**Note--There's a bot spamming this video as me, saying "I'd prefer if we talk privately." It's spam, and it has been reported. Hopefully it's been taken care of. We made it to the end! Thank you for joining me for part 2 (and for those of you watching these drop live, being patient 24 hours between them to appease the copyright gods!) It's been such a joy to share this experience with all of you, and don't forget to check out BUFFY and THE EXPANSE on Patreon! Spam the comments if you want me to react to the Firefly/Serenity bloopers, outtakes, and River Tam sessions! (I promise, it won't take a lot of convincing--I love bonus content 😄) Stay shiny, Browncoats! ❤
if you love Summer Glau and want to see more of her i highly recommend Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles. it's one of my absolute favorite tv shows. it has an all-star cast, and the acting is incredible. it takes place after Terminator 2, and completely ignores T3 and the rest of the movies. so you would only need to watch T1 and T2 first (if you already haven't). it's only 2 seasons (31 episodes), so it wouldn't be too time consuming.
Not going to spoil what they were, but every main actor was told a secret about their character that would help them with the direction they would act and each would be revealed over the course of the series. They left hints for a number of them throughout the show. I think 4 have been confirmed. I think the River Tam Files were promotional for the movie. They are very interesting. I suggest going through the Graphic Novel on Shepard Book at the very least.
In the commentaries, Nathan says that Gina and Joss were discussing the deeper meaning of that scene, and he jerked up and was like: "Wait, we're NOT talking bout the ship???" Truly, he is Mal Reynolds.
There's a running theory that symbolically Zoe "is" Serenity. Mostly stemming from the episode "Out of Gas", where Zoe gets knocked out at the same time Serenity does, shares Serenity's condition for most of the episode, and presumably regains consciousness to turn her shuttle around at the same time Mal gets Serenity started again.
Dear Jacqui, you cried when preacher died, I knew you'd cry when Wash died. But here is the magic in this show. I knew you'd laugh when Kaylie said, "to hell with this, I want to live".
At the time, I hated how fast they moved on from Wash's death. But later, as I thought about it, I realized that's what war is like. In the blink of an eye a loved one is gone and you can't linger, you have to move on to survive. You grieve later.
When I watched tv and movies I was always irritated at how MUCH time was spent on someone's death. All reality and conflict doesn't just stop while everyone gets to sit around and hear your last thoughts... for half an hour... while you say everything you want to say and everyone gets to respond. Death is brutal, sudden, _instant,_ and you DON'T get to "savor" the moment. You HAVE to carry on, and deal with the death later. I never liked how every media just allows SO much time to process a character dying. Reality isn't like that.
FWIW, Gina Torres has said somewhere in the verse is "a little boy with wirey red hair and freckles. Jayne babysits and they fight about who gets to teach him to shoot."
The Operative has been one of my favorite movie villains. Chiwetel Ejiofor portrays him in such a way that you can simultaneously hate and admire the man.
15:30 Wash: "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar!" Jacqui: "That's where that came from! You guys have been commenting that for 14 episodes now! I finally get it!" Yeah, about that ...
Every single last one of us wanted to warn you about Book and Wash. But we couldn't take that away from you. I saw this on opening night, in a packed theater in Austin. When Book died, the whole crowd went silent, aside from a few muffled sobs. When Wash fell, the crowd ROARED in outrage. Several people immediately walked out. It felt so wrong, to laugh at Kaylee's declaration of her intent to live, just after losing Wash. But it was exactly what we needed, and Whedon knew that.
I don't know if this leaked or not- the critical secret of Inara's character is that she had some lethal illness. It's not clear, whether her time at the Temple cured her, or something else did, or whether she still had no future...
That, actually, is a common occurrence, both Kaylee's comment and our reaction. Death is traumatic for those who witness it. To cope with that trauma, we do something to re-confirm we're alive. You could do much worse than focus on love and laughter to hold back the dark.
30:26 No matter how many times I see it, this little speech from Mal at the end makes me tear up. It's not in this edit, but at one part, he's looking directly into the camera and saying "Love keeps her in the air when she oughtta fall down." That was a message directly to fans that the movie only existed because of their incredible, undying support. This little TV show, sent out to die and canceled before anybody even knew about it, still managed to connect with people and form a fanbase so strong that 20 years later, we're still talking about it. "We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
I accidentally lost one of the Firefly DVDs. Before I even figured out what happened, I Amazoned to my house "Next Day Delivery" a new group of Firefly DVDs! I eventually figured out that I left a DVD in the DVD player. So, now I have TWO full sets. How sick is that? I could not imagine being without the Firefly DVDS!!!
@@DudeLongcouch my favourite story in that respect was, in the episode where Mal is left on Serenity and is running out of air, there’s a red button Wash tells him ‘push that and we’ll come back’ or something like that. At the cancellation of the series, I don’t know which cast member it was, took that red button off the set and handed it to Whedon and repeated the line - push that and we’ll all come back. 😭
My favourite bit of this movie is when the Operative goes from smug superiority over short disbelief to high-grade panic. "Target the Reavers. Target the Reavers! Target everyone! SOMEBODY FIRE!" This never gets old, just like the 90-pound girl knocking out Jayne.
That's one of the best examples, but I love how Mal keeps confounding him throughout the movie; "Have you located their nav signal?' -We found seven;" "What do you mean 'Disappeared?'"
Okay kid... Inara's big SECRET (and it took Joss about a decade before he was willing to reveal WHY she acts the way she does. It explains everything. Inara is dying. She has an incurable disease and not much longer to live. She booked passage on Serenity to go and "see the verse" before her time was up. She left all her friends behind so they wouldn't have to see her pass. And she has the little syringe kit (shown in the very first episode) for when she starts to slide, and things get bad. She did NOT count on falling for Mal, and definitely doesn't want him to suffer through what she knows is coming. THAT is why she refuses to let him get close, and why she left when she thought the two of them were headed in that direction. She was trying to spare Mal the pain.
Many years ago they talked about episodes that were coming down the pipe that never got made and one of them talks about the syringe, it wasn't for a peaceful death. apparently it was a poison that would kill the man or men who raped the women that injected it. in the episode Inara was to be captured by the Reavers and when Mal and the crew finally got to her the entire ship of Reavers was dead indicating ALL of them took a turn with her. it would have been one of the darkest moments on network television EVER and i think would have damage Mal as much as Inara as he would have felt that he failed her. THEN add to that her terminal illness and we are talking level 10 heartbreak.
When I saw the intro of you saying "That's where it comes from," I was thinking, "Oh, honey. This is so gonna hurt." But I loved seeing you experience it for the first time, both the pain and the laughter. This movie still has a special place in my heart."
Yep... I felt bad for her, when she first said the line, she was so happy to find out about it, second time the line pops up.... she's ecstatic "Oh, I know where that is from." ...and my thought was....no you really don't, and you are going to be destroyed when it happens the third time.... Watching her go from joy to utter shock and sadness, and now fully understanding the line.... devastating.
Yeah, when she said that's where that came from and was laughing, I was thinking no, that's not where it came from, but it's coming soon. It's always too soon.
Yeah, Jayne got part way there after finding out what was done to River at the hospital, but at this moment he's fully accepted that everything he's been resenting them for this whole time was not their fault.
Another one I liked is when Jayne checked everyone's belts before strapping himself. Moments like that he really shines, like in Out if Gas when he of all people told them to calm down and stop wasting air yelling at each other.
16:37 You noticed Simon assisting Kaylee, but more notably Jayne set aside his own safety making sure everyone else was secure…and got bounced around pretty roughly.
Yeah, that was one of the details I really liked. I don't know if it were one of his set responsibilities (like a Fire Warden evacuating a building), but it shows him actually putting others ahead of himself, something not really seen throughout the series.
One of my best friends passed away when we were 16, he was a diehard browncoat and had a very similar personality to Wash, his mom had his tombstone commissioned with that quote on it and it makes me cry doubly when I hear it.
And now you know the PAIN one must ENDURE to TRULY be called a "Browncoat"! I STILL begin to tear up when "the" scene is about to be shown! Every. Single. Time. I've said it before, but I LOVE the fact that Walsh got his "moment of glory" and PROVED that he was the Greatest Pilot in the Verse! By flying through a "War in Heaven" and, in his last moment of life, glancing back & seeing that the woman he LOVES is safely on the ground, because of him. (If you HAVE to go out? That sounds like the BEST way to go!)
The scene over the generator, fighting the operative, when he says, "Right now, I'm gonna have to go with wrath." reminds me of when he was captured by Nishka, and amid fighting back said, "You wanna meet the real me now?"
Nathan Fillion is such an underrated actor. Everyone talks about how funny he is but he has a lot more range than that. His desperation and anger in this movie is so believable. The way "Mal" detaches and almost disassociates after Haven, because he has to in order to do his job, is nothing short of masterful.
27:30 - When the Operative gives that "stand down" order, he saves the lives of those Alliance troops. I am 100% sure that River would have killed every last one of them if she'd needed to. 28:00 - In the comics that followed after the series and movies, it's revealed that Zoe is indeed pregnant when Wash is killed, and she later gives birth to their daughter, named Emma. 29:30 - They never got the chance to fully explore this because the show was canceled so soon, but it was eventually going to be revealed that Inara had a terminal disease. That's why she left the guildhouse to travel around with Serenity and see the 'Verse. That's why, when Kaylee asked how she was after her checkup in "Ariel," she just said, "Same as last year" (instead of "Fine," or the like). More than anything, *_this is the real reason she keeps her distance from Mal_* . When she's sobbing after he sleeps with Nandi in "Heart of Gold," little, if any, of that is being hurt that he slept with Nandi _per se_ ... almost all of it is her weeping because she feels like she *_can't_* be with Mal. She's not willing to get close to him, just to rip his heart out when she dies. After the events of "Serenity," it seems like the loss of Book and Wash have made her realize how uncertain life is, and that maybe you have to take true love when you find it...
There is hints of this in the first (or second episode) when they were worried about reavers and she pulls out a syringe. She already has a suicide set up and that was an early nod to it.
I had never heard this before. It makes me even more mad we never got to see that story. Mal finding out that she was terminally ill would have been some juicy scenes with Mal. I know I am broken because I want to have seen that performance as painful as it would have been.
