Wash: Core or Rim Worlder? by nuclearday

FIREFLY EPISODE DISCUSSIONS

Wash: Core or Rim Worlder?

POSTED BY: NUCLEARDAY
UPDATED: Thursday, April 6, 2006 12:10
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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 6:43 AM

(Well, could be spoilers in here, so I'll warn now. No, not THAT spoiler, but still :)
Okay, maybe there's some canonical info out there that I've missed, but we don't seem to know all that much about Wash's past. (Heck, we ain't even heard the story about how Wash and Zoe ended up hooking up.)

Now I remember in the commentaries, Alan talking about how he'd sort of imagined Wash fought for the 'coats, but was captured and spent the rest of the war doing shadow plays ;p In my mind, I'll go ahead and count that as canon.

Here's my thing: was Wash from the Core planets, or more Rim-ward? 'Cause he always struck me as someone from one of the more sophisticated Core planets who just didn't seem to fit in there. Went to flight school to see the stars, got a chance to get out of the core and never looked back. Anyways, just random meandering...

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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 7:07 AM

ZEEK

I'd say rimward. More like midrim. He was on an industrialized planet at least, because of the polution. Though when they get to Ariel he really wants to go check it out. If he was from the core and just wanted to get out, you wouldn't think he'd be so happy to be back in a place like home. I think he still looks at the core planets as the promised land. Meaning he was from a middle class planet. At least to me that's what it means.

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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 7:14 AM

DAVESHAYNE

I say core. In Our Mrs. Reynolds as you note he talks about his homeworld' "polution's so thick you couldn't see a one of them." (refering to the stars in the viewscreen.) This to me suggests a large population which suggests a core world.

David

"A lot of people are asking me, you know, what exactly is Firefly? It's a tv show you morons!" - Joss Whedon

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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 7:18 AM

ARCADIA

I agree with Zeek. He's most likely from a rim planet/moon, possibly a boarder planet. However, he's most likely from a planet more akin to Beaumont from the BDM than than a more "western" rim planet like Shadow, Triumph, or Lilac. As proven through planets like Bellerophon (the rich man rim moon) and Persephone (a strange mix of core-eque civilization and Mal's rough and tumble world), not all rim planets breed cowboys. And, of course, some juggle geese! :-)

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"Objects in Space"
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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 8:00 AM

GOR

Beaumonde is known for its pollution according to the RPG so that would be my guess.

"These are stone killers, little man. They ain't cuddly like me."

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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 2:39 PM

SISTERBETTYX

I would say that Wash is from the core worlds.

“I don’t know. This here’s a spectacle might warrant a moment’s consideration.”

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Monday, March 27, 2006 7:06 PM

THIEFJEHAT

Wash also makes mention of his time in flight school. I doubt you could attend flight school on a rim world.

Do not fear me. Ours is a peaceful race, and we must live in harmony.

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Monday, March 27, 2006 7:07 PM

COPILOT

I'm thinking close to the core but not true core.

An I carried such a torch

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Monday, March 27, 2006 8:30 PM

ROCKETJOCK

I don't see Wash as a "pure" core worlder; the core worlds aren't polluted, they're as neatly maintained as a rose garden. I picture them "exporting" their pollution, by placing those industries that still produce pollution (despite cheap fusion power) on designated moons, so that they can brag on how they aren't poisoning their atmosphere.

(You know, like the way people who drive hybrid cars pretend they're reducing pollution, despite the fact that the electricity they recharge their batteries with is still generated by burning fossil fuels somewhere. If it ain't in their backyard, it ain't real.)

I could see Wash coming from one of these industrial moons -- high-tech wastelands with the glittering jewels of their patron planets barely visible through the haze...

A'course this whole discussion could be based on a false supposition -- We know that Wash's homeworld had a smoggy atmosphere, but in the 'Verse that might not mean industrial waste; it could just be the result of a sloppy or unstable job of terraforming.

"She's tore up plenty. But she'll fly true." -- Zoë Washburn

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Monday, March 27, 2006 10:54 PM

MANWITHPEZ

Important people don't do field work.

