History Fridge / Firefly

** When Simon is getting ready to drop down on Dobson, River is pulling away from him, giving Simon a perfect target. I didn't realize until just now that she likely knew that Simon was up there thanks to her PsychicPowers, and knew what he was planning, so she pulled away from Dobson to give Simon a clear target.

** When Dobson draws his gun on Mal and Simon in the cargo bay, pay close attention to where Book came from when stepping onto the scene. He was ''already in the cargo bay'' when Mal confronted Simon, likely shadowing Dobson, giving further, subtle hints as to his dark and shadowy past.

* In the first episode, pay close attention when Dobson bumps into Simon while getting his bags out of the cargo bay. He keeps glancing to the display on the side of the cryo box River is in, which is the same display Simon keeps checking. He's checking over Simon's head, being just as interested in making sure River is fine.
* Jayne being responsible for "public relations" seems like a one-off bit of sarcasm from Mal, but considering how the "public" that the crew interacts with are commonly criminals, thugs, murderers, pirates, and other assorted lowlifes, Jayne's [[{{BFG}} methods of relating]] to these folks seem highly appropriate.

* In the first episode, pay close attention when Dobson bumps into Simon while getting his bags out of the cargo bay. He keeps glancing to the display on the side of the cryo box River is in, which is the same display Simon keeps checking. He's checking over Simon's head, being just as interested in making sure River is fine.

* FridgeBrilliance: In "Bushwacked", while we can see that Simon is struggling with what may have ended up being revealed as a full-blown phobia, River is absolutely elated at being outside the ship, gazing off to the stars in delight and wonder. It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps her comfort stemmed from her mental abilities. Out there, in the vastness of space, this girl who we know can no longer switch off her emotions (or anyone else's) is actually finding a kind of respite - there's nothing but her and the black and a chance, for at least a moment, to be free of so many minds. It's probably no wonder she loves ''Serenity'' so much - with so few people on board, and their identities unchanging, she would stand a better chance of finding peace than in a crowded room or city or (as Miranda implied) ''planet''... and we see in "Objects in Space" that, having already sensed Early's arrival ("We're all just floating"), there's one extra mind on board, hence her "it's getting very, very crowded" - she was reacting to the intruder even then. In short, the reason River enjoys being in space so much is that it's the only place she can be to take a break from reading minds - because there are so few minds around to read.

