Inara's secret by meatpuppet42

Quote:
Originally posted by meatpuppet42:
WOW your absolutely amazing.... Thats awesome!
Since I have only discovered firefly a few months ago and clearly a newbe it would seem that I have upset you. Maybe you should cry about it. apparently it helps.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it bitch!

Gotta say, meanpuppet, your talent for alienating folk is near miraculous! Way to elicit future help. :)

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

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Thursday, August 20, 2009 10:57 PM

To be fair, if you haven't really looked, you shouldn't say that you did.

As for Inara not aging.. I will never get that theory. Just because Nandi comments on her appearance? I know a number of women who barely seem to age between 20 and 30, so it never struck me as an odd thing to say. And still it seems like a popular theory. I must be missing something.

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Thursday, August 20, 2009 11:38 PM

THESOMNAMBULIST

I always thought the line in Out of Gaswhere Inara say's

"I don't want to die at all."

was a huge hint that she may be dying. Nandi saying that she hasn't aged at all seems more like just a polite thing to say.

I do wonder what the syringe is for though...?

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Friday, August 21, 2009 1:35 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
I think she is much older than you think, in HOG Nandy says "you look exactly the same" since the last time they seen each other.

I figured it out. Inara is a ring bearer!

The T.Rex they call JANE!

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Friday, August 21, 2009 7:47 AM

I think that the perspective is that while the line itself does seem innocuous, that it seems strange for Joss to have put it in if there wasn't any point for it. Probably it was meant to be a polite comment, but would later, retrospectively it might have been taken as a hint for something else.

A bit of an assumption, I admit, but I actually like it. The idea has been bandied about that Inara took anti-aging serum to combat... well, you know.

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Friday, August 21, 2009 12:53 PM

KINGEICHOLZ

Meat i have found that some people on here get very upset and in most cases over nothing.

to know me is to love me

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Friday, August 21, 2009 2:04 PM

RIVERDANCER

Quote:
Originally posted by meatpuppet42:
it would seem that I have upset you.

Me? No, I don't get upset over something as simple as making claims of 'looking in the archives' when one clearly hasn't, or making the foolish assumption that there is no discussion on one of the more intriguing aspects of a show we're all fans of. While I'm hardly emotionally involved enough in you to even care that you've already sunk to calling me names, simply over my blunt statements of fact, it would seem from such emotional response on your part that my pointing out the foolishness of such thoughts and claims, and directing you toward several discussions on the topic you have stated interest in, and mentioning how quickly and easily I found them with my semi-minimal tech skills (and, perhaps, pointing out your laziness and/or technical illiteracy in the process) and mentioning also the very simple tech skill such searches require... clearly all of this has upset you. Though that was not my intent, it's also hardly my problem. However, if you really think it helps to cry about things, do feel free, I won't hinder you. On the other hand, if you want to be civil and engage in this or any other discussion in some kind of rational manner, you won't be hindered in that by anyone. There are several posters here who enjoy discourse on Inara and the mystery and various theories surrounding her, as the many past discussions will indicate.
If all you want to do is start a thread, that's great, start as many as you want. But really, don't say you've looked for a discussion on such-and-such a topic 'in the archives' when you haven't checked beyond the first page. It's just silly, no one here for longer than a month will likely believe it, and some enterprising soul might call your bluff. Which, as we can see, you find upsetting.
Have a nice day.

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Friday, August 21, 2009 2:31 PM

Um, wait. Is it possible that, being new, this person didn't realize that there are any such thing as archived threads?

Although on the other hand, the others do have a point. The insults don't exactly encourage anyone to want to help our new member. >_> *shrug*

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Friday, August 21, 2009 5:56 PM

MOOSE

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Um, wait. Is it possible that, being new, this person didn't realize that there are any such thing as archived threads?

First thing that's written:

Quote:
Originally posted by meatpuppet42:
I looked in the archives and did not find anything on this

But, to be fair the archives aren't exactly search friendly, especially for new members.

