Why was Mal in the Dress? by schooner

FIREFLY EPISODE DISCUSSIONS

Why was Mal in the Dress?

POSTED BY: SCHOONER
UPDATED: Sunday, October 14, 2007 10:02
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Monday, June 11, 2007 5:36 AM

In the opening scene for "Our Mrs. Reynolds"?

I know his answer is "tactics", but then why not put Jayne in back of the wagon?

Is it a clever distraction, or Mal just being..er..Mal? I'd really like to hear people's thoughts on what the reasons were, and I can't find a thread that addresses this.

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Monday, June 11, 2007 5:39 AM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

1) it made a nice element of surprise
2) Zoe wouldn't do it
3) tactics
4) it was funny

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
A troll's hair is still pointy, even when it's wearing a hat.

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Monday, June 11, 2007 5:42 AM

PENGUIN

and don't forget air flow!

King of the Mythical Land that is Iowa

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Monday, June 11, 2007 5:45 AM

DAVESHAYNE

Well a Dress that fits Mal is like to be a tad airy on Zoe. Likewise Jayne would be quite put upon to breath much less shoot in a dress that was that small. So really Mal was the only person who could wear the dress. Plus it was funny.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Monday, June 11, 2007 5:52 AM

PENGUIN

You gotta wonder whose dress he wore...Was it his??

King of the Mythical Land that is Iowa

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Monday, June 11, 2007 6:06 AM

CRUITHNE3753

The alledged "girl's name" thing stops right there...

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Monday, June 11, 2007 6:28 AM

ODDSBODSKINS

Good way of showing that Mal has a sense of humour?

They may think their sins are original, but for the most part they are petty and repetitive.

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Monday, June 11, 2007 7:34 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Mal needed Zoe " in the back." She's more to be relied upon as backup than Jayne is: more likely to apply the correct ammount of violence, not too much or too little or too soon. And better at longer range, with her mare's leg, than Jayne with a pistol, against bad guys fleeing the scene of the crime. 'Course, Jayne in the back with a rifle or Vera, might have been a good choice, too.

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Monday, June 11, 2007 7:41 AM

MSG

'Cause how else could Mal swear by his pretty floral bonnet:) Comedy needs no reason

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

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Monday, June 11, 2007 10:28 AM

SALISBURYMAL

Mal knew of Inara's penchant for female clientle and was trying to pull a Crying Game on her.

Shun-SHENG duh gao-WAHN

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Monday, June 11, 2007 11:34 AM

KAYNA

I love my captain

Well it really did stun the bad guys for amoment didn't it? What if you found out that what you thought was the woman you were contemplating nailing turned out to be the you were contemplating nailng?

They were too stunned to react all that fast. And besides, he likes the way cotton dresses breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Op: You're fighting a war you've already lost.
Mal: Yeah, well I'm known for that.

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Monday, June 11, 2007 1:57 PM

SWEETSERENDIPITY

The dress was most likely from the village they were hired by, little house on the prairie- ish.

Deb

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Monday, June 11, 2007 2:05 PM

PENGUIN

Must have been a TALL woman! lol

King of the Mythical Land that is Iowa

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Monday, June 11, 2007 2:19 PM

FLORALBUNNY

Tall? Yes.
The dress was one of mine. And the bonnet.
We persuaded him to get into that outfit
rather than doing the nude thing he was
havin' such a tantrum about wanting, or
borrowing some of Inara's saris.
Bottom line? That river area was shall we
say teeming with life, and the more covered-up
the more bug-proof was our Mal.

ahoy, Pengs!

bun
Frisky Browncoat
~Bastards air-flowed my turtle~
~We aim to exponentiate~
~Who is Bill Pardy?~

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Tuesday, June 12, 2007 12:25 AM

PEULSAR5

We sniff the air, we don't kiss the dirt.

Quote:
Originally posted by Penguin:
You gotta wonder whose dress he wore...Was it his??

King of the Mythical Land that is Iowa

Wow. I never thought of that. I just watched and laughed. Puts things in a strange light don't it?

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Wednesday, June 13, 2007 9:04 AM

LAWMAN

I thought the pattern matched Mal much better, and ultimately Mal is the boss.
Mal has the quickest draw, and it would require some speed to take the hoodlums by surprise. good plan. i was hoping it was that episode that explained the horses running through the opening credits. but that didn't materialize, just like bdm II. is it the end?

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Monday, June 25, 2007 10:45 AM

INDIGOSTARBLASTER

My guess is nobody even dared to ask Zoe to wear floral...

Indigo S.

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Friday, June 29, 2007 6:35 PM

TRAVELER

Zoe put on a dress. I really don't think it would happen. And it gave Jayne an opportunity to insult Mal by calling him a powerful ugly woman. How many chances do you get to do that?

But I agree with those before me. The air flow thing is my guess. Can't go wrong with cotton.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Friday, June 29, 2007 11:47 PM

SNUFKIN

I thought it had a kind of element of surprise rationale behind it. Kind of like Eddie Izzard's speculation about having a transvestite parachute regiment - the enemy would be so busy reacting to the sight of 100 fetchingly-clad troops with impeccable make-up parachuting from the sky that it'd take them a few seconds to remember to go get their guns.

