I'm targeting posting Firefly episodes every Monday and Wednesday from now until the end, so stay tuned! Full length reactions for the series are already available on Patreon. I'm also currently watching THE EXPANSE on Patreon, and ALIEN will be coming to TH-cam soon. Thank you! ❤
Yay. Would've loved for this to have been posted closer to your actual watching of the episodes so we could have all conversed a bit more meaningfully (spoiler free), but still glad you posted the series so thanks for that.
I tried to watch this on your patreon, but you didn't have it edited the same way and I wasn't really gonna take an hour to watch the full episode after trying to get it set up to run side-by-side with you video's commentary... just not the same as this. So I left you patreon and got a charge-back, but I would have stayed and paid if you had this same thing over there.
half way through, is it as good or better than your thoughts before starting? Also Thank you I love your insight, you see connections I missed but also see the profound depth of this unfortunately short lived franchise.
Don't forget in the pilot when Kaylee was shot, Jayne was really worried for her but didn't let anyone see him. He was crouched outside the OR in a hidden area watching.
@@HandleTakenlol - I think he thought of her as a little sister, but Mal had already assumed the big brother role to Kaylee, which left another void in Jayne's life. So he acted out more, and each time he did Kaylee saw him as more of an ass - making him less of a big brother figure.
Jayne was also REALLY excited about torturing the guy that shot Kaylee. Granted, torturing someone for info isn't out of character for Jayne, but I do think he was disappointed when he couldn't get some revenge when Mal shot down the torturing
@@dougearnest7590I’ve always thought about what would’ve happened if the show had got to run for 4/5 seasons. I think Simon might’ve become a badass, (ala Wesley Wyndham Price on Buffy/Angel). I sometimes think that Jayne & River might have ended up becoming an item (Jayne’s dislike for her has all the hallmarks of a Whedon ‘switcheroo’), though I could see Jayne & Kaylee coming together, perhaps in the 3rd or 4th season.
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 - Well, there's a reason I love the Ariel episode - but no spoilers. As for the rest - Jayne and River? That's a most disturbing thought - one that could be the silver lining behind the cancellation of the series. Jayne and Kaylee? Almost as disturbing. Had the show not be cancelled prematurely, it might have been interesting for a new character to be introduced - a love interest for Jayne - and I picture her being very much like Saffron was pretending to be. Someone sweet and incredibly naïve in need of Jayne's protection, and who would domesticate him somewhat in the process. Or maybe that's too cliché - I just thought of it and haven't given it time to ferment.
The B story of Shepard, River, and the hair is hilarious. Especially Zoe with, "Hell, yes, Preacher. If I didn't have stuff to get done, I'd be in there with her." And then Book's hurt look. LoL
Opening night of Serenity, the Firefly movie that comes after the series, in many theaters people sang, "The Hero of Canton" while waiting for the movie to start.
I had a very funny encounter at a comic-con in Portland, Or, back in 2013. Jewel Staite was attending she signing autographs and doing fotos with fans. Well, being that Kaylee is my favorite on Firefly, if I had to choose. There was no doubt I had to get a photo with her. After waiting quite a while for my turn, they finally ushered me into the Photo Booth. Jewel Staite was there standing at her mark, I said hello shook her hand by and introduced myself by my first name “Stefan”. She reciprocated while the attendant moved me to my mark for the photo. I mentioned how I loved her portrayal of Kaylee and how much I enjoyed the show. While all this was transpiring the photographer was writing down the pertinent info for the photo, my full name and such. But when he asked for my full name, I gave it, there was a sudden silence and slight shock because my last name is “Jayne”. Spelled exactly as Jayne Cobb. Jewel stepped slightly off her mark to face me more directly and asked “Seriously, your name is Jayne?” I said “yes” and everyone expressed how fun that was. But just as they got ready to take the photograph, the cameraman decided to go into a rendition of “The man they call Jayne”. Everyone in the booth proceeded to sing a few bars. I have a slightly odd smile in the photo because he snapped the picture just as I started to loose it from all the singing everyone was doing. . It was a very nice encounter with Jewel Staite. One I will never forget.
Okay your one long-winded contribution to this thread beats EVERYTHING I just typed and edited and abridged and typed again. You got to stand next to THE Jewel Staite and everyone sang The Jayne Song to you. You win! =)
One of my favorite things about this episode is seeing Inara flustered and stumbling over her words when she finds out Fess is talking about Jayne instead of Mal. We've NEVER seen Inara be flustered like this before. She's always composed and collected, so to see her thrown like that is a sight to behold.
It's not that he can't bear it. He doesn't understand why someone would give their life for someone else. He doesn't understand self sacrifice or caring about others more than himself.
@@LordVolkov I disagree. Jayne has a very selective idea of what he considers "family". Family you will sacrifice for, outsiders you do not. Jayne doesn't consider most people family and his journey on the show is to begin to accept the people on Serenity as part of his family. Kaylee he already has done so. Simon and River are definitely not part of his family. The citizens of "Jaynestown" also are not part of his family. Why would they sacrifice for him if he wouldn't for them? Another thing this episode revealed is Jayne's lack of understanding of what it means to have people think of you as a leader. He is uncomfortable with people looking up to him and respecting him. One of the things that would have happened if the show had continued was Jayne would get his own ship and crew, He would have found himself in a leadership position like Mal, and have to deal with a crew, some of whom may treat him as he treats Mal. How does he deal with that? I would have been very interested in that part of Jayne's story. One thing about Jayne, though, is while he may not consider the crew of Serenity as family, he also takes his job on the ship very seriously. He protects the people on the ship from outside threats without any complaints in the moment. He is very professional at doing his job, which is the aspect of Mal that Jayne represents. Jayne is one of the best depictions of being a mercenary in fiction, but he also has his code.
@@TDoughter23 Jayne's a great illustration of how to right a character that is both an asshole, with understandable motivations, but without making excuses for their bad behavoir.
I love the Jayne/Stitch fight. There's no fancy choreography, just two dudes brawling for a second until one dies. Which is pretty much exactly how that thing would play out in reality.
Pretty much; there is great detail to realism in this show. Like no sound in space, and psychics that intuit the world, and china making it out into space on their own.
I got kind of a 'wrath' off Jayne in that scene. He didn't understand someone jumping in front of him to save him, but he knew the one who took the shot had to go, like right now & brutal. Kind of a righteous vengeance bubbling up, even if it made no sense to him, he felt it. More subtle, but a little bit of a "they stole my car and un-lifed my dog" vibe. I can't think of any other scene where he charged an armed man while unarmed himself, and did him in with his bare hands. They toned it down for network tv, but it's there.
I love that when people get stabbed in this show it doesn't just turn them off like a light switch. They still have that adrenaline pumping, they keep fighting.
