"We're All Just Floating..."

Before I write about this week's episode, "Objects in Space," I feel obliged to let all of you know that I have officially been converted into a Firefly fan, and have bought the DVD. Call it the power of pursuation or merely being intrigued by the mind of Joss Whedon, take your pick. ;)


Being inspired by Cait's post got me thinking about Whedon's motives for Firefly as well. Having watched every season finale and both series finales of Buffy and Angel, Whedon always concocted some epic ending for each of them. Whether it was blowing up a high school, or sinking the protagonist to the depths of the Pacific Ocean for an entire summer, Whedon always came up with some cliffhanger of sorts that kept the audience guessing after the screen faded to black. Even knowing that Firefly wouldn't return for a second season, I expected Whedon to come up with something! Perhaps he was trying to show, for a final time, how different this series was from Buffy and Angel and give Firefly an anticlimactic ending. Still, I wanted more than the final shot to convey the "Life goes on" theme for the Firefly crew. After 13 episodes of fighting and running from the Alliance, didn't they deserve a better finale? Obviously, I'm focusing solely on the TV series because I have no idea how the Serenity movie will play out.


However, shifting thought a bit, I kept thinking about Early long after the episode was over. He was definitely one of Whedon's creepiest villians ever, and he needed no monster make-up to do the job. Early's most alarming line that really grabbed my attention was the question he asked Kaylee, "You ever been raped?" It was asked calmly, and without eye contact. Early knows he is in a position of power, and doesn't have to raise his voice or physically hurt her before saying it, and that's what makes him so terrifying. Thankfully, River is able to dish out her own psychological medicine on Early and turn the tables. She does so in a playful manner, giggling like a child playing a simple game. The power shifts to River as she disects many of Early's layers and is successful in making him vulnerable and afraid.


"We're all just floating..." an ironic line that the audience hears Early say in the opening of the episode. It's ironic because that's exactly what his character ends up doing at the closing of the episode. :) It also brings me back to my earlier point of Whedon's intentional ending; the Firefly crew is last seen floating along in space with no particular mission ahead but to continue as they have. Perhaps this can also be interpreted for our world. All of us go on with our lives forever seeking something that makes us feel complete; we go through the motions until some of us achieve a given purpose set in life, while others spend their existence chasing after one.