** River's breakdown in "War Stories" didn't truly resonate with me for a while, until I realized that her comment on how much she hates being able to think clearly because she knows it'll go away meant that she's ''fully aware of what was done to her'' and she knows, deep down, that she ''cannot ever be fully healed.'' It made an already heartwrenching scene a hundred times more agonizing to watch. -- Tropers/UnknownTroper
** I just caught something very subtle in "Objects In Space." When River is threatening Early, she casually comments about "all these buttons" while inside his ship. Except she's not only referring to the buttons in Early's ship - she's also referring to the [[HannibalLecture "buttons" in Early's head she's been pushing]] during the entire conversation. ''Brilliant.'' -- Tropers/UnknownTroper
** Something immensely subtle in "Ariel" that I missed for ''years'' before only just now noticing: when Simon, River, and Jayne have been captured by the Feds and the Feds are starting to move them, check River's wrists. ''She's trying to slip out of the handcuffs.'' Even before Simon begins treating her and ''well'' before the Big Damn Movie, River is already showing signs of her impending ninjaosity. -- Tropers/UnknownTroper
** We all know that {{Firefly}} is a [[TooGoodToLast short-]][[ScrewedByTheNetwork lived]] SpaceWestern, but one would not all the planets in the 'Verse are all of a desert/prairie biome. Except that most, if not all of them '''are''', because the terraforming procedure was such a long and probably expensive process, that the Alliance didn't want to spend money that they didn't need to. Thus, they stopped at the bare minimum of habitability, which is why all the planets seem to be hot or cold deserts. (This doesn't apply as much to the Core Planets; but consider the fact that that's where both the government and the rich people live). -- Tropers/UnknownTroper
*** I had the idea that the semi-terraformed planets were the cause of political waffling. One administration wants to fully terraform the planets, but an opposing party comes into power, declares the whole thing a waste, and shuts down the project when its only half-way done. Thus the've spend billions of [[strike: dollars]] [[strike: credits]] whatever-they-use in the 'verse, yet wind up with barely habitable rocks. -- Tropers/UnknownTroper
*** I always thought the reason for all the desert planets was that they spent all the big bucks on getting the Core Worlds comfortable (even if all those arboreal gardens ''were'' each indoors or AllJustADream), then did what they could to make the Border worlds merely livable. What with the Border Worlds being [[UrbanSegregation Hoovervilles]] [[AC: [[RecycledInSpace InSpace!]]]], that is. -{{Tropers/JET73L}}
*** The terraforming process isn't completely foolproof: in the movie, Miranda is referred to as a 'black rock'; i.e., an uninhabitable planet where terraforming failed. [[spoiler:Of course, that's not the case.]] So apparently terraforming fails often enough that a slang term to describe the result is in use. The Border Worlds being only marginally habitable may be a result of a limitation in technology, funding, or both. --{{Tropers/Snarf}}
** I just noticed something about the teaching of Xiang Yu that are dismissed as an excuse to be evil. We were given a practical demonstration of them applying to the main characters [[spoiler: in the previous episode when Mal was about to space Jayne but stopped short because he met the real Jayne]]. -- Tropers/UnknownTroper
** The name ''{{Firefly}}'' itself. This meaning was never intentional by anyone, but think about it. The light of a firefly shines brightly for a moment and then [[TooGoodToLast flickers out of existence]] but that light, that memory of the firefly is fondly remembered. -- ''{{Tropers/Gallows}}''
*** Catching fireflies on a warm summer night... that is the feeling you get when watching ''{{Firefly}}'', especially in the more heartwarming scenes. -- ''{{Tropers/Gallows}}''
*** A Firefly can also symbolize the soul, or that it ferries souls from the land of the living. On a more upbeat note, a firefly encircling people symbolizes affections and attachments that bring them together.
*** Reading the [[{{JustBugsMe/Firefly}} Just Bugs Me: Firefly]] page gave this troper the following startling insight: in Ariel, River wasn't just randomly attacking Jayne, she was defacing his Blue Sun shirt. River even says right after, "He looks better in red." You think she's being 'morbid and creepifying,' going on about blood being 'pretty' or sumesuch, but what she means is she doesn't want to see him in Blue! Ruttin' brilliant. ~[[Tropers/{{Dragonfire8181}} Dragonfire8181]]
**** Not only that, but she's psychic! She already knew of his betrayal! Not only would that cause a homicidal bloodlust in most, but combine that with training that most likely said to kill traitors, and you have an easy way to get her trying to kill you. --{{Tropers/HG131}}
*** She is definitely on to him. Remember, when she wakes up. Her words are: "Copper for a kiss?" And later, with the Holo-Imager: "Your feet are in the sand." Could either mean, Jayne saw himself on the beach or that sand makes for some unstable footing. Jayne himself gives us another clue of whats coming up: "Nothing buys bygones quicker than cash." [[Tropers/{{bardofshadow}} bardofshadow]]
*** Not to mention, the moment Jayne first lies to them (about the plan 'changing'), River's brain lights up (still in the scanner) and she gets very agitated...
*** It's subtle, but in "Trash", when Saffron is presenting her plan, Wash asks the question - "What is she ''doing'' on the '''''ship'''''?!". This is a very relevant question - hilarious, but relevant. Sitting next to him, Kaylee cracks up. This irritated me for a bit, until ''ages'' later when I realised that the crew already knew Saffron was on board, and it was all a big con. Kaylee's not as shocked or scared as she should have been because of that, and so she found Wash's comment funny. That's part of what Inara was talking about when "Some of the crew's performances weren't as nuanced" as she'd've liked! – Tropers/DeltaOne
** In "Safe", River always seemed awfully calm while she was about to be [[BurnTheWitch burned at the stake]]. Heck, she didn't even really fight back against the settlers as they were tying her to the stake. Then I realized that in order for the events to have happened as they did during the BigDamnHeroes moment, Mal and Zoe had to have arrived at the village several minutes before Serenity swooped in overhead - and River ''knew'' they were there, because she's psychic! No wonder she was so calm! – Tropers/UnknownTroper
*** It's also why she said, "Time to go" around the time the BigDamnHeroes moment happened. She knew the exact time that Mal and Zoe would come.-- Tropers/EchoBallard13
*** When she said: "Daddy will come get us", I made the same mistake as Simon, thinking she was talking about Gabriel Tam. Then I re-watched "Safe" and had a "FB"-Moment. Not sure if there is another moment where she says something about "Captain Daddy" and I'm just missing it. [[Tropers/{{bardofshadow}} bardofshadow]]
**** Which just adds another layer to an already heartwarming scene
** In ''Out Of Gas'', during the first flashback, Zoe and Mal avoid a thing on the floor. Dying, present Mal is exactly at that spot. - {{Tropers/Randomfanboy}} though it was my sister who pointed it out.
** It took me a few watches of ''Out of Gas'' to get that the title didn't refer to the crew being becalmed in space, but to ''Oxygen'', which they were quickly running out of.

** On another note with this episode, I also liked what Joss did with Kaylee. Rape is about power not sex. Early's casual question was designed solely to give him power over her - he was telling the truth about not caring one way or another about her body. He just wanted her to be imprisoned, not by physical bonds, but by mental ones. But taking power like that away from a person isn't as easy to fix as simply removing physical restraints. It lingers with a person for a long time and often the healing process involves a woman taking back the power that was stolen from her. We know that Joss Whedon understands that because an early episode of {{Angel}} addressed it when Kate explains to Angel that his client (who has been stalked by a neurosurgeon for a long time) has to be able to take back the power he's stolen if she's ever to stand a chance of recovery. Enter River - it wasn't simply that Kaylee was the only person free to unlock Mal's room, River - who would understand the mental hold Early had gained over her - was actually giving Kaylee the chance to fight back and take back the power that Early had stolen from her.