One of my cosplays is Captain Mal, and I'm kinda proud of everything I put together to make it work. I convinced my friend to cosplay as Jayne, and from the first time we walked through a convention together, all I hear is people LOUDLY shouting "Jaaayne!!", or singing "The Hero of Canton" song 🤦 I've literally gotten to the point where I have to yell back, "I'm here too, ya know!!", and then I get a pity "Oh hey Captain..." Ugh. I met Adam Baldwin at convention and told him this story. He said when Joss told him about the song, he said "You'll only want to hear it once" 😂
Jayne, the man they call Jayne He robbed from the rich And he gave to the poor Stood up to the man And he gave him what for Our love for him now Ain't hard to explain The hero of Canton The man they call Jayne Our Jayne saw the mudders' backs breakin' He saw the mudders' lament He saw that magistrate takin' Every dollar and leavin' five cents So he said "you can't do that to my people" You can't crush them under your heel" So Jayne strapped on his hat And in five seconds flat Stole everythin' Boss Higgins had to steal He robbed from the rich And he gave to the poor Stood up to the man And he gave him what for Our love for him now Ain't hard to explain The hero of Canton The man they call Jayne Now here's what separates heroes From common folk like you and I The man they call Jayne He turned around his plane And let that money hit sky He dropped it onto our houses He dropped it into our yards The man they called Jayne He stole away our pain And headed out for the stars He robbed from the rich And he gave to the poor Stood up to the man And he gave him what for Our love for him now Ain't hard to explain The hero of Canton The man they call Jayne
The Kaylee-Simon story mirrors real life. We don't have Hollywood writers crafting the perfect lines in the real world. We say stuff we want to take back, we think of something better to say long after we had the chance, we go blank at the wrong moments. That's real life. It doesn't always have a happy ending. You dust yourself off and get back at it. Realism versus idealism. Firefly is the world as it is, Star Trek is the world as we wish it to be.
@@kathrynck To be fair ... Star Trek has a dozen official shows and is in common reruns (even on free broadcast television) pretty much all day long, somewhere. Why would you need dvd's?
Jayne and Mal's talk at the end of the episode is one of my favorite moments of writing in all of television. "it's not about you Jayne, it's about what they need."
"Bible is broken. Contradictions, false logistics. Doesn't make sense." "You don't fix faith. It fixes you" "I tore this out of your symbol and it turned into paper" So many great lines and quotes just in the side storyline alone.
Inara is more than a "hooker with a heart of gold" - she is a Companion. Her skillful handling of the Magistrate wasn't wasn't because "she's good" - it's because that's the sort of thing she has been trained to do since childhood. Things like that are quite "easy-peasy" for her.
So many people get hung up on the sex aspect of Companions that they don't realize that it is only a part of the job and usually not even the main part.
Fun Fact: As a service to their fans, Jewel Staite and Sean Maher (Kaylee & Simon) appeared in an episode of Castle where they played a husband & wife couple running a diner. It was a sweet moment in TV.
Fun fact, there's a bit of a religion switch-up in this show. The actor who played Book was actually a Buddhist, the actress who plays Inara is actually Christian. In the show he's a Christian and she's a Buddhist.
I feel compelled to stand up for Simon in this episode; translating from scared teenager caught in a compromising position with his sweetie by her very protective (surrogate) father what he said was something along the lines of "This isn't what it looks like; I wouldn't do that with any girl here, especially not Kaylee. I would not dishonor her in such a manner."
It was Simon's bad luck that Kaylee was completely oblivious to that kind of sexual morality and took his "especially not Kaylee" comment in the literal sense. I love the way their two completely opposite cultures kept getting bounced off of each other.
The most underrated and misunderstood character. There is a good reason he is so money hungry, revealed in a later episode. In this episode he is actually appreciated, and made to feel good about himself for the first time. The crew never appreciates him or compliments him. He didn't want to use his fame against the mudder's because he was finally made to feel that it's ok to think he could be a better person.
naw. the foctor is the most misunderstood. pretty sure his "i would never" wasn't meant "i would never sleep with kaylee" but "take advantage of a drunk woman" he's just that sweet
I absolutely love Jayne's second speech. It really shows off his character. It was said straight from his heart. that's who he sees himself: as nothing but a bad guy, and that means he at least has some knowledge of himself and knows the difference between right and wrong. And then later, with Mal, more of his true self comes through. Just an amazing deep dive into "The Hero of Canton, the man they call... Jayne."
This episode is all about faith: Faith in your tradition, Faith in someone else, and Faith in yourself. Although what I have Faith in has changed over my many years, I still admire it when I see it.
I like how Jayne’s response to the hero worship changes as the episode goes on. At first he’s extremely uncomfortable with it. He knows he doesn’t deserve it, and he’s scared of being found out as a fraud. After a while he begins to relax and enjoy it, and he’s genuinely touched by their devotion to him. Then when the boy sacrifices himself to save Jayne, he feels guilt and anguish. Guilt is an emotion that he’s unfamiliar with, and so he doesn’t quite recognize what it is that bothers him. “I don’t know why it eats at me so!” “It don’t make no ruttin’ sense!” Jayne doesn’t want anybody to know it, but he has a conscience.
02:14: "Oh, this is definitely his sympathetic backstory episode." No, not really. 12:26: "Oh, she's *good."* Yeah. I would have loved to see more Inara episodes like this, really showing what separates a Companion from a prostitute. She's here not just for sex, but to help this young man figure out who he is. 14:12: I love this Simon moment, because it's so relatable for me. What he *meant* to say was that he would never take advantage of Kaylee while she was too drunk to give consent. What he *said* was. . . well. . . not that. 18:42: And that's why we kept cutting back to that guy. 20:49: "Look at him!" And when Fess takes over for his dad, odds are things will significant improve for the Mudders. Inara's reach is long.
I appreciate how Jayne's character is written. He seems to truly believe everyone has to look out for themselves. Certainly he has heard the concepts of trust, friendship, selflessness, etc.. he just doesnt believe society really works that way. He doesnt seem bitter about it, he isnt out to settle scores. He just thinks it is every man for himself. Most fictional characters who think that way are either very obviously bitter about past trauma, or very obviously the villain, or both. Jayne is almost Homer Simpsonish...VERY unlikeable actions and selfishness, but impossible to really hate because on the rare occasions that he does truly understand what's morally right and the reason for it, he chooses to try to be right. He just doesnt really seem to get the concept very well.
He is also very loyal to his own people. He believes that if he doesn't take care of his people no one will. He did say in the pilot that the price he was offered wasn't high enough but Jayne isn't someone who betrays his friends, he just acts that way. Probably because he things that if people liked him they might take a bullet for him.
"...on the rare occasions that he does truly understand what's morally right and the reason for it, he chooses to try to be right. He just doesnt really seem to get the concept very well." He has a line in The Big Damn Movie that sums this up.
"The end of Firefly" blues, at least that's how I call it, often hits right around episode 9. It's when it sinks in that the show is almost over and there isn't much more than a few episodes and the movie Serenity. It's always sad. Don't know if other people feel the same.
This episode could have easily been called "Symbolism." Ben Edlund, the writer, layered a variety of symbols throughout the story. The Bible a symbol of the Shepard's faith. But to River it is just a book filled with contradictions. The statue a symbol of the Mudder's hope. But to the crew it is just a mud rendition of Jayne to be mocked. The son's chastity a symbol of his immaturity. But to Inara it's just how every man starts out. His son losing his virginity is a symbol of manhood to the father. But it is the example of Jayne standing up to Higgins and Inara's confidence building which actually results in the son stepping up and out of his father's shadow. Simon's propriety is a symbol of his love and respect for Kaylee but as Kaylee says, "It doesn't mean anything out here in the Black." It really is good writing for a science fiction TV show about space cowboys.