Seeing you get attached to the characters throughout the season was both beautiful and terrifying because us browncoats knew how it would end. Now you're one of us. Welcome.
You’re much more perceptive than I was on first watch! I remember on the commentary, Whedon said of the moment where Jayne shares a drink with Simon, that they would waste a lot of time going around the circle doing the ‘I’m in’ for everyone. So he worked out that if he had Jayne sign on, and then ALSO show Simon is in, given their relative distance in the character web, the audience would know that everyone was on board. The writing in this is absolute perfection.
@@denismccrohan7607 That works too. I was just trying to use a more "hoity-toity" word to focus on his "upper class" upbringing & mannerisms. And to point out that he had (at least for the moment) abandoned them in this instance.
Jacqui doesn't miss a thing! I've seen the movie at least 10 times and watched the entire series through 4 or 5 times and still learned things here. Awesome!
I've never done this before. I'll probably never do it again. I feel like I have to today. You give so much of yourself to us. And you do it while pushing through personal tragedy and hardship. You. Are. Remarkable. You not only give us the opportunity to experience or favourite shows and movies all over again, but we get to feel our emotions and yours at the same time. It was heartbreaking to watch you watch this movie but I'm glad I did. Thank you so much.
Apologies for the spam bot comment earlier. It’s been a plague recently, and has been reported. Thank you so much! It means so much to be a part of this community, and I’m grateful my experiences resonate with others. I appreciate your generosity 😊
My favorite scene in the whole movie, was Mal asking Zoey how she is doing but the both of them using Serenity as a proxy. "She's tore up plenty, but she'll fly true." Me? I am a ship fan. I am one who yelled at the TV and cried when Galactica made its last jump screaming hold together girl. Seeing Serenity clear the storm, making her triumphant barrel roll as she flies into the bright light of the 'verse. Amazing final shot for a series that made the ship, the set a character.
And the one little bit flying off, signifying that she's had things replaced and been all doctored up, but she's still the same ship. It was done for comedy, but I like to think of it as confirmation that Serenity is still Serenity.
So glad you mentioned Galactica. Everything she goes through in seasons 3 and 4 is so heartbreaking, and that last jump physically hurts. The Normandy in Mass Effect is also iconic, and I swear to this day the Suicide Mission in 2 was heavily inspired by the climax of Serenity.
B5 is perhaps the greatest sci-fi show ever made. It was the first and only thing to replace Star Trek's place in my lifelong devotion. O still love all of pre-2009 Trek, but I love B5 even more. Firefly, I also love, but it's not even in the same genre, really. Besides both having spaceships, the storytelling has almost nothing in common. So, there's no "competition" whatsoever in my mind.
fun fact. That Reaver that River punches is played By Neil Patrick Harris, who was Joss's first choice to play the Dr, but schedule conflicts prevented. So Joss offered him this little role, and Neil was all for it,
Your reaction to the deaths was exactly what the premier at our local theater was like. Grown a$$ nerdy men bawling, and in the middle of tears there was laughter, a classic Whedon move. I watched it in theaters three times, same every time. It was heartbreaking. Just like the movie. Thank you for your reactions to this show and movie. They felt genuine, as so many others don't. You made a subscriber of me.
You: "They have the best pilot in the 'Verse!" Us: You: "Red danger lighting!" Us: Also, I'm glad you got such a kick out of Kaylee's "I'm gonna live" line. That delivery is one of my favorites. Poor Kaylee must've been running low on batteries.
Yes. I foreshadowed the "batteries" back in episode 1 or 2... Drowned out by leaves in the wind. also: "I can’t know that!" "I could stand to know more."
Welcome back! My head cannon for Shepard Book’s backstory: Book knows so much about the Agent (and the Alliance) because he used to be an agent before he became a shepherd. All the clues are there starting from the beginning. In the pilot he says he just left the Abby suggesting that he just recently became a shepherd and has just finished his training. Then later he tells River “You don’t fix faith. Faith fixes you.” I think he’s talking about himself. Then there is the time he shows his ident card and the alliance goes from ‘get lost’ to ‘get this man to the infirmary asap.’ Clearly he was someone important within the Alliance. Then there are all the scenes where he knows how to fight and knows strategy, tactics, weapons, etc. Finally, he tells Mal about belief. The Agent could rationalize and justify being a monster because of how strongly he believed in what he was doing. When Mal showed him his world without sin, it shattered his beliefs and the Agent himself in the process. So my theory is that Joss has indirectly told us Book’s backstory through the Agent. They both went through the same process of Belief in the Alliance and having those beliefs shattered. Then Book found something else to believe in. He found the faith he needed to fix himself by becoming a shepherd. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it, even though I know there is an actual book out there detailing more of Book’s story. (which I have not read)
@ You’re right! That was Early in the final episode. And I agree that Early seemed very much like the Agent even though I got a freelance vibe from him.
The OFFICIAL backstory (as I've heard from others who've read it): Book was basically a criminal (sort of like Badger) before the War, but joined the Independents once the fighting broke out. He worked in an intelligence division for a while, until he swiped identification documents off of an Alliance officer; then, he went undercover in the Alliance. While posing as an Alliance officer, he arranged for the soldiers under his command to be AMBUSHED by the Independents, which led to massive casualties on the Alliance side. Then, in order to prevent the ambush from being traced back to him, he arranged for his Alliance officer alter ego to "disappear". Then he laid low for awhile, only to resurface as a man looking to join a monastary, which he would eventually leave... To then end up at the space docks on Persephone looking for "the right ship."
@@atlasisshrugging Less official than you might think. The comic writers "consulted" with Joss, but he didn't write those stories. And at the time this one was written, Joss was at the depth of his "me too-ing" and was a bit distracted. So, I don't care what that comic says. Book was an Operative of the Parliament. Period.
I like that the 'rules' get more negotiable, on the frontier. All the things that the Operative relies on - pulse beacon tracking, navsat trajectories, even the location of peoples' nerve clusters in their backs - don't work the way he expects them to. It's like a part of the theme, the Browncoats and the border planets may have been defeated, but they still defy the norms of what the Alliance wants and expects. The Operative sees those divergences as 'sins', and he fights against that. He wants that orderly utopia. But that feeling of personal independence, the independence in your head, is just part of life and being human. It can't be wiped out, without taking the rest of life with it, not with force and not with chemicals. As Mal shows him: the only world without sin, is a world that's dead.
I love how the resolved Rivers mental issue after seeing the video about the reavers. How she realizes she is ok. That now that she has context to all the memories in her head, she’s able to differentiate between herself and the memories of others. Sort of like how you can drive yourself to genuine anxiety and stress when you can’t remember a song that is stuck in your head. Or a line from a movie and you can’t remember the rest. How you can go all day with it bugging you. But then when you finally place it, that immense relief you feel. That’s how I interpreted her response to learning the truth
@@mattburgess5697 Yeah I thought that part was great. That first, just sort of tired, reflexive delivery of "I'm alright" and then the pause followed by the surprised "....I'm alright." Like things finally were clear to her for the first time in years.
It's partially that she's finally able to contextualize it, but I've always thought that a lot of it is that she doesn't have to bear it alone any more.
I always loved Inara's "I don't know" at the end. It's a throwback to earlier when Inara was saying that Mal "doesn't know what he wants". That's why Mal said it was a good answer.
You kill a main character to establish that there are stakes. This is accepted, audiences expect it to a certain degree; "there's our death, we're safe now". But when you kill a second main character? Nothing is off the table any more.
Also, it's such a trope that the "mentor" character gets killed to let the hero grow, which kind of fits Book and Mal. So, Book's death might even have been sort of expected. But Wash was just pure Joss "Your shirt" Whedon
Joss is a fan of The Wild Bunch, and similar to that film he likes to give the impression that anyone's life is on the table, that no one is safe. Book, understandable as it reinforces a familiar trope. But Wash shows that all bets are off, increasing the tension of the following battle.
@inspectre27 Also, Jayne asks earlier how many others in Mal's unit survived Serenity Valley besides Zoe. Sets the stage for the audience to worry it could be a total party kill.
It might interest you to know that Sean Maher (Simon) and Jewel Staite became the best of friends during Firefly and they're still like family to this very day.
@mattburgess5697 Yeah, he was in The Rookie, along with a couple of others. And a good chunk of them were on Nathan's previous show Castle along with a decent compilation videos of references to Firefly (Including Mal's very own outfit and favorite pistol).
It's a path you have to walk. No one can lead you. Initiation confirmed. Welcome to the Browncoats. Wash pays the price. Much love and keep on keepin on J.
The color of the daylight on Miranda is because it orbits a star called Burnham, which gives off different wavelengths of light than most other stars in the 'Verse, and Miranda orbits more closely, so the light feels brighter and more harsh. At least, that's the in-universe explanation. Artistically, it's likely because Whedon wanted that glare and overwhelming starkness to accentuate the dead world.
There's a theory that the people on Miranda who became the Reavers, the .1% of the population there, were latent psychics, like River. Rather than be lulled into sleep by the Pax gas, it stimulated a part of their brains to near-madness. Coupled with being exposed to the deaths of everyone around them, they became savage. Yet, they're also bound by shared suffering and a psychic bond, which is how they're still able to function together instead of tearing one another apart. This is why the Reavers spared the survivor in 'Bushwhacked', and made him watch as they killed his crewmates - because he was a psychic too, and they wanted him to be like them. Building on that theory is another theory, that River is an 'artificial' Reaver, of a sort. The Alliance saw the effect the Pax had, and wanted to weaponise it, creating a 'Reaver' who was programmed with commands and could be controlled. And the top officials visiting the facility she was kept at were thinking about the Miranda disaster, because it was connected to the experiments. This is why River keeps getting glimpses of the Reavers' atrocities, she touches their psychic bond. This is also why the Reavers have trouble fighting River, and why the Reavers let Serenity pass by them to Miranda - they keep thinking River's one of them. However, her programming and surgical alterations, as well as her relatively normal upbringing and the love of her brother, means that she doesn't feel the same way. It may mean nothing, but her name even sounds the same. River, Reaver.