I have no idea about Inara's secret. As far as Nandi's comment about her appearance, I've heard many women say that to each other after a long separation (I just attended my 20yr HS reunion just a bit ago). BUT, knowing Joss...there is something to it.

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Friday, August 21, 2009 7:24 PM

PATCHIST

I just assumed that the vial in her little box was something to kill her with. She took it out when the reavers was about to dock them right? I have to watch that episode again.

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Friday, August 21, 2009 8:33 PM

MOOSE

That's what you're supposed to think, but in the commentary Joss says it is something else.

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Friday, August 21, 2009 9:29 PM

SHINYGOODGUY

Interesting theory..............

The idea has been bandied about that Inara took anti-aging serum to combat... well, you know.

Perhaps that's what is killing her.

SGG

Tawabawho?

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Friday, August 21, 2009 9:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Shinygoodguy:
Interesting theory..............

The idea has been bandied about that Inara took anti-aging serum to combat... well, you know.

Perhaps that's what is killing her.

Perhaps you are talking about a different "..well, you know"?

What I definitely do NOT see is Inara taking an anti-aging serum for the pupose of not aging alone. She's not that vain, and if it was harming her, she is not that stupid.

The other "well, you know", the one I think bytemite is talking about, I could buy. Although I would find it silly if they had approached that angle from an "OMG, Inara doesn't age, I wonder what she's hiding" direction, as opposed to the far more obvious "Inara is clearly running from something, I wonder what she's hiding" direction.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 12:15 AM

We simply don't have all info yet to be sure, either way. We do know she was, in fact, dying:

An anti-aging serum, though? That sounds like something out of science-fiction. And I doubt Joss would have taken our beloved show into a lame "Fountain of Youth" direction. A dying Inara, that might cause her a few problems, though, occupation-wise, that is. So, here's the lay-down, from my perspective.

One day Inara has a her annual check-up and gets to hear the bad news ("I'm a big girl, just tell me.") We don't know her illness, but it's easy to imagine that it's something she wants hidden from the Guild: she'd either be put on non-active, or have a 'taint' on her for ever. It's likely Inara let Nandi -- one of her best friends in the Guild prior to leaving her House -- in on it. In that light, Nandi's "You haven't aged a day." is not so much to be taken literally, nor as a common courtesy even, but should ere be seen as an inside, supportive comment by Nandi, letting Inara know she's happy 'Nara's still doing so well.

Back to Ariel,

ZOE
(to Inara)
How long you going to be planetside?
INARA
Shouldn't be more than a day or two.

WASH
Big stop just to renew your license
to Companion... can I use "Companion"
as a verb?

INARA
It's Guild law. All Companions are
required to undergo a physical exam
once a year.

Wash half suspects something is off. because it IS, in fact, a big stop just to renew her licence to Companion! Inara brushes him off, much like she does Kaylee, at the end:

KAYLEE
Hey, 'Nara. How was your checkup?
INARA
(dismissing it)
Same as last year.
(re: her peering)
What's going on here?

If it were really just a regular exam, professional as she is, Inara would have no reason whatsoever to be 'weird' about it. So, I'm thinking she has a special Doctor on Ariel, one she confided in (and possibly bribed, to keep things silent: 'Nara's not exactly without means).

Out of Gas,

INARA
I love this ship. I have from the first
moment I saw it.

SIMON
I just don't want to die on it.

INARA
I don't want to die at all.

Inara's comment is a bit redundant: I mean, nobody wants to die there, really. So, I'd say her saying it after all has extra meaning. Maybe she wanted to confide in Simon? Or maybe it was a simple reaction to Simon going on how he has no intention of dying on Serenity. I mean, kinda like: "You worry about dying on Serenity? I have to worry about death, everywhere."

Well there it is. YMMV. And, subject like this, it probably does. :)

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 1:08 AM

asarian-

I think it's very likely that Nandi didn't know. Everything she does with Mal would probably have been very different, as it would have given Nandi vast insight into Inara's motivations (for leaving Sihnon and otherwise), which - as she tells Mal - she has no clue about.

