First Time Watching Firefly - Episode 4: Shindig | First Time Reaction

[@InnaSoloTV]

Thank you so much for watching

[@Audra1964]

“I’m part of the crew!” Yes, yes you are. The crew just keeps on growing, 22 years later.

[@davidbergfors6820]

Browncoats!

[@egk2584]

This episode had one of my favorite lines in the whole series: Badger: 'Course you couldn't buy an invite with a diamond the size of a testicle, but I got my hands on a couple. (as Jayne and Mal snicker) Badger: "of INVITES!!"

[@davidbergfors6820]

I am partial to the "I find calling him that is an insult to the psychotic lowlife community" myself

[@davidtownsend8875]

Inna, at 12:32 you realized that you had missed a point in the action and rewound a bit to catch it. Well done! Too many reactors miss things and just keep going.

[@stanleymyrick4068]

Can I second this? You also pause when you have something to say most of the time, which most reactors just talk right over the next few lines of what is said and miss the interaction. The rewind was top notch! I mean, it is just a few seconds more to the length of the video, I don't know why reactors refuse to do it.

[@BlackIce3190]

The classiest way to call a woman a whore.

[@peterzerfass4609]

The "why would I leave serenity?" at the end becomes even more funny if you imagine the smell.

[@eXpriest]

The "ten in the morning issue" was Wash potentially crashing the ship, he basically said it'll be 10 am if we don't crash, Inara was just riffing on that.

[@Darth_Nihilus_Sith_Lord]

A browncoat in the making! Great Reaction, as always! ❤❤

[@InnaSoloTV]

Thank you ❤

[@Mr.Ekshin]

We're 4 episodes in... and we've got Kylie... in the Shining.

[@margretrosenberg420]

Yes, a shindig is a big party. And yes, Mal does seem to be quite fond of bar fights; you'll see a lot of them in this series.

[@bongodave13]

My new hobby is watching reactions to Firefly.

[@jonhoge153]

The "10 am" issue was a non-issue. Mal entered to let inara know the very important information that it would be 10 am locally when they arrived. She was merely mocking his excuse for walking into her shuttle unannounced.

[@kirkdarling4120]

"They were screwing around I guess. Sorry, cheap joke." No, that was exactly the joke they were going for.

[@margretrosenberg420]

Beginning at 19:48 River is speaking to Badger with the same accent Badger has so Badger thinks she's from his homeworld. More, she's telling him that his status on the homeworld is quite low, and hers is high, and it's obvious to us that Badger believes this to be true - somehow, River has sized Badger up, knows exactly what his deepest fears are and how to tug on those fears, and is doing so. Pretty impressive for someone who's "crazy," don't you think?

[@kirkdarling4120]

And in only moments.

[@guanyin19]

I like this episode. Maybe not my favorite, but one of the more innocent and fun ones of the series. We finally get to see Kaylee settle into her comfort zone. While she dreams of being able to enjoy fruit and men and pretty dresses (in that order), she is more at home with machines and those who appreciate them. Everyone loves Kaylee!

[@danwiesdamageinc]

Mal respects Inara - the woman and hates the profession - companion. This was shown in the 1st episode. Inara hosted a client who belittled her after their session. He respected the profession, but not the woman. Inara is subjected to the same in this episode and Mal won't stand for it.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Mal also dislikes the Companions because the institution is part of the corrupt Alliance civilization he hates. Just like the Geishas in feudal Japan, the Companion system exists to sexually service upper class men (and women!), while protecting the sex workers from being exploited by a class-ridden patriarchal civilization which regards women as property.

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

it's a weak argument tho. you can't claim to respect a person when you're so thoroughly disrespectful of her choices.

[@dhavaram8064]

In the scene where River is tearing the labels off the cans, the labels have the Blue Sun logo. Blue Sun is a megacorporation that has their tentacles in everything. They were involved in the "school" that River was at where they were experimenting on the students. There is a scene near the beginning of episode 8 "Ariel" where this is also relevant.