That is a very interesting theory, and sounds rather complex...but Joss had a seven-season plan, and that sounds like the kind of thing he would do, a little bit at a time...drip, drip, drip some info until the last season when it all comes together
Whoa. I'd never heard any of that, but damn, that rings plausible! And, the ramifications that could have had on the show had it not been canceled so early, drip-feeding the audience bits and pieces of that over time...? Wow!
@@Skye_Writer It also might explain a detail that I never understood about the Reavers - how was it that the crew aboard the ship in 'Bushwhacked' didn't react to a Reaver attack? Why was everything eerily neat? No signs of a struggle? If the Reavers were using the supplies of the Pax gas left on Miranda as a weapon, pumping ships full of it so the crew simply dropped to sleep, except for the one man who was changed by it? That might explain it.
@@smartalec2001 I like that argument, because that entire attack makes no sense other wise. The episode made it a point that there was no signs of struggle or emergency, then you find an entire ship of people tied up and skinned.
Alan Tudyk doesn't like saying his iconic "I'm a leaf in the wind" line. He was at a Comic con for Firefly, when he was at the autograph session a group of Teenage Girls came up for their turn and he said the line and Girls burst into tears.
It's been great re-living the journey through your eyes. I don't know how many times I've seen firefly + serenity but it never gets old and I'm always so sad to see it end so soon. It really is one of the best ensembles of TV and the chemistry between the characters makes it so lovable, the humor is delightful and the mixing of genres is awesome, there is nothing quite like it. Every time I mourn what the show could have been 😭
The thing about movies is that you can throw as much money and talent at a project as you want but there is a key piece that is required... as Mal said... "LOVE!" This was a labor of LOVE. Every article, interview, 'behind the scenes' whatever... Cast and Crew ALL loved this show and movie. All that showed up in this movie.
@@morbidangel2424 The fan base as well... Last I heard Nathan is STILL trying to buy the rights to Firefly to reboot it. Fans keep trying to get networks etc. to reboot. As Jacqui said... "No gate keeping" in this fandom. Personally... I've had to buy the DVD box sets 4 times because of friends saying "I've always wanted to watch that!" and I NEVER get it back. LOL! I have 2 sets right now for a "Just in case". LOL!
I always believed that River *does* know more than just about Miranda. The operative was sent to hunt and retrieve her, but didn't know exactly why (he didn't ask questions). So, when he saw the Miranda reveal, he assumed that was the reason. However, the Parliament assuredly had more than just that as a reason to hunt her. After-all, they know she posses mental abilities and were experimenting with her before she even gleaned that information. They had trained her in combat, as can be seen. She also had member*s* put in front of her, meaning *every* secret (and they definitely had more than one), she gathered. They would 100% continue to go after her. Of course, the operative doesn't know that, so he just tells them that they're no longer a threat.
You are one of the best reactors, out of hundreds or thousands. It has been an honor to share this deeply personal but also collective experience with you. I hope to do so again in the future.
That moment when the reaver fleet appears and the operative loses it... It's one of the most satisfying moment of cinema or TV. We needed that so much !
"There is nothing left to see," is the last quote of the main baddy Operative, meaning he has lost all his faith. I thought the Operative actor was great and the operative arc is the closest we get to the explanation of Sheperds' shrouded past. There may be those that don't admit it, but I cried at moments too, so let the tears flow. Joss and everybody involved in the creation of this series and movie, gave us a roller coaster of everything that makes great films endearing. Thank you for your insightful reaction videos, I enjoyed watching you enjoy a series I enjoy.
I have watched a number of different Firefly reactions. Most are people taking a ride on the ship. And it is a great ride and I enjoy their reactions. Your reactions felt different. Probably your background. You were able to bring insights about lighting and levels and different things from a film perspective that I haven't seen elsewhere. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
Jacqui, you'll have looked this up already, but for the record the cinematographer was Jack N. Green (as Jack Green), according to IMDB. Thank you *so* much for your honest and heartfelt reactions. They broke my heart even more than the movie did.
Due to her background in dance Summer Glau was uniquely suited to learning all of the fight choreography. If I recall correctly the stunt team gave her all sorts of praise.
Apparently they kept discovering new things that Summer Glau could do and incorporating them in the fight scenes. "Did you know Summer can kick someone standing behind her in the head?"
If your lying. . . then I am gullible, because I believe it. (In fact, I think I THOUGHT the same thing the 1st time I saw that scene. "Hey! That guy looks a lot like NPH!")
I've always seen the assassin character as a symbol of Shepard Book's backstory. It would explain the details he knows and the redemption arc he seems to embody. Almost a phoenix rebirth of a cycle of violence and redemption.
“I’m a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar” was packed with meaning in the writing of the line, a foreshadowing of Wash’s fate, because a leaf on the wind is already dead before falling. I kinda saw his death coming because of that line, losing Book destroyed me because HIS backstory was one of the most powerful potential characters to explore, and his death kinda showed that the show was actually over and never coming back. Anything else the show did after Serenity would be disappointing. It was like they made sure there was nowhere to go after this.
There's a great story Alan Tudyk told at a convention about that line-- he autographed a picture of himself for a fan with that quote on it, and the fan burst into tears, crying that it was "still too soon!" Alan is a real treasure, and I'm glad to see that he's continued to do well in his career.
and for those who watch yes, you get it now that is where the line comes from. "i get it now!" oh, you don't get it yet, we don't quote the line when he's flying his ship in the battle. The line we quote is for after.
Well, thats not really true. Cause there were plans for *4 MOVIES, IF* this one wouldve been a true Box Office success. Hence why every character had to sign a pre contract. But Tudyk and Glass had other obligations and couldnt sign it. Hence why Whedon decited to kill them off. Sadly the movie lost money, so the plans for more movies were shelved.
It never mattered when your Serenity reaction was posted, it was absolutely worth the wait! I don’t remember how emotional I might have been when I first watched Serenity and saw Book leave us. Today, it hurt like hell
I knew Sheppard's death would get you, and I knew Wash's would hit even harder. You get invested in these characters, and when one dies it's almost like losing family. Thanks for taking us along on your ride!
Regarding "in a room with a psychic" main plot, I think you forgot the reaction of the hands-of-blue agents when they discovered that the alliance officers had talked with River. That is not the behaviour of someone on a retrieval mission, that is the first unambiguous hint that the Alliance is scared of what River knows and is trying to clean up the mess no matter how bloody it gets.
"I'm a leaf on the wind watch me soar" and when wash gets killed and zoey goes cold is exactly what mal did and i loved the elbow to the assassin after the nerve pinch thing
Remember back in Shindig, when Wash asked Mal for money so he could buy Zoe a slinky dress? Well now you've seen the slinky dress, right at the end. All the comic books are good: some of them tie up bits of lore (including Book's backstory), some of them are set in between Firefly and Serenity, and some of them take side stories and expand them out.
Wow !!! Very first reactor sharp enough to immediately pick up on River’s “they didn’t lie down” comment from earlier in the film. This is why I subscribed to your channel - you pay attention ! Trust me, Browncoats know a fellow traveller… Thanks for taking this short but amazing ride with us.
Ron Glass was already quite ill when the movie was filmed. I think he knew it would be his final appearance. And I think he let that become part of his performance. Before Firefly, I only knew him from Barney Miller. Pure comedy. But he became Book, and now I can barely think of him in any other context.
Every time I see the scene of Zoe walking up to the memorial stones, it brings me back to the episode when Wash asked Mal for money to buy her a slinky dress
I was living in central Oregon when this movie was in development, and I got to see an early draft of it in Portland on Whedon's birthday. I ended up sitting next to a girl who was wearing a completely perfect Zoe cosplay. When That Scene happened, the entire theater was dead silent, except for her plaintive "... no...".
@WasabiBomb I was at that prescreening with you, got a hat, t-shirt, postcards merch. Had the shirt until last year, threadbare, and my wife gifted me a replacement. mainly because she thought the state of the shirt was an embarrassment.
I’ve seen a dozen reactions to this movie but yours is top of the list. By far the best and certainly the most emotional, it had me shedding tears to a movie I’ve watched over and over. Congratulations! ❤️
As a big fan of Firefly when it was on TV, I was very excited to see Serenity when it hit theaters. The release date ended up being the same day I moved to L.A., so a local friend got me a ticket to join her group. I was so exhausted from a cross-country move that my first time viewing was the ONLY time I watched it and didn't cry. My parents, also big Firefly fans, saw it opening weekend. When I asked my dad what he thought, his response was "I think Joss forgot which of his shows involves staking people."
I don't if anyone has pointed it out in other comments, but throughout the series Zoe represented Serenity. Whatever happens to one happens to the other. Serenity crashed and then lost her left wing. Zoe lost Wash. Wedding ring goes on the left hand. So the crash was foreshadowing. I also love the Operative saying "You're not a reaver, Mal." and you see Mal's eyes go cold.
During a question and answer session during a convention, a fan asked Joss Whedon if the alliance was trying to turn River Tam and the other children like her into "artificial slayers," given that he (Whedon) had previously confirmed that Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer took place in the same universe (if the series had continued, James Marsters would have made an appearance as William Pratt -- aka. Spike). His response was a wry smile and, "Hmm. What an interesting idea.." While he did not directly confirm this, he didn't outright deny it, either.
Such a fantastic reaction. The way the movie gets to you just goes to show how well crafted the characters, the script, the actors, and the whole show really is. Everything about it just makes you engage with the show so much. One of the greatest cinematic creations for both TV and cinema ever made. Such a shame that it was never able to go further. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to the next one
Wash’s death, as a storyteller, is the only character that makes for a compelling ending. If you kill off Zoe, Wash becomes a useless grief stricken character, if you kill off Jayne, the guide for how hopeless the situation is isn’t there, kill off Kaylee, the fans will never forgive you, Wash’s death puts the viewer in the right headspace for everything after that, and makes you believe any one of the other crew may die. And now River has a place on the crew as pilot
To add to this, Kaylee is the heart of this. Whedon realised really quickly that if you want to make someone instantly “the bad guy” you have them hurt or threaten Kaylee. See: Tracey in The Message. If the writers hurt Kaylee…
1000% correct. Jayne and Zoe face danger all the time, staring down other people's guns; it has never been a question of _if_ they might die, but when the odds will catch up up with them. Wash was never a big fighter, getting into bar brawls or sniping people from a distance. He had a very specific skill set, one which was of immense value to the crew while aboard ship. But once they were on the station... Not to mention that we know how passionately Zoe loves him, we get the very brief moment of her breaking down before Mal pulls her away from danger and her soldier instincts -- and stoic facade -- snap back into place. We understand how hard she would grieve, if she had the time to do it. But she doesn't have the time, so we're grieving for her. She has other concerns at that moment: "This is the place. We'll buy you the time." She doesn't believe there is a way out, that any of them will live, which is why she lingers and takes on more than she should...she doesn't want to see them die, too, she's already dealing with too much. It's better, she feels, if she goes out first and joins Wash.
