Firefly - Episode 12: 'The Message'
Recap: A package has arrived for Mal - the erstwhile dead body of his former squadron mate, Tracy. After a touching recorded message, it turns out Tracy isn't quite dead, and that he's trying to use Mal to smuggle his juiced up organs. Tracy is hunted down by Alliance marshals, so he turns on Mal and Book when they attempt to open the doors to the cops. This of course winds up in his death.
So Tracy coming back to life is both hilariously obvious and a cool narrative device. One of the best parts about Tracy's presence is the way that others react to his message both the first time and the last. It seems like everyone's head is bowed and eyes are moist when they first hear Tracy's titular message, but the sympathy quickly turns to incredulity and disgust when they see Tracy's true colors. Yet by the end of episode, as Tracy's voiceover montage returns - and we are fully aware of its insincerity - Simon and Kaylee nonetheless link hands again, Jayne takes off his badass mother's knit hat, and Mal looks off into the distance with impatient fire.
Recently, an article was posted that mentioned how the American military personnel guarding the cell of Saddam Hussein bonded with their dictator captive. Hussein would throw a fit in court and then immediately turn up the charm when isolated. The soldiers developed real affection for Hussein to the point of disillusionment with their military careers and hanging Iraqi flags in Hussein's cell. They know intellectually what this man is and what he's done, but stripped of power and reduced to a walking memory, they find the humanity in him - or maybe in themselves. And that's what makes it so great when in spite of the betrayal and Tracy being a real piece of shit, the crew of Serenity nonetheless hang their heads and remember that they've killed an actual person that they got to know. Not because Tracy deserves it, but because they're human.
Messrs 'Hands of Blue' show up this episode, and the leader of the bunch gets significantly more fun. Villains who kill can be scary and intimidating, but I almost always prefer charisma - which he demonstrates with his No Country For Old Men-esque interrogation of the postman. 'Boys, let's go find us a corpse!' Unfortunately and unexpectedly, though, he has nothing to do with the River storyline this episode. (Also a little disappointing - Book coming up with the plan to handle him - but not finding out about why he's so important to the Alliance.)
The flashback scene is a really good one. First off, the timing of it - and the fact there's only one - practically confirms that Tracy is coming to life. (Episodes about prominent and newly introduced actually dead people have flashbacks that span the whole episode.) But also, there's Zoe and Mal's attitude toward war. Zoe tries to tell the green-recruit Tracy, 'First rule of battle, little one - never let them know where you are.' Mal immediately comes zooming into the frame, guns ablaze - 'RIGHT HERE! RIGHT HERE! WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!' It's a hilarious, classic Whedon exchange. And Mal is so alive there - feels like he was a different person before the war ended.
---
Looks like our entire section here is going to be devoted to the parts before the opening credits...
* Kaylee and Simon's relationship has never been exciting and this episode it's barely even sweet. It's mostly a waste of time. The only upside here is that Simon gets to wear some different clothes.
* Actually, that's not entirely true. It's fun to see the pair interact with others when Kaylee inevitably gets mad at something Simon does: 'This may come as a shock, but I'm not very good at talking to girls,' Simon mumbles. Zoe is too surprised to appear sympathetic: 'Why, is there someone you are good at talking to?'
* That post office space station thing is really cool-looking. Reminds me a bit of Times Square.
* Jayne is an absolute delight receiving the winter hat he receives from his mother. And he proudly reads the letter in front of everyone - struggling a little, but never actually failing to read any words. But his blunt wit is better displayed as everyone peers into the box containing Tracy's 'corpse' and there's a dramatic silence: 'What'd y'all order a dead guy for?'
So Tracy coming back to life is both hilariously obvious and a cool narrative device. One of the best parts about Tracy's presence is the way that others react to his message both the first time and the last. It seems like everyone's head is bowed and eyes are moist when they first hear Tracy's titular message, but the sympathy quickly turns to incredulity and disgust when they see Tracy's true colors. Yet by the end of episode, as Tracy's voiceover montage returns - and we are fully aware of its insincerity - Simon and Kaylee nonetheless link hands again, Jayne takes off his badass mother's knit hat, and Mal looks off into the distance with impatient fire.
Recently, an article was posted that mentioned how the American military personnel guarding the cell of Saddam Hussein bonded with their dictator captive. Hussein would throw a fit in court and then immediately turn up the charm when isolated. The soldiers developed real affection for Hussein to the point of disillusionment with their military careers and hanging Iraqi flags in Hussein's cell. They know intellectually what this man is and what he's done, but stripped of power and reduced to a walking memory, they find the humanity in him - or maybe in themselves. And that's what makes it so great when in spite of the betrayal and Tracy being a real piece of shit, the crew of Serenity nonetheless hang their heads and remember that they've killed an actual person that they got to know. Not because Tracy deserves it, but because they're human.
Messrs 'Hands of Blue' show up this episode, and the leader of the bunch gets significantly more fun. Villains who kill can be scary and intimidating, but I almost always prefer charisma - which he demonstrates with his No Country For Old Men-esque interrogation of the postman. 'Boys, let's go find us a corpse!' Unfortunately and unexpectedly, though, he has nothing to do with the River storyline this episode. (Also a little disappointing - Book coming up with the plan to handle him - but not finding out about why he's so important to the Alliance.)
The flashback scene is a really good one. First off, the timing of it - and the fact there's only one - practically confirms that Tracy is coming to life. (Episodes about prominent and newly introduced actually dead people have flashbacks that span the whole episode.) But also, there's Zoe and Mal's attitude toward war. Zoe tries to tell the green-recruit Tracy, 'First rule of battle, little one - never let them know where you are.' Mal immediately comes zooming into the frame, guns ablaze - 'RIGHT HERE! RIGHT HERE! WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!' It's a hilarious, classic Whedon exchange. And Mal is so alive there - feels like he was a different person before the war ended.
---
Looks like our entire section here is going to be devoted to the parts before the opening credits...
* Kaylee and Simon's relationship has never been exciting and this episode it's barely even sweet. It's mostly a waste of time. The only upside here is that Simon gets to wear some different clothes.
* Actually, that's not entirely true. It's fun to see the pair interact with others when Kaylee inevitably gets mad at something Simon does: 'This may come as a shock, but I'm not very good at talking to girls,' Simon mumbles. Zoe is too surprised to appear sympathetic: 'Why, is there someone you are good at talking to?'
* That post office space station thing is really cool-looking. Reminds me a bit of Times Square.
* Jayne is an absolute delight receiving the winter hat he receives from his mother. And he proudly reads the letter in front of everyone - struggling a little, but never actually failing to read any words. But his blunt wit is better displayed as everyone peers into the box containing Tracy's 'corpse' and there's a dramatic silence: 'What'd y'all order a dead guy for?'
Comments
Post a Comment