[@GoodOldGamer]

I don't know if you've caught on yet, but karma really avenges Kaylee. Anyone who hurts her gets consequences, lol. The lawman shot her in episode 1… so he got headshot by Mal. Mal told her off about the dress this episode, and he got stabbed. It happens every time.

[@martensjd]

There were video chat applications on the Internet in the 1980s.

[@StevenCosta-tp2sw]

we had bulletin boards on dial-up modems in the late 80's. True broadband and instant access spread in the early 2000's with Ethernet. The idea of video calling dates back to Dick Tracey with his video watch in the 40's and 50's. Video calling was in science fiction and comics for decades, but only became a reality in the 21st century.

[@nac5901]

@@StevenCosta-tp2sw I had magnetic tape exchange in the 80s, not even a modem 😃 Here's a clip about video telephony at the time: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6DVY3Wmi5WKb8k (nobody was doing this on gp hardware "on the Internet")

[@dunringill1747]

Culture clashing and perceived social ranking is a big theme for this episode. Badger is always very concerned about his social standing. In the scene where Mal insulted Kaylee: Kaylee is very vocal about Inara's glamorous lifestyle as she admires the dress. Inara's glamorous career really hits a nerve for Mal - even to the point of lashing out at adorable Kaylee. "Sad little king of a sad little hill" - Badger was so charmed he didn't even want to hold River at gun point. Somehow, "unstable" River knew how to handle Badger better than the rest of the crew could. The crew was too shocked to take advantage of the diversion. NOTE: Mark Sheppard (Badger) worked with Summer Glau (River) extensively to make certain she could copy his accent perfectly for her scene with him. "When Mal hit Atherton" - It wasn't in Mal's mindset to 'rescue' Inara from the situation. Inara get disrespected, and it made Mal angry. Mal was unaware of the 'civilized' consequences. Civilized Duels are only supposed to occur when both men have been trained in fencing and agree to the terms. Atherton is rich and powerful enough to twist that rule so he can commit murder on untrained men.

[@Sagitarria]

River is not speaking with her normal accent, she is taking on a character, becoming someone bager would be unable to control

[@alaneskew2664]

The term shindig does mean party, it's an old rural term here in the states. Shin-dig, as in dancing.

[@michaelcartmell7428]

Wash + Zoe = Relationship Goals

[@williamberry9013]

River's accent mirrored Badger's.

[@toddhadley9002]

I liked Firefly right from the beginning, but this episode is what made me a fan. It's the part where Mal insults Kaylee about wanting the dress, then ends up having to buy it for her. It's a great bit of storytelling that wasn't necessary to drive the plot but adds a bit of playful humor. The best way I can think of to describe it is that the show is saying it's on our side. When the hero (Mal) is needlessly rude to a character that everyone likes (Kaylee), it's as if the show is condoning that behavior. Then later when it turns around and has Mal eat his words, it shows us that it was never on his side in the first place; it's right there with us on hers. In other words, while Mal is defending Inara's honor, the show is defending Kaylee's.

[@doug3691]

Yep, it's a good episode. Mal and Inara get to know each other better, Kaylee gets a dress, and River comes a little further out of her shell.

[@nathanciszewski4875]

Video calls have been a thing for over 50 years. And the idea for video calls emerged soon after the invention of the telephone.

[@williamberry9013]

It can be 4pm on ship, but 10 AM where they set down planes and ship deal with that now when they cross time zones.

[@johnscott4196]

He said his clothes were more of an evening look. So, it was in the morning.

[@ArthurRColdiron]

You KNOW .... we did have that technology back then. 😉 It may NOT have been the best .... or the fastest ... or the highest resolution but we could do video calls way back in the caveman days. 😂😂😂 Actually the technology is even older than the 90's. 🙃

[@mrtveye6682]

True. But it was kinda cute how she made it sound like 20 years ago is ancient history. Well, if you are still that young, it probably feels like it. ;)

[@Roguefem76]

Plus the fact that Firefly is far from the first show to have something akin to video calls. The original Star Trek did it way back in the late 60s.