Yeah, sure, but it's also a bit of a cheat. For all the people that came to this movie without the series, Wash and Zoe's relationship makes him an easy kill. People don't have to know him to be upset when he dies because you have Zoe's grief, which most people can immediately empathize with. Without actually knowing either of them well, really. Which is what you need, because Wash's part in the movie is very small with very few lines. If you had never seen the series, he might as well have started this movie wearing a red shirt. He's a comic relief character with a wife. Like the WWII pilot pilling out the picture of his girl back home -- this guy is going to die. I would have felt better if he died actually saving them as opposed to dying right after having saved them. If someone dies, but nothing that follows would change if they'd lived, then it is not a well written death, it's just audience manipulation. And that IS the case with Wash. He'd already done the saving, nothing after that would have significantly changed if he had lived. Once you've seen the movie, it becomes fully pointless because the audience is no longer manipulated by it, and it had no actual effect on the plot. And okay, yeah, maybe I'm still bitter after all these years, sorry not sorry. lol
The annoying part is that is not why it was done. Alan Tudyk and Ron Glass did not sign the multi movie contract that ended up not mattering so they killed them.
@@Beamer1969 Alan Tudyk was committed to a series. He asked that they kill Wash off, since he wouldn't be able to participate in more than the 1 movie. A show gets cancelled... people move on and take new jobs.
Standard veteran Browncoat uniform includes the scar over our heart. Congrats on completing the work on yours. Thank you for sharing the journey with us. I really, really appreciated your cinematography and storytelling knowledge through all this!
As to your short intro, even when you're stressed, you're radiant, Jacqui. Kudos! :) Now, after you've seen it, you can know the dark joke that was everywhere right after this movie came out: How does a Reaver clean its spear? It runs it through the Wash.
Once a Brown Coat always a Brown Coat. Next up to watch for you, all the out-takes from the numerous conferences the Firefly cast attended. Their chemistry off-set is amazing. They really became a family during the series. I never realized how good a character Book was until I watched the series again and focused on him. He adds so much to Firefly, but kind of flies under the radar. So few shows are perfectly cast, and this is one of them. Even the villains are perfect. Nishka, Early, Patience, etc. All perfect for the roles they play. I have not doubt you will watch the whole thing over at some point. Thanks for taking us along for your journey.
27:55 the slinky dress mentioned in "Shindig". Also, the Operative is a truly tragic villain. He genuinely believed he was doing what he did in order to make "the world" a better place for everyone. So much so that he was willing to damn his own soul for it. Like he said, he was a monster, but at least he was one for the right reasons, as is sometimes necessary, even in real life. It's not his fault the people he believed in lied to him and abused his faith. Next, with that last scene, River is probably an even better pilot than Wash. Remember, as Simon said, everything comes as easy to her as breathing does to you or I, plus she probably telepathically absorbed all of Wash's knowledge on flying without even trying. (Not to mention the additional combat knowledge she probably absorbed from Mal, Zoe, and Jayne. We'll try not to think too much about any knowledge absorbed from Inara 😳😂.) And finally, this is a spoiler if you ever plan to read the canon comic book continuation, but yes, Zoe is pregnant, with Emma.
This is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. I am a HUGE sci-fi fan and it's easily in the Top 10. It's a complete story. I saw it in the theater having only scene part of one "Firefly" episode beforehand. It still worked, though, of course, watching the series is best. *** The Mal/Operative race to get to the platform is not an "Avengers" inspiration. The end fight with Deckard and Roy Batty has a similar leap, where Harrison Ford nearly falls before Rutger Hauer leaps gracefully across and saves him. *** The Reaver origin was, as I understand it, was going to be the full Season 2 story arc.
You keep finishing lines, correctly before you've even seen the movie. You've done that a few times in Part 1. Your reactions show how I feel about this movie/series. Welcome to the Firefly family.
It's been 20 gorram YEARS, and somehow Wash's fate still messes me up. And somehow your moment of exultation at the 'Leaf on the Wind' line made it hurt so much worse, knowing what you were about to experience. You held it together much better than I did. But thank you so much for this series. Its such a joy getting to share in someone experiencing this show for the first time!
Pretty sure the lighting on Miranda is just their way of showing us an alien world. Sun isn't yellow, different spectrum, etc... Sharing this journey to heartbreak has been remarkable. Thanks.
I'm sorry you had to go through the heart ache of losing Sheppard and then Wash! I was in total shock when we saw it in the theater. You could hear a pin drop when we saw that scene! Dam that Joss Whedon! 😃😭
I believe The Operative gave a possible hint as to what Shephard Book was in his "previous" life and why he took the path of the Shepard; it also seems that The Operative is now on a similar path.
I have always loved that the characters defeated the villain by proving them wrong and changing their mind, rather than killing them. Obviously, packaging in a violent sci fi fantasy, but the underlying resolution is so fantastic
Y'know what I liked most about the series' budget? The practical lighting and the creative use of reflections. Having Serenity's interior lit by sources you could SEE made it feel more real, and more like a home. And occasionally you could catch where a small light source became essentially a big light source (or more effective, maybe?) due to what it was reflecting off. Heckin' great.
**Note--There's a bot spamming this video as me, saying "I'd prefer if we talk privately." It's spam, and it has been reported. Hopefully it's been taken care of.
We made it to the end! Thank you for joining me for part 2 (and for those of you watching these drop live, being patient 24 hours between them to appease the copyright gods!) It's been such a joy to share this experience with all of you, and don't forget to check out BUFFY and THE EXPANSE on Patreon! Spam the comments if you want me to react to the Firefly/Serenity bloopers, outtakes, and River Tam sessions! (I promise, it won't take a lot of convincing--I love bonus content 😄) Stay shiny, Browncoats! ❤
Expanse is returning? 👀
yay, this dropped while i watched part 1.
btw. I posted the Albatross poem to that video, go read it and be as well read as Mal
if you love Summer Glau and want to see more of her i highly recommend Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles. it's one of my absolute favorite tv shows. it has an all-star cast, and the acting is incredible. it takes place after Terminator 2, and completely ignores T3 and the rest of the movies. so you would only need to watch T1 and T2 first (if you already haven't). it's only 2 seasons (31 episodes), so it wouldn't be too time consuming.
Not going to spoil what they were, but every main actor was told a secret about their character that would help them with the direction they would act and each would be revealed over the course of the series. They left hints for a number of them throughout the show. I think 4 have been confirmed.
I think the River Tam Files were promotional for the movie. They are very interesting. I suggest going through the Graphic Novel on Shepard Book at the very least.
@@this.is.a.username Great poem. Has some very impactful quotes and great perspective.
One of the more evil jokes I've heard was said by Nathan Fillion at a convention. "How do Reavers clean their spears? They run them through the Wash."
I was hoping some one else would post this so I didn't have to type it 👍
obligatory "Too soon"
@@WasabiBomb Because it will always be too soon.
@@Firecul I'm a bit sorry that somebody beat me to the punch. My sense of humour is a wee bit on the dark side.
@@WasabiBomb It will never not be too soon.
"She's torn up plenty, but she'll fly true."
Zoe's not just talking about Serenity, but also herself.
If you watch a little earlier she's stoicly splicing wires, but river above her is crying.
In the commentaries, Nathan says that Gina and Joss were discussing the deeper meaning of that scene, and he jerked up and was like: "Wait, we're NOT talking bout the ship???"
Truly, he is Mal Reynolds.
There's a running theory that symbolically Zoe "is" Serenity. Mostly stemming from the episode "Out of Gas", where Zoe gets knocked out at the same time Serenity does, shares Serenity's condition for most of the episode, and presumably regains consciousness to turn her shuttle around at the same time Mal gets Serenity started again.
@@dargron7614Holy crap.😮
Mal: "If I start fighting a war, I guarantee: you'll see something new"
Audience: *proceeds to see something new*
That's one of the great, underrated lines of this movie.
Dear Jacqui, you cried when preacher died, I knew you'd cry when Wash died. But here is the magic in this show. I knew you'd laugh when Kaylie said, "to hell with this, I want to live".
At the time, I hated how fast they moved on from Wash's death. But later, as I thought about it, I realized that's what war is like. In the blink of an eye a loved one is gone and you can't linger, you have to move on to survive. You grieve later.
When I watched tv and movies I was always irritated at how MUCH time was spent on someone's death. All reality and conflict doesn't just stop while everyone gets to sit around and hear your last thoughts... for half an hour... while you say everything you want to say and everyone gets to respond.
Death is brutal, sudden, _instant,_ and you DON'T get to "savor" the moment. You HAVE to carry on, and deal with the death later. I never liked how every media just allows SO much time to process a character dying. Reality isn't like that.
FWIW, Gina Torres has said somewhere in the verse is "a little boy with wirey red hair and freckles. Jayne babysits and they fight about who gets to teach him to shoot."
The Operative has been one of my favorite movie villains. Chiwetel Ejiofor portrays him in such a way that you can simultaneously hate and admire the man.
15:30 Wash: "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar!" Jacqui: "That's where that came from! You guys have been commenting that for 14 episodes now! I finally get it!"
Yeah, about that ...
𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
I used to play WoW, as a resto druid.
*Every time* I jumped off something, while in tree form I would /Y(ell) "I'm a leaf on the wind!" haha
ya I came here to say the same thing. Its like...ya you don't get it yet, but you're about to find out.
You might say the full impact hadn't hit her yet. Or Wash, for that matter.
We did try to warn her.