Jayne by his own free will publicly stepping out of his hero symbol down to his normal, slightly bad personality was also very powerful. After originally embracing it, profiting from it and believing it himself a small bit, he was shamed and perhaps also saw that the hero in him would admit the painful truth.
@@sebastianwittmeier1274 Precisely. And Mal's message to Jayne as he struggles to make sense of what happened summed up the purpose of symbols quite well. "It's not about you, Jayne. It's about what THEY need."
I would not dream of suggesting that you will ever love Jayne... or even like him, but here's what I WILL do. I think I can guarantee that by the end of the series, you will find Jayne more interesting than you did at the beginning.
Really enjoying these! Not only is it one of my favourite series ever, but you're also an excellent reactor, you're observant, analytical, and clearly understand cinema and TV production, sharing the insights with your viewers. I was brought here by your reaction to Alien, by the way. Can't way for you to finish and see Serenity as well!
It's an imperfect world. And Serenity isn't exactly getting the cream of the crop for crew. It is different Sci-Fi than say.. Star Trek. The machinery is worn, and so are the people. The Captain must know his crew, and how to use them. Jayne is an imperfect character, as they all are. But within the boundaries of his character, he is "good". He works for his pay. He may not be "nice", but if you're loading equipment, or in a fight, Jayne will give value for his pay. Just don't expect him to not steal from the church. And while he may be "rough around the edges", the death of that young man DID affect him.
My uncle actually knows the guy who performed "Hero of Canton". A great singer-songwriter type. It fits in beautifully with the classic Robin Hood trope. And I want to go to the crappy town where I'm a hero.
Jayne is the most enigmatic and deep character on the show, whether or not he is likable. While appearing simple, he is actually complex. He is my favorite character on the show.
@@thexalon The initial intention was for him to be unlikable, the internal "bad guy". But, Adam Baldwin was just too likable to the cast and crew. And that, apparently, how he became more of the lovable rogue than problematic thron in their side.
"Good manners are just a way of showing other people we have respect for them." -- Adam (played by Brandon Fraser) in the 1999 movie Blast From The Past --- I highly recommend you give this movie a watch if you have never seen it.
When I was involved in roller derby, one of our home teams was the Steamer Janes. When they won in a bout, I composed an entire Steamer Janes version of the Hero of Canton!
Inara ISN'T a "hooker"; she's a Registered Companion. She had to successfully complete several years of specialized training, and Companion candidates have been expelled for failing in Ethics classes (Our Mrs. Reynolds is an example of that). She's also required to get yearly medical examinations, and could still be kicked out of the guild (that may not be what they call it; it's just the best word I have) if she doesn't live up to their high standards. Registered Companions are highly respected professionals.
Of all the reactions to this show that I've seen, I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed yours the most. I watched this when it 1st aired, and your reactions have almost perfectly mirrored mine. I love every one! Thank you.
Jayne has some of my favorite one-liners. The interesting thing about this episode is that Jane changed the mudders’ lives, but they changed him too. He was prepared to take a shotgun blast that he pretty much deserved. But he can’t for the life of him understand someone innocent literally taking a bullet for him. He enjoyed being the (false) hero for once, but the boy’s sacrifice clearly sucked all the fun out of it.
I love this Jayne-centric episode. He is NOT a 2 dimensional character. He is a product of the 'Verse he was born into. He doesn't need a tragic backstory. He does have feelings and struggles with them. His personality is very complex believe it or not.
A perfect start to the week. My favorite reviewer watching my favorite show (and the next one Out of Gas is my favorite episode) Thanks Jacqui! Your insight always makes my day.
In a way Jayne is like Cordelia and Anya were in Buffy. He's the stream of consciousness character, the person in the show who says exactly what they are thinking almost all the time. Usually used for moments of shock and/or humor for various situations.
Very astute. When examining all the works Joss Whedon has had a hand in, there are commonalities to the character choices and plot progressions. Jayne is akin to Cordelia. Also Laurence Dominic on Dollhouse. There's always a "Jayne" of sorts in all of Joss' works. Like the best directors and writers and producers, Joss has his own je ne sais quoi.
What makes that Bible scene my favorite is that Joss Whedon is an atheist and Ron Glass is a Buddhist. Hence the line "It's not about making sense, it's about faith. You don't fix faith, River. It fixes you." holds so much more meaning coming from them, at least in my eyes.
Bit of trivia I didn’t clock for _years_: The primary antagonist in this story is a man named Higgins…who hires someone to “make a proper man” out of his son. If That doesn’t ring the a bell for you (I’d assume it does given your career path, but just in case there’s someone reading this who doesn’t get it): I commend to your/their attention My Fair Lady (by way of Pygmalion) for the source of the homage.
Always been one of my favorite episodes, cause it starts that journey into the depths of Jayne as a character. Coming from the previous episode where he's probably at his worst and most disliked (perhaps up until the end and his moment with Vera), to this backstory and its end where he has moments throughout of goodness and crises of conscience is a fantastic juxtaposition. And then to the next few episodes where his character is fully mirrored once more in Out of Gas, Ariel and War Stories (where he came from (Out of Gas), where and who he is now (Ariel), to the fallout after Ariel and the completion of his arc (War Stories). The Message later also provides some really interesting backstory to his character and for our understanding into his character and why he's always so fixed on his possible payment. None of this would matter if he wasn't played so brilliantly by Adam Baldwin.
If you haven't figured it out yet, Jayne is actually the comic relief for the show, with lines such as "He was bigger when I couldn't see'em." "I call her Vera" After a while you are waiting for the new Jayneism in every new episode. Then when you are rewatching the episode you are waiting for Jayne to say the line again.
In a later episode I think it's "Out of Gas" I believe some more of Jane's backstory and how he came to be a member of the crew is revealed, it's quite interesting and pure Joss Whedon. Jane's definitely a flawed character but he's necessary to the crew and I can't fault him for that... much?
Legit one of the saddest things about this show not getting more was just the little groundwork whedon laid dor jayne was almost for sure gonna be such incredible growth in later seasons
And here's the other episode reaction I'm here for. There's a town nearby called Canton, and my wife and I almost always sing "The Hero of Canton" when we drive through it.
I love this episode because, well because it's Firefly and they're all awesome, but at the same time I hate this episode because I always get the Jane song stuck in my head for days.🤣
As always your reactions are super enjoyable, i particularly like the film making perspective that you bring. Also, major props to your editor (or you if you do it yourself) that fairy godmother cut in at the end was S-tier.
So Jayne is actually my favorite character in the show, outside of Saffron, not because I like him as a person or agree with him, but because I see his character as complex, even though it often seems simple. I can't say too much about it because there are more episodes that will have aspects of his character revealed, but this shows at least a couple of parts of the nuance. The first, imo, comes when Stitch drags Simon into the crowd and says he got one of Jayne's guys and Jayne says, "He ain't-a one o' mine." Shows him deliberately trying to de-escalate a dangerous situation that Simon is in, even though he commonly expresses dislike for the doctor. And then there's the end, where Jayne becomes self-contemplative for the first time in the show. It shows an ability to look inside himself and analyze situations on more than a surface level. Combine that with some ambiguity about where his loyalties lie that has been established in past episodes and the very vulnerable way he was crouched in a cubby chewing on his thumb while he watched Kaylee get operated on after being shot in the first episode, and you have a nice complex character, possibly the one with more nuance than any other, although lacking a lot of likeability.