[@ArthurRColdiron]

@@Roguefem76 .... she's probably never seen the original Star Trek. Gosh ....you could even see the idea in the old movie .... This Island Earth. :D

[@ArthurRColdiron]

@@mrtveye6682 .... it seems to be a common sentiment among Gen Z and I'm sure it will be super amplified in Gen Alpha. ;)

[@AndyBrazeau-e1c]

@@ArthurRColdiron I'm sure they just do it to make me feel old. ;)

[@migmit]

When I was translating subtitles for this episode, I ran into trouble, since there is no direct Russian equivalent to “lay my hands on” something, so Badger's phrase about “diamonds the size of a testicle” couldn't be translated properly. So, I changed it to “you can't buy an invite for a diamond the size of a boob - but I've just got a couple”. Worked quite nicely.

[@walkir2662]

Talk about inflation ;)

[@golfr-kg9ss]

Ok, Inna. Next Firefly episode do it in a fancy ballgown dress.

[@feudist]

Mighty fine shindig. Re: dueling. Forcing an opponent to duel with weapons that he was unfamiliar with was frowned upon under the Code Duello. It was considered very close to murder. Plus, given the difference in social status, a duel probably wouldn't have even been a possibility. Gentlemen dueled Gentlemen. More likely, Mal would have simply been beaten within an inch of his life by a couple of Atherton's men and left in a ditch. If somehow a duel did ensue, pistols would have been acceptable...and there should have been an attempt at reconciliation by the Seconds. Mal could have simply apologized and that would have satisfied honor. Of course, toying with a human opponent armed with a deadly weapon is the sort of high foolishness that gets you what you deserve.

[@kirkdarling4120]

We don't know what the rules are on Persephone. Different moons had different "bibles," so they could have different rules for dueling as well.

[@feudist]

@@kirkdarling4120 Saffron had the best Bible.

[@ernesthakey3396]

Even Mal doesn't get to be mean to Kaylee!

[@cyberleadr]

The 1st commercially available webcams were available in 1994. Video calls date back further than that.

[@seumus]

Fun fact: Jewel Staite (Kaylee) *hates* strawberries!

[@AndrewSmoot]

And, the dress Kaylee adores, since it made it impossible to use the restroom alone.

[@kirkdarling4120]

@@AndrewSmoot Back in the day such dresses were worn, the panatloons were crotchless. They just had to straddle a chamber pot.

[@AndrewSmoot]

@@kirkdarling4120 Modern-day toilets, which would've been used in universe and behind the scenes, when Firefly was filming, were not designed with hoop skirts in mind.

[@kaojinn]

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Dungeons and Dragons, but in the game, theres a system where players assign guiding principals for their actions, called Alignment in the game. Are they good, evil, somewhere between? Are they lawful, chaotic, or somewhere between? Malcom Reynolds is used as one of the examples of a Chaotic Good character. Hes not concerned with following laws, but at his core hes a good man.

[@tvdroid22]

River was tapping into Badger's thoughts and channeling them.

[@jonm1114]

Exactly. She read him like a book, and she showed she could identify Badger's origins from his accent and then mimic that accent so perfectly that he was sure she was from the same colony as he was. Very curious, indeed.

[@scottrabie]

She was tapping into the crews thoughts too. She knew they were looking for a distraction and kept Badgers attention.

[@tvdroid22]

I first saw video phone calls demonstrated in the mid 1970's. The inadequate infrastructure has been the limiting factor for decades.

[@alaneskew2664]

And the concept of video phones is actually older. Since the invention of the telephone people have been speculating Spirit it even appeared in a 1920 something Popular Mechanics

[@walkir2662]

And the lack of interest.

[@AndrewSmoot]

1:01 yes.

[@AndrewSmoot]

Interestingly, Nathan wanted the bag he was carrying to have some real weight, so he put random junk from around the set in the bag. However, he soon regretted that decision after several takes.

