Why does Jayne fear Malcolm?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Firefly
CharliePotatoes85 — 9 years ago(July 24, 2016 09:52 AM)
Why does Jayne fear Malcolm?
You see this in numerous episodes that he has a great deal of respect for Mel but only brought on by the fact he fears him.
Malcolm doesn't really come off as a bad guy, jerk or cold blooded killer. He seems reasonable and fair and as long as the crew does their job he has very little issues.
All crew members respect him but Jayne actually shows fear in his eyes when he thinks Mel will be angry or disappointed with him.
Does Malcolm have a past reputation of shooting people out of airlocks?
Maybe Mel is the only person who ever put any belief or trust in Jayne so he looks up to him?
Any/All inquiries an the psychology of fear and Jayne Cobb are welcome. -
poem — 9 years ago(July 25, 2016 07:37 AM)
I really had to think hard about who the heck Malcolm is
Jayne has betrayed the crew on occasion, leading to very serious threads from Mal. Thats why Jayne isnt perfectly comfortable around Mal.
A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me. -
preachcaleb — 9 years ago(August 01, 2016 06:42 AM)
It's all part of storytelling. Using the big tough guy who's not afraid of anything and having him show fear towards something makes it clear to the audience that this is definitely something scary.
They did the same thing with Jayne and The Reavers. He's as afraid of them as everyone else is.
Psychology wise, yes, Mal is reasonable and fair. But Jayne also knows Mal will not hesitate to kick someone into an engine.
Let's be bad guys. -
jbaddock — 9 years ago(August 01, 2016 12:53 PM)
As others have said, it makes Mal look even more impressive in terms of being the wrong guy to cross. Exactly why this is the case is never really explored, because we don't get to see enough of their back stories and what, in particular, makes Jayne think Mal will actually carry out his threats - there must have been something pretty drastic that makes him realise Mal means what he says. Perhaps if the series had lasted longer, we would have seen this incident, but - well, we didn't.
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CharliePotatoes85 — 9 years ago(August 04, 2016 11:51 AM)
Thanks everyone,
Part of me still thinks Jayne wants/needs Mal's approval. Mal is the first person to see through him and sees his {sort of} true potential. Jayne is kind of like a little kid who doesn't want Mal to be disappointed in him and truly wants to impress him. Maybe Jayne isn't "scared" of him in a physical manner but worried and emotionally scared of letting him down. I think Jayne is impressed that Mal has the respect of his crew without being an intimidating hard ass which is all he knows.