Serenity | Canadians First Time Watching | Movie Reaction | Movie Review | Movie Commentary

[@MrUndersolo]

Met Summer Glau at a ComicCon. She signed my DVD set of "Firefly" and added, "I swallowed a fly." Nice.

[@JayStar-yj9pu]

Funny, just two minutes ago I thought of an old landlord who told me how she met Nathan Fillion at a Con and of how charming and personable he was

[@CarnageO31]

I honestly love that the Operative is self aware enough to know he won't be able to live in the world he thinks he's creating because he's a monster.

[@G1NZOU]

Yeah it makes him a truly interesting villain.

[@Jay-ate-a-bug]

This series was the first time I had ever seen Chiwetel Ejiofor and I thought he was amazing as the Operative. He makes a particularly ruthless villain and I can't wait to see him as Baron Mordo in a future Dr. Strange Movie.

[@Aeroldoth3]

We all strive to shape the world into what we want, but some do so knowing they will never get to see that world. Maybe they're a soldier fighting for a cause they won't live to enjoy. Maybe they're an activist/rebel only planting the seeds for a future that needs centuries to bloom. Maybe they're old or sick or a discriminated minority, and they know they'll never get to enjoy the bright future they hope for. It could be argued that fighting for a world you know you won't even get to enjoy is even more sad/poignant than usual, as you sacrifice your whole life for others.

[@Jay-ate-a-bug]

@@Aeroldoth3 Either that or it is a justification for doing horrible things because you enjoy doing horrible things. It is possible to believe in a cause and convince yourself it is right and just while enjoying the horror you inflict; it is justified after all.

[@captin3149]

@@Jay-ate-a-bug Yeah, but there are truly good people that do horrible things because if they don't, then other horrible things will happen to other people. There are as many circumstances as there are people and points of view. Not everything is black and white, in fact most things aren't.

[@Tinfoilnation]

Wash was killed (and Book) specifically to get the reaction you both had to his death: You were immediately concerned about all the other characters because now *no one has plot armor* any more and anyone could be next... and it worked.

[@jsalvatori]

And also because it was originally planed to have a sequel, and anyone who couldn't commit to the sequel before filming was written out.

[@claudiadarling9441]

Right. It makes the happy ending feel earned and not guaranteed, like life.

[@brucebieberly4166]

And you had Jayne asking Mal earlier that aside from Zoe, how many men in his platoon survived the Battle of Serenity. Potential foreshadowing.

[@Citizero]

@@jsalvatori There shoulda been a sequel.

[@hiTocopter]

@@jsalvatori It was absolutely not part of the plan to create a sequel. The rumors of a sequel came AFTER filming Serenity had finished - way later than the script was written, that is. And it was more of a fan request than anything planned by studios or Whedon.

[@Warlock_UK]

"Where's Wash?" "He ain't comin'." Gets me every time. 17 years later, still gets me.

[@daddynitro199]

Same. Hurts my heart more than a reaver’s javelin.

[@Warlock_UK]

@@daddynitro199 "How does a reaver clean their Javelins? They put them through the Wash." ...too soon.

[@UTU49]

@@Warlock_UK Many years from now, when I'm 80 years old, I am going to make that joke with another fan of Firefly and Serenity... and then I'm going to say, "Too soon?" I'm really looking forward to making that joke.

[@MemphisJagsfan]

@@Warlock_UK you know why Mal hasn't taken Serenity on a job in so long? Because it needs a gorram WASH!

[@darkhawk4863]

Sean Maher (Simon) kills me *every* time with that bit when he's apologizing to River near the end. Even just watching a reaction like this, he *still* gets to me. On the commentary, they mention that they had to shoot that a lot of times, because he kept making Summer (River) cry too hard during the takes. SO much emotion in that scene.

[@jimbatten1927]

One of the overlooked parts of that scene is how dark everything was while he was apologizing followed by the light shining in River as she said "my turn." It showed River finally coming out of the darkness that has been controlling her.

[@GormSim]

"If I start fighting a war, I guarantee you'll see something new." Possibly my favorite line in the movie - leading to us seeing what Mal is like when he starts to fight a war.

[@MandoWookie]

And if you've watched the show, not at all like he fought his last war. This time he has no illusions about a righteous cause meaning they cant lose, only to do what has to be done to complete the task. He actually mirrors the Operatives thinking, and drive.

[@Tampahop]

Between that and his actions after Shepard Book was killed, it shows Mal is down right dangerous when he's mad.

[@questionablehumor2800]

a nice callback to ep10 "War Stories", "you wanna meet the real me!?!"

[@brycephiilips2716]

@@questionablehumor2800 You don't want to meet the real Alex Tulley either. Nathan played an interesting character on a different show on Fox, that also got cancelled after 1 season. if you can find it, check out Drive.

[@otakuwolf4ever985]

"Target the Reavers. Target the Reavers! Target everyone! SOMEBODY FIRE!!" Man I just love watching the calm, confident antagonists just lose their cool.

[@TheRagingwerepanda]

Me too! Has Count Rugen vibes.

[@UTU49]

There are so many brilliant moments in this movie. "Mal? Guy killed me, Mal. Guy killed me with a sword. How weird is that?" You hear his dying words spoken in another's voice, while looking in his dead eyes. Really creative story-telling.

[@Thundarr100]

Yeah. The Operative totally forgot that he had given orders to only fire on his command. Then he panics and tells everyone to target the reavers, but forgets to tell them to fire.

[@lordsathariel4384]

@@Thundarr100 plus you have to think the operative is the most qualifed there and he sh'ts himself when the reaver dreadnaught and fleet come out of the cloud so how do you think the officers who are taught from the age of 5 that reavers don't exist felt seeing childhood boogeymen of the outervoid show up to kill them the alliance conditioned their own men to believe the greatest threat to known space was a made up monster ferie tale like they set it up so their sheild would panic when it met the sword brilliant planners in the alliance lol

[@twohorsesinamancostume7606]

The Operative is the type of villian that I absolutely love to watch. Driven, dangerous, confident but you can understand their motives and see how they got to where they are. Not some mustache twirling badguy who's being bad for the sake of it and in fact once the Operative sees the truth, he drops his cause because he's capable of thinking logically.