The Legend of Jayne Cobb, and the Epic Song that Tells His Tale. This town's Santa doesn't wear red, and is more angry than jolly, but we all still love him. Merry Christmas, Jacqui!
You probably already finished the season, but when you go back and watch it again, know that Jayne's story is very subtle. Theres things about him I completely overlooked until recently because of watching reactions of this show
The slow, sad version of The Ballad of Jayne that was playing when Mal and Janye were talking at the end was a nice touch. Did not notice that the first time through.
24:45 other way around "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
This is such a fun episode. Remember this show was cancelled midseason. The arc of the show and the characters were just getting develop. The show was supposed to be five to seven years.
"Our love for him now, ain't hard to explain" - I love that song! Also, have you seen Dr Horrible's Sing-along Blog? If not, you should really react to it, considering how much you enjoy Whedon's writing =)
I read that Jayne was intended to be a sort of secondary antagonist, however actor Adam Baldwin did something at his audition that not only got him the job, but changed the character from what was written.
I love having both my favorite show and such a beautiful hostess at the same time! Your reactions are wonderful! You catch on quickly but can still be taken by surprise. Its great 😂
The best part for me was the final scene. Jayne showed dismay and sorrow over how things turned out. It upped the catharsis. He might be a blunt weapon, but he does have some level of empathy.
you're the second person I've watched reactions to watching this show, because I love it that much. I enjoy just watching other people experience it for the first time.
i think the intention with jayne was for his character to be the spike analogue in a longer multi-series role... a bad guy, from the wrong side of the tracks, who never expected anything better for themselves, slowly learning to better themselves from those around him. Unfortunately, fox decided to can the series too soon for a lot of stories to pan out properly.
By the way, something I saw noted elsewhere is that, despite the difference in reaction scale, Inara is going to be a bigger hero for Canton than Jayne will ever be: He dropped a bit of money into the mudders' laps, and it improved their standard of living for a bit. By making Fess a more assertive, confident man who embraces his kind side, Inara will be improving the whole planet for untold years, perhaps decades or even centuries to come.
Jayne Cobb strikes me as what you'd get if Looney Toons' Tasmanian Devil were turned into a human. He'd be barely human, with a lot of his brute traits remaining. And I find that a hilariously absurd caricature of masculinity. "He's like a trained ape, without the training." ~Dr. Simon Tam
As you said, you're already halfway through the series and will soon be on to the next thing. My suggestion, Dollhouse. It's another short lived Joss Whedon show, only two 13 episode seasons, but it really is enjoyable. Not as good IMO as Firefly, Buffy, or Angel but still an interesting and entertaining story all the same.
one of my favorite episodes, it always makes me laugh when they are learning more, and even the song says "it ain't hard to explain." It also made me wonder what the mudder's milk would taste like. all the Firefly episodes are so good, especially the ones coming up.
I'm targeting posting Firefly episodes every Monday and Wednesday from now until the end, so stay tuned! Full length reactions for the series are already available on Patreon. I'm also currently watching THE EXPANSE on Patreon, and ALIEN will be coming to TH-cam soon. Thank you! ❤
Yay.
Would've loved for this to have been posted closer to your actual watching of the episodes so we could have all conversed a bit more meaningfully (spoiler free), but still glad you posted the series so thanks for that.
i guess i can still wait patiently for the ewetube release of this mythical Alien video. Ffffff'ine!
I really hope you're going to watch Serenity after the series is done so you get the full story
I tried to watch this on your patreon, but you didn't have it edited the same way and I wasn't really gonna take an hour to watch the full episode after trying to get it set up to run side-by-side with you video's commentary... just not the same as this.
So I left you patreon and got a charge-back, but I would have stayed and paid if you had this same thing over there.
half way through, is it as good or better than your thoughts before starting? Also Thank you I love your insight, you see connections I missed but also see the profound depth of this unfortunately short lived franchise.
Don't forget in the pilot when Kaylee was shot, Jayne was really worried for her but didn't let anyone see him. He was crouched outside the OR in a hidden area watching.
@@HandleTakenlol - I think he thought of her as a little sister, but Mal had already assumed the big brother role to Kaylee, which left another void in Jayne's life. So he acted out more, and each time he did Kaylee saw him as more of an ass - making him less of a big brother figure.
Jayne was also REALLY excited about torturing the guy that shot Kaylee. Granted, torturing someone for info isn't out of character for Jayne, but I do think he was disappointed when he couldn't get some revenge when Mal shot down the torturing
@@dougearnest7590I’ve always thought about what would’ve happened if the show had got to run for 4/5 seasons. I think Simon might’ve become a badass, (ala Wesley Wyndham Price on Buffy/Angel). I sometimes think that Jayne & River might have ended up becoming an item (Jayne’s dislike for her has all the hallmarks of a Whedon ‘switcheroo’), though I could see Jayne & Kaylee coming together, perhaps in the 3rd or 4th season.
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 - Well, there's a reason I love the Ariel episode - but no spoilers. As for the rest - Jayne and River? That's a most disturbing thought - one that could be the silver lining behind the cancellation of the series.
Jayne and Kaylee? Almost as disturbing.
Had the show not be cancelled prematurely, it might have been interesting for a new character to be introduced - a love interest for Jayne - and I picture her being very much like Saffron was pretending to be. Someone sweet and incredibly naïve in need of Jayne's protection, and who would domesticate him somewhat in the process. Or maybe that's too cliché - I just thought of it and haven't given it time to ferment.
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192The unfilmed episode 15 shows how far Simon is willing to protect River. He gets darker.
Jayne is very much a prime example of "he's an asshole, but he's our asshole."
Almost word for word what Dennis Quaid said about DJT.
So cut him the hell down! 😏
I imagine during the War Stories episode Jacqui will warm up to why Jayne is an important member of the crew.
👍
@@ktvindicare My thoughts exactly, but she'll have to be paying close attention to catch it since it kinda slips under the radar.
"He's putting the hair away now."
"It doesn't matter. It will still be there....Waiting."
That's one of my favorite lines from the show!
Me too.😃
@@adinal1958🤣🤣
The B story of Shepard, River, and the hair is hilarious.
Especially Zoe with, "Hell, yes, Preacher. If I didn't have stuff to get done, I'd be in there with her."
And then Book's hurt look. LoL
"Bible's broken" is my next favorite. This is a hidden River gem episode.
Opening night of Serenity, the Firefly movie that comes after the series, in many theaters people sang, "The Hero of Canton" while waiting for the movie to start.
It's a fantastic folk melody about the greatest of heroes, Jane!
There were about 100 Browncoats at the Chicago screening and we sang Hero of Canton and the Firefly theme song.
That is awesome
Humans are kinda awesome.
I was at the Seattle premiere!! Adam Baldwin came to that one. 😁
The line “There ain’t people like that… there’s just people like me…” is one of my favorites from all of television. Adam Baldwin sold it perfectly.
You say this when standing right there is the man who's soon going to say "Well, I must say, Lady, you're my kind of stupid."