When River says: "My turn." I always choke up. There might be tears.
They had to shoot that scene over and over because Summer Glau would always choke up too.
@@m8sonmiller”Summer!!!”
Every single last one of us wanted to warn you about Book and Wash. But we couldn't take that away from you.
I saw this on opening night, in a packed theater in Austin. When Book died, the whole crowd went silent, aside from a few muffled sobs. When Wash fell, the crowd ROARED in outrage. Several people immediately walked out.
It felt so wrong, to laugh at Kaylee's declaration of her intent to live, just after losing Wash. But it was exactly what we needed, and Whedon knew that.
I don't know if this leaked or not- the critical secret of Inara's character is that she had some lethal illness. It's not clear, whether her time at the Temple cured her, or something else did, or whether she still had no future...
@@larrystuder6378 The story of her cure is in one of the novels "Life Signs"
That, actually, is a common occurrence, both Kaylee's comment and our reaction. Death is traumatic for those who witness it. To cope with that trauma, we do something to re-confirm we're alive. You could do much worse than focus on love and laughter to hold back the dark.
@@larrystuder6378 the story of her cure is covered in the follow-up novels "Life Signs"
Yeah The death of Book hits, but Wash's death... that one hurts. Every time.
30:26 No matter how many times I see it, this little speech from Mal at the end makes me tear up. It's not in this edit, but at one part, he's looking directly into the camera and saying "Love keeps her in the air when she oughtta fall down." That was a message directly to fans that the movie only existed because of their incredible, undying support. This little TV show, sent out to die and canceled before anybody even knew about it, still managed to connect with people and form a fanbase so strong that 20 years later, we're still talking about it. "We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
I accidentally lost one of the Firefly DVDs. Before I even figured out what happened, I Amazoned to my house "Next Day Delivery" a new group of Firefly DVDs! I eventually figured out that I left a DVD in the DVD player. So, now I have TWO full sets. How sick is that? I could not imagine being without the Firefly DVDS!!!
I don't get out much, but I meet Browncoats everywhere. Not sayin we rise up and hold the alliance to account...
@@DudeLongcouch my favourite story in that respect was, in the episode where Mal is left on Serenity and is running out of air, there’s a red button Wash tells him ‘push that and we’ll come back’ or something like that. At the cancellation of the series, I don’t know which cast member it was, took that red button off the set and handed it to Whedon and repeated the line - push that and we’ll all come back. 😭
@@NicholasHalls-q6e Yep! It was Alan Tudyk (Wash) who did that 😊
My favourite bit of this movie is when the Operative goes from smug superiority over short disbelief to high-grade panic. "Target the Reavers. Target the Reavers! Target everyone! SOMEBODY FIRE!" This never gets old, just like the 90-pound girl knocking out Jayne.
That's one of the best examples, but I love how Mal keeps confounding him throughout the movie; "Have you located their nav signal?' -We found seven;" "What do you mean 'Disappeared?'"
14:57 ... the other two were at 28m15s (in part 1) and 8:07.
Agreed. It's incredibly satisfying to FINALLY see him lose his cool.
Okay kid... Inara's big SECRET (and it took Joss about a decade before he was willing to reveal WHY she acts the way she does. It explains everything. Inara is dying. She has an incurable disease and not much longer to live. She booked passage on Serenity to go and "see the verse" before her time was up.
She left all her friends behind so they wouldn't have to see her pass. And she has the little syringe kit (shown in the very first episode) for when she starts to slide, and things get bad. She did NOT count on falling for Mal, and definitely doesn't want him to suffer through what she knows is coming. THAT is why she refuses to let him get close, and why she left when she thought the two of them were headed in that direction. She was trying to spare Mal the pain.
Another clue is in the episode "Ariel." When asked how her health checkup went, she said, "The same as last year." She didn't say that was good.
Many years ago they talked about episodes that were coming down the pipe that never got made and one of them talks about the syringe, it wasn't for a peaceful death. apparently it was a poison that would kill the man or men who raped the women that injected it. in the episode Inara was to be captured by the Reavers and when Mal and the crew finally got to her the entire ship of Reavers was dead indicating ALL of them took a turn with her. it would have been one of the darkest moments on network television EVER and i think would have damage Mal as much as Inara as he would have felt that he failed her. THEN add to that her terminal illness and we are talking level 10 heartbreak.
Her secret is covered in the novel "Firefly: Life Signs"
@@josephkugel5099 Ick. That is reason enough to be happy that the show only got one season.
When I saw the intro of you saying "That's where it comes from," I was thinking, "Oh, honey. This is so gonna hurt." But I loved seeing you experience it for the first time, both the pain and the laughter. This movie still has a special place in my heart."
Yep... I felt bad for her, when she first said the line, she was so happy to find out about it, second time the line pops up.... she's ecstatic "Oh, I know where that is from." ...and my thought was....no you really don't, and you are going to be destroyed when it happens the third time.... Watching her go from joy to utter shock and sadness, and now fully understanding the line.... devastating.
Yeah, when she said that's where that came from and was laughing, I was thinking no, that's not where it came from, but it's coming soon.
It's always too soon.
I love that little detail of Jayne sliding the drink to Simon
12:57
Yes, love that. Hatchets buried, this is too big.
Yeah, Jayne got part way there after finding out what was done to River at the hospital, but at this moment he's fully accepted that everything he's been resenting them for this whole time was not their fault.
And that she caught that! Not many do on first watch
Another one I liked is when Jayne checked everyone's belts before strapping himself. Moments like that he really shines, like in Out if Gas when he of all people told them to calm down and stop wasting air yelling at each other.
16:37 You noticed Simon assisting Kaylee, but more notably Jayne set aside his own safety making sure everyone else was secure…and got bounced around pretty roughly.
Yeah, that was one of the details I really liked. I don't know if it were one of his set responsibilities (like a Fire Warden evacuating a building), but it shows him actually putting others ahead of himself, something not really seen throughout the series.
One of my best friends passed away when we were 16, he was a diehard browncoat and had a very similar personality to Wash, his mom had his tombstone commissioned with that quote on it and it makes me cry doubly when I hear it.
And now you know the PAIN one must ENDURE to TRULY be called a "Browncoat"!
I STILL begin to tear up when "the" scene is about to be shown!
Every. Single. Time.
I've said it before, but I LOVE the fact that Walsh got his "moment of glory" and PROVED that he was the Greatest Pilot in the Verse! By flying through a "War in Heaven" and, in his last moment of life, glancing back & seeing that the woman he LOVES is safely on the ground, because of him.
(If you HAVE to go out? That sounds like the BEST way to go!)
Would you call the painful initiation a rite of passage, a trial by fire, or a gauntlet? 🥲
The scene over the generator, fighting the operative, when he says, "Right now, I'm gonna have to go with wrath." reminds me of when he was captured by Nishka, and amid fighting back said, "You wanna meet the real me now?"
Nathan Fillion is such an underrated actor. Everyone talks about how funny he is but he has a lot more range than that. His desperation and anger in this movie is so believable. The way "Mal" detaches and almost disassociates after Haven, because he has to in order to do his job, is nothing short of masterful.
𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n.
Even he wasn't sure he was the right guy for the role at first. Because of the serious moments.
27:30 - When the Operative gives that "stand down" order, he saves the lives of those Alliance troops. I am 100% sure that River would have killed every last one of them if she'd needed to.
28:00 - In the comics that followed after the series and movies, it's revealed that Zoe is indeed pregnant when Wash is killed, and she later gives birth to their daughter, named Emma.
29:30 - They never got the chance to fully explore this because the show was canceled so soon, but it was eventually going to be revealed that Inara had a terminal disease. That's why she left the guildhouse to travel around with Serenity and see the 'Verse. That's why, when Kaylee asked how she was after her checkup in "Ariel," she just said, "Same as last year" (instead of "Fine," or the like). More than anything, *_this is the real reason she keeps her distance from Mal_* . When she's sobbing after he sleeps with Nandi in "Heart of Gold," little, if any, of that is being hurt that he slept with Nandi _per se_ ... almost all of it is her weeping because she feels like she *_can't_* be with Mal. She's not willing to get close to him, just to rip his heart out when she dies. After the events of "Serenity," it seems like the loss of Book and Wash have made her realize how uncertain life is, and that maybe you have to take true love when you find it...
There is hints of this in the first (or second episode) when they were worried about reavers and she pulls out a syringe. She already has a suicide set up and that was an early nod to it.
@@cardsfanboy What they had planned for the syringe is actually so awful I'm glad they never got to do it.
I had never heard this before. It makes me even more mad we never got to see that story. Mal finding out that she was terminally ill would have been some juicy scenes with Mal. I know I am broken because I want to have seen that performance as painful as it would have been.
@@cardsfanboy The syringe was not for suicide although everyone would have assumed the same thing.
@@HuntingViolets It would have been one of the most powerful episodes of television ever to air
Seeing you get attached to the characters throughout the season was both beautiful and terrifying because us browncoats knew how it would end. Now you're one of us. Welcome.
You’re much more perceptive than I was on first watch! I remember on the commentary, Whedon said of the moment where Jayne shares a drink with Simon, that they would waste a lot of time going around the circle doing the ‘I’m in’ for everyone. So he worked out that if he had Jayne sign on, and then ALSO show Simon is in, given their relative distance in the character web, the audience would know that everyone was on board. The writing in this is absolute perfection.
Also, the normally "preening" Simon didn't even WIPE off the mouth of the bottle!
He just drank. (Like someone from the outer planets would do.)
@@sharkdentures3247 I'd go with "fastidious" rather than "preening"...
@@denismccrohan7607 That works too.
I was just trying to use a more "hoity-toity" word to focus on his "upper class" upbringing & mannerisms.
And to point out that he had (at least for the moment) abandoned them in this instance.
Jacqui doesn't miss a thing! I've seen the movie at least 10 times and watched the entire series through 4 or 5 times and still learned things here. Awesome!
He told Inara, "If I start fightin' a war, I guarantee you'll see something new" and she saw it on Haven
She saw Sergeant Reynolds.
I was going to say that myself. As soon as he ended the call on Haven, he became a different person...and she very much saw something new.
