Firefly - Episode 7: 'Jaynestown'
Recap: Serenity's crew reaches a of ruthless capitalist foremen presiding over 'mudders.' Their principal export: clay. Jayne tries to keep a low profile as he once stole from the magistrate of this village, but it turns out that he's actually a folk hero because in his botched escape attempt, he dumped the loot out of his spaceship. Jayne is feted by the village until the magistrate unleashes Jayne's ex-partner, whom Jayne sold out, and he reveals the truth.
An awesome concept for an episode, and obviously the perfect character to center it around. Jayne is defined primarily by three characteristics: his strength, his meanness, and his stupidity. The circumstances that plague Jayne at the beginning are entirely of his own doing - he used his strength to rob the magistrate, he cruelly ejected his own partner, and he stupidly bungled the operation by losing the money.
Yet the interpretation of the events is obviously different from what Jayne remembers. Jayne Cobb is remembered for his strength, yes, but the combination of stupidity and meanness is actually taken for defiant generosity. It's a great demonstration of the way truth becomes myth through missing information. And then, of course, you see the way it affects Jayne. Obviously, his diguise attempts are hilarious, and he's absolutely baffled by the statue - but even more so when he hears that incredible song. Then he's outed, and at first he goes along with it because of the alcohol and the women being thrown at him.
But when Mal attempts to leverage Jayne, he's already started buying into his own hype, and he's developing a surprising compassion for the deluded mudders - 'You think we should be using our fame to hoodwink folks?' Jayne is a realist who never claims that he is a real hero. Instead, he awkwardly avoiding lying directly or romanticizing anything - on the mudders' suffering, he has this brilliant speech: 'But you took that end and... well you took it. And I guess that's not half bad.' And when his old partner shows up, the beast resurfaces - the head-smashing that finishes Stitch is Clegane-esque.
And what upsets Jayne the most at the end of it all - that he can't comprehend these people. Why won't they hate him? Why did they save his life? The mystique was viciously torn and splattered to bits against the rocks along with Stitch's skull. And all he has left at the end of the day is a confused glimpse into human nature and heroism. Here, Jayne's being our POV character is critical to the importance of the scene: essentially, we're placed into Jayne's shoes, keenly aware of the facts, but unable to see the truth that the mudders have created. He and Mal muse that the mudders must be putting his statue back up, but we never see their true fate. What a world we live in.
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* Jayne trying - and failing - to get people to look away from his statue might be the best part of the episode.
* 'You guys had a riot on account of me? ... My very own riot!'
* 'There's a problem in Workertown, sir.' LOL.
* Is it just me, or is the cargo this episode not really shown? I might have missed what it was.
* Gregory 'Charles Logan' Itzin appears in the episode as a wonderful slimeball. 'I only make the people I own use my full title.' LMAO.
* Not a ton going on in the Riverlands, but her absolute FREAKOUT at his unexpected Einstein hair is incredible. As is Zoe, always more fun in a more humorous role. 'Preacher?! Preacher, what'd you s- ohhhhh...' Later, she tries to convince River it's okay. 'He's putting the hair away now.' / 'Doesn't matter! It'll still be there, waiting!' And of course, at the end, River informs the Shepherd, 'Keep walking, preacher-man.'
* 'It happened when I was growing up here...' - Inara's client, the Magistrate's son, is stated to be twenty-six years old. Stitch has been in that box for four years. So... what gives? Anyway, I'm immensely again not a fan of using the 'glasses come off, he becomes a man' trope here. Inara also spends most of the episode with that boring, dead-serious tone that we're accustomed to.
* Which makes it all the more hialrious when she tries to use her 'wise, oh yes' persona on her client. 'I know this man,' she says, and starts waxing poetic about her tsundereness for Mal. It's a perfect setup for the subversion - we ain't talking about Mal, honey.
* Kaylee/Simon is all sorts of meh. It looks like Kaylee has forgiven Simon for being kind of a dick on the cow dropoff planet. It's probably because Simon continues to be such a whiny little shithead. Here are some of his sick burns on Jayne: 'You're like a trained ape... without the training!' 'Enemies? You? NO, how can that be?' His every eyeroll about Jayne is... kind of pathetic.
