Heart of Gold=Great... by TheCrazyIvan

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Heart of Gold=Great...

POSTED BY: THECRAZYIVAN
UPDATED: Thursday, March 18, 2004 16:46
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 4156
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Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:02 PM

I'm sitting here, watching this episode...and my god are there some great things in here. One of my favorite things is the way he made a referance to Saffron when he kissed that woman:
"Just waitin to see of i pass out...long story."
Haha! And another personal favorite:
Mal to Inara:
"This distress wouldnt happen to be in his pants would it?"

~~~~~~~~~~
Take me out to the black.....

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Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:08 PM

KINGOFKOINS

Yea, but the episodes directly before and after it are better.

--------------------------------
It's sickening how comforting the privacy of the mind can be.
"Bible's broken; contradictions, false logistics. Doesn't make sense." - River
http://stripe.filetap.com

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Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:19 PM

ZENOPHITE

i think the best is when we see Inara's indifferent reaction as mal steps out of the room after sleeping with inara's friend, and then see her crying like a schoolgirl because in actual fact she hated the idea. i think it is really the most telling scene in the episodes regarding their relationship.

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Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:25 PM

THECRAZYIVAN

I agree with you KING...i think The Message is definently a favorite...and i do think that Inara explained it all with that one scene.

~~~~~~~~~~
Take me out to the black.....

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Tuesday, March 16, 2004 11:07 PM

ATHERTONWING

oh i love that scene with inara breaking down it was so unexpected, which made it all the more powerful. one of my favourite firefly scenes.

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Wednesday, March 17, 2004 2:20 AM

KALIMEERI

When my girls and I watched this episode for the first time, and Mal and Inara came face to face in the hallway outside Nandi's room, I said "Uh-oh".
My daughter's reaction was, "No, she's fine with it", and I told her "I don't think so."

Then the scene when Inara hid in her room and broke down hit us all, and nobody said a word.

Each of the episodes has its share of special nuances or moments of technical brilliance, and it's nearly impossible to pick just one as "the favorite". They're all different; you can't pull one out of the pack and just watch it, because it builds on the one before... and so on. Just damn fine storytelling. For the same reason, I can't pick just one actor or character that I like the best. And that's unusual for a cast this size. (you know the feeling, when you fast-forward past Frodo and Sam because all they're doing is walking and talking and walking and talking and you like them but you realllllly want to get back to Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli).

Jen dao mei.

