The context of my answer was about not killing off a beloved character and breaking your heart.

Ah, right. In which case I tend to agree with you: if you trust Joss not to bring the pain, you're clearly not watching the same writer I've been watching.

I feel like the 2200 screens depressed the Serenity box office receipts, making it look less successful. I hope that word-of-mouth will work to give it strong legs, but I'm afraid that opening weekend is such a powerful influence these days.

My sister had a reaction kind of similar to Jilli's - she's not arguing that it wasn't a good narrative choice, but that Wash's death really affected her ability to enjoy the movie as a whole. Some things just hit in a really emotional place that can't be reasoned with.

nods

The best other example I can think of is the Buffy episode "The Body". I think it's a solid, very well-crafted story. I don't think I will ever be able to watch it again.

Wash's death hasn't made Serenity completely "Never again!" to me, but it may be a while before I will feel comfortable watching the movie.

I think the reaction Wash's to death is interesting. There is something about the commonality of response that seems - if not unprecedented at least - distinctive.

I'm still convinced that it has something to do with the kind of intimacy that comes from an established television character. That your relationship to a character in a series is different than what you'd have with a character in one novel or one movie.

It mostly reminds me of how people reacted to Tara's death. (Which is mostly making me rethink my opinions about the Kittens - not dismiss people who are being so affected by Wash's death.)

I do think it has something to do with that character being the entry character into that universe. I don't think people would feel betrayed or slapped in the face unless it felt like they were perhaps uninivited to that universe. I think possibly that's why the Kittens responded to Tara's death as they did - many of them started watching Buffy because there was a healthy lesbian relationship in it.

I don't see Book's death as the loss of Book's story. All Joss would need to do, is bring in a new character from Book's past to interact with the crew. Bringing RG back for flashbacks is totally appropriate, or even a younger actor (like DeNiro for Brando, in Godfather 2).

Wash's death was a gut punch, but you do have to kill your darlings. There's no other way I would have felt terror for each and every BDH, watching the gang make a last stand against the reavers. Nobody was safe.

I was shaking tiny fists at Joss each time one of 'em got shot or stabbed thinking, you just better not...

terror

I was shaking tiny fists at Joss each time one of 'em got shot or stabbed thinking, you just better not...

Wolfram is me. "Oh no! Not Kaylee! Oh no! Not Simon! Oh no! Not Zoe!" I was well and truly terrified we'd lose another one. One of the downsides to having such a large cast is that they are all more vulnerable.

I do think it has something to do with that character being the entry character into that universe. I don't think people would feel betrayed or slapped in the face unless it felt like they were perhaps uninivited to that universe. I think possibly that's why the Kittens responded to Tara's death as they did - many of them started watching Buffy because there was a healthy lesbian relationship in it.

Sure. I can completely understand someone who started watching BtVS for W/T leaving after Tara's death. I always have. It was the threats against the writers, the harassment of other boards that didn't condemn the writers for story, and the rest of the bad behavior that I found troublesome. I posted at the Kitten board, back when the spoilers came out for Tara's death. A Big Scooby Death had been the talk all season, and the Kittens had better spoilers than anyone. There was a pathology there, you could see it grow as the spoiler looked more and more sure, and once the episode aired, fuhggedabouddit.

Nobody was safe.

Amen. Wash's death shocked me the first time I saw Serenity and it still got me the sixth time. It still packs a real, emotional wallop even when I know it's coming. I found myself re-watching Serenity much the same way I re-watch Chungking Express these days: just enjoying the ride.

There's no other way I would have felt terror for each and every BDH, watching the gang make a last stand against the reavers. Nobody was safe.

Yeah - I was really off balance after Wash with respect to who else would make it.

I was really off balance after Wash with respect to who else would make it.

Me too. Except for River. I totally expected her to make it through, at least against the Reavers. It was slightly touch and go there with the Alliance at the end but not so much as to make me REALLY fear for her life.