Your favorite Firefly characters

[Carolyn Hill]

If you had to choose just two favorite characters from the Firefly crew, who would they be?

Why those two?

(The old poll got munched in the move from the ASciFi board, so here's a new one.)

 

[Carolyn Hill]

I'm choosing Mal and Jayne.

Mal, because he's the strong but tortured center around whom the crew revolves. He's a leader in spite of himself, trustworthy to the core. Complicated, heroic, but human, he's searching, and in the process, he's doing more than just enduring. And he wears an extremely cool coat.

Jayne, because he's pretty much the opposite of Mal in many ways. In expressing baser sentiments, impulsive hungers, and pragmatic simplicities, he's amusing and refreshingly uncomplicated. He's not particularly trustworthy (at least, not in the TV series), but he's predictable: he wants what he wants, and that's that. And he wears an extremely silly hat.

 

[PTeppic]

Kaylee and River.
I think Kaylee is also as uncomplicated as Jayne, with equally base instincts though they're perhaps shown less. When she does show them she gets some beautiful one liners though...

And River, so complex it hurts.

 

[Brys]

Mal and River I think, but it's very difficult to choose. Mal because he's almost an anti-hero - he's lost everything, but he keeps on going, and while what he does is often quite horrible, but there's a core of nobility in him which he won't admit to himself. And despite losing everything, he is often very funny. River because she's so unusual. While most of the other's loosely fall into an archetype, River doesn't - she's half-insane, kind, deadly and often very childlike, yet extraordinarily intelligent. And with River, nothing's quite what it seems.

 

[BookStop]

I'm choosing Jayne and Kaylee - They are both simple folk just like me.

 

[Loner]

Because its so pretty, I refuse to let this thread die.

I would say Jayne and Wash.

Jayne because he is so crude at the start (even with Kaylee, who he treats like a sister... or at least a cousin) but you can see the beginnings of growth there after he and Mal come to terms in Ariel. He's funny and a "mite unpredictable". Examples are his reaction to River pointing out he has a girl's name (makes you wonder about his childhood), his combing the whore's hair in Heart of Gold, his delight in the kooky mother-made hat (once again makes you wonder about his childhood and upbringing) and his reaction to the worship from the Mudders when he feels unworthy. Jayne still has a lot of growing up to do, emotionally, if not physically...

Mal has enough admirers already so I will be contrary and choose Wash because he most represents the reaction of the "average person" to their crazy situations. He seems to be the most comfortable with his place on the ship and within the crew (once he gets War Stories out of his system).
He makes no demands, he just does his part and yet is an essential part of the crew. He is the voice of sanity and normalcy, with just a little bit of the wacky.

"Curse your sudden but unevitable betrayal!"

 

[Joel007]

Jayne and wash! If only they have longer conversations but its pretty much jayne trying to insult wash and getting it back in the face.

Wacky fun.

 

[Loner]

Jayne: Tell you what I think. I think that fellow we ran into did everyone on board, killed them all, then decided to take a swim through space, see how fast his blood would boil out of his ears.
Wash: You're a very "up" person.


Eh heheheheh!

 

[Carolyn Hill]

Loner, you're absolutely right about Jayne: his potential for growth, shown in the moments you mentioned, is one of his main appeals.

It's a shame we aren't getting to see Jayne fulfill his potential. Joss is so skilled at showing that sort of development.

 

[carrie221]

Simon because he rocks throwing his easy life away to rescue his baby sister...

Mal (Jayne was close in the running for 2nd place) because as much as he trys to be a bad guy he is at heart a good guy

 

[Loner]

Simon because he rocks throwing his easy life away to rescue his baby sister...

You know, I read that as "Simon because he throws rocks at his baby sister..."

That tells you something about my childhood, right there.

 

[carrie221]

You know, I read that as "Simon because he throws rocks at his baby sister..."

That tells you something about my childhood, right there.

LOL... I bet that was an interesting childhood

 

[Loner]

Yah, wacky fun!

 

[Psychogirl]

Jayne and River.
Jayne because.... well it's Jayne, how can you not like Jayne?
And River because she seems to just be an innocent little girl caught up in the middle of everything then it turns out that she is a trained killing machine and kicks ass at it!

 

[Lucien21]

Kaylee because she's cute and has some really funny lines.

Mal because he can be a B'stard at times but would do anything for his crew.

 

[ladygiggs]

Mal - he makes the tough decisions, like it or not.

Jayne - cos he don't. Oh, and the hat.

 

[Faceless Woman]

Dear sweet (not) River. She reminds me of me, except not quite so kick-ass!!!
And Mal, becuse he's so multi-dimensional and yet so accessable at the same time. That's really difficult. JW is a genious.

 

[davidkedward]

Jayne, cos he gets nearly all the best lines, and even has his own song (and town!) and Wash cos he's so damn funny! And likes to play with dinosaurs.

 

[Browncoat2008]

Mal and River I think, but it's very difficult to choose. Mal because he's almost an anti-hero - he's lost everything, but he keeps on going, and while what he does is often quite horrible, but there's a core of nobility in him which he won't admit to himself. And despite losing everything, he is often very funny. River because she's so unusual. While most of the other's loosely fall into an archetype, River doesn't - she's half-insane, kind, deadly and often very childlike, yet extraordinarily intelligent. And with River, nothing's quite what it seems.

I think Brys says it quite well here. Mal is the great (anti-)hero who does what needs to be done, even when it means making the hard choice when he hasd an easy out. With River, there was something about her (besides being naked) when she came onboard Serenity. There was an electricity about her, that there was something special underneath the surface. Okay, I'm just paraphrasing Brys, but these are my thoughts as well.

 

[ScottSF]

characterwise I wanted to pick Jayne but my hormones got the better of me and voted for Zoe. Most Beautiful woman in the Verse