(no subject)

[ivyfic]

In the beginning of Serenity, when Mal throws the man off the mule instead of the payload, it occurs to me that he is doing exactly what Jayne did in the episode "Jaynestown" - choosing his payload over a life.

Did you notice that when they're in Beaumont, there's a newscast about the Reaver attack? It says the only survivors are those that locked themselves in the town's vault.

Comments

[sydni-64.livejournal.com]

I think the difference though is that when Jayne did it, he was sacrificing the life of his partner, and that's what made it so despicable. When the guy confronts Jayne in the middle of town square, he doesn't say, "How could you throw a person off the ship?" he says (and I forget exactly, but it was something along the lines of) "You never leave your partner. Hell, everybody knows that."

So I suspect that for Mal, the difference is that that man wasn't part of his crew, and therefore was not his responsibility. (Although of course Zoe has her own thoughts on the matter.)