[@scorp77snake]

I wouldn't even consider him the villain , he's just an operative that's never given all the facts just what he's probably been fed all his life and believes what he's doing is right its not till he see's the truth he relents.

[@jculver1674]

He's like the living embodiment of blind allegiance to the State. Every totalitarian regime has had people like him in their service.

[@lordmortarius538]

@@jculver1674 And that was what Book was before he decided he couldn't do that type of work anymore and became a Shepherd. Hence why he has the insanely high Alliance clearance and such.

[@Daelyas]

@@lordmortarius538 probly also because he was getting older as well, no? But yes - fully agreed

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

The calmmess and politeness makes it sooo much better:)

[@raydurz]

Nathan Fillion: "How do Reavers clean their spears? They run them through the wash." Too soon?

[@Dacre1000]

Too funny.

[@adaddinsane]

It will always be too soon.

[@SirPaladin]

@@adaddinsane it's been SEVENTEEN YEARS...

[@aaronburdon221]

@@SirPaladin Still too soon. :(*****

[@larrystuder8543]

WAY too soon...😉

[@evilscary]

My favourite fact about this movie is River's theme was played on a piano with water damage. That's why it's such a strange, slightly-off key sound, and intended to illustrate that something that's been damaged can still be beautiful.

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

That whole soundtrack is just excellent. I get goosebumps every time I hear the opening Serenity planetfall theme.

[@tareskisloki8579]

That opening long-take through the ship was meant to be a crash course in who's who, what they do and their relationship with each other for people that hadn't watched Firefly. I honestly never get sick of watching this movie.

[@Yggdrasil42]

It did its job. I watched the film before discovering the show.

[@iAmEbolaWoT]

@@Yggdrasil42 Same here. As soon as I saw like the first 5 min of the movie, I commented to my oldest son that there had to be more because the actors were so in sync with each other and they really sold the characters. I think it was like a year or more when I met a gal and she asked me if I'd ever seen Firefly. I was like...no. Then she started to describe the plotline; I told her I saw a movie that followed the description. That, my friends, was my start into the 'verse and when I became a Browncoat. :) She had me watch all of the Firefly series. Fell in love with it. Re-watched Serenity and absolutely fell in love with it all over again.

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

@@iAmEbolaWoT I love that story

[@brycephiilips2716]

@@jean-paulaudette9246 I've heard a few others that had the same experience. Serenity works well on it's own, but boy, when you discover Firefly, wow!!

[@rayjaymor8754]

@@iAmEbolaWoT Back in 2005 a girl I was dating constantly tried to convince me to watch Firefly - but the way she described it just never quite sold me on it. We were in the cinemas to watch a movie, we saw the trailer for Serenity and I was sitting there thinking "wow, this looks cool!" and meanwhile she was wide eyed and just very quickly said "oh my god they've made a Firefly movie!?!?" So after that we tracked down the series on DVD (had to order it in) and spent the following weekend binging it. As a side note I'm now married to that girl.

[@SupergeekMikeDowntime]

Fun fact: Chiwetel Ejiofor was about 24 years old when he played the villain of this movie. Absolutely remarkable performance from someone so young.

[@Madbandit77]

He was around 27-28. Serenity came out in 2005, and Chiwetel was born in 1977.

[@CaptLoquaLacon]

He was in Amistad in 97 (so about 20 years old when it was released). That was an excellent performance too, but he doesn't look that young

[@ericc8705]

This movie was one of the first movies that I *really* noticed his performances and knew his name... And *very* shortly after seeing him in this... I watched the film version of KINKY BOOTS

[@deanroddey2881]

@@ericc8705 I first saw him in the Woodey Allen movie "Melinda and Melinda", which is very good and in which he we very good as well. That must have been what he did directly before Serenity since it was 2004.

[@SupergeekMikeDowntime]

@@Madbandit77 When it came out, not when they filmed it. He would’ve been around 24-26 when filming.

[@endorphinzz]

Mal's first line of dialogue in the movie: "What was that?" Mal's last line of dialogue in the movie: "What was that?"

[@ScarredCitizen]

My girlfriend and I loved this soundtrack so much, parts played during our wedding. 10 years ago this month!!!

[@NathanJasper]

I love Summer Glau so much. She shines in both Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[@jmwild1]

She was great on Dollhouse and Arrow also, smaller parts but memorable.

[@ChrisMcNeese]

I loved The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond]

@@ChrisMcNeese me too. Best Terminator outside of the first 2 movies.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

She's one of the most beautiful women i ve ever seen.... Series She's in tend to get cancelled, but it sure isn't her fault!

[@deanroddey2881]

@@CyberBeep_kenshi She's gorgeous, and makes this move that much easier a choice for rewatching.

[@reflectionist]

21:36 - There's a take of this scene from the blooper / outtakes reel, with Nathan Fillion improvising his dialogue, and it's the funniest shit I have ever heard in my life. Mal - "Get these bodies together!" Zoe - "We have time for grave diggin'?" Mal - "Zoe, you and Simon are going to rope them together, five or six at a time. I want them laid out on the nose of our ship--" Simon - "Are you insane?" Mal - "Put Book front and center, he's our friend and we should honor him. Kaylee, find that kid who was taking a dirt nap with baby Jesus, we need a hood ornament. Jayne! Try not to steal too much of their shit!" kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIGwl3iGhbiZnrM

[@MrGBH]

According to the commentary, the Operative was difficult to write until he'd written the sword scene. Him speaking kind words to the guy he was killing just made it all click

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

The operative was one of my favorite things about this movie. His line delivery and demeanor are just amazing. Movies are always more fun when you can love and hate the villain like this guy.

[@Mugthraka]

A good story and good protagonist can only exist when there's a good Antagonist

[@FallenRingbearer]

He just a great actor, simple as that.

[@Aeroldoth3]

Nobody is pure good, and nobody is pure evil. I dislike all stories, espcially children's stories, that present people in such black and white perspectives. The world is shades of grey, and IMO it's people who do see things as black and white that cause the most damage, the most violence, the most oppression, because they "know" they are right, and those people are "bad".

