As some of you may know, I started watching Firefly for the first time a few weeks ago. Now that I’ve finished the series and watched Serenity, I have a few thoughts.
It took about two weeks (plus the 12 years of my just not watching) for me to finish Firefly and Serenity. It honestly would’ve taken me a much shorter amount of time if it weren’t for so-called adult responsibilities, including work.
So, since I shared some of my predictions with the Hypable readers two weeks ago, I thought I’d write a little follow-up letting the world know what I thought about Firefly just because I feel like it’s worth writing about.
I want to start off by addressing everyone’s first few questions: Yes, I enjoyed the series. Yes, I wish there was more. No, I’m not satisfied.
Now that that’s out in the open, I do want to say that I wasn’t as in love with it as I thought I might be. But we’ll get to that in due time. First, a quick recap/follow-up to the predictions that I made at the halfway point of the series.
Confronting my predictions
#1. “It’s a Joss Whedon production, so someone (or multiple someones) is going to die.” Nailed it. While this was definitely my first prediction before I even started the show, I will say that I accidentally spoiled myself on the two Serenity deaths while writing my predictions article. I do that a lot, actually. It’s quite sad.
#2. “River will inadvertently start another rebellion/war.” I feel like it’s pretty safe to say that this was kind of accurate, right? Sort of? There was a pretty big battle over her. And there could’ve been a rebellion after the Miranda footage came out. Maybe I’ll give myself 1/2 a point.
#3. “Shepherd Book is running away from something. Or someone.” I still stick by this prediction. While he was an upstanding gentleman, there was definitely something a bit sketchy about him. But more on that later.
#4. “Something from Mal’s past will come back to haunt him.” Though it didn’t happen in the way I had originally imagined it, this prediction technically came true in “The Message.”
#5. “Both potential on-screen couples will get together but one will be broken apart by tragedy (aka death).” To be fair, this was a pretty good prediction. At least I thought so. Who would’ve thought that an established relationship would be the one broken apart by tragedy? Touche, Whedon! (Also, yay Simon and Kaylee!)
#6. “Regardless of what ends up happening, Kaylee will be the one to save them all (possibly with some help from Simon).” Okay, so this didn’t happen in the show or the movie. But I’m definitely betting that if the series were to have lived on, it totally would’ve happened.
#7. “More of Joss Whedon’s ‘regulars’ will show up on Firefly.” Yeahhhhh, can’t say I was paying too much attention to this as the show progressed. Were there any I should have noted?
#8. “I will never see Alan Tudyk as anyone but Steve the Pirate from Dodgeball.” In a surprising twist, I no longer see Alan Tudyk as just Steve the Pirate! Although, now I kind of see him as dead, so I’m not sure I prefer that…
Continue on to the next page if you’re interested in reading my thoughts on the Firefly TV series as a whole (and then Serenity after that).
Okay, so now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into some more of my in-depth thoughts and criticisms on both Firefly and Serenity, shall we?
General thoughts about ‘Firefly’
I greatly enjoyed the general premise of the show. The idea of a space western really intrigued me and had an immense amount of potential. Plus, the dialogue was really witty and smart. There were so many times when I’d be watching the show, hear a character (usually Mal) deliver a line, and not have it hit me for a good ten seconds.
As much as I enjoyed the dialogue and was intrigued by the “western in space” concept, I have to admit that I wasn’t entirely sold on the show at the halfway point. After seven episodes, I felt like something was still missing. However, as soon as I watched “Out of Gas,” I got it. I understood why people have been clamoring for more Firefly.
In my opinion, “Out of Gas” and “Ariel” are two of the show’s strongest episodes. They best demonstrated the relationships between all of the characters as well as the real stakes of being out in space. While I knew that things would work out at the end of “Out of Gas,” I still really enjoyed the whole journey and seeing how Mal dealt with his livelihood fading and his family leaving. And “Ariel”? That was just a great heist episode that tied directly into one of the show’s most burning plot points. Beyond those two episodes, I felt like the season dragged a bit arch-wise beforehand and then waned slightly after.
Not to say that the entire season wasn’t enjoyable. Because it definitely was (and I’m hoping it will be even more enjoyable when I eventually watch it over again). It’s just that those two episodes were so strong that it’s sad that the rest of the season wasn’t at the same level. If it had been, maybe the outcome of the show and Fox’s opinions toward it would have been different. Although, I know they probably wouldn’t have been. But one could dream.
