3.8 everyone’s dead at Haven and beyond & dressing up Serenity

  • In my opinion, this is the beginning of Mal’s turning point of acting for his belief. He’s not completely convinced yet, as when he is still motivated by wanting to find something on Miranda that will help with his crew’s survival, but Sheppard Book’s last words begin to resonate with him:
    • Sheppard Book: I don’t care what you believe, just believe it
  • Sheppard Book’s death scene hits Mal hard. While Book is not part of the crew, Mal considers him as one and it is implied that Book flew with them at one point
    • In fact, he was a member of the crew in the series
    • While Mal spends his time pushing others away, this is the most obvious evidence of how much he actually cares
    • This death scene is also surprisingly well-lit, for potentially two reasons
      • To highlight the extent of the damage of a near-second home to Mal that would cement Mal’s conviction. This is the most believable motivation: the destruction of a place that reflects so much of who he is.
      • To reflect that this is not the end but a beginning of a new path, one Mal will commit his family to
[wposflv src=http://www.wiredcrow.com/serenity_analysis/videos/03-08-02.flv]
  • This is compounded when the crew realizes that anyone that has ever sheltered them has also been killed by the Operative’s command
  • The monitors then cut to communication with the Operative
    • Here’s a more important usage of the visual theme with many screens surrounding Mal. This almost gives the Operative’s words a “conscience” effect
    • This is also another prominent use of the Operative as Mal’s foil
    • The Operative talks to his belief, in blind faith, in believing in something greater and a better world, a world without sin and his belief is so strong that he is willing to become a monster and lose his place in that ideal world, in order to enable it.
      • This is the linkage with the theme River carries – that of trying to sanitize a world and controlling it too much
        • It is the blind faith that enables it, but it is also Mal’s coming to the belief of a greater good, belief of humanity that also destroys this
        • When Mal shuts off the screens, it’s the equivalent of him running away from that voice again but conviction starts setting in as the light illuminates his face
[wposflv src=http://www.wiredcrow.com/serenity_analysis/videos/03-08-03.flv]
  • After this, Mal springs to action and the pace of his orders and his lack of tolerance for talk-back creates the feeling that Mal is on a warpath
    • He now has conviction and direction. Heading to Miranda is his only means to survival
    • Even the soundtrack, from a grieving mode, picks up speed, reflecting Mal’s action and conviction
    • The camera pans to frame him while showing the crew behind him, really identifying him now as a different kind of leader, one that demands to be obeyed.
      • The camera then pans upwards framing only him in an almost hero-angle
      • This is of course, just until Zoe questions him, to which his crew takes dominate space when they protest
      • This gets interrupted one more time and after Mal shoots the remaining Alliance pilot, he takes dominate space on the right again
      • This back and forth reflects the crew getting used to the new Mal
    • His conviction, still motivated by his desire to survive at this point, is enough to threaten his own family