[@valaport]

It is only my head canon, but I believe that seeing that recording gave the Operatice his Shepherd moment. The moment his eyes were opened and he had to walk a different path. He did some evil things, but I like to think that someday he'll build a life with people that will love him like Shep did.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

@@valaport Yeah, I kind of see that too. I don't think Shepard was an operative like this guy, but I bet he was a high ranking official who finally got fed up with all the evil he saw. Probably left the military on good terms, which is why in the t.v. show they were so quick to help when he needed medical attention.

[@BubbaCoop]

The opening is genius. Four nested intros before the title sequence. Full exposition download.

[@MandoWookie]

That intro blew my mind when I first saw it. We had rented the movie as part of a double feature for family night, and never seen the show. By the time the Serenity came on screen I was already invested into this world. Never before or since has a film grabbed my attention and held it like that.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

Inception eat your heart out ;)

[@conorpm9009]

Something that can go horribly wrong if handled poorly.

[@christopherbowers7236]

i never even noticed that before, but its true. 3 seperate switches of perspective, narration, into classroom, into simons breakout, into the operative replaying the breakout

[@Dularr]

Shepard Book backstory was told in three comic book flashback stories while he was dying. Hands of blue was finished in a comic book

[@Tomani3905]

Great comic series, too. "My guess is that he used to be an Operative..." doesn't even begin to cover Shepherd Derrial Book/Henry Evans' backstory!

[@Dularr]

@@Tomani3905 he didn't seem horrified by violence and crime. Had credentials and pull with the Alliance. But was never offended or dismissive of independence crew.

[@MisterTorgo]

I love that opening shot, reintroducing all the characters on board: Mal, Wash, Zoe, Jane, Kalee, Simon, River but just as importantly Serenity.

[@Helbore]

That's such a fantastic scene, as it effortlessly outlines each individual character in only a line or two. Brilliant writing.

[@jimwoodman8158]

"I swallowed a bug" is one of my favorite lines from any movie I've seen.

[@sbsummit]

Great reaction! I'd forgotten how good this movie was! The reason they didn't (or couldn't) have Firefly in the title, was because this was produced by Universal, which was a rival studio to Firefly's 20th Century Fox at the time. This even meant that the entire Serenity set which had been destroyed by Fox after the series finished, had to be completely rebuilt from scratch for the movie using frozen images from the Firefly DVD set. They did a damn good job!

[@andscifi]

One of my favorite moments in anything is when Mal says that eventually they'll come back around to the idea that they can make people better, and then without a word he looks at River and seems to realize that they've already done it. Another fantastic and subtle moment is when the operative says there are a lot of innocent people dying right now and Mal says, more than you know. Because of course, as much as the reavers are monsters they are also in many ways innocent.

[@JoeMama410]

I saw this in theaters without having seen the show and I loved it. Then I found the show and immediately bought the DVDs

[@marcbloom7462]

I did the same and the Friends that brought me to the theatre asked how I liked the film. I just said "Again, again"

[@FallenRingbearer]

Same.

[@willmartin7293]

Hey! That's my comment.👍😁

[@UTU49]

What was it like to watch Serenity for the first time after watching Firefly?

[@JoeMama410]

@@UTU49 It made a lot more sense and the deaths were much more impactful.

[@RonJomero]

"I wanna see some reavers." - George Monkey's Paw finger curls. But yeah, Simone shouldn't be surprised at how it played out for some of the characters. She loves Joss Whedon shows, so she should know he has a HUUUUGE fetish for offing main characters in the final seasons.

[@Trepanation21]

Dude, the Monkey's Paw finger curled like 37 times in their commentary lmao! I love how George edited it to make sure their unsure questions with big implications (that we all already know) were showcased, lol. "I hope we get to see more reavers", "that'd suck if everybody died", etc lmao

[@GuardianOwl]

In that same vein, one of Mal's wishes at the Companion House _was_ for a plastic rocket...

[@GuardianOwl]

...and I suppose the "pony" could be the Reaverized Serenity which Mal rides atop to provoke the Reavers. They gained the cannon mount (saddle) and corpse cover because *Haven* was wiped out. So both wishes were fulfilled by causing the death of friends.

[@reverance_pavane]

It was revealed many years later that Universal wanted the actors to sign contracts for two potential sequels. Ron (because of his illness) and Alan (because of other contractual commitments at the time) couldn't do so, which gave added motivation for effectively writing them out of the show. Although Joss did use this need to his best advantage. After all if he was willing to just kill of Wash it meant that none of the crew's survival could be assured. Sadly the movie didn't do well enough in it's theatrical release for a sequel to get green-lighted. I do so like that Zoe got to finally wear the slinky dress that Wash almost certainly bought for her. Although not so much for the circumstances in which she did.

[@Niinsa62]

Yes, I noticed too, the slinky dress they talked about in Shindig! So sad.

[@SquigglyP]

There are a few comic trades that Joss wrote that take place between the show and the film and shortly after the film. One of them explains why Book left, and it's likely something that would have happened in the show as well. I think there are a few novels set after the film that try to add more to the story, but I've never read them as I've never been impressed by other writers' abilities to write already established characters. I tried to read a few Star Trek novels and other books based on various other sci-fi series and shows, and I found them all lackluster.

[@SaulOhio]

I immediately knew that Zoe was wearing that slinky dress to honor him, for that exact reason.

[@SaulOhio]

@@Caseytify In what tradition is a slinky dress?

[@pestergaines]

@@SaulOhio every tradition needs to include a slinky dress. Otherwise, what's the point?

[@Trepanation21]

OMG 12:40 "Summer Soldier" THIS GUY LOL freaking perfect, George!

[@Cameron5043]

That was genius!

[@logandarklighter]

@@Cameron5043 This IS the same man who - when seeing the Hairy Man-Monster fully revealed after it had grabbed Gracie Law in Big Trouble in Little China - just deadpanned without batting an eye - "Wow... Chewie really let himself go!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@kampfkeks6619]

When this was shown in the cinemas people freaked out because he really wanted you to feel that they are the underdog and could die. He also wanted you to feel like the characters who have no time to mourn their friends. This movie ripped my heart out. It's not as good as the show but it's a miracle it even exists.