As for the conversation with Simon... it works on both levels. She tells Simon that she loves the ship, so when he points out that he doesn't want to die on it, she points out that she doesn't want to die at all - to counteract the implication that her loving the ship she is going to die on makes it better somehow. She's trying to bond with Simon, communicate, so she emphasizes that while she loves the ship.. that's no comfort and she understands his feelings about dying. Allows him to feel upset the way no one else on the ship probably would.

Of course, knowing what we know, it gains more layers. Inara IS remarkably calm through it all. She says she doesn't want to die, but she doesn't seem to require any comfort the way Simon does. There's a resigned air about her that contrasts a lot with Simon's nervous fear. It could just be her Buddhist nature, but... we know better.

I don't think she wanted to confide him in, exactly. Why now? To me, it's more Inara's peculiar way of being honest without being honest. She rarely outright lies, but she says things well knowing that her conversation partner won't get the whole truth. A weird one-way version of honesty. All on her terms, but no contradictions that might trip her up down the road.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 1:57 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Ok, all you doctors out there, what could Inara have which shows little or no side effects, lasts for years, is non communicable, yet is fatal.

A bad heart? Not exactly something a companion could hide easily.

Cancer ? Possibly, but she's got plenty of vitality and endurance in her still.

She left the training house, presumably to 'see the 'verse '. Could be she wanted to truly see the sights before she passed, while getting out of the spotlight of being a house Madam ( or what ever the term ) However, she's still registered w/ the Guild, and as such, still subject to their rules and annual physicals. Would the Guild allow Inara to continue working if she had a fatal condition ? Does anyone in the Guild know ? Nandi didn't seem to know, so if so, it's an extremely well kept secret.

Inara mentions in Shindig that she's not afraid to admit to liking the finer things in life. The question I have, is she so vain, or so self motivated that she'd lie to the Guild , so as to carry on her work, which enables her to see the 'verse for one last glorious journey ? She seems to be embracing all life has to offer, while rejecting the most precious and sought after human instinct - companionship.

Until she associates herself w/ Mal, that is.

Very curious , indeed.

The T.Rex they call JANE!

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 2:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRouka:
asarian-

I think it's very likely that Nandi didn't know. Everything she does with Mal would probably have been very different, as it would have given Nandi vast insight into Inara's motivations (for leaving Sihnon and otherwise), which - as she tells Mal - she has no clue about.

Fair to say. I figured if Inara had told anyone, it would have been Nandi. But you're right, Nandi appears clueless as to why Inara left. Also, I now wonder, had she known Inara was dying, would she then still have slept with Mal? That would have been like stabbing her in the back, and to her face.

Quote:

Of course, knowing what we know, it gains more layers. Inara IS remarkably calm through it all. She says she doesn't want to die, but she doesn't seem to require any comfort the way Simon does. There's a resigned air about her that contrasts a lot with Simon's nervous fear.

Good observation. So used to the idea of dying, the notion of death doesn't seem to take Inara by surprise much.

Quote:

To me, it's more Inara's peculiar way of being honest without being honest. She rarely outright lies, but she says things well knowing that her conversation partner won't get the whole truth. A weird one-way version of honesty. All on her terms, but no contradictions that might trip her up down the road.

Could be that's true. And it certainly holds true for Inara, in general.

Quote:

I don't think she wanted to confide him in, exactly. Why now?

Why, people have been known to share secrets when death is imminent. :) But looking back at it again, Inara's "I don't want to die at all." almost seems like her thinking out-loud, really, more than wanting to tell Simon per se. Like flashes of all struggles with her illness sighed out in a single reflective, out-loud moment.

So many questions left, so few episodes left to see them answered. :(

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 2:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by asarian:

So many questions left, so few episodes left to see them answered. :(

Well said.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 2:45 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:

Would the Guild allow Inara to continue working if she had a fatal condition?

My guess is: no, they would put her on non-active (and maybe, if she were very lucky, give her some in-House honorary title to live out her days).

