Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds

[ray gower]

Characters- Mal Reynolds

What makes the characters in Firefly tick?

The series finished before it got going, leaving a huge hole in what we know and understand about them. So there must be some good theories about them, so let's have some thoughts?

Let us have a go at Mal Reynolds here?

 

[ray gower]

Quite simply a bucaneer in the best romantic Erol Flynn guise.

Still questions about his history though.

To speculate a little: I think he would come from a fairly rich background, though not uppercrust enough to be welcomed in 'polite society', hence is aparent problems with Inara?
To follow through from the all pervading 'American Civil War' analogy, I understand that many families were split between the Confederates and Republicans. Where one or other side overran an establishment that supported the otherside it would be destroyed or given to supporters of the cause.
So although he was rich, he lost everything he had, including family?
A good enough reason to have an anti-alliance chip on his shoulder?

 

[Tabitha]

I don't see Mal as prosperous in a rich kind of way. He mentioned in "Or Mrs Reynolds" that he came from a ranch-style background, and I inferred that his family ran a big farm, but very much got their own hands dirty, rather than sat back and counted the money.
Comfortable, and yes, very possibly split over the issue of independence, he also mentions in that ep that he doesn't talk much about where he came from - perhaps a bitter family schism, exacerbated by the war, might be a reason for this.

I can imagine him as a Kaylee-type character before the war, innocent and forthright, but embittered by what he saw and endured.

 

[Lonewolf89]

I see Mal as the kind of character who doesn't get tangled up into other people's problems as a rule. He watches out for his own, and that's it.

I think something really bad must have happened to his family or someone he knew that made him get involved in the war.

 

[ray gower]

From Our Mrs Reynolds, it sounded as though Mal lost his father at an early(ish) age.
If the civil war went on for some time, reasonable, it would also seem reasonable that it was this that got his father killed. If it was the Alliance that killed him and/or were responsible for the loss of his families ranch, that would give hime a strong impetuous to join the Feds?

 

[ray gower]

Originally posted by Lonewolf89
I see Mal as the kind of character who doesn't get tangled up into other people's problems as a rule. He watches out for his own, and that's it.

I think something really bad must have happened to his family or someone he knew that made him get involved in the war.

Think I am inclined to disagree here.

It is possible that Mal may think he does not want to get involved in other peoples problems, but he can't help involving himself.

I also think he has problems remembering he is a criminal
From the Heist, "We aren't criminals. Well we are, but we aren't taking what is his."

 

[Lonewolf89]

Originally posted by ray gower

Think I am inclined to disagree here.

It is possible that Mal may think he does not want to get involved in other peoples problems, but he can't help involving himself.

When has Mal gotten himself mixed up in something that didn't effect him or his crew?

 

[Dave]

I just watched a great film, 'Blast from the Past', but the most unexpected thing was seeing Nathan Fillion as a minor character.