I had a very funny encounter at a comic-con in Portland, Or, back in 2013. Jewel Staite was attending she signing autographs and doing fotos with fans. Well, being that Kaylee is my favorite on Firefly, if I had to choose. There was no doubt I had to get a photo with her. After waiting quite a while for my turn, they finally ushered me into the Photo Booth. Jewel Staite was there standing at her mark, I said hello shook her hand by and introduced myself by my first name “Stefan”. She reciprocated while the attendant moved me to my mark for the photo. I mentioned how I loved her portrayal of Kaylee and how much I enjoyed the show. While all this was transpiring the photographer was writing down the pertinent info for the photo, my full name and such. But when he asked for my full name, I gave it, there was a sudden silence and slight shock because my last name is “Jayne”. Spelled exactly as Jayne Cobb. Jewel stepped slightly off her mark to face me more directly and asked “Seriously, your name is Jayne?” I said “yes” and everyone expressed how fun that was. But just as they got ready to take the photograph, the cameraman decided to go into a rendition of “The man they call Jayne”. Everyone in the booth proceeded to sing a few bars. I have a slightly odd smile in the photo because he snapped the picture just as I started to loose it from all the singing everyone was doing. . It was a very nice encounter with Jewel Staite. One I will never forget.
Okay your one long-winded contribution to this thread beats EVERYTHING I just typed and edited and abridged and typed again. You got to stand next to THE Jewel Staite and everyone sang The Jayne Song to you. You win! =)
In the rhythm of Inara: "You actually are ... Jayne?"
One of my favorite things about this episode is seeing Inara flustered and stumbling over her words when she finds out Fess is talking about Jayne instead of Mal. We've NEVER seen Inara be flustered like this before. She's always composed and collected, so to see her thrown like that is a sight to behold.
She gets a little flustered after she kisses Mal in "Our Mrs. Reynolds," but not to the same level.
@@CowCommando
Well, there's "flustered ...
And there's drugged.
We did learn more about Jayne. He's not afraid to kill, he's not afraid to die, but Jayne can't bear someone laying down his life for him.
Jayne learned that he can't prevent those people from idolizing him... all he can do is try to live up to the pedestal they've placed him on.
It's not that he can't bear it. He doesn't understand why someone would give their life for someone else. He doesn't understand self sacrifice or caring about others more than himself.
@@LordVolkov I think he can understand it, but can't understand why someone would do it for HIM specifically.
@@LordVolkov I disagree. Jayne has a very selective idea of what he considers "family". Family you will sacrifice for, outsiders you do not. Jayne doesn't consider most people family and his journey on the show is to begin to accept the people on Serenity as part of his family. Kaylee he already has done so. Simon and River are definitely not part of his family. The citizens of "Jaynestown" also are not part of his family. Why would they sacrifice for him if he wouldn't for them?
Another thing this episode revealed is Jayne's lack of understanding of what it means to have people think of you as a leader. He is uncomfortable with people looking up to him and respecting him. One of the things that would have happened if the show had continued was Jayne would get his own ship and crew, He would have found himself in a leadership position like Mal, and have to deal with a crew, some of whom may treat him as he treats Mal. How does he deal with that? I would have been very interested in that part of Jayne's story.
One thing about Jayne, though, is while he may not consider the crew of Serenity as family, he also takes his job on the ship very seriously. He protects the people on the ship from outside threats without any complaints in the moment. He is very professional at doing his job, which is the aspect of Mal that Jayne represents. Jayne is one of the best depictions of being a mercenary in fiction, but he also has his code.
Jayne doesn't think that he's worthy of the sacrifice. "Everyone is the hero of their own story." But not Jayne to himself.
Want some backstory on Jayne?
Pay close attention at the start of Ep #12 "The Message"; listen to Jayne reading a letter...
Such a telling letter that I so easy to miss.
@@TDoughter23ooh, enclosed.
@@TDoughter23 Jayne's a great illustration of how to right a character that is both an asshole, with understandable motivations, but without making excuses for their bad behavoir.
Also, his actions in 13 when he isn't the main focus of what's happening
“We gotta go to the crappy town where I’m a hero.” - Wash
there's a dive bar in my hometown we called 'crappy's' so i can take you to the crappy bar where i'm a hero lol
I love the Jayne/Stitch fight. There's no fancy choreography, just two dudes brawling for a second until one dies. Which is pretty much exactly how that thing would play out in reality.
Pretty much; there is great detail to realism in this show. Like no sound in space, and psychics that intuit the world, and china making it out into space on their own.
I got kind of a 'wrath' off Jayne in that scene.
He didn't understand someone jumping in front of him to save him, but he knew the one who took the shot had to go, like right now & brutal. Kind of a righteous vengeance bubbling up, even if it made no sense to him, he felt it. More subtle, but a little bit of a "they stole my car and un-lifed my dog" vibe. I can't think of any other scene where he charged an armed man while unarmed himself, and did him in with his bare hands. They toned it down for network tv, but it's there.
@@leesweets4110 Apart from the fact that a man living in a box for 4 years wouldn't even be able to walk, never mind fight somebody.
@@Shoomer1988 To be fair though, he did lose pretty easily.
I love that when people get stabbed in this show it doesn't just turn them off like a light switch. They still have that adrenaline pumping, they keep fighting.
One of my cosplays is Captain Mal, and I'm kinda proud of everything I put together to make it work. I convinced my friend to cosplay as Jayne, and from the first time we walked through a convention together, all I hear is people LOUDLY shouting "Jaaayne!!", or singing "The Hero of Canton" song 🤦 I've literally gotten to the point where I have to yell back, "I'm here too, ya know!!", and then I get a pity "Oh hey Captain..." Ugh.
I met Adam Baldwin at convention and told him this story. He said when Joss told him about the song, he said "You'll only want to hear it once" 😂
That is so awesome, wish i had memories like that.
23:08 I've always appreciated how the outro music is a slow, introspective remix of "The Hero of Canton."
Jayne, the man they call Jayne
He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And he gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne
Our Jayne saw the mudders' backs breakin'
He saw the mudders' lament
He saw that magistrate takin'
Every dollar and leavin' five cents
So he said "you can't do that to my people"
You can't crush them under your heel"
So Jayne strapped on his hat
And in five seconds flat
Stole everythin' Boss Higgins had to steal
He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And he gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne
Now here's what separates heroes
From common folk like you and I
The man they call Jayne
He turned around his plane
And let that money hit sky
He dropped it onto our houses
He dropped it into our yards
The man they called Jayne
He stole away our pain
And headed out for the stars
He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And he gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne
❤
❤
The slow version of "The Man they called Jayne" over the end credits is amazing.
i love how throughout the series, Mal has 1-on-1 talks with each member of the crew.
The Kaylee-Simon story mirrors real life. We don't have Hollywood writers crafting the perfect lines in the real world. We say stuff we want to take back, we think of something better to say long after we had the chance, we go blank at the wrong moments. That's real life. It doesn't always have a happy ending. You dust yourself off and get back at it.
Realism versus idealism. Firefly is the world as it is, Star Trek is the world as we wish it to be.
Thats just what I wanted to say, but I couldn't think of it at the time.....
Star Trek is no Firefly.
Sure I've watched a lot of star trek, but I never bought the dvd set of any trek.
@@kathrynck
To be fair ... Star Trek has a dozen official shows and is in common reruns (even on free broadcast television) pretty much all day long, somewhere.
Why would you need dvd's?
Jayne and Mal's talk at the end of the episode is one of my favorite moments of writing in all of television. "it's not about you Jayne, it's about what they need."