[@SaulOhio]

Mal pulling out a screwdriver against the Operative's sword also works with that underdog theme. Like from the very first episode of the show. Zoe says Patience still has the advantage over them. Mal replies thats what makes them so special. Everyone always does.

[@callmeshaggy5166]

Summer Glau is a professional dancer, so that's why her choreography is so good

[@Mortisg187]

I saw the movie first and then found out there was a show. I was CRUSHED that the show was canceled after just a few episodes. I also got to meet Summer Glau in person! She's awesome!

[@cv8167]

Yeah, the show got sabotaged horribly by Fox. They kept playing the epsiodes out of order, and putting the show on so late at night that most people didn't even know it existed.

[@ahmedjacuzzi5494]

I was fortunate enough to be on set when they shot the Reaver episode as I was on a crew wrapping a shoot on the same sound stage. At the time I had no idea what the show was about, but there was Mal, Jane and Zoe in their spacesuits and Joss setting up the shot. Cool experience.

[@nonymoose7170]

I originally saw Serenity first and didn't even know about the show until I saw the DVD extras. Still, one of my all time favourite TV shows. It ages surprisingly well. I'm happy when anybody discovers this masterpiece of a franchise.

[@aaronburdon221]

"Oh god, I can't know that." Jeyne: "I could stand to hear a little more" lol I'm with Jeyne.

[@hanswurst2189]

Jayne is a girl's name

[@FiddlersGreen667]

Quick note: shooting someone in the head off of a quick draw is a LOT harder than you would think (or movies and tv show portray). At that speed and range, center of mass is the only sure shot. And if body armor was not involved would likely be lethal.

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

I kinda suspect, at least in our current times, that even being shot square in the body armor isn't a guarantee of survival. It just helps your chances.

[@conorpm9009]

ABsolutely. Any trained soldier knows to go for the centre of mass, the biggest target.

[@brycephiilips2716]

A fact that has kept the Punisher alive through impossible odds. In the comics he has body armor, but has never been shot in the head somehow.lol.

[@conorpm9009]

@@brycephiilips2716 Punisher has also mentioned that the White skull motif on his body armor is there to draw fire to that area. That people instinctively go for the image.

[@BenjaminFlagg_GameDesigner]

Wash's death will always be one of my absolute favorite (but depressing) fictional character death's ever. I hate using this phrase, but it actually does subvert expectations in a meaningful way. It's set up to catch you off guard: We already witnessed the "standard" cinematic on-screen death...that being Book. He gets the normal, cinematic, wonderfully-acted dramatic death. And that makes us feel safe. Wash's death, then, is brutal and painful and upsetting...how death REALLY is. No dramatic speech. No uplifting, motivating dialogue. Just sudden shock and he's gone. I hate it. And that's why I love it. But I will NEVER be over it lol.

[@hiTocopter]

It's also necessary in regards to stakes. If everyone on Serenity has plot armor, the fight sequence in the hallway will have no stakes at all - we all know everyone is going to live. With Wash dying just beforehand means we are left with uncertainty and at the edges of our seat each time a character gets injured or when River gets pulled away behind the door. It's great filmmaking. Since this IS definitely the finale of the cinematic world and Wash will never return again anyway, it does not make sense to give him plot armor. "To live happily ever after" was never part of Serenity's/Firefly's charm or premise. It is and always was "we're barely hanging on, but doing it our way".

[@MemphisJagsfan]

Always loved the meme during the Walking Dead prime of asking Carl... - You know why Mal hasn't taken Serenity on a job in so long? - Because it needs a wash. It needs a gorram WASH!

[@Scott_Forsell]

One of my favorite lines ever is River's "I swallowed a bug."

[@somthingbrutal]

Summer Glau also does a great job in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

Yeah, that's an excellent show. I only saw the first season. How long did it run?

[@khaleelurrahman248]

@@jean-paulaudette9246 2 seasons with 31 episodes in total. 9 in the 1st and 22 in the 2nd.

[@Noisemarine]

Serenity had the tone that Joss Whedon wanted for the show particularly with Mal being so grumpy, the more lighthearted feel of the show was the result of notes from focus groups and studio execs want more of a fun Buffyesque show. As a side note there was a graphic novel that kind of filled in what happened between firefly and serenity where they pull another bank job which let them buy the hover mule and pissed off Book which led to him leaving the ship. Serenity is set 6months to a year after the end of firefly.

[@garretthenderson5738]

Whedon killed Wash for the same reason he kills off beloved funny characters in all his projects. It instantly ups the stakes. There's a natural feeling of "our heroes have plot armor" that undercuts the drama. Had Wash not died, we probably wouldnt have been too nervous during the next scenes. With Wash dead it feels like ANYONE could die... maybe everyone.

[@inarar5334]

Especially after Book had already died. That felt like the Whedon kill, then Wash goes so fast. Plot armor shredded.

[@darinfoat8410]

In his commentary on the DVD (remember those?) Whedon said that once Wash died, the audience would think "maybe this is going to be the Wild Bunch. Maybe none of them are going to make it."

[@maisiesummers42]

That long single-take with Mal moving through the ship was actually two takes stitched together. This is because they had to rebuild the Serenity set for the film, and it was built over two sound stages. The break between the two shots comes during the whip-pan as Mal and Simon are going down the stairs. The camera is on Mal, then whip-pans to Simon. The whip-pan hides the cut as they moved from one set to the other. Timewise, the movie takes place about six months after Objects In Space. You can see how River is much more active and accepted by the crew in the beginning. That's cause they all got to know each other better. There's a comic called The Shepherd's Tale which shows that yes, Book was indeed an Operative. Summer Glau is trained in ballet, as well as other forms of dance, so they integrated that ability into her fighting. Go back and watch how she fights - she's basically dancing the whole time.