@@kgjung2310Balls and Bayonets brigade. Wasn’t he also the most decorated for the Brown Coats?
It is a generational tragedy that we never got more time with these characters.
The edit with the song for River standing among the dead Reavers is perfection. Loved this reaction so much!
What was that song?
I've never done this before.
I'll probably never do it again.
I feel like I have to today.
You give so much of yourself to us. And you do it while pushing through personal tragedy and hardship.
You. Are. Remarkable.
You not only give us the opportunity to experience or favourite shows and movies all over again, but we get to feel our emotions and yours at the same time.
It was heartbreaking to watch you watch this movie but I'm glad I did.
Thank you so much.
Apologies for the spam bot comment earlier. It’s been a plague recently, and has been reported. Thank you so much! It means so much to be a part of this community, and I’m grateful my experiences resonate with others. I appreciate your generosity 😊
@movienightwithjacqui It sucks that these scammers do things like that. Good on you for getting on the front foot.
hey can you please put gloves on and do a movie reaction to anaconda
My favorite scene in the whole movie, was Mal asking Zoey how she is doing but the both of them using Serenity as a proxy. "She's tore up plenty, but she'll fly true."
Me? I am a ship fan. I am one who yelled at the TV and cried when Galactica made its last jump screaming hold together girl. Seeing Serenity clear the storm, making her triumphant barrel roll as she flies into the bright light of the 'verse. Amazing final shot for a series that made the ship, the set a character.
And the one little bit flying off, signifying that she's had things replaced and been all doctored up, but she's still the same ship. It was done for comedy, but I like to think of it as confirmation that Serenity is still Serenity.
So glad you mentioned Galactica. Everything she goes through in seasons 3 and 4 is so heartbreaking, and that last jump physically hurts. The Normandy in Mass Effect is also iconic, and I swear to this day the Suicide Mission in 2 was heavily inspired by the climax of Serenity.
OH MY GOODNESS, you're one of the first and only creators I've seen who knows of Babylon 5 and its glory. So much appreciated!
B5 is perhaps the greatest sci-fi show ever made. It was the first and only thing to replace Star Trek's place in my lifelong devotion. O still love all of pre-2009 Trek, but I love B5 even more.
Firefly, I also love, but it's not even in the same genre, really. Besides both having spaceships, the storytelling has almost nothing in common. So, there's no "competition" whatsoever in my mind.
The best review I saw, was a critic that remarked "if only the new Star Wars films had been half as good as this".
fun fact. That Reaver that River punches is played By Neil Patrick Harris, who was Joss's first choice to play the Dr, but schedule conflicts prevented. So Joss offered him this little role, and Neil was all for it,
Damn and I thought it looked like him!
...And NPH goes on to play Dr. Horrible with Capt. Tight-pants and Felicia day.
@@kerbangol.8386 if we could get her to react to Dr Horrible, that would be great!
OMG! Thank you for that factoid!
And today I learned. Thank you!
Your reaction to the deaths was exactly what the premier at our local theater was like. Grown a$$ nerdy men bawling, and in the middle of tears there was laughter, a classic Whedon move. I watched it in theaters three times, same every time. It was heartbreaking. Just like the movie. Thank you for your reactions to this show and movie. They felt genuine, as so many others don't. You made a subscriber of me.
We’re gonna need a t-shirt that says “Holy mother forking shirtballs” lol😂
well...NBC might object
ABSOLUTELY!!
@@baron7755 And considering how they are about Copyright...😬
7:33
I'll buy one.
You: "They have the best pilot in the 'Verse!"
Us:
You: "Red danger lighting!"
Us:
Also, I'm glad you got such a kick out of Kaylee's "I'm gonna live" line. That delivery is one of my favorites. Poor Kaylee must've been running low on batteries.
𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n
Yes.
I foreshadowed the "batteries" back in episode 1 or 2... Drowned out by leaves in the wind.
also:
"I can’t know that!"
"I could stand to know more."
Welcome back!
My head cannon for Shepard Book’s backstory:
Book knows so much about the Agent (and the Alliance) because he used to be an agent before he became a shepherd. All the clues are there starting from the beginning.
In the pilot he says he just left the Abby suggesting that he just recently became a shepherd and has just finished his training.
Then later he tells River “You don’t fix faith. Faith fixes you.” I think he’s talking about himself.
Then there is the time he shows his ident card and the alliance goes from ‘get lost’ to ‘get this man to the infirmary asap.’ Clearly he was someone important within the Alliance.
Then there are all the scenes where he knows how to fight and knows strategy, tactics, weapons, etc.
Finally, he tells Mal about belief. The Agent could rationalize and justify being a monster because of how strongly he believed in what he was doing. When Mal showed him his world without sin, it shattered his beliefs and the Agent himself in the process.
So my theory is that Joss has indirectly told us Book’s backstory through the Agent. They both went through the same process of Belief in the Alliance and having those beliefs shattered. Then Book found something else to believe in. He found the faith he needed to fix himself by becoming a shepherd.
That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it, even though I know there is an actual book out there detailing more of Book’s story. (which I have not read)
Don’t forget when someone mentions “a shepherd” and another person responds with “that’s no shepherd.”
@ You’re right!
That was Early in the final episode. And I agree that Early seemed very much like the Agent even though I got a freelance vibe from him.
The OFFICIAL backstory (as I've heard from others who've read it):
Book was basically a criminal (sort of like Badger) before the War, but joined the Independents once the fighting broke out. He worked in an intelligence division for a while, until he swiped identification documents off of an Alliance officer; then, he went undercover in the Alliance.
While posing as an Alliance officer, he arranged for the soldiers under his command to be AMBUSHED by the Independents, which led to massive casualties on the Alliance side. Then, in order to prevent the ambush from being traced back to him, he arranged for his Alliance officer alter ego to "disappear".
Then he laid low for awhile, only to resurface as a man looking to join a monastary, which he would eventually leave... To then end up at the space docks on Persephone looking for "the right ship."
Serenity: The Sheperd's Tale
@@atlasisshrugging Less official than you might think. The comic writers "consulted" with Joss, but he didn't write those stories.
And at the time this one was written, Joss was at the depth of his "me too-ing" and was a bit distracted.
So, I don't care what that comic says. Book was an Operative of the Parliament. Period.
the cast was electric together. Didn't matter what combination of characters was on the screen, it worked.
I like that the 'rules' get more negotiable, on the frontier. All the things that the Operative relies on - pulse beacon tracking, navsat trajectories, even the location of peoples' nerve clusters in their backs - don't work the way he expects them to. It's like a part of the theme, the Browncoats and the border planets may have been defeated, but they still defy the norms of what the Alliance wants and expects.
The Operative sees those divergences as 'sins', and he fights against that. He wants that orderly utopia. But that feeling of personal independence, the independence in your head, is just part of life and being human. It can't be wiped out, without taking the rest of life with it, not with force and not with chemicals. As Mal shows him: the only world without sin, is a world that's dead.
𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n
I love how the resolved Rivers mental issue after seeing the video about the reavers. How she realizes she is ok. That now that she has context to all the memories in her head, she’s able to differentiate between herself and the memories of others. Sort of like how you can drive yourself to genuine anxiety and stress when you can’t remember a song that is stuck in your head. Or a line from a movie and you can’t remember the rest. How you can go all day with it bugging you. But then when you finally place it, that immense relief you feel. That’s how I interpreted her response to learning the truth
Really well portrayed by Summer Glau. “I’m ok” like she’s realising it’s true.
Stop Being In My Head!! And if you know any like minded singles...
@@mattburgess5697 Yeah I thought that part was great. That first, just sort of tired, reflexive delivery of "I'm alright" and then the pause followed by the surprised "....I'm alright." Like things finally were clear to her for the first time in years.
It's partially that she's finally able to contextualize it, but I've always thought that a lot of it is that she doesn't have to bear it alone any more.
Welcome to the family Jacqui. This will be with you from this day forward. 🙂
I always loved Inara's "I don't know" at the end. It's a throwback to earlier when Inara was saying that Mal "doesn't know what he wants". That's why Mal said it was a good answer.
You kill a main character to establish that there are stakes. This is accepted, audiences expect it to a certain degree; "there's our death, we're safe now". But when you kill a second main character? Nothing is off the table any more.
Also, it's such a trope that the "mentor" character gets killed to let the hero grow, which kind of fits Book and Mal.
So, Book's death might even have been sort of expected. But Wash was just pure Joss "Your shirt" Whedon
In reality, Ron Glass did die shortly after the movie released. So you can think of it as his going out on his own terms.
Killing off beloved characters is Joss Whedon's signature.
Joss is a fan of The Wild Bunch, and similar to that film he likes to give the impression that anyone's life is on the table, that no one is safe.
Book, understandable as it reinforces a familiar trope. But Wash shows that all bets are off, increasing the tension of the following battle.
@inspectre27 Also, Jayne asks earlier how many others in Mal's unit survived Serenity Valley besides Zoe. Sets the stage for the audience to worry it could be a total party kill.
It might interest you to know that Sean Maher (Simon) and Jewel Staite became the best of friends during Firefly and they're still like family to this very day.
They’ve done little show cameos together too. They were in Warehouse 13, for example. And Sean Maher was in… The Rookie? I think it was.
Not just them. The entire cast is still good friends.
@mattburgess5697 Yeah, he was in The Rookie, along with a couple of others. And a good chunk of them were on Nathan's previous show Castle along with a decent compilation videos of references to Firefly (Including Mal's very own outfit and favorite pistol).
I loved watching your journey with Firefly. Your appreciation for this show was a joy to see.
A kid in the movie theater as River is pulled from the closing blast door by the reavers,
"Poor reavers."
"They've got us surrounded. The poor bastards."
It's a path you have to walk. No one can lead you. Initiation confirmed. Welcome to the Browncoats. Wash pays the price. Much love and keep on keepin on J.
The end of Inhiation.
@@cardiac19yay trauma bonding??
@ 😹
The color of the daylight on Miranda is because it orbits a star called Burnham, which gives off different wavelengths of light than most other stars in the 'Verse, and Miranda orbits more closely, so the light feels brighter and more harsh. At least, that's the in-universe explanation. Artistically, it's likely because Whedon wanted that glare and overwhelming starkness to accentuate the dead world.