[@Sagitarria]

Because Atheron says "personal companion" many people have begun to suspect that once someone is a companion, other forms of relationship are impossible. Hense some of the extreme tension with Mal

[@Sagitarria]

it takes a while for people to get used to the idea that a future society might have an institution like the Companion houses that hold esteen and power. She's part Geisha, Part Call Girl, Part High Class Escort, Part Sacred Priestess. The dynamic between mal and Anara is complicated because of institutional structures and power. He hates that she is an official part of the Power Structure and She is get the most freedom she can within the rules, but falling in love with mal really isn't a feasible and safe option for her

[@boqndimitrov8693]

kales and strawberries, hobbits and mushrooms...everyone has a culinary passion!...do you like steaks? 😊

[@kaizen5023]

The fencing choreography was not excellent, but decent... and they did a good job of storytelling with it showing how Mal was acting like the "rushing bull" -- which is a type of opponent often mentioned in historical fencing manuscripts (treatises). It is actually totally feasible the way Mal used Inarra's distraction and the hilt of his broken sword to win the duel by turning it into more of a brawl -- there are recorded instances of that happening with duels, where the person with the broken sword won by turning it into a grappling/brawl type of fight. So I give it 7/10 as far as the fencing scene in the context of the story.

[@mrtveye6682]

I think the fencing choreography is OK, but the one scene where Mal get's injured is IMO the single weakest scene in the whole show. I get that they wanted to show the skills difference and Mals tendency to be stubborn and do it "his way", even if he was taught better. But the way Mal attacks in that moment was just plain stupid. Not even 5 year old kids fencing with sticks would attack that way. And Mal might not know fencing, but he is not stupid, and he knows at least decent about hand to hand combat, and you wouldn't attack in a hand to hand combat in a comparable way either. I think they could have achieved the same in a little more subtle manner, without making him look ridiculous. But than again, if that's my least favourite scene, it tells a lot about the level of quality the whole show has IMO.

[@migmit]

And it's a legal move, too. Usually duelling code would allow things like throwing a sword, or using a hilt as brass knuckles. Maybe not very honorable move, but legal.

[@kaizen5023]

@@mrtveye6682 agreed that was a wtf moment!

[@ceceliam9014]

Absolutely agree, I've said the same thing before. This is Inara's career, she is excellent at what she does and she is fully capable of handling someone like Atherton. Jumping in like a white knight but her and him at much higher risk. This is a common issue with men who try to "protect" us without asking what we need, and I'm sure many women have been in her shoes here. And it's not comforting or safe feeling at all. I do suspect Atherton was managing to hide his red flags until Mal provoked him, so it's good in that sense. He brought the snake to the surface. But the punch went too far.

[@becca1189]

❤🧡💛💚💙💜

[@DhavalShukla]

Che carino è quello Garfield!

[@billthomas478]

Other similar shows to this that you might like are Farscape, Lexx, Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, and Babylon 5

[@kirkdarling4120]

Lexx always seemed to me like a 12-year-old boy's idea of being "adult."

[@Lue_Jonin]

"Jayne" ? I thought you call him "Jayce" ? 😂 hahahaha

[@donkorte80]

Shin-dig a large party, western style , much like a hootenanny …

[@greywuuf]

There was a time in American simply by vitrue of being male you would defend the honor of any woman regardless of your personal affections towards them there are a good many men of a certain age or upbringing that still feel and act the same

[@kirkdarling4120]

Eh, not quite. Gentlemen defended the honor of ladies. Not all men were ever gentlemen and not all women were ever ladies.

[@arandomnamegoeshere]

Not being critical... but video calls aren't THAT new. There are real world examples going back decades (even concepts implemented in the 30's). By mid-90s we had video call software using the Internet that was... fairly commonplace among those who had 'net access. By early 2000's we're seeing the rise of smart phones and video call tech being built in / featured tech of the platform. So by the time Firefly hits the airwaves, it's less about the concept of a video call and (arguably) more about what implementing over long distances feels like.

[@kirkdarling4120]

We had office video phones in a government agency in the early 80s. We put index cards over the cameras as flip covers (even back then), because nobody trusts the government...not even the people in it.

[@BH6242KCh]

That cat slept through this entire video..... missed a fun reaction.

[@bpora01]

Mal thinks of Kaylee as his younger sister. Inna needs a ball gown but not like Kaylee's.

