I think her own emotions are making her less of an objective observer than she needs to be to properly judge.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:11 AM

MSG

OK that's pretty much how I saw it. That somehow the signals Mal sends ( which I must say I find perfectly clear) come across to Inara as uncaring or abrupt. I just think she should be able to read him better. Mind you I have often been told I think like a guy so I wanted to see how everyone else viewed it. I just can't figure out how she can see exactly how Kaylee feels, but be so painfully blind to Mal.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:21 AM

SOULQUAKE

I agree with the Love Is Blind theory. When it comes to Mal things are just... different. :)

---
"Sun came out, and I walked on my feet and heard with my ears. I ate the bits, the bits stayed down, and I work. I function like I'm a girl. I hate it because I know it'll go away."

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:21 AM

FUTUREMRSFILLION

I think you also have to take in to account the pride of both individuals. Neither one wants to be the "weak" one. So they are both waiting for the other to make the first move. There is a lot of repressed anger there.

Some of my favorite scenes are when he is choking back what you know he REALLY wants to say.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:31 AM

CHRISTHECYNIC

Quote:
Originally posted by FutureMrsFIllion:
I think you also have to take in to account the pride of both individuals. Neither one wants to be the "weak" one. So they are both waiting for the other to make the first move.

But Inara takes it a step further than that, when Mal is in an "honest mood" what does she say before he can tell her anything, "I'm leaving." There's a definite game going on there.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:35 AM

GUYWHOWANTSAFIREFLYOFHISOWN

true, I almost fell out of my seat because Inara's response was so unexpected

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php
-try it out, I dare you

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:36 AM

FUTUREMRSFILLION

But remember, her heart has just been broken. That's anger.

In the deleted scene of the BDM when he asks why she left and she asks why didn't you stop me....her heart has been broken and she left because either (a) he would continue to break her heart or (b) he would stop her. Really, she had no other choice at that point. Yeah it's manipulative, but it is understandable too.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 9:53 AM

INDIGOSTARBLASTER

I imagine there are also major implications for her career here. There aren't many people who can happily live with the idea of their significant other having sex with third parties professionally.

So... she's strongly attracted to Mal. She can sense he's attracted to her, but he can also be damnably rude and insensitive. Or noble but foolish. So she's probably saying to herself all the time, "Go for it... but he's such a jackass... I can't believe I'd risk my career for him... I can't believe he just returned those stolen goods... he's so sweet... but he's broke... and he just can't take an offer of help, what kind of idiot is he..." and so on.

To sum up: it isn't that she's misinterpreting the signals (although I agree that her own feelings for him probably make it harder for her to be objective about them); it's that she isn't really, truly sure it would work between them.

Oh, and probably, her own indecisiveness probably drives her crazy, which just makes it all worse for her.

Indigo S.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 10:01 AM

CHRISTHECYNIC

Quote:
Originally posted by FutureMrsFIllion:
In the deleted scene of the BDM when he asks why she left and she asks why didn't you stop me....her heart has been broken and she left because either (a) he would continue to break her heart or (b) he would stop her. Really, she had no other choice at that point. Yeah it's manipulative, but it is understandable too.

Never understood that, either he lets her go, like he did, or he shows that he cares more about himself than her right to make her own decisions. Would she have preferred it if he came out and said, "Your friend just died, I have no idea what your thinking about or what has led up to this, but I don't give a damn. I want you to say."

I always thought that part of caring about someone was putting them, their needs and feelings, before yourself and your own desires. That's the exact opposite of what Inara seemed to want.

There was actually a thread about this a while back, I know because I started it.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 10:06 AM

FUTUREMRSFILLION

"I always thought that part of caring about someone was putting them, their needs and feelings, before yourself and your own desires. That's the exact opposite of what Inara seemed to want.
"

In a perfect world, yeah it should be. Also, they are in the beginning stages of a romance, where you do stupid things to avoid being hurt. Didn't say I agreed with her ploy, but I do understand it.

I would have listened to what he had to say. My big brown eyes limpid pools of desire ...um if I had brown eyes.

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Friday, May 19, 2006 10:09 AM

COPILOT

Inara studied her entire life to be a Compainion. Giving into her feelings for Mal would leave her with nothing. Like most peopel Mal does not want the person as a whole. He wants to cut out bits and pieces untill only the acceptable parts are left. Leaving her life as a Compainion to be with Mal would mean losing a lot of what makes her who she really is. That is no way to live no matter how much you love someone.