[@williamozier918]

The opening sequence of this movie is a PhD in how to do opening exposition dumps! Seriously I think it may be the best in cinema history. What I love about is how it keeps jupming through narrative frameworks that give us info and do an amazing job and world, character and story building in one go; it's an exposition dump, no its a classroom, not its a memory, not its a hologram, whoa the whole time we were in a room with this guy, and POW the movie starts and we are up to speed on everything.

[@tomcoster191]

Simone is all like, "I'm good without them, thank you very much..." regarding George wanting to see the reavers, and I'm over here all like, "Oh, my sweet summer child..." LOL

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

sweet River child.

[@robertwareham8466]

Love this movie, it made me fall in love with Chiwetel as an actor. I really want to see him to play the Doctor at some point, I think he'd be amazing at that. I think this movie was only made possible due to the fan movement calling for it after Firefly ended prematurely. It's definitely the best space opera/western since Star Wars and better than the prequel and sequel trilogies combined.

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

Doctor who?

[@robertwareham8466]

@@jean-paulaudette9246 Yes :)

[@BKPrice]

"That makes sense. She knows everything, she's intuitive..." She WAS the ship one time.

[@evanflynn4680]

Zoe was pregnant when Wash died. It's in the comics. She had a daughter and named her Emma. She, of course, grew up to be a pilot.

[@roguemerlin1969]

Sometimes you guys don't pay enough attention to the dialog. In their first visit to the Preacher, he told Mal he should trust the leaf, with his dying words he said almost the same thing. Wash when he is crash landing, I am the leaf watch me soar.

[@northwestkiwi7742]

Re the change in tone: Mal was originally written with more darkness in him. You see it in the pilot episode of Firefly, but Whedon got word from Fox that they wanted the main character to be lighter so Mal had much of his brooding nature removed for the rest of the series. But for the movie, Whedon brought back the Mal he planned from the start.

[@rossgard]

Which is oddly similar to what happened with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer": Whedon's film script was made much more lighthearted than he'd intended, so when he got the opportunity to do it his way in the series, it got much darker.

[@chrishotovec4163]

One thing I love about this movie and it goes missing alot when the “Parliament guy” says “You’re not a reaver Mal” it is the first time any government official in the show actually admitted reavers were real and IMO it is what convinced Mal to go to the planet in the first place

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

I love this movie, and the series. It is a shame that we did not get to see all this happen over several seasons, but I do appreciate this movie. I love the call back to when Mal and the operative first meet and the operative say "You can't make me angry.", then at the end when the operative shoots Mal in the back and Mal says "I haven't made you angry have I?"

[@oldnumber5866]

Alan Tudyk (Wash) was doing an appearance at Comic-Con and signed a picture for a fan “I’m a leaf on the wind”. He stated the fan then burst into tears.

[@stevensauer8539]

I've rarely seen such a truly heartfelt look of shock and horror as I saw on Simone's face after "I am a leaf on the wind. See how I -". When I saw this in the theater, we figured it was basically a series finale for a Whedon show... and we all knew what happens in series finales for Whedon shows when it comes to major characters. Like you, we honestly thought that the majority of the characters were getting killed so that Mal could finish the quest.

[@smartalec2001]

There's a theory that the reason that 0.1% percentage of the population of Miranda went mad and became the Reavers is that they were those with latent psychic ability. Something about the gas woke their talents up, and exposure to all the dying thoughts around them drove them all mad, kept them from sleeping like the others. This is why they can still work together, they're bound by this psychic, empathic bond that means they are still able to cohabit. They recognise who else shares their pain; they only want to share it with everyone else. This is, so the theory goes, why the one crewman in the episode 'Bushwhacked' was spared - he was a latent psychic. The Reavers don't hurt their own. But exposure to them, and the painful deaths of his shipmates at their hands, drove him mad too. It's also possible that the Alliance got the idea of psychic assassins from the fate of Miranda, and River is an 'artificial' Reaver in a sense (hey, her name even sounds like 'reaver'). The surgery and brainwashing on her was an attempt to perfect the process that happened by accident on Miranda, keep her still functional. Perhaps the G-Pax gas used on Miranda made the amygdala too overbearing, resulting in all feelings and impulses being dampened. But with the Reavers, they were so frantic and desperate at all the death around them, they stayed awake; and this is why River's amygdala had to be removed for the process to work, as we find out it was in the episode 'Ariel'. So the Reavers recognise her as one of their own, in a way, and this is why they don't kill her. But because of the brainwashing and artificial process she went through, River doesn't feel the same way towards them. The idea is that had the show gone on for a few seasons, this would all have been expanded on and linked up.

[@mathewdebol923]

Thank you for sharing this! I love this theory so much!

[@cliveklg7739]

If that was the case, they should have known Serenity wasn't a part of them immediately.

[@smartalec2001]

@@cliveklg7739 If - if - this theory is right, and the movie is based on some streamlined versions of what the TV show plots were going to lead to (and it is streamlined; the Blue Sun Corp aren't in it, for example) then it's possible they just didn't need to factor in that kind of detail. But if we're to engage with in-story logic, then from what we see of River, she senses what's mostly in front of her, or coming closer. Psychic doesn't mean omniscient. It's possible that Serenity simply wasn't close enough for the Reavers to notice something wasn't right. They didn't focus on it enough. Either that, or... it was because River was there, that the crew managed to get through. She was like a Reaver enough to fool them. Interestingly, on Serenity's way in, the larger ship lights them up with a floodlight to see what they are, and on their way out, a smaller ship hovers over them as if preparing to attack, so maybe the Reavers could tell *something* wasn't quite right, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it...

[@cliveklg7739]

@@smartalec2001 "t's possible that Serenity simply wasn't close enough for the Reavers to notice something wasn't right. " But all the ships were close enough to react at the same time to pursue Serenity. Seems like some desperation to defend a fan theory.