*************************************************

"I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide till it goes away."

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Saturday, June 30, 2007 3:02 AM

NCBROWNCOAT

You ever seen Nathan in a dress? It would make me take a second look. OK, it's a kilt but what a kilt!

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

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Saturday, June 30, 2007 3:08 AM

CRUITHNE3753

Zoe would have only worn the dress if it had more "slink".

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Monday, July 2, 2007 1:40 AM

GRIZWALD

Come to think of it, he tried dressin up pretty in the BDM, too. Hmmmm.

___________________________________________________
High Priestess of Pork and Ag-Related Activities of the MYTHICAL LAND OF IOWA

Click on my profile for my Annoyingly Long List of Firefly Links.

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Sunday, August 26, 2007 12:01 PM

RIVERFLAN

Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
1) it made a nice element of surprise
2) Zoe wouldn't do it
3) tactics
4) it was funny

I agree. Also, this is Joss who's writing it, and we all know he isn't the least interested in being normal. Besides, it was hilarious.

River: "The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds, given adequate vaccuuming systems."

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Friday, October 5, 2007 12:02 AM

BULLET0IN0THE0BRAINPAN0SQUISH

Quote:
Originally posted by Grizwald:
Come to think of it, he tried dressin up pretty in the BDM, too. Hmmmm.

really? when was that? tried to remember but the mind forgot...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ain't we just.

CRY, BABY, CRY.
MAKE YOUR MOTHER SIGH.

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Friday, October 5, 2007 12:26 AM

MRBEN

Quote:
Originally posted by bullet0in0the0brainpan0squish:
Quote:
Originally posted by Grizwald:
Come to think of it, he tried dressin up pretty in the BDM, too. Hmmmm.

really? when was that? tried to remember but the mind forgot

When he goes into the training house.

In terms of whose dress it was, judging by the style I'm thinking it was one borrowed from the settlers.

mrben

"Carpe Aptenodytes"
http://www.jedimoose.org

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Friday, October 5, 2007 12:41 AM

BULLET0IN0THE0BRAINPAN0SQUISH

Oh yeah! Now the mind remembers!

Yep, the Cap'n does have a penchant for girly clothes...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I don't know what I'm saying. I never know what I'm saying.... -River Tam, Serenity (2005)

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Friday, October 5, 2007 1:13 AM

GRIZWALD

Actually it looked more to me like he pulled a drapery off a window somewhere.

___________________________________________________
High Priestess of Pork and Ag-Related Activities of the MYTHICAL LAND OF IOWA

Click on my profile for my Annoyingly Long List of Firefly Links.

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Friday, October 5, 2007 1:24 AM

BULLET0IN0THE0BRAINPAN0SQUISH

Quote:
Originally posted by Grizwald:
Actually it looked more to me like he pulled a drapery off a window somewhere.

Hmmm. I guess that means the Cap'n knows how to accessorize! Lmao.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I don't know what I'm saying. I never know what I'm saying.... -River Tam, Serenity (2005)

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Sunday, October 7, 2007 12:05 PM

ASARIAN

Quote:
Originally posted by schooner:
In the opening scene for "Our Mrs. Reynolds"?

I know his answer is "tactics", but then why not put Jayne in back of the wagon?

Is it a clever distraction, or Mal just being..er..Mal? I'd really like to hear people's thoughts on what the reasons were, and I can't find a thread that addresses this.

You can't open the book of Mal's life and jump in the middle. Like woman, he's a mystery. :)

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

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Monday, October 8, 2007 2:52 AM

ARTCAT81

my theory has always been that he was actually "protecting" Zoe she was not immediately a target hiding in the back if the badguys shot first and asked questions later.

Jayne not so much, take the movie for example after the heist, "You want I should have dumped the girl, or jayne?.. well Jayne maybe.." Notice how dumping zoe never figured into that equation (yes she was driving). I think its a continuation of the protection he tried to provide in the war.

Plus, would you really want Jayne somewhere you could not keep an eye on him?

If you watch Mal, he always takes the most dangerous job for himself in his own odd way protecting his crew by throwing himself at the biggest dangers.

Browncoats are the shiniest folks in the 'verse

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Monday, October 8, 2007 10:58 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

He said tactics. Surprise is a major tactic. Looking like an old and cowering woman when in fact being the most deadly presence provides great tactical surprise. Thus the ploy worked.

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Monday, October 8, 2007 11:55 PM

MRBEN

OK - here's a thought that I never thought of before, but which comes to mind. What if the main reason was because Zoe was black? I don't recall seeing any other black people at the Triumph settlement - maybe it would've been a dead giveaway?

mrben

"Carpe Aptenodytes"
http://www.jedimoose.org

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Sunday, October 14, 2007 10:02 AM

RIVERFLAN

Quote:
Originally posted by mrben:
OK - here's a thought that I never thought of before, but which comes to mind. What if the main reason was because Zoe was black? I don't recall seeing any other black people at the Triumph settlement - maybe it would've been a dead giveaway?

Hmm... Maybe you're right.

Besides, how else would Mal be able to see the look on their faces?

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