Firefly - Episode 5 - Safe - REACTION - First Time Watching

[@DarrellPursiful]

Re: the Tams’ parents. Remember that the Alliance is an authoritarian regime where you don’t want to step out of line, and Simon is at least implicitly suggesting that the Alliance’s academy is up to no good.

[@dlweiss]

Exactly! And not only that, but the Alliance has been around long enough that the parents would've grown up completely immersed in that regime, and would probably consider it second-nature to discourage the kind of independent, unsanctioned actions that Simon was taking. Simon and River really are major anomalies among the "civilized" planets/society.

[@brauliob]

@@dlweissTheir lifestyle of comfort and influence could be easily removed by The Alliance if they were to step out of line.

[@JeffKelly03]

With River, and the way she’s described as being graceful and how she gets a moment to dance, that’s a nod to the fact that Summer Glau was a ballerina before she became an actress. So, she genuinely is just incredibly graceful and athletic from her years as a dancer.

[@RamblersInc]

Oh wow. DIdn't know that. She killed that bit.

[@amurderofbananas7449]

Big Damn Heroes!

[@RamblersInc]

🙌

[@eldritch5058]

Ain't we just!

[@amurderofbananas7449]

YES! I've been waiting for 2 days for this! Thank you@@eldritch5058

[@eldritch5058]

@@amurderofbananas7449 Glad I made your day! Most reactors completely cut this part out but it's one of the biggest moments of the series. So happy it was included.

[@lyricmezzosoprano5357]

My favorite line in the series hahaha

[@Mr.Ekshin]

Simon realized that there's more loyalty being a part of Mal's crew... than there was from his own family. All of those flashbacks to the Tam family were there to provide that contrast. Parents who won't be there to get you out of trouble... or a crew that will show up and risk their lives to get you out of trouble.

[@RamblersInc]

"...there's more loyalty being a part of Mal's crew... than there was from his own family" Oof that's rough

[@boqndimitrov8693]

personally, I'm convinced that River's father had some idea what was going on with her.

[@RamblersInc]

So sad if that's the case.

[@Br0nto5aurus]

I call this episode "is that Zac Efron?" Because that's what most people say when they see the Tam family flashback. And yes, it is Zac Efron.

[@Yarovrat]

Я вообще в первый раз о Заке Эфроне услышал именно в реакции на Светлячок. До этого, вся его карьера как-то прошла мимо.

[@rayharley597]

I think of it as Who the Hell is Zac Efron? It is literally the only place I've ever seen him, kerk

[@SaulOhio]

Every time I watch a reaction to this episode, I expect it. And I am never disappointed. Every. Single. Time.

[@RamblersInc]

😂

[@johncampbell756]

This was his TV debut.

[@corgiluver9718]

Ah, the Zac Ephron and "She's our witch" episode. Really like Simon & River's bond. Fun reaction as always.

[@joshuawiedenbeck6944]

Not spoilers: Sheppards' past was never able to be explored due to the show getting canceled. There is some extra material outside of the show that explores his life before his change of heart. The Alliance only knows of him from his former life, which is why he got the reception he did. Also, this episode shows an important contrast between the Tams' father and Mal. It raises the question, would you rather be loved by someone who won't be there for you? Or would you rather be disliked by someone who will always have your back? River saying that their father would come get them soon wasn't referring to their biological father......

[@Mr.Ekshin]

Seems to me that Shepherd Book's background was spent trying to make a "better world". I think we can all draw the parallels to another character with that term. And shepherd (much like that other character) eventually realized that world was a fiction and the alliance wasn't actually interested in any kind of greater good. Becoming a shepherd is his attempt at atonement for his past.

[@RamblersInc]

Damn. We would have needed an entire episode spent on his background as well.

[@StevesFunhouse]

This was Zac Ephron's VERY FIRST acting role.

[@ThePharaz]

River's reference to "daddy" is not about her father, but to Mal who in her eyes is like a father figure.

[@RamblersInc]

🥹

[@trulybtd5396]

"They are technically advanced, but they are not". Yes. Just as today.

[@SaulOhio]

Funny thing is, too many people think it is a choice only between a big powerful technocratic "scientific" government or witch burning religious zealots. The alternative of individual freedom never crosses their minds.

