Today I watched the seventh episode of Firefly, ‘Jaynestown.’ In this episode, the crew of Serenity land on world where the people are predominantly enslaved to find and process mud to make things like clay. To their surprise(Jayne included), Jayne has been declared a hero, after stealing money from the Magistrate in charge and giving the money to the poor workers.
It is interesting to see Jayne’s reaction to the news: At first he wants nothing to do with the fame, especially after realizing that he mistakenly dropped the money on the town. But when the people find out he is around, they honor him. At this point he begins to bask in the fame, taking a more typical ‘Jayne’ approach.
But when Mal tells him they are going to use his fame to smuggle the goods they are to transport out of the town, he doesn’t really support it, saying that it isn’t really right to use his fame to fool the townspeople. His reaction is not what you’d expect. Later when he talks to the people, He passes a meaningful message, and as Kaylee says ‘Wow, that didn’t sound half bad.’
In the end, Jayne shows how that he really cares about the ‘mudders’. When a young man takes a bullet for him, he is moved enough to reveal the truth to them, even if they may hate him for it. He is frustrated when it seems like they still adore him. At the end, when the crew is back aboard the Serenity, he keeps muttering,’ doesn’t make any sense.’ As Mal points out to him ‘It’s not about you; it’s about what they need.’ And it really is. They chose to make Jayne their symbol, what kept them going in the hard life they led. And whether or not he really was a hero didn’t matter.
I changed some of my opinion about Jayne through this episode. At first, I think he always behave rudely and blindly however through watching this episode,I find out that Jayne could also be attentive and careful.
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