Bushwacked - ever wondered, how Mal knew? by Esther

FIREFLY EPISODE DISCUSSIONS

Bushwacked - ever wondered, how Mal knew?

POSTED BY: ESTHER
UPDATED: Sunday, July 30, 2006 01:20
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Tuesday, July 25, 2006 11:16 AM

Sorry, if that's been clear to everyone already, but for me it was a "find".

Ever wondered, how Mal could know so well, what the poor surviver of the Reavers attack was feeling / thinking / doing? Well, we all know, Mal's a great guy and knows a lot, but I think, it goes beyond that.

When the guy muttures in sick bay about the cattle and the slaughter, it looks, as if Mal is reminded of something, as if he recognises his thoughts. Why?

And when Mal learns, that the man has split his tongue, he muttures: "Shoulda known... shoulda seen this comin'... " How?

Before that, he told Book: "Don't matter we took him off that boat, Shepherd. It's the place he's gonna live from now on." By "coincidence", it is the episode, in which it is pointed out, that Serenity is named after the battle, in which Mal has lost everything. Why? Because Serenity (Valley) is the place were HE is living the whole time!

He sais to the alliance captan: "A man comes up
against that kind of will, only way to deal with
it, I suspect... is to become it." Wasn't that, what happened to Mal? The battle of Serenity Valley was brutal and cynical, so he had to become brutal and cynical. The only way, to deal with it, was to become it.

That's why he understands the guy. He's in the same situation. And he knows it. He is stuck in Serenity Valley, and he can never leave.

Sends shivers down my spine, everytime I watch it.

Esther

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Tuesday, July 25, 2006 11:46 AM

NCBROWNCOAT

Sounds like you got a good theory there. Combat or any other trauma changes people forever.

I also think that all good leaders,like Mal, are more than a bit intuitive about what's going on around them. Not completely psychic but enough insight to uncociusly (bad speller here)pick up body language, tone of voice etc. There's lots of support for this in the BDS.

In a broader sense the term used in the military is "situational awareness." Mal used it a lot in Serenity Valley and in the series. He's able to see the options that the enemy has through what he knows about his opposition and the famous "gut feeling" about what the other person is going to do and react to it.

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Tuesday, July 25, 2006 2:31 PM

TRAVELER

War has a way of teaching you things you really never wanted to learn. Why does Zoe stick with Mal? I think it's because he is a surviver. I noticed their way of combat differed. Zoe was stealth and Mal screamed at the top of his lungs. But they both survived and probably shared a lot of experiences together. So yes, Mal probably has his own sixth sense about things. What did say about Patience. "I think she aims to shoot me again." You'll have to verify the exact wording, but he knew he was going to have to shoot his way out of the valley on Whitefall.

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Thursday, July 27, 2006 3:21 AM

EVILDINOSAUR

hmm, interesting theory, I've always taken it to mean that Mal had some close encounter with reavers at some point. It's possible Joss was going for a double meaning there. The more literal being that maybe mal had an encounter and the more figurative being mal comparing this to the serenity valley battle.

"Haha, mine is an evil laugh."

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Thursday, July 27, 2006 3:57 AM

ODDSBODSKINS

i always wondered if there was some backstory to how knowledgable mal seemed about the reavers, and not just in bushwhacked, but when they pass the ship in the pilot. the flip side is, i always wondered what had happened to make jayne so terrified of them, whether it was just that he couldn't understand them, that he knew he might be outmatched by them if push came to shove, or whether there was something in his past that had happened.

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Thursday, July 27, 2006 4:37 AM

DUG

The last verse of the Ballad of Serenity may support your theory:

There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me

That can certainly be read to mean that there is no other place to be than Serenity. And with the story of Serenity Valley that isn't such a pleasant sounding thought anymore.

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Thursday, July 27, 2006 5:53 AM

MARVLGRL

Quote:
Originally posted by Oddsbodskins:
i always wondered if there was some backstory to how knowledgable mal seemed about the reavers, and not just in bushwhacked, but when they pass the ship in the pilot. the flip side is, i always wondered what had happened to make jayne so terrified of them, whether it was just that he couldn't understand them, that he knew he might be outmatched by them if push came to shove, or whether there was something in his past that had happened.

I

I don't necessarily think that something happened to Jayne to make him fear the reavers as he does; I think Joss was just trying to make a point that "look, here's big tough Jayne and even HE doesn't want anything to do with reavers".

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Thursday, July 27, 2006 6:09 AM

DESKTOPHIPPIE

Yep, I agree with Marvlgirl. Joss pretty much says in the Pilot commentary that he uses Jayne's reaction to show just how very scary Reavers are. Remember, Jayne wanted to shoot Badger and all his cohorts when he, Mal and Zoe were surrounded and outgunned. The fact that he's terrified of reavers shows that they're scary, scary things.

