I've come to look at it like "You have a great series with almost universally great episodes that caps off with a multi-million dollar cinematic finale." Who knows what would happened if it went 3, 4, 5 more seasons. We could have had the greatest thing ever, or we might have ended up going "Well season 3 was pretty bad but 4 is better." It ended up being pure gold with a beginning, middle and most shockingly of all, end.

You know they are going to reboot it eventually and its not going to be anywhere near as good as the original

Remake's already being discussed at the studio level apparently.

Yeah but with all the joss whedon shit thats come out within the last few years take solace that people weren't abused by him on this series longer.. thats the positive i cling too

@@mosermi443 Honestly it's all overhyped BS as far as I can tell. All the great directors were like that back in the day. I am shocked James Cameron hasn't been retroactively cancelled, he would routinely make cast and crew go into breakdowns and leave the set crying. He'd demand 400% from everyone, including himself, at his prime.

Yes, that's what happened in the scene.

thanks for the transcription

And I appreciate the sarcasm.

Best lines in a show full of great lines!

Good line👍

Agreed, but he makes a miraculous escape. He's not seen anywhere in Season 3 but does return in the Season 4 finale and is a main antagonist in Season 5. I like that universe, 8 wonderful seasons of Firefly, and no COVID.

I think you'll understand when I give you a well deserved middle finger.

I believe season one was all about setting up the future of firefly with villains and heroes to go up against. To bad the verse never got to be fully realized.

I loved the part where Mail went postal!

"Yeah I know but it was funny"

if you are going to quote dialog, at least bother to get it right.

I loved the part where Mail was addressed, but he really delivered! The return wasn't so good.

I like the part where she is telling him that it "takes less than a pound of to break human skin" and I'm like "is not a unit of pressure damn it!!!!!!"

Being a good man without rules?

@@alexanderbyrne9684 That is from Doctor Who. And I would say a perfect quote. It says a good man, not lawful. A good man has a moral compass to guide him, no need for rules.

@@CemKalyoncu I know, I was just clarifying your point.

Disagree, I'd say Mal is a genuinely good man. He only has one rule - if you're on his crew, you're under his protection. He'll have your back if you have his. That's the mark of a great man. Well, maybe an alright one.

​@@Dracinard He certainly is a good man, just broken.

Thank You, so many miss this point 👊

No, but I've been a swordsman for over 50 years now.

@@ninjabearpress2574 lol I actually agreed with your comment but if you think the shoe fits

@Michael Sure, how about this one? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eMulkrtp0dHQd2w.html

You're welcome. :^)

@@ninjabearpress2574 Yo, have ninjas taken you out yet? I feel if you've been a swordsman that long, you have to fight ninjas at least once.

Oh Man Keitel was something else in that. A real gem of a film.

I was thinking of 'The Duelists" while watching this. I am glad someone else mentioned it here.

I just realized that was Durant from Darkman

That's what I ask every time a lens pops out of my glasses

I'm a swordsman, not a cat, I don't toy with my opponent but I would've allowed Mal to concede at first blood. That would at least have been a more realistic end to this scene.

@@ninjabearpress2574 Not entirely sure what you mean by "more realistic", given this is a sub-culture on another planet whose rules of decorum are not the same as ours... But either way, that wouldn't have been in line with Atherton's character; he's spoilt, petty and vindictive. He has the skill of an expert swordsman, but none of the honor.

@Thescott16 I've seen the entire episode and no doubt, the supposed gentleman deserved to lose. My first Maestro used to say honor makes your blade light and quick.

Nah, a warrior doesn't let himself be injured needlessly since he never knows when the next fight is coming. Mal was never a warrior or an expert swordsman, he was always just a man doing his best to help his friends and willing to make great personal sacrifices for them if necessary.

@@genericpersonx333 Mal and Zoe were both warriors. They were soldiers on the losing side of a big war. I imagine they were both trained in many types of weapons combat, but swordsmanship would not be near the top of the list. I wonder if Mal did know how to use a sword, but pretended not to, just to get some "alone time " with Inara. Ha-Ha! The other people on the ship were not his friends. They were his "crew". Just like back during the war days, He would put his life on the line for them, like family.

I'm not sure if this is an example of that trope. Atherton is genuinely a brilliant fighter and beats Mal 9 times out of 10. Mal only won because Atherton was distracted by Inara.

And THAT makes all the difference in the world☝

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bq9kaMhpp6jIdJc.html

@@andyventures6574 Yep that's it. Lol. Had to be an inspiration.

Now that’s soldiering

It is similar, but I disagree... look to Ridley Scott's "The Duellists" (1977)... both the Sharpe and Firefly episodes are homages to "The Duellists".

@@stevenharper9108 not sure anybody here would understand....

Got to talk with him on FB once, he said he wished they could have actually filmed the fight between his character and Sam Elliot's character in Roadhouse.

Yeah, me either, but if I remember this episode correctly Mal chose his weapon, his opponent obviously chose the weapon with which he was most comfortable.