"JAYYYYYYYNE! The man they call Jayyyyyyyyne!" This episode is a riot... with a surprisingly thought-provoking ending.
12:35 "you guys had a riot... on account of [Jayne]?!" 👍
"Bible is broken. Contradictions, false logistics. Doesn't make sense." "You don't fix faith. It fixes you" "I tore this out of your symbol and it turned into paper" So many great lines and quotes just in the side storyline alone.
Inara is more than a "hooker with a heart of gold" - she is a Companion. Her skillful handling of the Magistrate wasn't wasn't because "she's good" - it's because that's the sort of thing she has been trained to do since childhood. Things like that are quite "easy-peasy" for her.
She IS good, because she's had that training.
So many people get hung up on the sex aspect of Companions that they don't realize that it is only a part of the job and usually not even the main part.
@@Diomedene
Uhh ...
"Other than THAT, Mrs. Lincoln...
How did you like the play?"
@@kenle2 Thank you for helping prove my point.
@@Diomedene Pretending sex isn't the primary point isn't being "open-minded".
It's swimming in that river in Egypt.
Fun Fact: As a service to their fans, Jewel Staite and Sean Maher (Kaylee & Simon) appeared in an episode of Castle where they played a husband & wife couple running a diner. It was a sweet moment in TV.
I think this was in Warehouse 13
Simon: You're like a trained ape, without the training. One of my favorite lines .
Fun fact, there's a bit of a religion switch-up in this show. The actor who played Book was actually a Buddhist, the actress who plays Inara is actually Christian. In the show he's a Christian and she's a Buddhist.
I hate to be that guy, but if you could refer to them as space, Buddhist, and space Christian that would be accurate
@@jacobtampa2817Damn space right.
That's interesting and kinda explains why Book is so zen, while Inara is so moralistic. 😅
@@jacobtampa2817
Space... or Void...?
@@jacobtampa2817 no, it wouldn't.
I feel compelled to stand up for Simon in this episode; translating from scared teenager caught in a compromising position with his sweetie by her very protective (surrogate) father what he said was something along the lines of "This isn't what it looks like; I wouldn't do that with any girl here, especially not Kaylee. I would not dishonor her in such a manner."
It was Simon's bad luck that Kaylee was completely oblivious to that kind of sexual morality and took his "especially not Kaylee" comment in the literal sense. I love the way their two completely opposite cultures kept getting bounced off of each other.
Subverting the expectations of Chekov's rickety plank bridge is one of the things that makes this episode such fun to watch haha!
The most underrated and misunderstood character. There is a good reason he is so money hungry, revealed in a later episode. In this episode he is actually appreciated, and made to feel good about himself for the first time. The crew never appreciates him or compliments him. He didn't want to use his fame against the mudder's because he was finally made to feel that it's ok to think he could be a better person.
How about the scene where Jayne was given the rain stick?
naw. the foctor is the most misunderstood. pretty sure his "i would never" wasn't meant "i would never sleep with kaylee" but "take advantage of a drunk woman" he's just that sweet
"I feel so hoodwinked."
"Hoodwinked" sounds like a good Firefly episode name.
Cousin to "bushwhacked."
There is an animated movie called Hoodwinked. It's kinda funny. Can recommend.
@@bigdream_dreambig... Then complete the trilogy with "Gobsmacked". =:o}
Sure. That was the first episode of season 2.
I absolutely love Jayne's second speech. It really shows off his character. It was said straight from his heart. that's who he sees himself: as nothing but a bad guy, and that means he at least has some knowledge of himself and knows the difference between right and wrong. And then later, with Mal, more of his true self comes through. Just an amazing deep dive into "The Hero of Canton, the man they call... Jayne."
This episode is all about faith: Faith in your tradition, Faith in someone else, and Faith in yourself. Although what I have Faith in has changed over my many years, I still admire it when I see it.
I like how Jayne’s response to the hero worship changes as the episode goes on. At first he’s extremely uncomfortable with it. He knows he doesn’t deserve it, and he’s scared of being found out as a fraud. After a while he begins to relax and enjoy it, and he’s genuinely touched by their devotion to him. Then when the boy sacrifices himself to save Jayne, he feels guilt and anguish. Guilt is an emotion that he’s unfamiliar with, and so he doesn’t quite recognize what it is that bothers him. “I don’t know why it eats at me so!” “It don’t make no ruttin’ sense!” Jayne doesn’t want anybody to know it, but he has a conscience.
02:14: "Oh, this is definitely his sympathetic backstory episode."
No, not really.
12:26: "Oh, she's *good."*
Yeah. I would have loved to see more Inara episodes like this, really showing what separates a Companion from a prostitute. She's here not just for sex, but to help this young man figure out who he is.
14:12: I love this Simon moment, because it's so relatable for me. What he *meant* to say was that he would never take advantage of Kaylee while she was too drunk to give consent. What he *said* was. . . well. . . not that.
18:42: And that's why we kept cutting back to that guy.
20:49: "Look at him!"
And when Fess takes over for his dad, odds are things will significant improve for the Mudders. Inara's reach is long.
Back when we still had the yearly charity screenings of Serenity here, a full audience rendition of "Hero of Canton" was always part of the evening.
i was lucky enough to go to one once
I appreciate how Jayne's character is written. He seems to truly believe everyone has to look out for themselves. Certainly he has heard the concepts of trust, friendship, selflessness, etc.. he just doesnt believe society really works that way. He doesnt seem bitter about it, he isnt out to settle scores. He just thinks it is every man for himself. Most fictional characters who think that way are either very obviously bitter about past trauma, or very obviously the villain, or both. Jayne is almost Homer Simpsonish...VERY unlikeable actions and selfishness, but impossible to really hate because on the rare occasions that he does truly understand what's morally right and the reason for it, he chooses to try to be right. He just doesnt really seem to get the concept very well.
He is also very loyal to his own people. He believes that if he doesn't take care of his people no one will. He did say in the pilot that the price he was offered wasn't high enough but Jayne isn't someone who betrays his friends, he just acts that way. Probably because he things that if people liked him they might take a bullet for him.
If you can’t do something smart, do something right
@@jasperzanovich2504 spoilers...
Even later when he does commit an act of betrayal, it's to protect his friends.
"...on the rare occasions that he does truly understand what's morally right and the reason for it, he chooses to try to be right. He just doesnt really seem to get the concept very well."
He has a line in The Big Damn Movie that sums this up.
"The end of Firefly" blues, at least that's how I call it, often hits right around episode 9. It's when it sinks in that the show is almost over and there isn't much more than a few episodes and the movie Serenity. It's always sad. Don't know if other people feel the same.
Episode 12 for me. The original DVD box set had 4 disks, 3-4 episodes per. The last disk was watched much less than the first three.
This episode could have easily been called "Symbolism." Ben Edlund, the writer, layered a variety of symbols throughout the story. The Bible a symbol of the Shepard's faith. But to River it is just a book filled with contradictions. The statue a symbol of the Mudder's hope. But to the crew it is just a mud rendition of Jayne to be mocked. The son's chastity a symbol of his immaturity. But to Inara it's just how every man starts out. His son losing his virginity is a symbol of manhood to the father. But it is the example of Jayne standing up to Higgins and Inara's confidence building which actually results in the son stepping up and out of his father's shadow. Simon's propriety is a symbol of his love and respect for Kaylee but as Kaylee says, "It doesn't mean anything out here in the Black." It really is good writing for a science fiction TV show about space cowboys.
love the analysis!