[@Cybrludite]

If it helps, the title is pronounced "Shin Dig".

[@paulalexandredumasseauvan2357]

how do women do ANYTHING in those big dresses?! 🤔 enjoyed your reaction 👍☺

[@RebelCowboysRVs]

That's the point. Only someone wealthy enough to have lots of servants waiting on their every need could wear that kind of dress. So by wearing it, it told everyone how wealthy you were.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

This show is all about the difference between the moral values of a civilized society and the moral values on a frontier - frontier values are better. In this episode, civilized values are represented by the snobby class system on display at the ball. Atherton is a privileged dandy who uses his elite upper class training in fencing and the duelling code to legally kill anyone he takes a dislike to. He regards women as property to be bought and sold. It is obvious that, like the Japanese Geishas, the Companion system exists to protect sex workers from a feudal patriarchal society that disrespects women. Mal represents frontier values. Unlike Atherton he respects women. When he defeats Atherton, his frontier values will not let him kill a helpless disarmed man lying in front of him, even when that man was trying to kill him.

[@dunringill1747]

Nicely written.

[@fredkrissman6527]

Mal is a quite a flawed hero, Inna... He's pretty "macho" in ways that convey mixed messages. He obviously loves Innara -- and she, cautiously, loves him too, imo, But he hates the fact that she is a sex worker. Flawed, but very human, I'm afraid.

[@ThatSamoanGuy]

2:13 There was literally nothing weird. 2:53 Video calls existed long before this show. Sooo if you said this, you must be pretty young. 4:03 Yes, after 4 episodes of them flirting, I think you just might be on to something. 🙄 4:10 Don't take everything so literally...these characters are now officially talking and thinking too fast for modern reactors to keep up with. Maybe learn to listen and think critically, before you just "Google it". 8:13 Oof, agreeing with the womanizing and objectifying manhandled villain?...really? 18:23 Its not a theory, it's literally RIGHT THERE on screen. Trust me, the writers and the director and the actors, they all WANT you to know they have feelings for each other. 20:03 She doesn't have an accent. Youve heard her talk before. She does not have an accent. She was putting one on, to mimic/make fun of Badger, but she is not British.

[@DudeLongcouch]

10:23 you're extremely perceptive :)

[@Lrs12359]

Why didn't you pause and put on a gown?

[@Otokichi786]

"Shindig": Heading to Persephone, Inara hooks up with a dodgy client. Mal is taken to Badger for a noble hookup.

[@ernesthakey3396]

Yep, Mal was out of line with the punch, Inara would indeed know how to deal with clients like Atherton. The relationship between Mal and Inara is, let's just say, complicated. Remember Mal in the first episode kissing a cross, before losing his faith at the end of the episode? Mal was apparently raised religious and in a conservative manner, on the outer planets, and he really has a problem with sex work, and so he's seemingly repressing his feelings for Inara, because he admires her as a person despite her work. But a Companion is much more than a sex worker. Plus the Guild is part of high Alliance society, so that rubs him the wrong way too. And to Inara, being a Companion is a calling, not a job. Mal couldn't ask Inara to give up her calling, but he would have trouble dealing with a partner who is always going off to service clients. Inara knows this, so she's keeping her emotional distance.

[@ernesthakey3396]

Yep, Mal was out of line with the punch, Inara would indeed know how to deal with clients like Atherton. The relationship between Mal and Inara is, let's just say, complicated. Remember Mal in the first episode kissing a cross, before losing his faith at the end of the episode? Mal was apparently raised religious and in a conservative manner, on the outer planets, and he really has a problem with sex work, and so he's seemingly repressing his feelings for Inara, because he admires her as a person despite her work. But a Companion is much more than a sex worker. Plus the Guild is part of high Alliance society, so that rubs him the wrong way too. And to Inara, being a Companion is a calling, not a job. Mal couldn't ask Inara to give up her calling, but he would have trouble dealing with a partner who is always going off to service clients. Inara knows this, so she's keeping her emotional distance. That's how I read the situation anyways. Mal is a country boy, Inara is a big city girl.

[@doug3691]

Nice summation!