[@RamblersInc]

😂

[@VerMaarte]

In the village there was no technology; probably after a few centuries they reverted to 'ancient ways'

[@feudist]

The high tech-low tech dichotomy is a likely by-product of settling distant terraformed worlds. Settlers are a mix of farmers, miners and rancher families; deportees and convict labor etc. Really profitable things like ore mines will be owned by politically connected corporate entities.Until the local economy has enough surplus goods to make it profitable to ship to another world then they need what is essentially a mix of 19th and 20th century mechanical tech. Cheap, simple, easy to maintain and repair; and most importantly, locally manufactured. Anything from off planet is either a luxury item...or stolen goods. Education is another luxury for hard scrabble people out in the back end of beyond.

[@singingwolf3929]

Shotguns can take "Slugs" which are Solid projectiles rather than "Shot" which are a bunch of little projectiles. "Yeah, but she's OUR witch, so cut her the hell down." Love that line. The end scene of them all sitting down to a Family Dinner and River steals the roll/bread, like a little sister, off Jayne's plate so he goes scrambling to get another from the basket is perfection to me. All these tiny little details make everything feel lived in and real. Joss may be a horrible person, but the man knows how to tell a story and build a world.

[@ernesthakey3396]

Mal had no guarantee of being able to find Simon and River - who knows how many little hill settlements there are? And when Wash said "tradesmen and the like" it should have been a clue that they take people with skills they need. He HAD to find medical help for Book ASAP. Also, Mal realized that the reason settlers in the hills took people waa because they needed those people - so Simon and River should not have been at very much immediate risk, except that these settlers apparently were fundamentalist religious folks. Random side note - before various sequential translations, what eventually became "witch" in the Bible was originally a word used for those who mix herbs, including for poisons, aka "alchemists" or "poisoners"... Everything River says makes sense, if you think about it later. Daddy=Mal, Serenity=Home, Time To Go=Serenity Is Here. Settlers on the outer worlds often ARE lacking a lot of the technology that the Central Planets take for granted.

[@SaulOhio]

Mal has said that Simon and River wouldn't last long on most worlds. He is wrong. If Simon found himself on ANY rustic world, even Whitefall with Patience, as soon as people found out he was a doctor, there would be people, often powerful people, who would want to protect and support him for his services.

[@RamblersInc]

Yeh I'm learning that everything River says even if it sounds like a riddle or just one word, means something.

[@dalesharp9953]

Great reactions. The hill people kidnapped trade people for their community. I enjoyed this Simon/River story. They had great moments. The final scene between Mal and Simon was fun to watch.

[@SaulOhio]

"Your on my boat. Why are we still talking about this?" Mal is an outlaw and a criminal. But he has a strong moral code.

[@RamblersInc]

Love that last bit from Mal. He just brushed it off like it was the normal thing to do when it probably isn't in that universe.

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

@@RamblersInc any universe*

[@notthestatusquo7683]

I just had a thought about Shepherd's ident-card helping him out in this episode. In ep. 3 they also had a run-in with the alliance, we even saw one of the officers interrogating Shepherd. Surely they ran his identity then too and came up with whatever information the officer in this episode immediately came up with. And yet there was no indication of that. Whatever he is/was, if it's enough to get him free medical care, you'd think it would get him some better treatment when he, and the rest of the crew, got arrested.

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

SPOILERS FOR BOOK'S CANON BACKSTORY COMIC . . . . . he was a high ranking alliance officer, but secretly working for the independents. while no one in the alliance ever proved he did anything treasonous, he was discharged from the alliance military after a military engagement that was particularly disastrous for the alliance side. it's not difficult to imagine that loyal alliance officers might have a lot more respect for the rank than for the man, who they would have to view as either grossly incompetent or a straight-up traitor, but either way responsible for the loss of a lot of alliance soldiers. this backstory pretty well explains the lack of uniformity in how alliance officers treat him.

[@RamblersInc]

Oohhh good catch.