Jayne by his own free will publicly stepping out of his hero symbol down to his normal, slightly bad personality was also very powerful. After originally embracing it, profiting from it and believing it himself a small bit, he was shamed and perhaps also saw that the hero in him would admit the painful truth.
@@sebastianwittmeier1274 Precisely. And Mal's message to Jayne as he struggles to make sense of what happened summed up the purpose of symbols quite well. "It's not about you, Jayne. It's about what THEY need."
I would not dream of suggesting that you will ever love Jayne... or even like him, but here's what I WILL do.
I think I can guarantee that by the end of the series, you will find Jayne more interesting than you did at the beginning.
Really enjoying these! Not only is it one of my favourite series ever, but you're also an excellent reactor, you're observant, analytical, and clearly understand cinema and TV production, sharing the insights with your viewers. I was brought here by your reaction to Alien, by the way. Can't way for you to finish and see Serenity as well!
It's an imperfect world. And Serenity isn't exactly getting the cream of the crop for crew. It is different Sci-Fi than say.. Star Trek. The machinery is worn, and so are the people.
The Captain must know his crew, and how to use them.
Jayne is an imperfect character, as they all are. But within the boundaries of his character, he is "good".
He works for his pay. He may not be "nice", but if you're loading equipment, or in a fight, Jayne will give value for his pay.
Just don't expect him to not steal from the church.
And while he may be "rough around the edges", the death of that young man DID affect him.
My uncle actually knows the guy who performed "Hero of Canton". A great singer-songwriter type. It fits in beautifully with the classic Robin Hood trope.
And I want to go to the crappy town where I'm a hero.
Maybe they juggle geese there.
there's a dive bar in my hometown we called 'crappy's' so i can take you to the crappy bar where i'm a hero lol
I don't think there's a crappy town or bar where I'm a hero, but there are 2 square feet in my friend's living room.
Do you know if there's a full version of the song in the show somewhere? I'd love to listen to it.
My favorite Jayne scene is at the end of "Ariel". All these characters are written and acted soo well. I pick up subtle things every time i re-watch
Jayne is the most enigmatic and deep character on the show, whether or not he is likable. While appearing simple, he is actually complex. He is my favorite character on the show.
In one commentary track, Joss says this is all Adam Baldwin's fault: You weren't supposed to like Jayne, at all.
@@thexalon Adam Baldwin did a brilliant job with the character, IMHO.
@@thexalon The initial intention was for him to be unlikable, the internal "bad guy". But, Adam Baldwin was just too likable to the cast and crew. And that, apparently, how he became more of the lovable rogue than problematic thron in their side.
I really like Jane he is an ass but he is a likable ass. no homo
"Good manners are just a way of showing other people we have respect for them." -- Adam (played by Brandon Fraser) in the 1999 movie Blast From The Past --- I highly recommend you give this movie a watch if you have never seen it.
My dad lived in Canton when he was teen. So me & my cousin sung a slightly edited rendition of The Hero of Canton on a road trip for him 😃
When I was involved in roller derby, one of our home teams was the Steamer Janes. When they won in a bout, I composed an entire Steamer Janes version of the Hero of Canton!
Our love for him now, ain't hard to applaud! The hero of Canton, the man we call Pa! 🤭
Canton, NC has a paper mill and smells horrible. Every time i visit, i have to say "Man, canton STINKS"
Thanks
Thank you for the support!
Thanks for bringing me back to Firefly. I didn't know that I needed to revisit this series, but I did and I wouldn't have done so without you.
Inara ISN'T a "hooker"; she's a Registered Companion. She had to successfully complete several years of specialized training, and Companion candidates have been expelled for failing in Ethics classes (Our Mrs. Reynolds is an example of that). She's also required to get yearly medical examinations, and could still be kicked out of the guild (that may not be what they call it; it's just the best word I have) if she doesn't live up to their high standards. Registered Companions are highly respected professionals.
Of all the reactions to this show that I've seen, I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed yours the most. I watched this when it 1st aired, and your reactions have almost perfectly mirrored mine. I love every one! Thank you.
She's delightful! Her obsession with the muddy waters had me cracking up. X)
Jayne has some of my favorite one-liners.
The interesting thing about this episode is that Jane changed the mudders’ lives, but they changed him too. He was prepared to take a shotgun blast that he pretty much deserved. But he can’t for the life of him understand someone innocent literally taking a bullet for him. He enjoyed being the (false) hero for once, but the boy’s sacrifice clearly sucked all the fun out of it.
Zoe's reaction to the hair was my favorite moment. "Preacher! What the hell did you say t--whooooooah!"
It was comic perfection, I was hoodwinked out of it in this reaction video though...
I love this Jayne-centric episode. He is NOT a 2 dimensional character. He is a product of the 'Verse he was born into. He doesn't need a tragic backstory. He does have feelings and struggles with them. His personality is very complex believe it or not.
A perfect start to the week. My favorite reviewer watching my favorite show (and the next one Out of Gas is my favorite episode)
Thanks Jacqui! Your insight always makes my day.
Thank you so much!
In a way Jayne is like Cordelia and Anya were in Buffy. He's the stream of consciousness character, the person in the show who says exactly what they are thinking almost all the time. Usually used for moments of shock and/or humor for various situations.
Very astute. When examining all the works Joss Whedon has had a hand in, there are commonalities to the character choices and plot progressions. Jayne is akin to Cordelia. Also Laurence Dominic on Dollhouse. There's always a "Jayne" of sorts in all of Joss' works. Like the best directors and writers and producers, Joss has his own je ne sais quoi.
Love how committed you were to chekhov's mud in this episode. 😂🤣
8:13 we ALL smirked when you said that, too.
What makes that Bible scene my favorite is that Joss Whedon is an atheist and Ron Glass is a Buddhist. Hence the line "It's not about making sense, it's about faith. You don't fix faith, River. It fixes you." holds so much more meaning coming from them, at least in my eyes.
Bit of trivia I didn’t clock for _years_: The primary antagonist in this story is a man named Higgins…who hires someone to “make a proper man” out of his son. If That doesn’t ring the a bell for you (I’d assume it does given your career path, but just in case there’s someone reading this who doesn’t get it): I commend to your/their attention My Fair Lady (by way of Pygmalion) for the source of the homage.
Not having anyone fall in the muddy water was literally Joss' way of subverting expectations!
Almost everything about this episode was.
Always been one of my favorite episodes, cause it starts that journey into the depths of Jayne as a character. Coming from the previous episode where he's probably at his worst and most disliked (perhaps up until the end and his moment with Vera), to this backstory and its end where he has moments throughout of goodness and crises of conscience is a fantastic juxtaposition. And then to the next few episodes where his character is fully mirrored once more in Out of Gas, Ariel and War Stories (where he came from (Out of Gas), where and who he is now (Ariel), to the fallout after Ariel and the completion of his arc (War Stories). The Message later also provides some really interesting backstory to his character and for our understanding into his character and why he's always so fixed on his possible payment. None of this would matter if he wasn't played so brilliantly by Adam Baldwin.
