Firefly Musings: If the show *had* continued, what would've happened?

[author_by_night]

As all Firefly fans know, the show was canceled after twelve episodes (fourteen if you count the two that never aired.) Serenity came out in 2005, but although it answered some questions, it wasn't quite a finale.

So here's something I've been wondering for a while now: what would Firefly have looked like had it gone on beyond one season? Beyond two?

Under the cut are some of my thoughts. I'd definitely like to know yours too. Please note that the cut includes a significant spoiler - it's something very shocking that I've heard around the internet pertaining to a certain character.



As I said, I often wonder what Firefly would have looked like had it lasted five, six, seven seasons. What would be different? What would be the same?

The cast would probably be different. Wash and Book died in the movie, and my guess is they would've died in the show too, especially as Book is the standard "wise old man" figure. (When I saw the movie - not having seen the show - I knew he was going to get it.) Inara was apparently dying, if the rumors are true. That leaves Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Kaylee, Simon and River.

In regards to Kaylee and Simon, however, we know that Whedon really isn't a fan of keeping couples together. My guess is one of two things happens: they have a horrible breakup, or one of them dies. Of course, they could be the exception.

I can also see old faces being added to the crew. Saffron is a cool and calculating villain, but would this work as the crew of Serenity fought against the alliance? Saffron's ability to make up lies could come in handy. She certainly seems willing to go against the alliance.

The characters would, of course, probably change in personality. Inara, Wash and Book all dying would significantly affect the crew; they were the voices of reason, and losing them could result in a less rational crew. On the other hand, it could bring out sides in the others not seen before. River might learn to control her emotions better not just from finally having let out the Miranda scandal, but from actually having a reason to stay calm - being a co-pilot is an extremely risky job. Mal and Zoe would probably be forced to let go of their emotions more than usual, perhaps resulting in softer sides of themselves showing. (Conversely, of course, we could end up seeing a harsher, even more hardened Mal.)

But who else would we lose, if anyone? Would the rest of the crew survive, or would, in the end, we only have Mal, Zoe, and perhaps someone else?

What do you guys think?

Comments

[linda-lupos.livejournal.com]

Hey, could YoSafBridge replace Inara?

I mean, not exactly replace, but once/if Inara dies... well, they need a sweet-talking Companion. YoSafBridge might work... :)

Yeah, I don't really see Simon/Kaylee work either. Maybe Simon got cold feet, kind of like the reverse of Xander/Anya in Buffy.
Stupid Joss for jossing ships *muttermuttermutter*

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Maybe Simon got cold feet, kind of like the reverse of Xander/Anya in Buffy.

Hm... I could see Simon thinking helping River AND being in a relationship was hard... and by the time he came to his senses, Kaylee would be with someone else...

The YouSaffBridge idea is interesting! :) Not sure I can really see it though, somehow.

[edgiko.livejournal.com]

I never heard anything about Inara dying. Where did you hear that rumor?

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Apparently at DragonCon she said something about dying; a friend said she heard it, so I googled and various sites also mentioned it.

[dmp.livejournal.com]

I don't see Wash dying until the end of Firefly's run, if it had lasted to five or six seasons. (Maybe because I really want to see a little Wash or Zoe running around the ship...?)

I think Book, though, had such great potential -- his past as a former high-ranking official had been hinted at during the show, but his backstory was never fully revealed. I could see him leaving the crew because of sudden plot surprises because of his past and be a smaller but still interesting character (like Dru was in Buffy/Angel).

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

(Maybe because I really want to see a little Wash or Zoe running around the ship...?)

Me too. My hopes are that if there is a sequel to the movie, Zoe will be pregnant.

[ahavah]

I totally hope she's knocked up! If they killed him off, it seems like she just had to be.

I never heard about Inara dying, either. Very interesting.

[secondmezzanine.livejournal.com]

Whedon's a huge sadist so I think Inara would definitely be dead sooner or later. And frankly, that's one possible bright side (for me) that the show only got 14 episodes. (Not that its cancellation isn't truly tragic, because I'd LOVE more seasons!!!!) I can imagine, this way, that all my dreamed-of romantic happy endings would really have happened...

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

And frankly, that's one possible bright side (for me) that the show only got 14 episodes. (Not that its cancellation isn't truly tragic, because I'd LOVE more seasons!!!!)

That's pretty much how I feel. It was too bad that the show was canceled, but at the same time, we still have this way of thinking maybe, just maybe, these couples could have survived. :/

[daksian.livejournal.com]

I've always felt that Wash's and Book's deaths were because of the movie, not just a natural development of the show itself. As such, while I could certainly see characters dying, it wouldn't have happened as quickly as the actual timeline suggests .

Here's what I think:

Book: I always thought Book was undergoing some form of penance. His past suggests far too much knowledge of the underworkings of the Alliance, and I have a feeling he dropped out and found Jesus as a form of redemption. Also, Ron Glass always struck me as a little leery of doing this job long-term. I think he would have liked to cut his role short and have Book go out with a bang. I expect that two or three seasons into the show Book would have died a heroic death that redeemed something he had done in the past. The consequences of that death would continue to ripple throughout the rest of the show (perhaps a grandchild, despite his assertion that he wasn't a grandpa!).