I enjoyed the character developments for everyone on board Serenity and am disappointed that so many details were left unaddressed. For instance, who is Shepherd Book really? There is no way that man was just a simple shepherd. No way, no how, not happening. The bounty hunter in the final episode even stated “No he’s not” when addressing Book being a Shepherd. That’s totally suspicious!
While it’s difficult to say whose character was the most fleshed out by the end, I feel like I had the best grasp on Kaylee’s character and really understood who she was. I would’ve loved more on the Tams, as well as a glimpse into Mal’s background, but with Kaylee I’m feeling pretty content.
All in all, I agree with everyone who says that Firefly was cancelled too early. It was barely given a fair shot, especially with the episodes all airing out of order. I was slightly confused with the show and the characters during the first (canonical) episode. I couldn’t imagine trying to piece things together when the episodes were out of order.
(Short tangent: I can’t for the life of me understand why Fox thinks it’s okay to air series episodes out of order? I can kind of understand wanting to hook an audience with a strong premiere episode. Okay, fine. But if a series is to have any hope of continuing and building an audience [*cough cough* Firefly and Enlisted *cough cough*], then it makes no sense to treat the plot and character development with such disrespect.)
In conclusion: Firefly = great.
Continue on to the next page if you’re interested in reading my thoughts on Serenity (and there are many).
General thoughts about ‘Serenity’
Serenity was… interesting. Not a bad kind of interesting, but not an overly great one either. I felt like I was watching a few different things, rather than one cohesive movie. Let me explain.
My issue with Serenity is that I don’t think it knew what it wanted to be. On one hand, it was meant to wrap up the series and give the fans some sort of closure. On the other, it didn’t want to wrap things up too much in case a sequel or even a Firefly continuation was possible as a result of Serenity.
However, instead of answering some of the main questions of the series and just leaving a few potential plotlines open, Serenity answered questions that I never even had. The movie made up totally new questions and rules and followed those instead of ones established in the show. In fact, I felt like Serenity ignored most premises and characterizations that the show had previously put in place.
For instance, I really enjoyed the idea of the Reavers being a result of a government implement gone wrong. I think that speaks volumes both in the show and in real life. However, the fact that that message was a large part of what was driving River insane felt like a huge stretch to me. I felt like Firefly was building up the fact that she was experimented upon/mentally changed and transformed into a weapon. Yet, Serenity didn’t really deal with that head on. They dealt with a random consequence of the surgical manipulations.
I wanted Serenity to be about River, what happened to her, and how her story would reach a breaking-point climax. Instead, I watched a movie about River learning a government secret that the government didn’t want getting out and how releasing that secret may or may not change the universe. So while events in the show were very much invested in River as a character, the movie was more interested in what she found out. At least, that’s how it felt to me.
Another issue I had with the movie was the way in which it dealt with characters, mainly Shepherd Book and Inara. These two characters were almost completely removed from the movie’s plot (Book more so than Inara) to the point where it felt like their inclusion into the ensemble was really forced. As a result, Book’s death did not have nearly as much emotional impact as it should have. His just felt like a very unnecessary death (not that all deaths have to be necessary), especially when compared to Wash’s death which really packed a punch.
You know, my reflection of Serenity is coming out a lot more negative than I actually felt while watching. For a lot of it (especially toward the beginning), I thought the movie really captured the adventure and the atmosphere of the show. I especially loved the first scene of the movie, both because it gave more insight into the Tams and because it felt like it was lifted right out of an episode (and then given a glitzy Hollywood makeover). When I wasn’t feeling awkward about the direction that the plot was taking in Serenity, I really liked the adventure. It just felt like a souped-up Firefly episode!
Another aspect of the movie that I enjoyed was the long overdue emphasis on River’s character. I loved how strong and agile River was in the movie and how she took what she wanted, even when she wasn’t going through a mental break. Summer Glau did a great job with the material she was given and had a really ethereal presence that added to the movie’s mood.
And finally, Kaylee/Simon! What more can I say?
In conclusion: I enjoyed Serenity for the ride that it was. It just wasn’t the ride I had expected, wanted, or thought of as an appropriate follow-up to Firefly.
Unfortunately, there’s only so many thoughts that I can fit into this article. If you’d like to talk more Firefly or ask me questions, come find me on Twitter! Before you come asking me questions, though, I have a question for all of you…