#tracey smith

[deepdwellingsteamboat]

FIREFLY 2002 – 2003・1x12 The Message

[mythtakens]

Firefly 1x12 The Message

[starsfromuncle]

Fireflying Part 7

Trash

Nekkid Mal!! What a way to introduce the episode 😂😂😂😂

"Yeah. That went well."

Absolutely love the bond he has with Monty and he's genuinely so pleased to hear he's got married...until he finds out exactly who the bride is and immediately pulls a gun on YoSaffBridge and it's a stand-off-

And then a fight!! Which has to be broken up by Monty and then YoSaffBridge tells on herself because he never actually told her Mal's name

"AH SHAVED MAH BEARD FOR YOU, DEVIL WOMAN!"

Mal is just so unimpressed at YoSaffBridge's attempts to get to him and I do love that even though he does go along with the heist plan he never once trusted her

Inara vs Mal #13537474 because these two can never have a normal conversation and once again she definitely wins

I'd actually forgotten he'd snuck her on board in a crate but this is even more hilarious when we know the crew was in on it the whole time cos it turns out that this means he did that because it was funny

(Ironically, though, if this was their first meeting of YoSaffBridge they might not have twigged for ages, not all of them - it's a plausible story because there's plenty of shitheads in the 'verse but turns out Haymer's not even that)

Obviously River's known about Jayne the whole time so I do wonder why wait til now to reveal it? I mean I know the brain scrambling doesn't help but this feels like deliberate timing - perhaps it might've come out in a worse way if not (is this also why she points out that he's afraid rather than angry or resentful?)

Hacking the bin and Wash once again gets to show off his exellent piloting skills

Haymer turns out to be yet another husband and the one YoSaffBridge actually cares about (as much as she ever can care about anyone) and Mal is both completely thrown and yet entirely unimpressed by this...then YoSaffBridge completely freaks out when it turns out Haymer knew she was coming to steal something and his next statement is so very true - this woman does indeed need some serious help

Mal really should've known better than to get too close but at least there were failsafes - the reveal that Inara was the back-up back-up is just brilliant and she's having the time of her life

Simon will not, in fact, harm Jayne, but that doesn't mean he can't threaten or psyche him out (while River straights up spooks him with 'Also, I can kill you with my brain.")

Once More, With Clarity!!! Mal's nekkid in the desert and delighted with how everything's gone down and then proceeds to act as if being nekkid is completely usual for him. Love it

The Message

The least convincing fake alien to ever fake alien

Simon's an awkward bean but he wasn't doing that bad until he tried to make a joke (please do not try and make a joke) and everyone roasts him for it, as they should

"Oh my god, it's grotesque! Oh, and there's something in a jar."

*Seconds later* "Do not fear me. Ours is a peaceful race, and we must learn to live in harmony!"

Mal does care about Inara but of course he still can't outright say it

The reveal that Jayne is a Mama's Boy and a good big brother to boot!!! Mama Cobb's hat is just the best thing

Mal and Zoe find their old war buddy in a crate and we're treated to a war flashback - Tracey nearly gets killed for beans and we see the complete contrast between Zoe and Mal's approaches to fighting

Back in the present even River roasts Simon about Kaylee

The message scene still continues to be one of the most emotional especially now I now that everyone involved had just found out about the show being cancelled and even the composer reflected this in the music. It just gets you

And in universe everyone - even Jayne - is affected by what's happened, but they all rally one way or another (especially love the scene between Jayne and Book)

The story of Tracey stealing a senior officer's mustache is hilarious, though

Tracey turns out to be alive after all but the real question is why is Jayne so unfazed by him suddenly springing up like that???? "Spry for a dead fella" sir why are you acting like this is normal???

Organ smuggling by replacing your own organs...and then getting yourself into this situation by double-crossing your original buyer (and as others have pointed out, apparently because he didn't consider what would then happen to his actual organs)

Wash is still an excellent pilot but there's no fancy flying that can get them out of this because the other ship just...flies above the canyon

Kaylee is into Tracey for whatever reason but he can't be trusted and he apparently doesn't trust the crew because he doesn't give them a chance to explain - I know some people wonder why they didn't tell him what their plan actually was but...yeah, no, I'm not sure there was ever really a chance of getting through to him - the guy was jumpy enough to go eavesdropping in the first place and his go-to move is to start threatening and shooting at the crew-

Which seals his fate once he takes Kaylee hostage because now Mal has gone from pissed to utterly furious - and calls out Tracey's entire plan because it was a really stupid one

Mal doesn't kill unless he has to, but going after his crew guarantees that is exactly what will happen and it's exactly what does happen, and it's all because Tracey didn't trust them

Book once again shows he's made of steel because he's worked out exactly why the Feds are here, it's because they've gone rogue

Tracey's death is still sad, though, and especially with that poem, with the message played once again at his funeral - "When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't crawl, when you can't do that...you find someone to carry you"

And the crew do as asked and deliver him back to his parents and it's just one of the most gut-wrenching episodes ever.

(Because no one wins)

@starstruckpurpledragon

[tamsiblings]

i do understand that mal’s refusal to tell tracy the plan during this whole exchange seems on the surface easily solvable and i have complicated feelings about that. (one of mal’s flaws IS that he withholds information when he doesn’t always need to. is it a trait that makes sense for a former sergeant? sure! but they’re also not in war anymore, and while tracey is also familiar with this dynamic, mal tends to pull the same “do as I say without any questions” thing with his whole crew, most of whom are civilians, and sometimes i really do think it would benefit him the minute it woud take to explain a plan. they don’t always have time, but sometimes they do.)

but i’ve also seen (like on the tv tropes page for instance) that if they had told tracey the plan he wouldn’t have pulled the gun and that was not the order of events??

the actual order was:

they START to form a plan. we either don’t hear the whole thing or they’re still forming it > tracy overhears and panics, assuming the worst, does not ask for clarification > he then picks up the gun and starts waving it at them > book tries to explain the plan (a bit tersely yes, but that’s on account of the gun and the threats) and tracey won’t let him > then no one explains bc they’ve got a highly agitated, ready-to-be-set-off person waving a gun in everyone’s face who keeps interrupting.

like, at a certain point, when someone is clearly not thinking clearly, recklessly pointing a gun in multiple directions, and making threats to shoot multiple people, you stop trying to explain.

i was also surprised on this rewatch by how much this scene reminds me of dobson, agitated, panicked, and trigger-happy trying to arrest simon and ultimately shooting kaylee in the pilot. like, very different dynamic but really similar tension imho. i can’t help but wonder if the characters themselves are reminded of that, making it even worse when tracey then takes kaylee as a hostage.

[homosexual--mothman]

I'm rewriting The Message at the moment (I would've started with the first episode, but hey. Motivation strikes when it strikes.) and lowkey? Simon and Tracey had something going on. Like that's a stepping stone to Simon and Mal getting together, if you ask me. Also transgender Tracey confirmed.

[libertynstyle]

[divinitydawning]

♥

[zoomyouchasedthedayaway-blog]

Rest In Peace Roger LaVerne Smith, December 18, 1932-June 4, 2017. I am deeply saddened to hear about the death of this loving husband and father and brilliant actor. It’s heartbreaking to think that he and Ann-Margret just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on May 8. My heart goes out to Ann-Margret, his daughter Tracey, and his sons Jordan and Dallas, as well as the rest of his family and friends. I also extend my condolences to his fans, as well as Ann-Margret’s fans. The Presley fandom is here for you during this difficult time. Fly high, Roger. We will always love you and miss you. 💗