Jaynestown
Wash: You haven't been here in years, Jayne. You really think you need that getup? No one's gonna remember you.Mal: I think it's possible they might.
Jayne. The man they call Jayne...
He robbed from the rich
and he gave to the poor.
Stood up to the man
and gave him what for.
Our love for him now
ain't hard to explain.
The hero of Canton
the man they call Jayne.
As Simon says, fairly often, "This must be what it's like to go insane."
The Rundown
this week's episode started with Mal and Inara both needing to stop on a backwater planet that specialises in mining mud. Special mud. One can only imagine.
Both of our fearless leaders have business to do, so Inara heads off ("Have good sex!" shouts Kaylee. Cuts right through the crap, does our Kaylee.), and Mal stays behind and organises his crew. He needs to contact someone who will give him something to move off of the planet. Mal convinces Simon to play his part in his first caper, thus cementing his criminal stance (although it's hard to do better than having the entire Alliance after you). River stays behind with Zoe and the Preacher.
Jayne tries desperately to convince Mal that all of the guns, grenades, knives, swords, tazers, thermo nuclear devices, and other weapons that he had attached to himself using large amounts of Simon's medical tape were completely not an over-reaction and that he was just being careful. Jayne seems to think that he's always going to meet someone, well, someone just like him, actually.
Upon closer interrogation, Jayne reveals that he pulled a job on thsi planet a little while ago, and perhaps he may not be the most welcome of free citizens. But, I ask you: who could not love Jayne?
The answer to this question tipped my head over.
The Man the call Jayne
So, it seems someone remembered him. The figure of Jayne, on a pedestal, should really make you laugh. Instead, it makes you stop and think: "Did I change the channel? Is this the Twilight Zone?"
Interestingly enough, the whole rest of the cast had the exact same reaction. The mystery deepens when, drinking in a tavern (Mudders Milk, in case you missed the name of the drink - A full course meal and a full night's alcohol binge, all in one), the local bard starts up a toe-curlingly embarrassing (and at the same time, toe-tappingly catchy) song about Jayne, the man they call Jayne (lyrics - mostly - above).
There's almost nothing you can say about it. Any joke would fall flat in the face of the majesty of the situation. Majestic, like Jayne's brow, sun beating down upon it, weight of the world on his mind.
Yeah, I know, ludicrous image, isn’t it?
So it turns out that, a few years ago, Jayne tried to rob the owner of the mine blind. He succeeded in taking the money, but failed to make a clean getaway. He dumped the money and unwittingly became the symbol of a people’s struggle. If the road to hell is strewn with good intentions, then apparently the road to sainthood is strewn with botched heists.
I’ll never understand how the ‘Verse works.
This whole scene opens up a world of confusion for Jayne. He’s always been a somewhat enigmatic character, and we never really get a look at his motives. He’s just a guy who does a job for whomever pays him the most (find out just how this works next week).
In Camden, however, Jayne all of a sudden exists in a world where his actions have far-reaching consequences. People look up to him for guidance, and he’s obviously uncomfortable. He’s forced to confront some of the less-good things he’s done, like abandoning his partner-in-crime, as well as some of the better things he’s done, if somewhat unwittingly. He comes out of it looking more confused than ever.
Some Advances on the Love Front
You’ll notice that there are two relationships being set up as potential areas of conflict. The first and most obvious is Simon and Kaylee. There’s an obvious attraction between the two and Kaylee, straight-shooter and heart-on-sleeve-wearer that she is, knows this, and acts on it. Simon, however, is wrapped up in his somewhat obscure view of the world. He’s still unsure of his new life, and his old life still has a hold on him.
He’s lucky Kaylee still talks to him.
The second, subtler relationship is the one between Mal and Inarra. Again, there are some obvious tensions and attractions, but they’re less easily discussed, let alone resolved. Innara leaps to Mal’s defence when she confuses him with Jayne, and it’s obvious that her feelings for him are deeper than those that would be had by a mere tenant. That’s one to watch out for.
The Shepherd’s Book is Broken
Book: River? Please, why don't you come on out?River: No! Can't. Too much hair. A parallel story is that of the relationship between the Shepherd and River. Their interaction is both amusing and thought provoking. River’s reaction to his hair is hysterical, but their discussion over Book’s ‘Broken Bible’ is one of the finest moments in the show:
Book: What are we up to, sweetheart?River: Fixing your Bible.Book: I, um… What?River: Bible's broken. Contradictions, false logistics… doesn't make sense.Book: No, no. You - you can't...River: So we'll integrate non-progressional evolution theory with God's creation of Eden. Eleven inherent metaphoric parallels already there. Eleven. Important number. Prime number. One goes into the house of eleven eleven times, but always comes out one. Noah's ark is a problem.Book: Really?River: We'll have to call it "early quantum state phenomenon". Only way to fit 5,000 species of mammals on the same boat.. . .Book: River, you don't… fix the Bible.River: It's broken. It doesn't make sense.Book: It's not about… making sense. It's about believing in something. And letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It's about faith. You don't fix faith, River. It fixes you. There’s so much contrast between these two: one is pure intuitive logic; the other is pure faith and experience. It makes for a very interesting dynamic.
Jayne Moment of the Week
Jayne for President.
Jayne: Far as I see it, you people been given the shortest end of the stick ever been offered a human soul in this crap-heel ‘Verse. But you took that end, and you.…. Well, you took it. And that's - Well, I guess that's something.
Next Week
Next week’s episode is titled ‘Out of Gas’. It is interesting for many reasons, one of which being that we see some flashbacks of how each member of the Serenity crew was recruited. It is a heart-rending and thrilling episode that tests Mal, his crew, and his ship.
* Thanks to Tsukiko-chan for inspiring most of these thoughts. Watching Firefly is a team sport; remember that.**(Firefly is on Action-X at 19h00 on Wednesdays - repeated at 18h00 on Tuesdays and 16h00 on Sundays).***(All quotes reproduced from WikiQuote (Firefly) under the GNU PL - this quote site contains spoilers).