@@ninjabearpress2574 Depending on culture it was generally the challenger that was supposed to supply the weapons for a duel. If it had to be swords I would have thought outside the box and quick had some giant 40 pound swords made up as to totally negate any advantage a more experienced opponent could have.

@@matts1166 The way I was trained, that wouldn't save you but thanks for the chuckle.

@@ninjabearpress2574 YOu were trained with 40 pound swords?

@@matts1166 I held four feet of two inch lead pipe full of sand at shoulder height until shidoshi said I could put it down, then my classmates and I sparred with said plumbing. After many hours of such training, I'm sure I could handle a forty pound sword.

Fair warning, if you watch the show and the movie, you may feel some of the rage us fans back in the day felt when the dipshits at Fox cancelled it to make way for "reality" TV shows.

now that you mentioned it, I noticed it, it's pumping out from behind that tree at 1:00 lol

I liked how it was a team effort with him and Inara working together to beat him.

Fight to win. Dying honorably gets you dead. Once you are dead, you are no longer able to protect those who need you.

@@patrickkenyon2326 Sword duel: He wants to KILL me, I WILL NOT let him, by ANY means necessary. I WANT to walk away.

Mercy is just familicide with extra steps.

Later, in Serenity: "What is your sin?" (I think that was the question, it was something like that) "Aww Hell, I'm a fan of all 7..."

Except the duelist that shits on point

It didn't look rehearsed or like the classic "everybody's a ninja master" type of fight

@@marketingwithwilliam Yep, looks like a sadistic master is toying with a novice.

Except one would have a shotgun and the other a rifle.

That's the whole reason Mal accepted the duel in the first place. He thought it was a pistol duel. lol

Oh, mother of mercy, with Pistols Mal would've blown Atherton away, to the moon and back. I always think of that quick-draw headshot in the first episode. Mal doesn't even stop his stride when he hits a bull's eye (his eye) on the agent agent from over Simon's shoulder.

The hard part is getting it right under pressure, that much I'd agree with. I haven't tried sword throwing, but I have some decent experience with knife throwing (I have a video on my channel where I get my knife out of the sheathe and into a target about 8-10 feet away in just under 4 seconds). At the super close range they're at, that would be an appropriate distance, if you're to make such a throw. I just gotta say, the maneuver would be easier to get down than learning to sword fight well. The kick, grab, throw you could probably get in about an afternoon of practice (with a dull sword, if you're wise). Takes a lot longer to learn sword fighting.

The difference is that Mal probably had practiced throwing knives or something similar (as Jayne is also shown to be able to do in another episode) and was coordinated enough for the technique to transfer. Whereas rapier fencing was entirely foreign to him.

Haha. Same! Guess the views are gonna sky rocket :p

What video are you speaking of?

@@TritonsGuard kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mMyTo9x-yavbqoE.html

Its season one. Still waiting on season two

Season one, episode 4. There is only one season of this series.

@@NK-lr4bp I think that's the point guys xD

Ouch.

You sonofa...

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qryXd5qovp_MmHk.html Close

Shindig

Nah Mal knew the best way to win a sword fight is to not get into a sword fight.

He ended up besting the agent in the movie Serenity.

@@robertbusek30 That was pure luck, the agent thought he had immobilized him by striking a nerve, but Mal had that nerve hit by shrapnel before

If anything fellas, Serenity just showed us that more sword fights were always the plan should Firefly have continued.

Glorious melee combat

Nah, you forget that this is a very high tech society and they're on a stupid rich world. They just prefer to use swords for duels for some reason.

River versus Worf with Battleliths would be shiny.

With pistols, I'd give it up for Mal. In almost anything else, I'd give it up for Kirk.

Me too pal

He wouldn't. Dead in one minute

Atherton would have had his ass handed to him.

@@robertenyart9883 Diced and sliced...in tiny, shiny pieces.

You're goddamn right...

No, it is Robert Durant.

No it's Benny Stulwicz from LA Law

@@CaptWesStarwind Robert G. Durant!

Only 1/2 of one season...

You might want to hold off on that wish, considering what the progressives have done to every series they touch.

@@bugwar5545 And how at least one (maybe more? not sure) of the original cast have passed away, not to mention how much they've aged. Sadly, it's gone and it won't be coming back, best thing to do is just to enjoy what we do have rather than pining for more.

@Joeseph Smith ... not by 3rd parties it's not

@Joeseph Smith What are you basing this assertion on?

@Joeseph Smith Mate, you're completely making this up. Pointing that out is not "being a jerk". Duels do not permit interference by 3rd parties.

@Joeseph Smith I don't know where you're getting that from - in fact duels were not "no holds barred" - but I'll pretend you're right. That's clearly *between combatants* only. Or do you think a friend could walk in and grab your opponent while you stab him? EDIT: Typo

@Joeseph Smith Insult me all you like - you're ignoring what I'm saying because you can't justify what you're saying. And that's blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain.

Malcolm Reynolds.