* I do enjoy the process of picking 'the team' each episode. Reminds me of LOST, a bit. This episode's 'A-team' leaves Zoe at the ship but takes Simon, Kaylee, Jayne, and Wash.
* Mudder's Milk! I'd assumed Maniac's alt username was a reference to Red Hot Chili Peppers.
An awesome concept for an episode, and obviously the perfect character to center it around. Jayne is defined primarily by three characteristics: his strength, his meanness, and his stupidity. The circumstances that plague Jayne at the beginning are entirely of his own doing - he used his strength to rob the magistrate, he cruelly ejected his own partner, and he stupidly bungled the operation by losing the money.
Yet the interpretation of the events is obviously different from what Jayne remembers. Jayne Cobb is remembered for his strength, yes, but the combination of stupidity and meanness is actually taken for defiant generosity. It's a great demonstration of the way truth becomes myth through missing information. And then, of course, you see the way it affects Jayne. Obviously, his diguise attempts are hilarious, and he's absolutely baffled by the statue - but even more so when he hears that incredible song. Then he's outed, and at first he goes along with it because of the alcohol and the women being thrown at him.
But when Mal attempts to leverage Jayne, he's already started buying into his own hype, and he's developing a surprising compassion for the deluded mudders - 'You think we should be using our fame to hoodwink folks?' Jayne is a realist who never claims that he is a real hero. Instead, he awkwardly avoiding lying directly or romanticizing anything - on the mudders' suffering, he has this brilliant speech: 'But you took that end and... well you took it. And I guess that's not half bad.' And when his old partner shows up, the beast resurfaces - the head-smashing that finishes Stitch is Clegane-esque.
And what upsets Jayne the most at the end of it all - that he can't comprehend these people. Why won't they hate him? Why did they save his life? The mystique was viciously torn and splattered to bits against the rocks along with Stitch's skull. And all he has left at the end of the day is a confused glimpse into human nature and heroism. Here, Jayne's being our POV character is critical to the importance of the scene: essentially, we're placed into Jayne's shoes, keenly aware of the facts, but unable to see the truth that the mudders have created. He and Mal muse that the mudders must be putting his statue back up, but we never see their true fate. What a world we live in.
---
* Jayne trying - and failing - to get people to look away from his statue might be the best part of the episode.
* 'You guys had a riot on account of me? ... My very own riot!'
* 'There's a problem in Workertown, sir.' LOL.
* Is it just me, or is the cargo this episode not really shown? I might have missed what it was.
* Gregory 'Charles Logan' Itzin appears in the episode as a wonderful slimeball. 'I only make the people I own use my full title.' LMAO.
* Not a ton going on in the Riverlands, but her absolute FREAKOUT at his unexpected Einstein hair is incredible. As is Zoe, always more fun in a more humorous role. 'Preacher?! Preacher, what'd you s- ohhhhh...' Later, she tries to convince River it's okay. 'He's putting the hair away now.' / 'Doesn't matter! It'll still be there, waiting!' And of course, at the end, River informs the Shepherd, 'Keep walking, preacher-man.'
* 'It happened when I was growing up here...' - Inara's client, the Magistrate's son, is stated to be twenty-six years old. Stitch has been in that box for four years. So... what gives? Anyway, I'm immensely again not a fan of using the 'glasses come off, he becomes a man' trope here. Inara also spends most of the episode with that boring, dead-serious tone that we're accustomed to.
* Which makes it all the more hialrious when she tries to use her 'wise, oh yes' persona on her client. 'I know this man,' she says, and starts waxing poetic about her tsundereness for Mal. It's a perfect setup for the subversion - we ain't talking about Mal, honey.
* Kaylee/Simon is all sorts of meh. It looks like Kaylee has forgiven Simon for being kind of a dick on the cow dropoff planet. It's probably because Simon continues to be such a whiny little shithead. Here are some of his sick burns on Jayne: 'You're like a trained ape... without the training!' 'Enemies? You? NO, how can that be?' His every eyeroll about Jayne is... kind of pathetic.
* I do enjoy the process of picking 'the team' each episode. Reminds me of LOST, a bit. This episode's 'A-team' leaves Zoe at the ship but takes Simon, Kaylee, Jayne, and Wash.
* Mudder's Milk! I'd assumed Maniac's alt username was a reference to Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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