[@smartalec2001]

@@cliveklg7739 They were close enough to pursue, but that was still a number of Serenity-ship-lengths away. Regardless, I wouldn't call it desperation, as we're just talking; nor would I call it defence, as you're not attacking. We know that what we got in the movie isn't exactly what we would have gotten if the show had continued. If the movie has any relation to what Whedon had in mind for the show - and it's quite possible it does, because if he had ideas for the show lying around, it makes sense he'd use them here - then what we're seeing is quite a compressed use of what is possibly several episodes' or seasons' ideas, written for a 2 hour movie. Things are going to fall by the wayside, to make that work. But assuming this reveal that the Alliance were responsible for the Reavers would have happened in the show, and we can assume it would have done, then it's possible that as a series, that thread would have been developed further, and a link from the Reavers to the Alliance's psychic project seems like Whedon. Having corporate bad guys look at something terrible and ask 'how can we use this?' is something that came up in his Buffy and Dollhouse serieses, it seems a recurring theme he's fond of.

[@JackOiswatching]

One of the things I remember for the marketing of this movie was that it was leaked (likely on purpose) that one of the main crew would die. When we see Book dying after the Alliance attack, everyone in the theater was thinking that was it, Book was the one. You can imagine the gasps of sure horror when Wash got speared and the mood noticeably shifted as the stakes went from 0 to 100!

[@johnirving5949]

A reference to a movie you need to watch but not sure if you have yet, for the climactic space scene "And what you fail to realize is my ship is dragging Reavers!" 😈

[@MoonlitShoreWalk]

YAS 😂

[@BillTheScribe]

Now that you’ve reached the end, here’s a fun thing to think about. We had a question pop up in a writing group about two things can be similar, but also be unique. My example was: You have a ship that is a basically a character, which belongs to a roguish smuggler who plays at being heartless but is really an honorable person in his own way. His longtime partner is a tall warrior with a lot of brown hair. They have a hotshot pilot, a spiritual old man, and lovely young woman who is often referred to as an ambassador but is really something quite different, and who has a love-hate thing going on with the captain. There is also an annoying, overly-proper character with a smaller sidekick. The sidekick communicates in a way that makes it hard for most people to understand and holds a secret authoritarian government would go to any lengths to keep hidden. Was this Star Wars, or Firefly? Also, the villain didn’t let them go because he changed his mind. He let them go because his entire existence was devoted to keeping that information secret. With the secret out, there was no longer a threat to the Alliance.

[@alalcoolj216]

I think Mal's "popped blood vessel eye makeup" was an accident. As I recall, Nathan got some fake blood in his eye, which pooled around his contact. They thought it looked so cool, they left it like that. He also did so many takes of slamming his face into the plexiglass floor in the showdown with the Operative, that his face got legitimately swollen, which they also used.

[@kah_hota]

37:38 Because Firefly the TV Series was owned by Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Television at the time, and even though they cancelled the show, they still owned the rights to the name. That is why the film is produced by Universal Studios. Film and TV rights are considered different things. Also, as most people said, Firefly wasn't universally popular, not because it wasn't good, but partly because back before streaming (remember this is 2002-2003 well before KZbin, smartphones, Facebook, Social Media, etc) Friday nights were considered the "death knell" of a show as most people wouldn't stay home and watch TV on a Friday night, so by putting Firefly on Friday night, it showed that Fox TV had no faith in the show at all. It also didn't help that the series was broadcast out of order. The 2-parter pilot episode wasn't shown first, they broadcast the 2nd episode first, then the pilot was the last episode to air, being the 11 episode at this point. They didn't even air the final 3 episodes because it was cancelled by this point.

[@noirangel6416]

If you guys want more Firefly, Joss Weadon started a comic series that take place before and after Serenity. They are very fun and shiny. 💙

[@caffeineadvocate]

I always enjoyed thinking that the Reavers and the film, ‘Event Horizon’ were part of the same universe.

[@caido950]

Event Horizon always seemed like it could be in the Hellraiser universe

[@MrZeek1519]

SPOILER: George was absolutely right about Shepard Book, but there's more to it. There are also comics that go into detail about his past, as well as why he left Serenity and got away from the crew.

[@vincentmalloy4424]

My dad and I saw this in the theatre without even knowing about the series... we were a little lost, but I loved it. I finally saw the series a couple years later. : )

[@Crazyivan777]

So, on Shepherd Book - They did a graphic novel a few years after the movie explaining his backstory. In a nutshell, he was a criminal that joined the Browncoats, becoming a deep cover agent in the Alliance military. He eventually commanded one of the huge warships and sabotaged it tactically during one of the big battles. He got 'retired', but was still looked at as a hero by the Alliance. After being disgusted by all the death on both sides, he found faith and became a shepherd... Another amusing note about the movie itself- the actor who played Simon admitted later to flubbing the scene of him kissing Kaylee a couple of times just so they could do it over again.

[@Tomani3905]

Which is especially weird considering Sean Maher came out of the closet & announced his homosexuality on Twitter about a decade ago.

[@susanlawens3776]

They made the movie so that even if you never watched a single episode of Firefly, you still can watch and be immersed and enjoy, and if you watch the show after, that's fine, too, it's all copacetic. Also I think Serenity is the name of their ship, and Firefly is its type of ship it is, since it is kinda insect looking. Wash is my favorite. Depending on the day or the week you ask me, because Kaylee was also my favorite a lot of the time. And sometimes it's Mal. And sometimes it's Zoe. A lot of the times it's River, though. If they killed her too, well, that would've just pissed me off to no end, since they killed off Shepherd and Wash. But I love all the crew, even Jayne.

[@rybock]

Wash dying I absolutely hate in that I love the character, but I love for the last part of the story. Because we had Shepard die, and now going into this last stand, he is killed so suddenly, it takes away the "well, they're one of the heroes, they'll be fine"... anyone could get suddenly killed, and there are moments where many heroes nearly are.

[@Logan_Baron]

I imagine that they didn't call it "FIrefly: The Movie" for the exact opposite reason you suggest. It's actually probably less likely that someone who hadn't seen the show would be inspired to watch the show before seeing the movie, but would more likely figure "I didn't watch the show, had no interest in it, why would I watch the movie". It would seem aimed to fans only. They prefered to get the fans in, and get first time viewers, who AFTER they enjoyed it, might go back and watch the show. I mean I would not watch a movie that I knew was about a show I never watched, and if I didn't watch the show before, I wouldn't be likely to watch it just so I could watch a movie. "There's a cool new movie out" "Great let's go see it" "It's based on a tv show you never watched" "Oh, never mind I won't know what's going on, and I never had interest in the show when it was on" "Well you can still watch it. It's not on the air, so You'll have to go out and buy the DVDs first". "Uh, let's just watch another movie instead".

