I just have to ask - Jubal Early

Moonbat

Chuckle Churner
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Hi,

I watched the last episode - objects in space - last ngiht and I have to admit it was one of the best episodes, but has had me thinking about Early and his threat to Kaylee.

I think he didn't, it was just a threat, and Kaylee didn't look particuarly raped when we saw her later, but it was definitely stated and it made me sit up and be scared. That moment brought a real sense of unease into my firefly universe.

So my question is, did Early rape Kaylee? I think not, but want to know what you guys/gals think.

I think that if Firefly had had more seasons we would have seen Early again, he was a good villian and wasn't exactly dead.

M
 
I don't think Early raped her. She makes no mention talking to River, just says 'tied up'. If you listen to Early talk and his interaction with River over the com. the implication is that he likes to hurt people, make them fear him. He makes Kaylee fear rape so she can be restrained quietly and he uses the same threat on Simon to make him obey. So, no - just a threat. The question thus arises would he carry out his threats if necessary? Sad to say, I think he would.

They would have to have been careful if they were going to use him again not to lose his 'character' - his damaged nature and high skills and just turn him into a more generic baddy like the rogue alliance agent in one of the other episodes.
 
Yeah - I don't think he did. He threatened it but it didn't actually happen...

Poor Kaylee, she looks so scared. And I love how Simon reacts, he's so cute cos he loves Kaylee but he's 'such a boob' *lol*

That eepisode has some great lines too.

Simon: "Are you Alliance?"
Jubal: "Am I a lion?"

Mal: "How come there's a guy on board and how come you're all of a sudden the ship?"
River/Serenity: "I know you have questions."
Mal: "That would be why I just asked them."

Simon: "My sister's a ship. We had a complicated childhood"

Mal: "You know, you ain't quite right."
River: "It's the popular theory."

Man... Now I wanna watch the whole series again!.. thankyou :D
 
I can't recall the exactly what was said but the several times I've seen the episode I think it was intended as a serious threat. Jubal was far to calculating of a character to put himself in a vulnerable situation on the ship.

I still think Firefly was the best single season series to air. It's hard to believe that Joss Wheadon agreed to work with FOX again, now with Dollhouse. So far that series has been interesting but slow to develop the story.
 
I don't believe Early would have raped Kaylee. If all he wanted was information, he knew he could've scared her witless without even touching her, and that's exactly what he did. He showed significant restraint about killing the crew, something he could have done easily on multiple occasions... I think most of him was ego and bluster, trying to convince others (and himself) that he was more than just a dirty bounty hunter.

Rape Kaylee? I don't think he had it in him.

It's an excellent episode, with a caveat: Whatever equipment Early had, I think it was far too easy for him to get onto Serenity undetected. Even if the ship was stealthy enough to sneak up on Serenity, I have a hard time believing the ship wouldn't have issued a warning that its airlock had been opened from outside... or that Mal and Zoe, paranoid and careful (in order) as they are, wouldn't have rigged such an alarm or extra protection from breach if one didn't already exist.

But that's the only complaint I have about the ep.
 
Jubal Early was a great character and Richard Brooks did a wonderful job to make him creepy.

Steve, I disagree that Early was incapable of rape. In fact, by the way he used threats to terrify the crew... Kaylee, Simon, and Inara, I think he had done it before. Remember when he told Simon that doctors should be shot or stabbed so they'd know the pain involved? Well, he knew the power of threatening violence and rape... because he knew first hand how the victim suffered physically, but even more psychologically. I don't think Early would have raped Kaylee out of a physical desire. Raping her would have been for two reasons... first, that she crossed him and he'd keep his word... second, that he wanted to see her terror under the abuse. He never stopped to threaten Mal or Book. He took them out quickly. He only bothered trying to break the wills of those who were not a threat. River guessed his brutal nature underneath his sophistry. Whether Early himself was a victim of physical abuse and rape, I don't know... but I would not be surprised.
 
I always took the rape as a threat and i think he would have killed her if she hadn't agreed to be taken out of play.

Early may have been a sociopath and capable of killing without mercy, but this was a job and i got the impression that he was a professional.
 
I agree with Boaz. I found Early to be a chilling character but extremely calculating. I would expect him to inflict pain not because he wants to, but simply because it is the logical response to a situation. His dispassion is what I believe made him so unsettling. The average person can only imagne another so devoid of what we see as human nature as a serial killer but no one wants into that mind.

Firefly is a series I'm glad to own and will surely watch again.
 
Welcome Balthagor! I hope you enjoy posting on the Chrons.

I agree with Boaz.
Only two posts into your career and you've said the magic words. Well done! One down and ten thousand posters to go.

I'll watch Firefly again this year.
 
If anyone is interested, there was a recent comic book series called Serenity Leaves on the Wind - probably available as a graphic novel by now. It was set 9 months after the Serenity movie, based on an outline by Joss Whedon and written by his brother Zack. It catches the feel of the series and film but in relation to this thread one of the main characters is Jubal Early, and we get to see just what he is capable of.
 
Bal, I had no idea. I aim to begin a shiny new thread...
 

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