An I carried such a torch

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Friday, May 19, 2006 10:27 AM

ZZETTA13

Ok lady browncoats,

I don't know how many male browncoats have responded to this post but heres my take on the situstion.

Inara knows Malcolm Reynolds better than he knows himself. Why do women stick with men who seem to be indifferent towards them?

One thing Mal has expressed openly is that "Serenity" is his gal. Inara knows(and Malcolm too)that any attention she gets, good,bad or otherwise is in direct competition with the ship. What if Inara and Mal did get together and it came down to her or "Serenity"?

The Mal/Inara question has raised its head several times.

Remember Inaras talk with Book (or Simon I can't now remember which) "We are all in the woods. The captain is too, only thats where he wants to be."

Then there was the time Malcolm came up with this" Ok Inara, hows about we don't play. You didn't just fall and hit your head when you found me (post Saffron)."

If you notice, Inara swallows hard and replies "No". At that moment right or wrong shes ready with the truth. Whether Mal hurts her or not. Of course our captain misses her signal completly here. " Well isn't that something.I knew you let her kiss you."

Read script:after which our brilliant captain turns around and strolls away. Confident in his ability to read the minds of every female aboard his ship.

Malcolom loves Inara. But hes as scared as a 2 year old getting his first haircut. This is one reason he keeps calling her a whore when he knows she hates it. He's keeping her at a distance to guard against hurting himself.

Malcolms had several heartbreaks in his life. Some we know of ( the loss of his loved independant commrads in war) some we don't.

He doesn't want to have Inara become one of his lost loves. Even if it means that she decides to take leave of the ship.

thats just some of the way I see it

Z

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Friday, May 19, 2006 1:50 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

Ive always figured she works a bit like me. I can often easily tell if other people are interested in me but once I literally didnt get a girl I loved deeply was interested in me untill she sexed me up (after hanging out together for months)
If im interested in someone I just usually somehow miss the whole signals thing. Cant really explain it closer then that.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

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Friday, May 19, 2006 1:50 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Friday, May 19, 2006 1:50 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Friday, May 19, 2006 1:50 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Friday, May 19, 2006 1:50 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Friday, May 19, 2006 1:50 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Friday, May 19, 2006 5:07 PM

IHEARTFIREFLY

Quote:
Originally posted by Vinterdraken:

If im interested in someone I just usually somehow miss the whole signals thing. Cant really explain it closer then that.

I completely agree. That kind of infatuation brings complete confusion and insecurity. I can be completely confident and objective in a relationship until I realize I might have romantic feelings for the guy. Then I can't read anything.
...That's funny. Mal and Inara's relationship always annoyed me a little in that I thought they were both blind, but now that I've just written that, they make much more sense. :)

"Can't take the sky..."

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Saturday, May 20, 2006 8:22 AM

MORWEN112

I think her emotions for Mal definitely mix up the situation. And Mal is comepletely different from the men she's been around her whole life- rich, "cultured", used to getting their way in everything and used to controlling and ordering people around. Then she meets Mal, who's...well, Mal and he's the complete opposite of pretty much everything she knows. So that's confusing. And then you add in the fact that she's rather head over heels for him...and great confusion and angst ensues.

Besides that, I think she is faking a bit. Sometimes, it's easier to pretend that you don't know what someone's thinking/feeling than to acknowledge that you do.

Someday though, (maybe in the BDM sequel?) it'll happen. They'll both stop being ridiculous and get together. And it'll be great.

Mine is an evil sugar high laugh! Bwahahahaha!

Morwen

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Saturday, May 20, 2006 11:35 PM

FIREFLY13

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Saturday, May 20, 2006 11:36 PM

FIREFLY13

Mal and Inara's situation is one of the most entertaining ans frustrating in the entire series.
I think Mal thinks that he doesn't have a shot with her. In Objects in Space he says, "...doesn't matter anyway." or something like that when River is reading his mind. And in Message he says to the chick he slept with(sorry don't remeber her name),
"I really don't know what you're talking about." when she says something about Inara. Mal just can't read women at all.
I think Inara fears commitment: no committment = companion = complications, which Inara hates. Still have my fingers crossed for the sequel so Joss can complete this darnit situation.

FOX

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