** That's got nothing to do with GenreSavvy. Apparently that's just where the Independents keep copies of their authorization codes.

* Either Lieutenant Baker was GenreSavvy, or the Independents as a whole were by the Battle of Serenity. Witness that Baker's Authorization Code was evidently printed on the inside of one of his patches, and Mal knew where to look for it without hesitation.

** The weapon does more than that, as demonstrated in ''Those Left Behind''. At full power it can liquefy a human body's internal organs in seconds, leaving them as nothing but a tattered husk of skin in a pool of blood.

* The weapons that the Blue Hands use in "Ariel" didn't make sense to me at first. Why use something that causes so much pain and kills so slowly? Would fast-dissipating nerve gas work better? Then, I start to think: the weapon causes bleeding from the eyes, ears, nose and mouth, suggesting extreme hemorrhaging in the brain. What if technology exists that can restore memories from dead brains? Or, hell, few methods of execution have a 100% success rate, even shooting someone in the head. What if someone survives? And they seem concerned that no one hears what River says, in case she spills the beans on anything she picked up from the brass's heads. I think those sonic weapons disintegrate brain matter rather than just cause blood vessels to burst, to ensure that there is no way whatsoever for anyone to tell what she's said to them. They're not just killing witnesses, they're ''destroying evidence''.

* The concept of Companions being high-class actually makes an insanely large amount of sense when you consider an entire generation of humanity lived and died on route the new Solar System after leaving Earth. Social taboos would probably have been put aside to prevent people from going stir-crazy and getting cabin fever.

*** On the other hand, it is all but outright said that Fess Higgins will, eventually, take over and move the ceramics production operation in a gentler direction, considering how he stood up to his father.

*** It is all but outright said that Fess Higgins will, eventually, take over and move the ceramics production operation in a gentler direction, considering how he stood up to his father.

** What happens to the mudders at Jaynestown? Do they revolt against their oppressive masters or something, or are they stuck in their virtual slavery long after the crew of ''Serenity'' leave?

** Eh, maybe... It's probably more that she knew Jayne had sold her out and that the Hands of Blue were coming to take her back to the Academy.

** An alternate interpretation is that "that place" is the Academy, where she sees herself returning as an immediate result of Jayne's betrayal (which she knows about because she read his mind).

** it's more likely that "that place" is the Academy, where she sees herself returning as an immediate result of Jayne's betrayal (which she knows about because she read his mind).

** An alternate interpretation would be that "that place" is the Academy, where she sees herself ending up as a result of Jayne's betrayal (which she knows about as a result of reading his mind).

** actually, the more logical explanation would be that "that place" is the Academy, where she sees herself ending up as a result of Jayne's betrayal (which she knows about as a result of reading his mind). It's a more immediate likelihood than Miranda, at any rate- she doesn't even go to Miranda, forget "going back" till ''Serenity''.

** actually, the more logical explanation would be that "that place" is the Academy, where she sees herself ending up as a result of Jayne's betrayal. It's a more immediate likelihood than Miranda, at any rate- she doesn't even go to Miranda, forget "going back" till ''Serenity''.

* In "Ariel" River is terrified of being put into a coma, talking about how she doesn't want to "go to that place." Sounds like standard metaphorical talk about how she doesn't want to die, right? Except that going to sleep due to chemical treatment is exactly what happened to everyone on Miranda. She remembers how everyone fell asleep there and died, and in her not-all-there state of mind, she's terrified that the ''same thing will happen to her''. The "I don't want to go to that place" line is River saying she doesn't want to go to Miranda!

* In "Ariel" River is terrified of being put into a coma, talking about how she doesn't want to "go to that place." Sounds like standard metaphorical talk about how she doesn't want to die, right? Except that going to sleep due to chemical treatment is exactly what happened to everyone on Miranda. She remembers how everyone fell asleep there and died, and in her not-all-there state of mind, she's terrified that the ''same thing will happen to her''. The "I don't want to go to that place" line is River saying she doesn't want to go to Miranda!
** Eh, maybe... It's probably more that she knew Jayne had sold her out and that the Hands of Blue were coming to take her back to the Academy.

* In "Ariel" River is terrified of being put into a coma, talking about how she doesn't want to "go to that place." Sounds like standard metaphorical talk about how she doesn't want to die, right? Except that going to sleep due to chemical treatment is exactly what happened to everyone on Miranda. She remembers how everyone fell asleep there and died, and in her not-all-there state of mind, she's terrified that the ''same thing will happen to her''. The "I don't want to go to that place" line is River saying she doesn't want to go to Miranda!

** It took me a few watches of ''Out of Gas'' to get that the title didn't refer to the crew being becalmed in space, but to ''Oxygen'', which they were quickly running out of.