OH MY GOD I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING, AND IT HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING.
First things first! The video file for “Ariel” can be downloaded here, and all my Mark Watches videos are indexed in my Dropbox folder. Mega thanks to the lovely Megan for commissioning this from me!
Seriously. Seriously. Are you ready for this?
FIREFLY IS BASICALLY A LIVE-ACTION VERSION OF COWBOY BEBOP.
- Which I am sure is a surprise to absolutely none of you. Apparently, Whedon loves Bebop? THIS IS WHAT I WAS TOLD. BY A PERSON. WHILE ON TOUR. But seriously, this is a huge mindfuck for me.
- River is Edward. RIVER TAM IS EDWARD.
- Mal is Spike and oh my god.
- Which would make…. okay, so maybe it falls apart in terms of character parallels. You can see bits of Spike in Zoe, Kaylee, and Jayne. However, it’s more the feel and aim of Firefly that comes very close to what Cowboy Bebop was. A group of ragtag, underground misfits who skirt the law in order to take dangerous and risky jobs to make money to survive? OH MY GOD IT’S THE SAME THING.
- Granted, the Firefly crew is a whole lot better at successfully finishing their jobs. Like, way more. But I sort of believe that nearly any other group would be more successful than the Bebop folks.
- Seriously, is there an essay online that I can read where someone compares these two shows? Because h e l p, this realization is messing with my mind.
- GOD, HOW GREAT IS THIS EPISODE IT IS REALLY GREAT. I love heists. Have I mentioned that recently? Then allow me to repeat myself for the hundredth time: I REALLY LOVE HEISTS.
- And this one is a great one. Not only does it lovingly follow a lot of the rules of the genre (such as the brilliant montage scene), but then expectations are twisted by Jayne’s betrayal and the appearance of the Hands of Blue.
- AND THE HANDS OF BLUE ARE SO CREEPY. WHY. WHY.
- I know that Firefly will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the very first show that I wrote about for Mark Watches. I really do wonder what the show would be like if it had continued to air, and the comics provided some insight into that. Still, I don’t know that I’d ever want this lovely show to come back as it is. A movie? Sure, that makes sense. But given the events in Serenity, it kinda seems impossible for Firefly to ever be a regular thing without it being one giant retcon. So I’m happy with what we’ve got.
Thanks again, Megan!