That's a good point

That would make sense in Excalibur, or Highlander x (where x > 2).

I would not say its the weakest. The guy lost because he arrogant bastard and over confidant then made a mistake. Mal got himself into trouble and nearly gets killed because he got a bit reckless, overconfident, and ignorant of what he was getting into. Afterwards I think Mal was a bit humbled that well maybe doing what he did was stupid. That sort of why I like the scene. I thought that was what Whedon was going after it sort of taught Mal a lesson.

It's not even arrogance that caused him to lose. It was the fact that he took hit eye off the opponent for just a split second in his greed and lust for Inara. In combat, you never take your eye off the opponent until they are down (read dead or dismembered)

or maybe Mal had a plan. Relying on Atherton's arrogance to give him an advantage. Mal knew he could never beat Atherton in a straight swordsmanship contest, so he had to open himself up to a painful but non lethal hit, which provided him with the opportunity to get in close.

In the Latin

Not his full name anyway.

Ahh, he's alright, really.

@@SpSot But it is what he goes by.

Mal didn't yield though, he was simply on his knees. A good rule of thumb is never take your eyes off your opponent or they'll get dirty

@@jetsin-actual Problem wasn't whether Mal yielded (he obviously didn't). The problem was Anara, an observer, directly inserted herself into the conflict and distracted one of the combatants. That makes this less about "honorable skill versus pragmatic soldiering" and more about the main character needing cheap shots to win. I mean hell, why not sneak a blaster in and shoot the kid if cheating means absolutely nothing to you?

@@tnerbtnerb5136 Mal did get Zoe to stand behind and hit that guy in the face with the mare's leg. Moral of the story: Use your pretty female friends for the distraction or the final hit. A win is always more shiny than a loss. Jayne is a girls name but Jayne is not pretty. Jayne is also a man and grenades are never useful in close quarters.

Works within the context of the episode. Mal doesn't really know how to use a sword and Atherton is just toying with him the whole time, intentionally not going all out. It's bad fighting but good storytelling via fighting.

Nothing about this duel was accurate or realistic. This is catering to those uneducated in these things. I was thinking the same thing as you.

Quillons1 I agree, Captain Mal won because he's the star of the show.

The rules are different, so the show is stupid?

@@ghuegel I've never seen the show. To be honest, never even heard of it. But this representation of a duel was utterly ridiculous to anyone who has ever studied that historical area. I wouldn't call the show stupid (And I'm pretty sure you are responding to the other comment, not mine) but I figured I'd explain why I look at it the way I do. This was more of a brawl made to look like a duel with some "rules" thrown in to make it look like an affair of honor. The one guy (the one who ultimately "wins") was beaten. Fairly and certainly. I know he didn't yield but conventions of the day were that you would accord yourself a gentleman. The means he used to win were as ungentlemanly as they were dishonorable. Even his friends would've turned their backs on him if this were the "honorable" affair the show makes it out to be. Your account of yourself in a duel was, often times, more important than if you actually won. Not all duels were fought to the death but I grant that I didn't see the scenes leading up to this fight so I don't know what understanding was met (which would've been settled by the seconds). Don't get me wrong, if it's a brawl or a fight or a personal "duel" then don't invite seconds. If the behavior of the participants isn't a concern, then there is no need for seconds, a duel "administrator", and all the witnesses. I don't know if the show is stupid or not, but this dueling scene definitely was. It just seems "forced" and plays to the ignorance of an audience who thinks they know what "dueling rules" are. In reality there were MANY different conventions for fighting duels, and this scene just seems to borrow from a lot of them and throwing them together in order to make the audience identify with what they perceive dueling was supposed to be like. Like I said, this isn't a challenge to you, just figured in the spirit of friendly debate and/or banter I'd throw in my thoughts. But hey, I'm the guy who loved the very short run "Jack of All Trades" and that was complete Hollywood fighting, but it was a comedy and it was fun to watch.

Dave Power #6 you're obviously a fan, I won't try to dissuade you from it. I personally find Firefly and the movie Serenity lacking, but this scene is an utter affront to my experience.

Darskul I can’t tell if you’re being serious. Mal is not a swordsman. He’s a gunslinger. This was a very accurate depiction of what someone who’s never fenced would look like.

Mal is a fighter, it ain't pretty but it gets the job done.

Mal knows how to shoot and take a punch. All the sword skills he had were a single ineffectual lesson (he got his ass whipped a lot) by a high class escort last night (so I'm doubtful she was above average), after an already eventful day. I'm rather grateful its not another story where with briefest effort a complete amateur beats anyone with skill and experience just because they are a main character, like in 'The Knight's Tale'. Mal flailed around to try and stay alive, but eventually won because he's a brute and a cheat.

@@FlamesAndShadows I had a few fencing lessons years ago, haven't done anything for a while but I would still be a more graceful swordfighter than Malcolm was.

Sorta the point, I reckon. They joke earlier in the episode that Mal barely knows which end of the sword to hold, so he probably wouldn't be much good in a proper swordfight.