I think (and, of course, my opinion doesn't and shouldn't amount to a hill of reaver corpses when speaking of someone else's intellectal property) that Wash may have been brought up on a planet, but not necessarily born there, or there for the majority of his life. If you look closely at her ID screen in Serenity...it notes that Zoe was born vesselside. Now, certainly her family put down roots somewhere, but, since it takes decades to terraform a planet, and we don't know how far people had to travel, I'm sure there were several people born on spaceships. Wash could have been one of them. After all, he does get Land Crazy if planetside for too long...

Just a theory...

Kaylee: "What's so damn important about being proper? It don't mean nothing out here in the black."
Simon: "It means more out here. It's all I have..."

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Monday, March 27, 2006 11:12 PM

DESKTOPHIPPIE

That's actually a really good question. And I don't know the answer.

I think he's probably a rim worlder, but if he is he must be from a fairly well off family. He certainly seems to be better educated than most of the crew. In fact, the only others that seem better educated are Simon and River, who seem to come from a rich family.

The fact that his planet is polluted makes me think it can't be a core world. There's no way the core would have their skies obscured that way. Can you imagine the mess and the smell and the noise needed to produce that much pollution.

As pure speculation, I'm guessing that Wash was raised by a parent who made a good living in industry. One that probably lectured him a lot as a kid about settling down and working hard and how dreaming about being a pilot wouldn't put bread on the table. But that's just me :)

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Tuesday, March 28, 2006 6:49 AM

BROWNCOAT1

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

Quote:
Originally posted by gor:
Beaumonde is known for its pollution according to the RPG so that would be my guess.

Beaumonde is my guess as well.

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Tuesday, March 28, 2006 1:08 PM

NUCLEARDAY

Some good ideas here. Think now I'm leaning towards an industrial-type planet somewhere near some of the more settled planets. (Thinking I'll be needing to pick up the RPG soon, for some more misc. background info if nothing else.)

I still just have this image in my head of Wash coming from somewhere in the Core as opposed to the Wild West of the Rim. Hard to me to put into words, but...

Wash just struck me as someone who wouldn't belong in the Core. (Mayhap it's the Hawaiian shirts.) I've always just had this instinct that he grew up somewhere near the Core, maybe not one of the main planets, but somewhere where the Alliance way of life definately had an influence. I mean, he's definately a city-boy. I just keep somehow getting this image of Wash just not being able to... fit in there?

I mean, you take Simon, and he's obviously coming from the Alliance mindset. Likely would have done quite well for himself there, and been an upstanding civilian were it not for River. Like I said, I'm having trouble putting it into words, but I see Wash trying to live that life, and continually failing miserably :)

Anyways, more inane rambling ;p

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Thursday, March 30, 2006 3:30 PM

KIZYR

Quote:
Originally posted by daveshayne:
I say core. In Our Mrs. Reynolds as you note he talks about his homeworld' "polution's so thick you couldn't see a one of them." (refering to the stars in the viewscreen.) This to me suggests a large population which suggests a core world.

To be contrary, either a lot of pollution nor a large population imply a developed area (India has the most of both, e.g.). More likely, lots of pollution confirms a border world: an industrial base (so it ain't Rim), but polluted and dirty (so it ain't Core).

I think Beaumonde might be a good guess. Could be a number of other places around, though; perhaps some places were quite different pre-war. KF

~KF

Lord, I'm walking your way. Let me in, for my feet are sore, my clothes are ragged.
Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins will play out on them as on a screen. Read them all.
Forgive what you can and send me on my path. I will walk on until you bid me rest.
~Haven Prayer

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Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:24 PM

DAVESHAYNE

Quote:
Originally posted by Kizyr:
To be contrary, either a lot of pollution nor a large population imply a developed area

But in general, the highly populated planets in the 'Verse are the core worlds and you don't get lots of polution without lots of people. But yeah it could be a border world or a very tiny moon with some very dirty coal plants somewhere on the rim.