[@klemminguk]

Watch the outtakes for this, they're worth it: "You see us fight?" "...No." "TRAAAAAP!"

[@TheIgnorantBastard]

TV show was owned by 20th century fox and movie was done by universal studios. This is why it’s called serenity not firefly the movie. Also it was meant to be a trilogy but didn’t make enough at the box office to green light the next movie. Did some comic books though

[@lillyaltland4359]

This is a fantastic movie on its own and it is a great love letter to Firefly fans. Regarding Whedon's cancellation, the man made great shows & films that are loved by millions. I hope he makes a comeback someday when sanity returns.

[@judoisnotamonkey]

So I didn’t notice anyone mention it but the helpless man that Mal shoots to show mercy towards the beginning of the film is Dennis from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” ❤

[@chrisofnottingham]

If you didn't already know, the original story arc was meant to be over something like 5 seasons but it got cancelled early. This movie was the compression of that 5 series into one movie!

[@Kasino80]

Books last moments, reminded of Malone's death in The Untouchables.

[@kurtroers7379]

Q: How do Reavers clean their spears? A: They run them through the Wash.

[@vadalia3860]

Absolutely love the Operative as a villain (and Book being a former Operative is a popular theory so good picking up on that) I weirdly love that "I don't murder children/ I do" exchange between Mal and him because that makes him all the more terrifying. He's a smart, capable man who is dedicated to his cause, which is a just one, but has absolutely no limitations on the evil acts he will commit in pursuit of it. You can't even hate him for having the arrogance of thinking he's somehow a "good guy" because he knows he not, and that the better world he wants to bring about has no place for him in it. He was brilliantly acted by Chiwetel Ejiofor and I've loved him in everything I've seen him in since. I also get such a kick out of the Alliance vs Reavers space battle that I re-watch the clip every couple of months just because I love it so much.

[@yp4506]

Book was a double agent for the brown coats who served as a high ranking officer for the alliance. Despite disclosing intel that saved many lives, he took his fair share as well, hence why he became a shephard after his retirement.

[@stefanforrer2573]

people probably already mentioned it, but here i go anyway... the popped bloodvessel in the eye is not make up, fillion got it from filming that scene where he falls to the ground during the final fight with the operative.. they did several takes and he hit the ground so hard, he got a bloody eye from it and they just went with it

[@Ncyphen]

Long story short, as many know, Firefly was cancelled because it was too expensive and targeting the wrong demographic for Fox. It didn't help that Fox markets the show horribly, aired the episode out of order, and ultimately put it in a timeslot doomed to fail due to more popular competition. Fox did not want to burn the bridge with one of their most successful TV series creators, so they granted him the Firefly copyrights and IP in a gesture of good faith. Wheedon spent years shopping the show to multiple networks, getting rejected everywhere. He ultimately decided to just write a movie instead to act as an ending to the show. Fun trivia, in Stargate's 200th episode, they joke about "who makes a movie about a TV series that was a flop?" This is an obvious jab at Serenity that had went to theaters recently. (The 200th episode was a follow up to their 100th episode when an alien forgot they were an alien and pitched the Stargate program as a TV show.)

[@Random-qo6br]

The code phrase Symon saind to Summer "Eto kuram na smekh" is actually in russian. It means something like "It's for the chikens to laugh" and is a set expression, meaning the ridiculousness of someone's speech or action or plan. If someone does or says something stupid, or proposes some stupid plan of action (any action, from politics to refurnishing), people in Russia might say "Eto kuram na smekh".

[@synaesthesia2010]

'one take still going' that was actually the start of a second take on a different set as they weren't able to build the whole ship in a single set, so they did a whip pan to blend the end of one take to the start of another at the second set

[@Uncle_T]

"My turn." A good'un this one, a fitting end although I wish the show had been allowed to continue.

[@DavidWright1138]

"Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale" is a pretty concise (if all too short) look at Shepherd Book's past.

[@martinbraun1211]

Please watch the STAR TREK movies! 🙏🖖

[@BubbaCoop]

There's actually a hidden cut on the stairs in the first Serenity scene.

[@RicoRaynn]

Wash's death still pains me to this day, but damn, it was some amazing storytelling. Because it shook things up. You immediately aren't sure if anyone is going to make it because it was so sudden and out of nowhere. Still a damn shame we didn't get five-six seasons of this amazing cast and universe. But with Hollywood destroying IPs left and right these days, maybe that's a blessing.

[@leonielson7138]

Mal: "Do you want to run this ship?" Jayne: "Yes." Mal: "... Well, you can't ..." Adam Baldwin adlibbed that line ...

[@ANonymous-rt6vp]

There was a continuation/prequel comic book and a couple of books. One of the first things the comic book did was confirm that Shepherd Book was indeed an Operative like the villain of this film, who picked up a conscience and stole the name of a man he killed, seeking faith and absolution.

[@ianburns1167]

So if you've seen Buffy... I'm not saying it's DEFINITELY true that Reavers are people with demon bloodlines after the human half dies, or that River is the Slayer, but I'm not saying it isn't true either.