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Wednesday, March 17, 2004 3:42 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Quote:
Originally posted by TheCrazyIvan:
I agree with you KING...i think The Message is definently a favorite...and i do think that Inara explained it all with that one scene.

~~~~~~~~~~
Take me out to the black.....

I agree that the scene of Inara breaking down and crying on the floor spoke volumes about her true feelings for Mal.

A little odd if you think about it. She cries because he sleeps w/ Nandi, but her profession has her sleeping w/ all sorts of men. I wonder how that effects her, and Mal.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

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Wednesday, March 17, 2004 3:53 AM

TOTALLYFRYED

Quote:
Originally posted by zenophite:
i think the best is when we see Inara's indifferent reaction as mal steps out of the room after sleeping with inara's friend, and then see her crying like a schoolgirl because in actual fact she hated the idea. i think it is really the most telling scene in the episodes regarding their relationship.

I hate to say this, but for the longest time that scene was my least favorite part of that episode, as was the similar scene on Buffy when Willow cried in the bathroom after finding out that Xander had slept with Faith. In both cases these characters rejected the guys they were crying over to be with other people (Willow to be with Oz after she and Xander were caught kissing and Xander lost Cordy, Inara to 'conduct her affairs' with her clients). I had always felt that we were being steered in the direction of feeling sorry for these two charcters, and I felt no sympathy for either one of them.

However, eventually I came to the realization that, in Inara's case, it was more a culmination of the impossibility of her situation - her feelings for Mal set against the rules of her profession and whatever her big, dark secret turned out to be - that, when she saw that Mal needed (and got) something she couldn't/wouldn't give him, led her to that intense despair. At that point it became my absolute favorite moment in the episode.

Don't get me wrong, though; Willow's still not off the hook.

"C'mon, Kaylee. We all know I'm the funny one."

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Wednesday, March 17, 2004 5:53 AM

KNIBBLET

The scene with Nandi and Mal, as they drink their teensy drinks and talk and flirt and move towards intimacy is beautifully written, acted and filmed.

It is one of the hottest scenes I have ever seen. The seduce one another and damn if Cap'n Tight Pants didn't seduce me right along with Nandi. *thunk*

As soon as they cut to the faking of the coitus, they lose me. But the parts leading up to that ... give me a fan honey, 'cause I think I'm coming down with the vapors.

I enjoyed that episode. I especially enjoyed the Prairie Shrew's husband getting his just desserts.

creepy ass bastards.

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

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Wednesday, March 17, 2004 9:58 AM

QINGAI

Quote:
Originally posted by TotallyFryed:
Quote:
Originally posted by zenophite:
i think the best is when we see Inara's indifferent reaction as mal steps out of the room after sleeping with inara's friend, and then see her crying like a schoolgirl because in actual fact she hated the idea. i think it is really the most telling scene in the episodes regarding their relationship.

I hate to say this, but for the longest time that scene was my least favorite part of that episode, as was the similar scene on Buffy when Willow cried in the bathroom after finding out that Xander had slept with Faith. In both cases these characters rejected the guys they were crying over to be with other people (Willow to be with Oz after she and Xander were caught kissing and Xander lost Cordy, Inara to 'conduct her affairs' with her clients). I had always felt that we were being steered in the direction of feeling sorry for these two charcters, and I felt no sympathy for either one of them.

However, eventually I came to the realization that, in Inara's case, it was more a culmination of the impossibility of her situation - her feelings for Mal set against the rules of her profession and whatever her big, dark secret turned out to be - that, when she saw that Mal needed (and got) something she couldn't/wouldn't give him, led her to that intense despair. At that point it became my absolute favorite moment in the episode.

Don't get me wrong, though; Willow's still not off the hook.

I agree with you that they're two different situations, but I think you and I might be the only people who didn't feel sorry for Willow. Pretty much every other time Willow cries, it breaks my heart--but not this time. I did feel somewhat sympathetic: Xander was such a big part of her life, of her growing up, her first love, her best friend. Sometimes you cry for something lost, even though it was your decision/action that brought about the loss. But she was in love with Oz. For her to react so strongly to Xander/Faith just seemed out of place.

I haven't seen Heart of Gold yet, but the script was amazing. Your analysis of Inara's feelings of hopelessness/futility are spot on... and it's so sad to think about.

But, I'm hoping for some yummy Mal/Inara shippiness in Serenity.

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Wednesday, March 17, 2004 4:16 PM

JAHZARA

This was discussed a few months ago, and I believe it was Succatash, who called Inara a complete hypocrite for the crying scene.

I agree with that because love is just so...senseless sometimes. Inara and Mal have completely different ideas of what sex means. Mal, despite his animosity toward God, still holds sex as something sacred. Or special. To him it should MEAN something.

Inara sees that in Mal. She see casual sex as something beautiful, that should be experienced. Her clients are important to her, but it is completely professional. Business. Atherton's comments in Shindig hurt her feelings, but she literally shrugged them off. Her really didn't touch her having her body the same way Mal does with one argument.

I feel like she cried like you said, Totallyfryed. That she sensed a connection that she could never equal or allow herself to.

There was a part of her that saw Mal as hers, reinforced by the fact that in the year she had been on the ship, she had never seen Mal really look at another woman. I'm not counting Saffron, of course. Serenity allowed the closest sense of being with him she could hope for.

She wanted to, for lack of a better phrase, have her cake and eat it too. It doesn't make her a bad person, just human.

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Thursday, March 18, 2004 4:25 AM

KALIMEERI

Just a few thoughts on the relationship between Mal and Inara, I guess.

Resolving the relationship between the two anytime soon would be a big mistake. The life would go out of that character line; seen it happen before in other series'--Remington Steele, or was it Moonlighting? Can't remember, but that killed it.

I don't see an easy resolution, though. Mal doesn't strike me as someone who's willing to share. I think it would wreck him to see her sell herself, if he came to regard her as his.

And Inara is determined to remain independent--she bought into the companion thing, but she feels that being threatened, even in her own mind. She basically wants someone who will fight for her, but it would get too complicated. Very possibly Inara is running from just that situation (among other things--the VIAL is still a bit of a mystery), and she doesn't want to fall into it again.

They're both very strong personalities. One or the other would have to bow.

I think it would be exceptionally funny for Mal to end up in a "shipboard romance", though, seeing as how he hates the idea so much.

Jen dao mei.

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Thursday, March 18, 2004 5:12 AM

DORAN

"Don't get me wrong, though; Willow's still not off the hook."

Remember that in Willows case she was rejected out of hand by Xander for years while she crushed on him. It wasn't until she had someone and Xander had someone that they "kissed" and supposedly suddenly had all these feelings.

I can see why Willow might be hurt that Xander would avoid any intimate contact with her and yet throw caution to the wind and have a one night stand with Faith.

The scene where Inara cries hit me hard mainly because I wasn't expecting it.

I have had conversations with women in this line of work who have steady boyfriends. I remember being surprised to find out that though they have very flexible views on sex, somehow the act is justified as just a business transaction as long as money changes hands. Without the money it suddenly means something more intimate and they feel like they are "cheating".

It wouldn't be fun to walk such a fine line.

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Thursday, March 18, 2004 4:46 PM

STEVE580

The Inara crying scene was the best part of the episode, of course;' but it still sucked. And not just in comparison to the episodes before and after (I never really liked 'The Message'); it just, wasn't that good. I'd give it a 4.

Though, compared to any non-Whedon show, it's an easy 10.
-Steve

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