David

"A lot of people are asking me, you know, what exactly is Firefly? It's a tv show you morons!" - Joss Whedon

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Thursday, March 30, 2006 7:06 PM

DARTHVEGAS

my guess is on the Border Worlds, like Boros or Beaumont

'Might have been on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

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Friday, March 31, 2006 1:48 PM

SHEPHERDTERRY

Yeah, not too sure about Wash coming from a strict rim world... I agree that the Coreward planets wouldn't have had so much pollution on them, but equally Wash does have those inane little quirks that just wouldn't fit growing up on a "ruff tuff" rimworld...
...besides, how could he otherwise know about the high-class pastime of juggling geese?

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Friday, March 31, 2006 3:02 PM

THESOAPBOXER

I definitely think that Wash at least went to flight school in the Core, to guess specifically, Londinum. (His patch in Serenity, which I assume is a flight school patch, reads "Lyndono," perhaps the name of the school or something other.)

We all know that he's an awesome pilot, quite possibly the best in the Border Territories, and he's been highly sought after from the time he left flight school to when Mal hired him. It's not too much of a stretch to see him getting accepted to the best school on the best planet in the galaxy.

He of course did not fit in very well there so as soon as he got his license, he left the Core and their small-mindedness to go explore the rest of the galaxy (where he managed to land on a planet and lived in a lovely goose-juggling community).

Contrary to Mr. Tudyk's beliefs of his character, I don't think Wash was in the War (based mostly on his responses to the events in "War Stories"). I almost like to believe that he was so far off in his own world, having his own adventures, that he didn't even know there was an actual "War" going on until a couple years after it ended.

OR maybe he was in a POW camp, as Mr. Tudyk surmised, but he was (again) completely oblivious to the War that he believed his charges were less severe than "Treason," and he didn't even realize that his entertaining the guards with shadow puppets might have saved him from torture or death.

Hmmm... I smell a fanfic...

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Could you please just make it stranger? Just stranger. Odder. Could be weirder. More bizarre. How about uncanny?
~Joss Whedon

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Friday, March 31, 2006 4:43 PM

MILFORD

I'm saying that he's a core worlder. There seems to be an assumption that the core worlds are populated exclusively with people like Simon and Inara. That's not necessarily true. I'm sure there are blue collar working stiffs on those worlds also. Wash clearly has been around, but he has a lot of first rate Alliance knowledge. I don't think you get that from the rim. Besides, that's the only place you'd have enough cash to waste of gosling juggling.

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Friday, March 31, 2006 10:27 PM

DARTHVEGAS

I have alway wondered though, what did Wash do during the War? I mean we are pretty sure that he didnt serve on ethier side, but he is such a hot pilot it seems odd that no one tried to snatch him up.

'Might have been on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

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Saturday, April 1, 2006 1:45 AM

NUCLEARDAY

Quote:
Originally posted by DarthVegas:
I have alway wondered though, what did Wash do during the War? I mean we are pretty sure that he didnt serve on ethier side, but he is such a hot pilot it seems odd that no one tried to snatch him up.

That's another good question, too ;p Much like our beloved Shephard, we really hardly got to know much about Wash's background at all. Just a couple off-handed tidbits really.

I remember in the commentaries, Alan talks about how he always imagined Wash flying the Independants, and being captured on his second sortie, and doing shadow puppets for the guards and prisoners at the POW camp. Pretty sure that's all from Alan, though, and not so much a part of Joss' plan ;p (In the same way we see Wash go from 'calm under fire' to 'Jerry Lewis in Space' during the course of the season ;)

I suppose for now I'll stick with the story of Wash being captured during the war and forced sit most of it out. Though who knows... I suppose I'd always imagined he would have kept clear of the conflict, maybe feeling a bit jealous now of Mal and Zoe's War Stories and sort of wishing that he'd taken a side when he had a chance? Anyone's guess, though ;p

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You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Thursday, April 6, 2006 12:10 PM

KAYLEESTHEGREATEST

He is rimward. Dont they talk about him juggling geese in the our mrs reynolds episode. Plus i dont think he would be up in the world of good old theiving

Someday the verse will spit in your soup but at least they gave you soup.

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