Esther, I *love* your theory and I think you've hit the nail on the head. I'm also fascinated by references to Mal's intuitive nature. Could that be a clue to River's abilities? She's the most intuitive of all the crew, and the most deadly. Notice how so many of the other warriors - Mal, Book, The Operative, Early etc have a deeply intuitive nature. Even Jayne shows a surprising ability to read people at times (knowing that the "mole" in the Pilot hadn't really sent any information about the crew, for example.) Interesting, since most sci-fi have telepaths as more gentle, healer types. Although Bester in Babylon 5 blew that one out of the water.

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Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:18 AM

AGENTROUKA

Yes, that parallel was probably intended as just that. It's not even very subtle. Oh, Joss. *g*

But I don't think that mere intuition is the reason Mal could predict the practical details of how the Reaver survivor would react. He probably heard stories from others, maybe saw things in the war...

The practical knowledge came from others, I think. The certainty about just exactly how and why the reaver survivor would react that way, that is probably all out of Mal's own experiences with trauma and loss, yep.

Which is why I find it doubly fascinating that Mal doesn't even consider therapy for the boy, He wants to eradicate him, the sooner the better.

It probably says more about Mal's relation to himself that it does about the actual recovery chances of a Reaver victim.

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Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:56 PM

ESTHER

Quote:
Which is why I find it doubly fascinating that Mal doesn't even consider therapy for the boy. He wants to eradicate him, the sooner the better. It probably says more about Mal's relation to himself that it does about the actual recovery chances of a Reaver victim.

Right, he has lost all hope for himself. *sigh* That's what he needs Kaylee for. She has enough hope and optimism for the two of them. I think, he just couldn't survive without his crew.

Esther

Lessons learned from firefly (no. 11):
A ruthless bounty-hunter can still be a philosopher (That seem right to you?)

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Friday, July 28, 2006 3:57 AM

INDIGOSTARBLASTER

I just watched Bushwhacked again last night. For the first time I actually thought about what had happened to that settler ship. The BDH's mention that there's no sign of a struggle, that they were all in the middle of something (food still on the table, journal log still in progress), that the lifeboat was launched. And I could see it...

They're sailing along to a new home. They get attacked. A bunch of them immediately get into the lifeboat and launch, with no time even to pack up supplies -- maybe it was a few who were able to move faster and who promptly abandoned the others; maybe they bundled all the kids onto the boat, to give them a lottery's chance of surviving a little longer. Everyone remaining on board gathers in the storage area (no blood stains or other evidence of struggle anywhere else). Maybe they try locking the door; it doesn't work. They get raped, eaten, skinned and trussed, and one poor SOB gets to watch it all -- all his friends and family -- unscathed.

Ugh.

I'm also thinking that the Reavers would have tracked and followed the lifeboat as an appetizer, but I really don't want to think about that either.

The other thought I had was that the Reavers are pretty technologically adept. They fly ships, of course, and modify them to have magnetic grapples and run without core containment. They've designed and regularly use a booby-trap that disables rescue ships and allows them to come back for seconds. They probably got through the storage room lock without having to blow it open. Somehow, that makes it all the worse -- they really do rape and eat and skin for pleasure, but are able to contain those urges most of the time as they tinker with devices and engines, and putter around getting other Reaver stuff done. And they take the time to truss up the remains of their victims, maybe as a kind of artistic statement.

Double ugh.

Dang, what a show :)

Indigo S.

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Friday, July 28, 2006 12:24 PM

RUGBUG

I think the survivor was experienced an exaggerated version of "Stockholm Syndrome" and Mal recognized it.

Or at least, that's what I tell myself.

***************
"My feelings are changeable but intense" Anya (season 7 Buffy)

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Saturday, July 29, 2006 10:36 AM

AKREDHEAD

I think this too...I think it is a combination of wartime experience, human intuition and possibly a past experience with reavers...

The cattle quote...reminds me of Mal telling Saffron of his cattle ranch youth...

Maybe it recalled a bad childhood memory?

Quote:
Originally posted by EvilDinosaur:
hmm, interesting theory, I've always taken it to mean that Mal had some close encounter with reavers at some point. It's possible Joss was going for a double meaning there. The more literal being that maybe mal had an encounter and the more figurative being mal comparing this to the serenity valley battle.

"Haha, mine is an evil laugh."

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Sunday, July 30, 2006 1:20 AM

AGENTROUKA

Quote:
Originally posted by akredhead:

The cattle quote...reminds me of Mal telling Saffron of his cattle ranch youth...

Maybe it recalled a bad childhood memory?

When the Reaver survivor says "cattle", Mal follows his gaze to the infirmary windows where he sees... Inara and Kaylee. "Cattle for slaughter."

It appears that this immediately gets up Mal's protective instincts, as the next thing out of his mouth is "Dope him."

I don't think it's supposed to be more than that.

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