Malcolm Reynolds is mad confusing

[bullseye]

is anyone else confused by mal's confusing "noble" persona???

i recently started watchin firefly. im up to the last episode. and so far mal has been one big contradiction. do u remember the episode where he captures the henchmen of that old gangster who tortured him?
well he kills one of his henchman in cold blood but then later on in the series he seems to have a problem killing people.
also according to Inara, Mal is extremely noble. but in the episode where the docter and River get kidnapped Mal leaves them. i mean yea he eventually comes back but still...

idk these r just my thoughts. i personally think whedon tried too hard to make a dynamic character out of Mal. instead he just made an annoying ass character with a lot of wholes in his personality.

[Skytteflickan88]

I can't say that I like Mal, because he can be a BEEP, specially towards Inara. But as I see it, he was raised well, has a good heart, but tries to be selfish and just to live for his own satisfaction, but his conscious won't let him. He has to be nice from time to time.

[buffyverseforever]

I think the whole point of Mal is that he is a mass of contradictions. He can be the loveable goof who Kaylee has wrapped around her little finger,he can be a cold-blooded, killer,he can be a hero,he can be a jerk to Inara-like a lot of us,he's not terribly consistent in his behavior. That's what's always made him very real and very fascinating to me...


Best wishes,

Scott

[Whedon Fan]

That is the whole point of his charatcer. He is damaged goods. You see it in hsi eye when they lose the war in the first epsiode. He has hardened since the war you see it in his charcter. Twoards certain people he is caring and woulf fight for them but if a threat of betrayed then he'll do what must be done.


Also he might be noble but he is not patient so that is where alot of his bad traits come from.

[BlueJay]

I like that he's complicated.
You know that he's been through bad things and that he's done things he ain't proud of. And, unlike Angel, he doesn't brood.

[commandercool]

If mal made sense, I wouldn't love him so much. But he does not. He is, as they say 'complex'.

[Secret Scoobie]

I generally don't understand 'tough' men characterisations. I'm good with female analytics, but males just comfound me mostly.

I just found myself 'accepting' Mal - as Joss rarely steers me into a false or troubled character.

If I had to say something about it, I'd agree with those who say he's 'complex', and then also add that if the series had gone on (Curse you FOX!!!) then I think his character would have been justified and had a chance to develop and evolve.

I think the show was leaving things to speculation for a reason, and never got a chance to explain. Mal was one of those loose-ends.

[buffyfan21]

When I first stated watching the series, I thought Mal was a jerk and didn't like him much, but as the episodes continued I realized there was more to him than meets the eye. He is now my favorite character and I adore him. I think he only pretends to come off as cold at times because it is a way of protecting himself, but other times you get a glimpse of just how caring he really is. The complexity of his character is what makes Mal so interesting. He is not a one note character, but a character with many layers to him. You can see how much his past influences his behavior. It's just a shame we didn't get to see more.

[slayerthorn]

The way he is so unpredictable and complex is part of the reason I like him so much. I think it makes him seem realistic.