This is a stretch but it's my blog. This character originated on tv but died in the film version of the short-lived show "firefly" and its follow up film Serenity. When Wash is killed it happens so quickly and unexpectedly that you almost can't belive it's real. Alan Tudyk is a favorite of mine and I'm sad every time they have his little funeral.
6 comments:
Mine would probably be Alice jumping off the cliff in The Last of the Mohicans. Such a well made scene and the climax of the movie.
I am one of those weird people who saw Serenity before Firefly. Some of my friends loved the TV show and insisted I see it but I didn't think I'd like it. I gave Serenity a go when it was released in the cinema and then went straight out and bought the Firefly boxset which I love. Wash's death meant more to me the second time round as I felt he didn't get enough screen time in the film for non-Firefly geeks to really care but having seen the show it broke my heart.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I---"
Everybody goes to Wash, but nobody seems to care about Book. I've seen even the most devoted of Firefly/Serenity fans forget that there was more than one of the major cast members who was killed off in the movie. Was Book's death any more expected? It was less sudden because he does get to have a final extremely well written dialogue with Mal while Wash is just gone, but I never fully got why Book was cast aside so easily.
When Book tells Mal that he can't order him around because he isn't part of his crew, Mal responds with "Yes, you are."
I suppose it's because Wash was such a great source of the show/movies' light-heartedness that when he died, it signaled a shift in tone for the remainder of the film. Things were suddenly serious and if one of the most beloved characters could be killed off instantly, the rest of them could also easily be death's crosshairs.
But Book's death was important too. Shepherd Book acted as Mal's conscience while on Serenity, and when they had a falling out, Mal started to lose his way. He's not exactly the same idealist he was on the show. Book's death shook him into action, into doing the right thing and "believing in something", which ultimately results in everything that transpires in the film's final act.
Castor - great choice!
Filmgeek - great description, I hadn't thought about what the experience would be if you've only seen the movie
David - I LOVE Book in the series, but he was such a non-entity in the movie, that his death is hard to connect to separate from the series. He has some of the best lines in the series, but I didn't love him in the movie. I was sad when Mr. Universe died though.
Great pick, Jess! It's sad because killing off Wash just seemed unnecessary!
Dangit Jess! Why'd you have to remind me Wash is dead! Now I'm going to be sad all night. :-)
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