Hey Natasha and yes, even though he and Wash may not be the closest. He knew exactly what to say to keep him up for even just a few more moments. I think my favorite Mal moment is with the sheriff and he mentions there never was a choice. That is a tear jerk moment for me personally. That and the majority of his deeper interactions with Inara
Raymond Walker
2025-06-25 16:52:54 +0000 UTC
Just commenting on the first ep rn: War Stories is amazing to me bc it takes a really nothing villain that they were forced to insert into the show in Train Job by Fox to make the show “easier” for ppl to get into, and makes him genuinely really scary. Cool episode structure too, lots of great little one-on-one moments with the crew showing a bunch of dynamics we haven’t seen much of (River and Kaylee, Book and Simon, Book and Jayne, and obvs Wash and Mal). It feels a lot like an episode of Buffy in that way.
Love the scene of them fighting while getting tortured because it looks on the nose like silly comedy and then turns on the last exchange to show that Mal is intentionally goading Wash to keep him awake— personally my fave Mal moment in the series. Super smart and shows he understands his crew as people even if he and Wash aren’t close at all.
Natasha
2025-06-25 16:08:31 +0000 UTC
:)
Martin Jon Madsen
2025-06-25 05:25:00 +0000 UTC
I love that movie (Serenity)... but Im the same! Can't wait but then its over! 😿
ArcAngel
2025-06-25 01:52:15 +0000 UTC
I'm so torn because I can't wait for you to watch Serenity, but that'll mean this series is over! I've been loving your reactions.
I love both of these episodes, they are a couple of my faves for sure. I love Wash, his sense of humor kills me. But I always get so annoyed in War Stories when they leave Kaylee to "hold this ground" by herself though! She was clearly not prepared to do that. Also, I think you caught it, but just in case - River said right before she shot the gun - "Can't look, can't look." She looked once, grabbed the gun, then squeezed her eyes shut and shot all three with deadly precision.
Also, I love that scene with Simon and Jayne at the end of Trash. I agree that Simon is such a good man for the way he handled it - but I do think he knew that what he was doing seemed threatening, despite the words he was saying. I mean, walking all around Jayne while Jayne was completely incapacitated, giving him an injection of who knows what? Very much "I'll never hurt you..... but I could if I wanted to". 😂
Rhiannon
2025-06-25 00:23:42 +0000 UTC
A couple of my favorites of the series! I love how Mal kept trying to keep Wash alert with his instigating about Zoe, and the awkward follow-up at the end with the command that they sleep together.
And man, Christina Hendricks steals the show every time she’s on screen. It’s a shame there weren’t more seasons, both Niska and Yo-Saff-Bridge would have been such great recurring villains over time.