Back from another viewing with a former roomie. (That brings the total ticket sales from me and local friends I've gone with to $50 for the weekend.) It's still holding my interest, and it's fun to now start spotting the little things.
In the post-Maidenhead scene where Mal is slinging Simon around the dining room, Zoe briefly has her hand on her gun. That seems odd to me, as Mal was clearly winning the struggle at the time and she can't have possibly thought that Simon could not only turn the tables but present enough of a danger that she couldn't intervene successfully unarmed. It makes me wonder if she thought Mal was really losing it, and she might need the gun to make him stand down.
It makes me wonder if she thought Mal was really losing it, and she might need the gun to make him stand down.
That's just what I wondered when I caught it on second viewing.
Here's a plot hole I need help closing. When the Operative was stunned by the flashbang, why did Mal not kill him before fleeing? It makes sense to me that the Operative was not trying to kill Mal during the fight -- he wanted Mal to give River up, or lead him to her. But I can't figure out what changed for Mal during the fight that he wouldn't finish the Operative off.
When the Operative was stunned by the flashbang, why did Mal not kill him before fleeing?
Simplest reason? It was mentioned previously that there was backup in the other room, and he knew they would be alerted.
I dunno. If there was time to get away at all, there was time to cut the guy's throat.
eta: Or shoot him some more. We know that Mal recovered his pistol.
Depends. Do we really know how far back he was blown? Could Mal even see him?
For all he knew, the backup was en route that very moment and he and Inara wouldn't make it out of there alive. Not a moment to waste.
Plus he had to stop and find his gun....
A friend mentioned to me today that he couldn't figure out why The Operative didn't shoot the shit out of the server. It wasn't gonna fight back.
Hmmm. Good one.
All I can come up with is: maybe his dinky little stun gun couldn't get the job done from the distance where the fight started. Once they were on the central platform, he didn't have time while fighting Mal. Once he thought Mal was defeated, there was no need to destroy the transmitting equipment.