I can see proximity and intensity but different wavelengths would just mean humans couldn’t see it and it’d look dark
It’s called the human visible spectrum for a reason
@@AL-fl4jk Well, you can see it, can you not? It's just more blue-shifted but still visible spectrum.
Like the planet ITSELF is a bleached bone in a desert.
@@AL-fl4jk you understand that there's different wavelengths within that spectrum, right? Or are you being intentionally obtuse?
There's a theory that the people on Miranda who became the Reavers, the .1% of the population there, were latent psychics, like River. Rather than be lulled into sleep by the Pax gas, it stimulated a part of their brains to near-madness. Coupled with being exposed to the deaths of everyone around them, they became savage. Yet, they're also bound by shared suffering and a psychic bond, which is how they're still able to function together instead of tearing one another apart. This is why the Reavers spared the survivor in 'Bushwhacked', and made him watch as they killed his crewmates - because he was a psychic too, and they wanted him to be like them.
Building on that theory is another theory, that River is an 'artificial' Reaver, of a sort. The Alliance saw the effect the Pax had, and wanted to weaponise it, creating a 'Reaver' who was programmed with commands and could be controlled. And the top officials visiting the facility she was kept at were thinking about the Miranda disaster, because it was connected to the experiments.
This is why River keeps getting glimpses of the Reavers' atrocities, she touches their psychic bond. This is also why the Reavers have trouble fighting River, and why the Reavers let Serenity pass by them to Miranda - they keep thinking River's one of them. However, her programming and surgical alterations, as well as her relatively normal upbringing and the love of her brother, means that she doesn't feel the same way.
It may mean nothing, but her name even sounds the same. River, Reaver.
That is a very interesting theory, and sounds rather complex...but Joss had a seven-season plan, and that sounds like the kind of thing he would do, a little bit at a time...drip, drip, drip some info until the last season when it all comes together
Whoa. I'd never heard any of that, but damn, that rings plausible! And, the ramifications that could have had on the show had it not been canceled so early, drip-feeding the audience bits and pieces of that over time...? Wow!
@@Skye_Writer It also might explain a detail that I never understood about the Reavers - how was it that the crew aboard the ship in 'Bushwhacked' didn't react to a Reaver attack? Why was everything eerily neat? No signs of a struggle?
If the Reavers were using the supplies of the Pax gas left on Miranda as a weapon, pumping ships full of it so the crew simply dropped to sleep, except for the one man who was changed by it? That might explain it.
also a reason to experiment on River (super IQ and Psychic) to try and fix the "Paxx" so it can be used elsewhere.
@@smartalec2001 I like that argument, because that entire attack makes no sense other wise. The episode made it a point that there was no signs of struggle or emergency, then you find an entire ship of people tied up and skinned.
17:34 Rest well Hoban Wash Washburne, you were the best of us. 25:58 Presenting The Weapon.
Alan Tudyk doesn't like saying his iconic "I'm a leaf in the wind" line. He was at a Comic con for Firefly, when he was at the autograph session a group of Teenage Girls came up for their turn and he said the line and Girls burst into tears.
This cast really is SO sweet to all their fans.
I think he tells it that he unthinkingly wrote it with his autograph.
It's been great re-living the journey through your eyes. I don't know how many times I've seen firefly + serenity but it never gets old and I'm always so sad to see it end so soon. It really is one of the best ensembles of TV and the chemistry between the characters makes it so lovable, the humor is delightful and the mixing of genres is awesome, there is nothing quite like it. Every time I mourn what the show could have been 😭
The thing about movies is that you can throw as much money and talent at a project as you want but there is a key piece that is required... as Mal said... "LOVE!" This was a labor of LOVE. Every article, interview, 'behind the scenes' whatever... Cast and Crew ALL loved this show and movie. All that showed up in this movie.
Why lord of the rings work and is loved by many ,the love and care that went into it by all not just a pay check but a labor of love
@@morbidangel2424 The fan base as well... Last I heard Nathan is STILL trying to buy the rights to Firefly to reboot it. Fans keep trying to get networks etc. to reboot. As Jacqui said... "No gate keeping" in this fandom. Personally... I've had to buy the DVD box sets 4 times because of friends saying "I've always wanted to watch that!" and I NEVER get it back. LOL! I have 2 sets right now for a "Just in case". LOL!
I always believed that River *does* know more than just about Miranda. The operative was sent to hunt and retrieve her, but didn't know exactly why (he didn't ask questions). So, when he saw the Miranda reveal, he assumed that was the reason. However, the Parliament assuredly had more than just that as a reason to hunt her. After-all, they know she posses mental abilities and were experimenting with her before she even gleaned that information. They had trained her in combat, as can be seen. She also had member*s* put in front of her, meaning *every* secret (and they definitely had more than one), she gathered. They would 100% continue to go after her. Of course, the operative doesn't know that, so he just tells them that they're no longer a threat.
You are one of the best reactors, out of hundreds or thousands. It has been an honor to share this deeply personal but also collective experience with you. I hope to do so again in the future.
That moment when the reaver fleet appears and the operative loses it... It's one of the most satisfying moment of cinema or TV.
We needed that so much !
𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
"There is nothing left to see," is the last quote of the main baddy Operative, meaning he has lost all his faith. I thought the Operative actor was great and the operative arc is the closest we get to the explanation of Sheperds' shrouded past. There may be those that don't admit it, but I cried at moments too, so let the tears flow. Joss and everybody involved in the creation of this series and movie, gave us a roller coaster of everything that makes great films endearing. Thank you for your insightful reaction videos, I enjoyed watching you enjoy a series I enjoy.
I have watched a number of different Firefly reactions. Most are people taking a ride on the ship. And it is a great ride and I enjoy their reactions. Your reactions felt different. Probably your background. You were able to bring insights about lighting and levels and different things from a film perspective that I haven't seen elsewhere.
Thank you for joining us on this journey.
Jacqui, you'll have looked this up already, but for the record the cinematographer was Jack N. Green (as Jack Green), according to IMDB.
Thank you *so* much for your honest and heartfelt reactions. They broke my heart even more than the movie did.
Due to her background in dance Summer Glau was uniquely suited to learning all of the fight choreography. If I recall correctly the stunt team gave her all sorts of praise.
Yeah she absolutely nailed it.
I can add here that her stunt coordinator in "Serenity" was Chad Stahelski, who went on to direct "John Wick" :)
I’ve heard so many people say skilled dancers take to fight choreography extremely well.
Apparently they kept discovering new things that Summer Glau could do and incorporating them in the fight scenes. "Did you know Summer can kick someone standing behind her in the head?"
@Michael75579 and apparently kick someone behind her around a column!😄
the cinematographer... YES. one of the most beautifully lit movies ever! especially on such a low budget!
The Reaver you see River punching in slow-motion, is Neil Patrick Harris!
Wait what?!
@mattburgess5697 yep! If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'!
If your lying. . . then I am gullible, because I believe it.
(In fact, I think I THOUGHT the same thing the 1st time I saw that scene. "Hey! That guy looks a lot like NPH!")
@@RoGueNavy You know what? Looking now I’m pretty sure you’re right. And it fits. Dr Horrible and all.
@@RoGueNavy I never knew this but have watched it so many times and can conjure that shot in my mind … and I can 100% see it. Incredible tidbit
I've always seen the assassin character as a symbol of Shepard Book's backstory. It would explain the details he knows and the redemption arc he seems to embody. Almost a phoenix rebirth of a cycle of violence and redemption.
“I’m a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar” was packed with meaning in the writing of the line, a foreshadowing of Wash’s fate, because a leaf on the wind is already dead before falling. I kinda saw his death coming because of that line, losing Book destroyed me because HIS backstory was one of the most powerful potential characters to explore, and his death kinda showed that the show was actually over and never coming back. Anything else the show did after Serenity would be disappointing. It was like they made sure there was nowhere to go after this.
There's a great story Alan Tudyk told at a convention about that line-- he autographed a picture of himself for a fan with that quote on it, and the fan burst into tears, crying that it was "still too soon!"
Alan is a real treasure, and I'm glad to see that he's continued to do well in his career.
and for those who watch yes, you get it now that is where the line comes from. "i get it now!" oh, you don't get it yet, we don't quote the line when he's flying his ship in the battle. The line we quote is for after.
Well, thats not really true. Cause there were plans for *4 MOVIES, IF* this one wouldve been a true Box Office success. Hence why every character had to sign a pre contract. But Tudyk and Glass had other obligations and couldnt sign it. Hence why Whedon decited to kill them off. Sadly the movie lost money, so the plans for more movies were shelved.
@@woodch The man is brilliant.
@@woodch Absolutely! Resident Alien is excellent and has a lot of the same quirky energy.
Serenity is closure on Firefly.
It never mattered when your Serenity reaction was posted, it was absolutely worth the wait!
I don’t remember how emotional I might have been when I first watched Serenity and saw Book leave us. Today, it hurt like hell
I knew Sheppard's death would get you, and I knew Wash's would hit even harder. You get invested in these characters, and when one dies it's almost like losing family. Thanks for taking us along on your ride!
Beautiful editing with the song and River. Was perfect.
Thank you!
@@movienightwithjacqui Request: do a full-length fan edit of the song with scenes from the Big Damn Movie (aka Serenity)
Regarding "in a room with a psychic" main plot, I think you forgot the reaction of the hands-of-blue agents when they discovered that the alliance officers had talked with River. That is not the behaviour of someone on a retrieval mission, that is the first unambiguous hint that the Alliance is scared of what River knows and is trying to clean up the mess no matter how bloody it gets.
"I'm a leaf on the wind watch me soar" and when wash gets killed and zoey goes cold is exactly what mal did and i loved the elbow to the assassin after the nerve pinch thing
Remember back in Shindig, when Wash asked Mal for money so he could buy Zoe a slinky dress? Well now you've seen the slinky dress, right at the end.
All the comic books are good: some of them tie up bits of lore (including Book's backstory), some of them are set in between Firefly and Serenity, and some of them take side stories and expand them out.
Wow !!! Very first reactor sharp enough to immediately pick up on River’s “they didn’t lie down” comment from earlier in the film. This is why I subscribed to your channel - you pay attention ! Trust me, Browncoats know a fellow traveller… Thanks for taking this short but amazing ride with us.