Wash: whenever the end did come to the series, I think Wash was going to die, which is of course what happened in the movie. But I think a lot of development was going to happen up until that point. I can only guess as to what precisely, but as we saw in Heart of Gold, at least one development should have occurred: he and Zoe should have had a child. That Whedon was introducing this notion so early in the series suggests to me he wanted to explore this. Indeed, this is still an option after Wash's death.

Zoe: what always blew me away about Zoe is that she is Mal's subordinate. Frankly, she seems more officer material than Mal ever was. Beyond the stuff with Wash above, I would have bet anything we would have learned more about Zoe's army career and why she wasn't leading her own platoon.

Inara: ultimately, Inara is a limited character for an ongoing series. She would either have to be significantly changed by a number of circumstances, or she would die. Her role is love interest, and her gimmick is courtesan. Both of those avenues of exploration would get old very quickly. Look at how things were developing in the actual show and movie: Inara had left Serenity. That being said, I would hope for a significant change rather than a death.

Jayne: if anything was going to happen to Jayne, I'd say he'd lose an eye or a limb or something. He'd still be 'Jayne' of course, but I think having a handicap (besides his lack of social skills) would add greater depth to an already great character.

Kaylee: I see Kaylee going through some kind of intense depression and being changed by it, similar to say Ginny Weasley's character. Something bad was going to happen to her and it would hurt her in a way that would never leave her. This would be after she and Simon became an item, and it would drive a wedge between them. I think they'd eventually reconcile towards the end of the series, however.

Simon: As River becomes more independent, I think Simon would latch on to Kaylee more, and her rejection of him because of whatever harm she has gone through would tempt him to distance himself even more, perhaps leaving the crew for a time. I also think something would happen that would sorely test Simon's oath to do no harm to those on his operating table--perhaps whoever had harmed Kaylee or River would be under his knife, and Simon (who is not needed by River and rejected by Kaylee) might just embrace the darkness, just that one time...with bad consequences, of course.

River: Unlike her fate in Serenity, I think River would have faced a long road of finding out how to control her mental abilities and conditioning and maintaining her sanity. Obviously Blue Sun would be involved in this process. I always felt her becoming the pilot was a bit of an add-on. I think her true fate would be that of a counter-agent to the Alliance.

Mal: Ultimately, I think Mal's fate is to continue to fight against the Alliance, and it wouldn't surprise me to find him involved in some kind of insurrection. If the Miranda issue came to light inside the series, I think that would have served as a stepping-stone to curtailing the Alliance and allowing some worlds to splinter away and becoming independent again.

Anyway, that's my take! :)

[silentpheonix.livejournal.com]

You've really given this a lot of thought!

I always saw Wash's death as something that was necessary in the context of the movie but whether it would have happened in the show would have depended on the direction the show took.

[daksian.livejournal.com]

Wash always seemed a bit expendable to me in terms of his role on the show. He might have made the full run, but I think Joss would have done the 'bittersweet' thing and killed him off after his kid was born.

[ashavah]

Have you read the script for the episode that was scrapped that featured Simon in a situation kind of like that? If I recall correctly, there had been a major explosion somewhere the crew were, and Simon had to operate on an Alliance official who had realised who he was, making him choose between saving the guy and getting himself and River arrested, or letting the guy die. It was a very interesting character moment.

*digs around* Here we go. The ep was going to be called Dead or Alive.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

There's random never-seen scripts?Shiny! :D

(And why didn't you tell me before now, JK? :P)

[ashavah]

... I kinda forgot until just then. That's the only one I've read.

Please accept my sincerest apologies! :-D

(please note that Jayne is not intended to be pointing Vera in your direction!)

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Hee! :) It just made me laugh.

[ashavah]

Yeah, I found it on my computer and sorta went, "That's hilarious, why aren't I using it?!?!"

[daksian.livejournal.com]

No, I hadn't read the script, and I'm glad you linked it! That was great to read, thanks!

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Gosh, you have a lot of great thoughts! What makes you think Kaylee was going to be hurt so badly? Just curious.

[daksian.livejournal.com]

The character would have become static and boring if all she ever was going to be was the happy-go-lucky plucky engineer. I doubt Whedon would allow that to endure--at some point he's going to demand a loss of innocence.

[ahavah]

I heard it from a guy who claims he heard it from Joss himself that Book was a corrupt cop who was put in something like the Witness Protection Program.

[greedyskunk.livejournal.com]

I just bought the Firefly series recently (bad me!) and have been rewatching the episodes. I didn't like Kaylee/Simon the first time around, but it's growing on me now.

I agree with you that the chances of them staying together are slim. Relationship wise, I think we would have seen a few different pairings, perhaps Mal/Saffron, River/New Character, or my personal favorite Kaylee/Jayne. The last wouldn't really go anywhere, but I would like to see how Kaylee's bubbly personality would affect Jayne. And I could see her turning to him for temporary comfort after she and Simon have a nasty breakup.

I would like to think that Wash would not have died had the series continued. I don't know how they would have handled having a baby on board, though. Maybe if the show ever comes back, they'll have fast forwarded through the difficult baby stage and now have to deal with a young child running around the ship.