[@DocMicrowave]

"Y'all see the man hanging out of the spaceship with the really big gun? I'm not saying you weren't easy to find. But it was kinda out of our way and he didn't want to come in the first place. Man's lookin' to kill some folk. " - Mal

[@randallshuck2976]

Considering the Tam couple, in the USA during most of the 20th century to the mid-70s folks didn't believe that the authorities were anything but benevolent and blameless. Anyone who questioned the goodness of government entities were considered odd, crazy, silly or anti-American, all of which made you a social pariah. That was definitely not where you wanted to be if you had a privileged and comfortable life. It would seem the same with the Alliance.

[@zammmerjammer]

Your comment is really not rooted in social or historical reality. There has always been a robust strain of anti-establishment thinking in American history. Certainly, racial minority communities NEVER had any illusions that the gov't or authorities were there to help them.

[@randallshuck2976]

I was just recognizing what my relatives who had money and power seemed to believe. Do you think the Tams were the average citizen? They were the upper level Quazi-aristocrats who were heavily invested in the status quo. My folks were the blue collar branch of the family so we questioned power.@@zammmerjammer

[@cobba42]

OP said "Considering the Tam couple": I would argue that they were part of that establishment. He didn't say people like that didn't exist. But they were certainly excluded from the dominant narrative and indeed made pariahs. But yes, minorities - which by definition are groups of people numbering fewer by a considerable margin than those representing the dominant culture - had a hard time.

[@SaulOhio]

But now we libertarians are saying "WE TOLD YOU SO!"

[@zammmerjammer]

@@SaulOhio LOL. Libertarianism is an even sillier and immature worldview.

[@gailseatonhumbert]

Hey more Firefly Great! An interesting episode with a lot of back story. It certainly seems like River can read minds as well. That would give the Alliance an amazing asset if they could control her. Their father seemed to only value males from the different ways he treated the 2 siblings.

[@RamblersInc]

It's a shame they weren't even really listening to him.

[@maidden]

Jayne is a really good shot, though. Even if his accuracy was really diminished by hanging out of the ship, he could still injure multiple people there, and they don't have a doctor...

[@byronabrahams871]

Jayne was holding Vera, his sniper rifle. Not a shotgun. Believe me, he woulda hit whatever he was aiming at.

[@Yarovrat]

Вам кажется. Это не Вера, это обычный помповый дробовик с подствольным фонарём и лазерным целеуказателем без дополнительного оптического прицела. Дробовик хорошо видно и снизу, и сбоку когда камера снимает Джейна изнутри корабля, плюс когда Джейн появляется в люке он передёргивает затвор дробовика под стволом. Но, с такого расстояния крупная картечь даст достаточную точность и при очень большой убойности, особенно с учётом лазерной метки.

[@happyslapsgiving5421]

That's incorrect. But maybe don't write spoilers, regardless?

[@Garryck-1]

@@Yarovrat - Also, for all we know, Jayne may have been using solid rounds, not buckshot.

[@blackkatt777]

Maybe my mind goes from 0 to 100 but I thought the two things about the Tams parents are either they are too concerned about their class status or they know what River is going through and are in agreement with it. I know that seems sinister, but if people are out into these planets struggling, some people's morals are compromised with the promise of even more VIP status if you are in good standing with the Alliance. They could also be so blind to any possible wrong doing from the organized that is supposed to have established the rescue of mankind.

[@RamblersInc]

Each one of those theories could be true and each is messed up if you think about it lol.

[@Sinewmire]

Atherton didn't misinterpret anything! Ever since the idea of nobility has existed is the idea that a gentleman "must always resent a blow". People forget that chivalry, that manners and that polite society exist for two reasons - firstly, to exclude people who are poor, and secondly to make sure everyone understands when you can and can't kill someone. "Not as technologically advanced" - I think the word you're looking for is "poor". The technology exists, but the standards of living are much lower on the outer planets.

[@caroline4323]

I like your "watchings". :). Firefly is fun, isn´t it? :)

[@RamblersInc]

It's amazing. I'm upset that I've fallen in love with something that's ending soon 😭.

[@caroline4323]

@rsInc It´s not so much about the stories but the characters they managed to create. They are all different, have their own life stories, they sort of don´t need the series to live on. Maybe that´s why this series is still "alive" even it was so short-lived I think? And they are so likeable. And you two are very likeable as well :).