Quote:

Inara mentions in Shindig that she's not afraid to admit to liking the finer things in life. The question I have, is she so vain, or so self motivated that she'd lie to the Guild , so as to carry on her work, which enables her to see the 'verse for one last glorious journey?

I don't think so. Actually, I don't think Inara is all that vain, really. I *do* think she didn't want to die a dilapidated has-been, though, pitied by the other House 'Actives', and thus went to seek a place/journey where she could go out in style, as it were. When she said "I love this ship. I have from the first moment I saw it" (right after Simon's funereal comment), it almost sounds like she concluded back then, when she first saw Serenity, that this could be a place for her to die with dignity, should it come to that.

Quote:

She seems to be embracing all life has to offer, while rejecting the most precious and sought after human instinct - companionship.

Simon picked Serenity because it looked 'disreputable'. Inara, on the other hand, I think instinctively realized Serenity could offer her precisely that which, ironically, her official Companionship status was lacking: true companionship -- something she would normally never really admit to needing, given her seemingly wealthy and full life.

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 4:55 AM

PLATONIST

At Comic Con, Joss said that the vial and her secret are unrelated and that he is NOT at this time disclosing what the vial is for (he has to maintain some show secrets:) Regardless of Inara’s age, she has come to Serenity to die, it’s her choice as a final resting place.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 5:14 AM

In the guild papers included on the Serenity Blu Ray, there is absolutely no mention of the guild requiring an annual check-up. That means it's something Inara made up, to hide her condition from the crew.

I suspect, in the future, there's some kind of disability act, where the only thing that the guild can put their foot down on is STDs, and I suspect they teach their companions very well how to avoid them. Or maybe even give them something that prevents them from ever getting them, because after all, this is the future.

Quote:
The question I have, is she so vain, or so self motivated that she'd lie to the Guild , so as to carry on her work, which enables her to see the 'verse for one last glorious journey ?

Why is this vanity? She's dying. If she wants to see the verse before she goes, I don't find that unreasonable or selfish. Nor do I think her deliberately keeping Mal at a distance is selfish, Mal's already lost a lot. She doesn't want to add to that, now that she knows him better. I'm pretty sure, more than anything else, that's the reason she left Serenity at the end of the series. Seeing Mal's reaction to Nandi dying, someone he barely knew, told her just how hard he might take her own death.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 5:51 AM

PLATONIST

I don't see Inara's actions as selfish or vain, at all. She wanted to see the verse; she's dying of something that is obviously not contagious ;) She needs to work to stay afloat and pay Mal his rent. She's completely autonomous and independent to the core and strong emotionally. Isn't that a big part of Mal's attraction to her? Maybe the Guild knows about her fatal condition, maybe they don't. Perhaps they don't care to know.

She leaves Mal to spare him and the crew the anguish of seeing her die. He’s already lost so much; she doesn't want to do that to him. She can't give him what he wants with her, a life, so she sets him free and the rest like they say is, History. How is this selfish or vain?

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 6:53 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:

(ME)
The question I have, is she so vain, or so self motivated that she'd lie to the Guild , so as to carry on her work, which enables her to see the 'verse for one last glorious journey ?

Why is this vanity? She's dying. If she wants to see the verse before she goes, I don't find that unreasonable or selfish. Nor do I think her deliberately keeping Mal at a distance is selfish, Mal's already lost a lot. She doesn't want to add to that, now that she knows him better. I'm pretty sure, more than anything else, that's the reason she left Serenity at the end of the series. Seeing Mal's reaction to Nandi dying, someone he barely knew, told her just how hard he might take her own death.

When I typed the word 'vain' , I knew right away that it came across as not conveying my exact meaning. Which is why I offered 'self motivated', as another possibility. I should have omitted 'vain' outright, because no where in the series did I get the impression Inara was the least bit vain herself. I agree w/ pretty much all that's been said, on how she intended to take Serenity on as her home, until the end. I also think Mal was a complication she had not planned for, as she grew to learn more about him.

The T.Rex they call JANE!

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Saturday, August 22, 2009 8:20 AM