[@TheTaintedWisdom]

18:55 - (In Patrick Star's Voice) "Once, there was a crazy girl. She was so crazy THAT EVERYONE *DIED!!!* The end." 26:49 - (In Nathan Fillion's Voice) "You have no idea how true that is..." (Simone's cam is blocking it a bit, but if you look at the bottom left at the scene here 26:46 you'll notice that was the ship that was in the pilot episode of the show.) 29:41 - (Instant sad Canadian noises) 33:48 - I didn't know Apple made SIRI so aggressive... "SIRI? Slaughter my enemies." SIRI: "I shall vanquish your enemies, see those dear to them bathed in tears, and clasp to my bosom their wives and daughters." 27:54 - It goes back to the episode where one guy was left alive after a Reaver attack and started acting like them after being mentally tortured enough. My head canon iss that one day after the Reavers left Miranda and started attacking people, one or more of them survived and fought back. Going full animal survival mode, the other Reavers started to recognize the survivor as one of their own despite not originating from Miranda. From there, they felt abandoned by the Alliance or maybe even discovered that the Alliance created the Reavers before the Serenity crew did and, with nothing left to live for, took command of the Reavers and started building up a fleet to attack them directly for revenge. They then conditioned the Reavers to always leave a small percentage among those they attacked alive to mentally break them and join their ranks. That, or they discovered a reserve of "The PAX" compound on Miranda and released it during/before attacks on Allied ships/towns. The population doesn't mount a resistance, Reavers get a new recruit for every thousand victims, and the Reavers ravage the towns and people's bodies so much that it just looks like a regular savage attack so the secret of the PAX is never uncovered by the layman. As for why they don't attack each other, remember back when the Reavers immediately lost interest and dropped the guy's body when Mal shot him. Or when River said "they want us alive when they eat us." The implication seems to be that the Reavers don't merely rape, torture, etc. because they're sadistic, but because they want to inspire fear in their victims. Maybe there's something in adrenaline/adrenochrome that they need to survive because of some secondary effect the PAX has on their bodies.

[@stonecoldku4161]

For those that don't know the series has continued as a series of comics. In those comics they fill in the gaps between the series and the movie, and they continue beyond that as well. Those comics answer some of the questions that were left by the movie and series like, Book's backstory, if Mal and Inara get together etc. One thing from the comics that I will say, that either makes the ending of this movie happier or sadder depending on perspective. Spoilers: At the end of this movie, Zoe was pregnant with Wash's baby. They had a daughter.

[@MrZeek1519]

If anyone hasn't seen the anniversary/Semi-reunion interview with most of the cast, I highly recommend watching it online. There are great personal stories from the cast, plus some unused plotlines that Joss Whedon had planned before the cancellation. My favprite was his idea about Inara and the "shot" she always kept nearby in the show.

[@HankD13]

I loved Firefly and was devastated when it was cancelled. The whole idea of Serenity was a god send - to answer the questions the show raised and to give closure to the fantastic characters we came to love. Not a perfect resolution, but a resolution. I read all the Expanse books and thought the series did an incredible job - and it really has to be the finest Science Fiction ever made, by anybody. The books are better than the series (as always) but do think the truncated series did a good enough job to wrap it up. Damn - it could have run forever as far as I was concerned. Great picks, keep it up!

[@TheAlmaward]

If you recall from the episode where Simon got River into the hospital to do the scan, he said they stripped her amygdala over and over, and the doctor tells Simon in the scene in the film that the students have trouble maintaining their "reality matrix". The amygdala is the part of the brain responsible for empathy, so they made her far more empathic than she started out (and she was pretty empathic to begin). Then they exposed her to the "key members of Parliament"; she got their memories and mixed them up with her own, to the point where she couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't, what was her own and what was from someone else. At least one member knew of Miranda and what had happened, and River got the memory of the dead people lying down and the Reavers NEVER lying down, but she confused it with her own memories of her class and teacher. After their experimentation on her, River literally could not separate the memories from each other, and couldn't explain what had happened, to her, or to the people on Miranda. But once they saw the report of what had happened that was recorded ON Miranda, she was once again able to separate things, and that's why she was okay after - she got a source of clarity she could rely upon to base her reality matrix and reinstate sanity. When she tells Simon that she's okay after the recording, she means it.

[@nkfd4688]

I aim to misbehave I swallowed a bug 🤣

[@dalesharp9953]

I stumbled across your channel because of this reaction. I really enjoyed it. The recap at the beginning was to get people who never watched Firefly caught up. The Miranda/Reaver storyline was supposed to be at the end of the second season. Wash and Book wouldn't of died. Book's death help Mal to believe in a cause. Wash's death was to show that the odds were overwhelming and anyone could die. There are comic books and graphic novels continuing the story. They were approved by Joss. A Shepard's Tale tells Book's back story. There are also books (Titans Books) that tell stories between Object in Space and the movie. I am reading them now.

[@russellward4624]

I believe the reason it wasnt called Firefly was the name Firefly was owned by the tv studio.

[@batbrick3949]

There is some symbolism in the names. Miranda refers to “the right to remain silent”, having two meanings in the movie. One is that the people of Miranda are remaining silent, the other is that Mal and his crew could choose to remain silent about it. Serenity refers to “the serenity to accept things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, etc.” In the movie, Mal has to accept some things, but no one knowing about the injustice done to the people of Miranda is something that he can change. There are many more.

[@tankosaurus]

Well damn, I was considering just watching this without seeing your Firefly videos... but then you mentioned you made theories on what the Reavers are... and now I feel the need to hear what your theories were before I watch you find out in this... Well, played. I'll be ba-ack

[@brandonmurray8668]

The question that you guys asked about. If he can just leave the answer is no. Once you sign up & sign that paper it's a contract. You can't leave until your 4 years is up

[@BrocksOnix956]

The show was great but this movie was excellent. At first I went into it with the mindset that it'll be just a movie length episode, with a larger budget souly to wrap it up. But boy. Not only was the budget increased but it seemed like the writing, acting and the general atmosphere of this fictional world were doubled in quality. I've never seen a more brilliantly made film that tiptoes between genres and takes you so blindly through so many emotions. Fantastic.

[@ericc8705]

Yes... part of the contract negotiations for this film to be made was that the actors had to commit to possible additional sequels and spin-offs. Ron Glass and Alan Tudyk could not commit to that because they were already locked in on other projects (see Alan Tudyk's roles in the MANY many Disney films/projects during the last 10 years) ... so it was necessary to end their story arcs. There *is* an accepted cannonical comic series where this story is continued... Gina Torres and the comic confirms that Zoey was pregnant at the funeral scene. There is also deep talks at this point to re-boot or re-launch a "Firefly" continuation on Disney+ ... however, it has not (to my knowledge) progressed past the talking part of negotiations.