I ran into the Mad Ogre's site, and he discusses Serenity in general first, and then with spoilers.
I think he's missing something. This will continue in extended entry, with spoilers.
If you havn't seen the movie, DO NOT click through, even if you usually read the last chapter of a mystery novel first. Just don't.
You've seen the movie? Good.
Ok, 2 deaths of characters from the series: Book and Wash. Book's death is classic western- he killed the guys that gave him a fatal wound, he expires in the hands of the main character, he gives the main character a duty, a geas.
Then there's Wash. Sudden, unexpected, unjust. Never happens in a western, but happens all the time in the Buffy/Angel universe. Given the ending, he's not coming back. Such a death does 2 things: (1) It brings home the fact that the world isn't safe, thus making the attack of the Reavers that much more fearsome. (2) It has character effects [ie, in Buffy, Willow going super evil after her lover was killed]. Not enough time to really explore this in the last bit of the movie, but it could be quite compelling if the series restarted. Unlikely at this point, but we can dream.
Posted by Owlish at October 5, 2005 10:48 AM | TrackBack