Shepard's death is even sadder since Ron Glass died.
Ron Glass was already quite ill when the movie was filmed. I think he knew it would be his final appearance. And I think he let that become part of his performance.
Before Firefly, I only knew him from Barney Miller. Pure comedy. But he became Book, and now I can barely think of him in any other context.
@@carybrown851 He actually lived another decade, and acted in a few things right up to 2014.
Every time I see the scene of Zoe walking up to the memorial stones, it brings me back to the episode when Wash asked Mal for money to buy her a slinky dress
Can't stop the signal.
They can never stop the signal.
Laughed and cried along with you - a fitting end for a much beloved set of characters. Thanks for your unfiltered reactions, they really are great!
I was living in central Oregon when this movie was in development, and I got to see an early draft of it in Portland on Whedon's birthday. I ended up sitting next to a girl who was wearing a completely perfect Zoe cosplay. When That Scene happened, the entire theater was dead silent, except for her plaintive "... no...".
@WasabiBomb I was at that prescreening with you, got a hat, t-shirt, postcards merch. Had the shirt until last year, threadbare, and my wife gifted me a replacement. mainly because she thought the state of the shirt was an embarrassment.
I’ve seen a dozen reactions to this movie but yours is top of the list. By far the best and certainly the most emotional, it had me shedding tears to a movie I’ve watched over and over. Congratulations! ❤️
As a big fan of Firefly when it was on TV, I was very excited to see Serenity when it hit theaters. The release date ended up being the same day I moved to L.A., so a local friend got me a ticket to join her group. I was so exhausted from a cross-country move that my first time viewing was the ONLY time I watched it and didn't cry.
My parents, also big Firefly fans, saw it opening weekend. When I asked my dad what he thought, his response was "I think Joss forgot which of his shows involves staking people."
They do imply in this movie that River knows more secrets. This is just the one that she gets triggered on.
I don't if anyone has pointed it out in other comments, but throughout the series Zoe represented Serenity. Whatever happens to one happens to the other. Serenity crashed and then lost her left wing. Zoe lost Wash. Wedding ring goes on the left hand. So the crash was foreshadowing.
I also love the Operative saying "You're not a reaver, Mal." and you see Mal's eyes go cold.
During a question and answer session during a convention, a fan asked Joss Whedon if the alliance was trying to turn River Tam and the other children like her into "artificial slayers," given that he (Whedon) had previously confirmed that Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer took place in the same universe (if the series had continued, James Marsters would have made an appearance as William Pratt -- aka. Spike). His response was a wry smile and, "Hmm. What an interesting idea.." While he did not directly confirm this, he didn't outright deny it, either.
15:42 "I finally get it!"
Me wincing, whispering through gritted teeth: "Ohhhh nooooo..."
I LOVE that this movie made you cry. The feels are real.
Crying at this movie cements the bond of the Browncoats.
Such a fantastic reaction. The way the movie gets to you just goes to show how well crafted the characters, the script, the actors, and the whole show really is. Everything about it just makes you engage with the show so much. One of the greatest cinematic creations for both TV and cinema ever made. Such a shame that it was never able to go further. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to the next one
Wash’s death, as a storyteller, is the only character that makes for a compelling ending. If you kill off Zoe, Wash becomes a useless grief stricken character, if you kill off Jayne, the guide for how hopeless the situation is isn’t there, kill off Kaylee, the fans will never forgive you, Wash’s death puts the viewer in the right headspace for everything after that, and makes you believe any one of the other crew may die. And now River has a place on the crew as pilot
To add to this, Kaylee is the heart of this. Whedon realised really quickly that if you want to make someone instantly “the bad guy” you have them hurt or threaten Kaylee. See: Tracey in The Message. If the writers hurt Kaylee…
1000% correct. Jayne and Zoe face danger all the time, staring down other people's guns; it has never been a question of _if_ they might die, but when the odds will catch up up with them. Wash was never a big fighter, getting into bar brawls or sniping people from a distance. He had a very specific skill set, one which was of immense value to the crew while aboard ship. But once they were on the station...
Not to mention that we know how passionately Zoe loves him, we get the very brief moment of her breaking down before Mal pulls her away from danger and her soldier instincts -- and stoic facade -- snap back into place. We understand how hard she would grieve, if she had the time to do it. But she doesn't have the time, so we're grieving for her. She has other concerns at that moment: "This is the place. We'll buy you the time." She doesn't believe there is a way out, that any of them will live, which is why she lingers and takes on more than she should...she doesn't want to see them die, too, she's already dealing with too much. It's better, she feels, if she goes out first and joins Wash.
Yeah, sure, but it's also a bit of a cheat. For all the people that came to this movie without the series, Wash and Zoe's relationship makes him an easy kill. People don't have to know him to be upset when he dies because you have Zoe's grief, which most people can immediately empathize with. Without actually knowing either of them well, really. Which is what you need, because Wash's part in the movie is very small with very few lines. If you had never seen the series, he might as well have started this movie wearing a red shirt. He's a comic relief character with a wife. Like the WWII pilot pilling out the picture of his girl back home -- this guy is going to die. I would have felt better if he died actually saving them as opposed to dying right after having saved them. If someone dies, but nothing that follows would change if they'd lived, then it is not a well written death, it's just audience manipulation. And that IS the case with Wash. He'd already done the saving, nothing after that would have significantly changed if he had lived. Once you've seen the movie, it becomes fully pointless because the audience is no longer manipulated by it, and it had no actual effect on the plot. And okay, yeah, maybe I'm still bitter after all these years, sorry not sorry. lol
The annoying part is that is not why it was done.
Alan Tudyk and Ron Glass did not sign the multi movie contract that ended up not mattering so they killed them.
@@Beamer1969 Alan Tudyk was committed to a series. He asked that they kill Wash off, since he wouldn't be able to participate in more than the 1 movie. A show gets cancelled... people move on and take new jobs.
🤣🤣🤣 "How we treat our dead"
Mal: Rope them on the ship!
Pikachu face: "WHAT!?"
"What was that?!" - Every Browncoat after this movie.
Standard veteran Browncoat uniform includes the scar over our heart. Congrats on completing the work on yours.
Thank you for sharing the journey with us. I really, really appreciated your cinematography and storytelling knowledge through all this!
As to your short intro, even when you're stressed, you're radiant, Jacqui. Kudos! :)
Now, after you've seen it, you can know the dark joke that was everywhere right after this movie came out:
How does a Reaver clean its spear?
It runs it through the Wash.
Once a Brown Coat always a Brown Coat. Next up to watch for you, all the out-takes from the numerous conferences the Firefly cast attended. Their chemistry off-set is amazing. They really became a family during the series. I never realized how good a character Book was until I watched the series again and focused on him. He adds so much to Firefly, but kind of flies under the radar. So few shows are perfectly cast, and this is one of them. Even the villains are perfect. Nishka, Early, Patience, etc. All perfect for the roles they play. I have not doubt you will watch the whole thing over at some point. Thanks for taking us along for your journey.
27:55 the slinky dress mentioned in "Shindig".
Also, the Operative is a truly tragic villain. He genuinely believed he was doing what he did in order to make "the world" a better place for everyone. So much so that he was willing to damn his own soul for it. Like he said, he was a monster, but at least he was one for the right reasons, as is sometimes necessary, even in real life. It's not his fault the people he believed in lied to him and abused his faith.
Next, with that last scene, River is probably an even better pilot than Wash. Remember, as Simon said, everything comes as easy to her as breathing does to you or I, plus she probably telepathically absorbed all of Wash's knowledge on flying without even trying. (Not to mention the additional combat knowledge she probably absorbed from Mal, Zoe, and Jayne. We'll try not to think too much about any knowledge absorbed from Inara 😳😂.)
And finally, this is a spoiler if you ever plan to read the canon comic book continuation, but yes, Zoe is pregnant, with Emma.
𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n.
This is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.
I am a HUGE sci-fi fan and it's easily in the Top 10.
It's a complete story. I saw it in the theater having only scene part of one "Firefly" episode beforehand. It still worked, though, of course, watching the series is best.
*** The Mal/Operative race to get to the platform is not an "Avengers" inspiration. The end fight with Deckard and Roy Batty has a similar leap, where Harrison Ford nearly falls before Rutger Hauer leaps gracefully across and saves him.
*** The Reaver origin was, as I understand it, was going to be the full Season 2 story arc.
You keep finishing lines, correctly before you've even seen the movie. You've done that a few times in Part 1. Your reactions show how I feel about this movie/series. Welcome to the Firefly family.
"She's tore up plenty, but she'll fly true." That's both the ship and Zoë.
it's always the same. they make the landing, you laugh...and then you cry.
It's been 20 gorram YEARS, and somehow Wash's fate still messes me up. And somehow your moment of exultation at the 'Leaf on the Wind' line made it hurt so much worse, knowing what you were about to experience. You held it together much better than I did.
But thank you so much for this series. Its such a joy getting to share in someone experiencing this show for the first time!
Pretty sure the lighting on Miranda is just their way of showing us an alien world. Sun isn't yellow, different spectrum, etc...
Sharing this journey to heartbreak has been remarkable. Thanks.
Always took it as they were seeing the truth/light
I interpret the overly bright white light as the perfect world without sin: perfect and dead.
I'm sorry you had to go through the heart ache of losing Sheppard and then Wash! I was in total shock when we saw it in the theater. You could hear a pin drop when we saw that scene! Dam that Joss Whedon! 😃😭
I believe The Operative gave a possible hint as to what Shephard Book was in his "previous" life and why he took the path of the Shepard; it also seems that The Operative is now on a similar path.
I have always loved that the characters defeated the villain by proving them wrong and changing their mind, rather than killing them. Obviously, packaging in a violent sci fi fantasy, but the underlying resolution is so fantastic
You're right.
Y'know what I liked most about the series' budget? The practical lighting and the creative use of reflections. Having Serenity's interior lit by sources you could SEE made it feel more real, and more like a home. And occasionally you could catch where a small light source became essentially a big light source (or more effective, maybe?) due to what it was reflecting off. Heckin' great.