[@Otokichi786]

"Safe': Jayne likes smackin' their cargo off the ship, the crew go window shopping on Jiangyin, Simon continues to have foot-in-mouth disease. River wanders off to a dance, the cattle sale goes South, Simon is grabbed by Hill people. Shepherd Book is caught in the crossfire and needs serious medical attention. River finds Simon, and "Serenity" takes off. Book's ID magically opens the Alliance cruiser's medical facilities, Simon and River try to settle in. River reveals too many secrets and is to be burned as a Witch. Just as Simon is about to be roasted, Jayne hangs out and the Big Damn Heroes claim "Our Witch." Simon finds out where they stand on "Serenity." Long-out-of-season observation: Every time a KZbin viewer falls in love with "Firefly," A Fox TV executive falls off the Nakatomi Plaza building.

[@Garryck-1]

*"Every time a KZbin viewer falls in love with "Firefly," A Fox TV executive falls off the Nakatomi Plaza building."* Oh how I wish that were literally true...

[@zammmerjammer]

Seems to me any decent little backwoods town could use a witch as much as they could use a doctor.

[@danii7584]

but one would also expect an ultra smart person to have a better understanding of the effect words would have and know when to shut up.

[@happyslapsgiving5421]

​@@danii7584 You might have not noticed, but the girl isn't all there. They did stuff to her, and she's not herself anymore. Shocking news, I know... 😂

[@danii7584]

@@happyslapsgiving5421I can accept some inconsistency in her behavior for that reason, but she does know the the cause and effect relationship of her actions during the rural village part since she pulls a prank on her brother. also she can function under high stress like life or death situations, so idk...

[@kharma7755]

@@danii7584 it's entirely possible that she spoke about the town leader in order for the other villagers to understand who their current Patron truly is. We the viewers may not see the end results of that revelation; but it could have been an interesting setup for a later episode. Just a thought.

[@Garryck-1]

@@danii7584 - But what we see throughout the show, is that River has lucid moments, and some, considerably less so. You're expecting consistency from someone incapable of it.

[@Yarovrat]

Первые пять эпизодов очень хороши. Но, с 6 эпизода начинаются 6 эпизодов из которых не могу выбрать лучший. Джосс великолепный сторителлер и здесь 6-11 эпизоды это как 10-дюймовые гвозди которые Уидон забивает в зрителя)) Под прошлым эпизодом я уже упоминал, что слова или действия Ривер в начале эпизода это метафора к теме всего эпизода в целом. Здесь также. Коровы стали коровами только когда снова оказались на земле и увидели небо. Также люди, для нас наше место то, где мы можем быть самим собой и нас за это не сожгут)) Саймон сначала подумал, что нашел своё и Ривер безопасное место в деревне, но оказалось что их место это Серенити😊 Для родителей Саймона поверить ему означало бы, что им надо было потерять всё. Вступить в конфронтацию с могущественной корпорацией. Стать изгоями и беглецами как стал Саймон. У них был выбор между своими детьми и своей устоявшейся жизнью. Они выбрали продолжить жить привычной жизнью. И я даже не знаю осуждаю ли я их за это.

[@RamblersInc]

I don't know. That's probably the sad part. It's not that they made the choice of themselves over their children. It's that they weren't even interested in listening to Sam in the first place. Maybe they were worried that they would have chosen their children if they really listened to Simon and investigated further. Yeh I read that last sentence back again. It's definitely not that 🤣

[@migmit]

This time it's River's turn to bullshit Simon.

[@RamblersInc]

😂

[@SaulOhio]

My suspicion about the parents is that they knew that the Alliance was experimenting on River, and that was the whole point. They were so loyal to the Alliance that they were proud to offer up a child to this program intended to make a better world. All better worlds. (Thats a foreshadowing for you.) If the series had continued, I think it might have turned out that the parents knew they were part of a breeding experiment to produce something like River. And they knew it. Loyalty to a big powerful government, altruism, collectivism. They can motivate people to do some pretty atrocious things for "the greater good".

[@RamblersInc]

Damn. I didn't even think that they may have voluntarily offered up River to the program and they knew what was happening. That...is...messed...up.