It is the mark of a great character like Mal Reynolds that he can arguably be considered an iconic character after only a half season of television and a film based on the series. Worse yet, Reynolds can get me to compliment a Joss Whedon creation. The horror! The horror! Mal Reynolds was the captain of
Serenity and the leader of a bunch of ragtag theives and pirates. An ex-soldiers, Reynolds lives on the edges of a society that has abandoned him after his side lost the war and the alliance now dominates. Reynolds survives as a criminal with his own sense of nobility about his actions. Reynolds is an interesting character. He is an antihero who is not adverse to committing immoral, often petty acts, yet has his own sense of decency. He is a man who will pick a bar fight and kill a man in cold blood in the name of self-defense, yet will risk his life to return a shipment of stolen medication meant to cure a poor plague victims. He also possess a strong sense of loyalty to those around him even if he does not like them personally. Reynolds lives by a peculiar code. It is a brand of moral relativity one is certain will land him in the special part of hell Shepherd promises is waiting for him. Yes, there is a lot of Han solo in Retnolds. But do not take him as a blatant rip off. Yet Reynolds inspires reciprocal loyalty from those serving under him. Even the the mercenary Jayne Cobb has suffered pangs of guilt when confronted by Reynolds over his betrayal of crew members. River Tam has expressed empathy with Reynolds, because he is the only one she knows who lives with as much pain as she does. Reynolds’ career as a character has been cut unfortunately shut by the meager output from
Firefly or else there would be a heck of a lot more to say about him. As is, one should be impressed the impact the character has had on science fiction fans regardless. It has been nearly ten years since
Firefly was cancelled and seven since the film, yet the fandom marches on.
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