If you haven't figured it out yet, Jayne is actually the comic relief for the show, with lines such as "He was bigger when I couldn't see'em." "I call her Vera" After a while you are waiting for the new Jayneism in every new episode. Then when you are rewatching the episode you are waiting for Jayne to say the line again.
In a later episode I think it's "Out of Gas" I believe some more of Jane's backstory and how he came to be a member of the crew is revealed, it's quite interesting and pure Joss Whedon. Jane's definitely a flawed character but he's necessary to the crew and I can't fault him for that... much?
i bought a candy bar from the man/actor who sold serenity to mal lol...real life...i don't know why that always makes me happy...
I think it is better to think of Inara as a Space Geisha, instead of the HWAHG.
Oh Inara is definitely both. Space Geisha AND COMPANION With A Heart of Gold. =)
Legit one of the saddest things about this show not getting more was just the little groundwork whedon laid dor jayne was almost for sure gonna be such incredible growth in later seasons
Love this episode. The jokes all land but its the character stuff that really hits as always.
I like Simon's comment about Jayne. He's "like a trained ape ... without the training."
And here's the other episode reaction I'm here for. There's a town nearby called Canton, and my wife and I almost always sing "The Hero of Canton" when we drive through it.
15:40 I love that the music starts to swell gently as she begins "The Ballad of Mal Reynolds" and then stops abruptly when her jaw drops.
I love this episode because, well because it's Firefly and they're all awesome, but at the same time I hate this episode because I always get the Jane song stuck in my head for days.🤣
🎶 The Hero Of Canton…🎶
As always your reactions are super enjoyable, i particularly like the film making perspective that you bring. Also, major props to your editor (or you if you do it yourself) that fairy godmother cut in at the end was S-tier.
So Jayne is actually my favorite character in the show, outside of Saffron, not because I like him as a person or agree with him, but because I see his character as complex, even though it often seems simple. I can't say too much about it because there are more episodes that will have aspects of his character revealed, but this shows at least a couple of parts of the nuance. The first, imo, comes when Stitch drags Simon into the crowd and says he got one of Jayne's guys and Jayne says, "He ain't-a one o' mine." Shows him deliberately trying to de-escalate a dangerous situation that Simon is in, even though he commonly expresses dislike for the doctor. And then there's the end, where Jayne becomes self-contemplative for the first time in the show. It shows an ability to look inside himself and analyze situations on more than a surface level. Combine that with some ambiguity about where his loyalties lie that has been established in past episodes and the very vulnerable way he was crouched in a cubby chewing on his thumb while he watched Kaylee get operated on after being shot in the first episode, and you have a nice complex character, possibly the one with more nuance than any other, although lacking a lot of likeability.
You know you're a true Browncoat whrn you find yourself singing the entire song with a strong finish, "The man they call Jaaaaaaaa-yne!!!"
Or 🎶The man they call MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!🎶
The Legend of Jayne Cobb, and the Epic Song that Tells His Tale. This town's Santa doesn't wear red, and is more angry than jolly, but we all still love him. Merry Christmas, Jacqui!
You probably already finished the season, but when you go back and watch it again, know that Jayne's story is very subtle. Theres things about him I completely overlooked until recently because of watching reactions of this show
On the DVD set, there is an Easter egg of Adam Baldwin singing “The Hero of Canton (the ballad of Jayne)”
You're the only reactor I've ever seen that recognized Fess' body language at the end. Cool!
Boss Higgins staggers back a bit too, like he turned into a rattlesnake or something. Great scene.
Natalie Gold had some pretty funny commentary about it in her reaction
The slow, sad version of The Ballad of Jayne that was playing when Mal and Janye were talking at the end was a nice touch. Did not notice that the first time through.
24:45 other way around
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
Ive never tought of this episode and Chekhov's Mud Pit
A great episode of Firefly, but this is my favorite episode of yours that I have ever seen.
Excellent editing and commentary, and you were so funny!
One of my fav lines in the whole show: Wash says "We gotta go to the crappy town where I'm a hero."
This is such a fun episode.
Remember this show was cancelled midseason. The arc of the show and the characters were just getting develop. The show was supposed to be five to seven years.
"Our love for him now, ain't hard to explain" - I love that song!
Also, have you seen Dr Horrible's Sing-along Blog? If not, you should really react to it, considering how much you enjoy Whedon's writing =)
I read that Jayne was intended to be a sort of secondary antagonist, however actor Adam Baldwin did something at his audition that not only got him the job, but changed the character from what was written.
What did he do?
This is very much a fan favorite episode, we Browncoats are as likely to burst into song singing The Hero of Canton as we are the main Firefly theme.
Jayne is my favorite character. He has the most growth of all the characters during the show.
I love having both my favorite show and such a beautiful hostess at the same time! Your reactions are wonderful! You catch on quickly but can still be taken by surprise. Its great 😂
Loving this vid series. IDK how I came across your channel but I'm glad I did.
Thank you!
"We gotta go to the crappy town where I'm a hero." My favorite line in the entire series.
The best part for me was the final scene. Jayne showed dismay and sorrow over how things turned out. It upped the catharsis. He might be a blunt weapon, but he does have some level of empathy.
Oh, the episode I've been waiting for! The best in the series, to me. I'm so happy to see a first reaction to this one!
you're the second person I've watched reactions to watching this show, because I love it that much. I enjoy just watching other people experience it for the first time.
Not only did Simon insert foot in mouth, he chewed vigorously!
i think the intention with jayne was for his character to be the spike analogue in a longer multi-series role...
a bad guy, from the wrong side of the tracks, who never expected anything better for themselves, slowly learning to better themselves from those around him.
Unfortunately, fox decided to can the series too soon for a lot of stories to pan out properly.
By the way, something I saw noted elsewhere is that, despite the difference in reaction scale, Inara is going to be a bigger hero for Canton than Jayne will ever be: He dropped a bit of money into the mudders' laps, and it improved their standard of living for a bit. By making Fess a more assertive, confident man who embraces his kind side, Inara will be improving the whole planet for untold years, perhaps decades or even centuries to come.
Jayne did more than that, a lot more. He gave them hope.
Since I discovered your channel, I keep a lookout for your Firefly reactions. Can't wait until you react to "Serenity". Keep up the great work!
Thank you! I can't wait to share the rest of the series!
Jayne Cobb strikes me as what you'd get if Looney Toons' Tasmanian Devil were turned into a human. He'd be barely human, with a lot of his brute traits remaining. And I find that a hilariously absurd caricature of masculinity.
"He's like a trained ape, without the training." ~Dr. Simon Tam
As you said, you're already halfway through the series and will soon be on to the next thing. My suggestion, Dollhouse. It's another short lived Joss Whedon show, only two 13 episode seasons, but it really is enjoyable. Not as good IMO as Firefly, Buffy, or Angel but still an interesting and entertaining story all the same.
naw...paul and echo and the epitaphs make me cry
It certainly kicks into gear in the second season when they're cracking along at about 3 episodes per 'planned season'.
one of my favorite episodes, it always makes me laugh when they are learning more, and even the song says "it ain't hard to explain." It also made me wonder what the mudder's milk would taste like. all the Firefly episodes are so good, especially the ones coming up.
Like butterbeer, there are a lot of unofficial recipes out there for it, some of which are pretty tasty
17:24 I love that the statue and Jayne are posed the same, and glad you noticed. 😂