Things I've Learned from 'Firefly'

Written by Shae Rufe

As I sit and write this blog, I’m realizing that there are very few things that I can’t say I haven’t learned from nerdy media. The things that all come to mind just happen to be in the same categories, and remind me of just how truly geeky I am. That being said, today we’re going to explore the life lessons learned from the short lived, and utterly awesome show, Firefly.

I didn’t have the chance to watch this when it first aired, but I did get to see it later. Sadly, my first exposure to the series was from the movie Serenity so it was very confusing. After seeing the movie, I was drawn to find and watch the series in one sitting. Which I did! First lesson I learned was Firefly was a crucial one. Don’t mess around with Mal’s ship. It’s a bit of a true statement. Granted, there’s no way for me to do such a thing, but a life lesson is a life lesson. Also, if you suspect a passenger you just brought on board of trying to betray you, it’s okay to punch them. It’s also okay to smuggle people as cargo. I should give a disclaimer here that it’s not really okay to actually smuggle people through large crates. But in a pinch, that’s something that’s okay. Also, did anyone notice Simon’s really cool glasses in the pilot episode? Because I did and I wouldn’t mind having a pair; it’s just a matter of finding them.

Firefly also taught me that if your government is oppressive and evil, and you don’t like their politics, it’s totally okay to be an outlaw. After all, nothing says ‘sticking it to the man’ like smuggling an entire herd of cows across the galaxy. Speaking of, Firefly wasn’t the first sci-fi series to suggest terraforming other planets as a possibility, but it did prove that various other worlds in a new solar system could totally be made to be mini-earths. Including moons, and even around stars that shouldn’t be able to really support life. Science means nothing! I do have to say, I really enjoy the idea that if you experiment on someone’s brain, you can make them a super-secret assassin. Physical training has little to do with it, just cut into someone’s brain and BOOM! Instant killing machine. With all the questionable things going on in the show, I cannot forget to mention the fact that Companion was an actual job choice. 

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​Not only did Companions make a respectable living, they were high in the societal food chain, and a high paying career choice. Despite the fact that Mal calls Inara a ‘whore’ all the time; she makes more money than he does. Let’s also just take a moment to talk about Wash, shall we? The plucky comic relief that showed even in the most dire of circumstances, a sense of humor never hurts. Which is totally something I can relate to. (Except for the fact that I just said totally.) Being in the Firefly-verse gives an insight into a possible outcome of humanity. Including the evolution in language. Brushing up on Chinese isn’t easy, but Firefly taught me to say some fun key phrases that are not always swears. Thankfully, the internet is a wondrous place, and directories of these amazing phrases, how to say them, and what they mean, can be found online! There was a time where I tried memorizing all of them.

As any good life lessons go, those worth learning stick with you. Just like Supernatural, Firefly has its own way of showing what a family is. Life bonds aren’t always by blood, as we’ve seen in countless shows, movies, games, and maybe even life experiences (this just got deep!). Firefly really worked to encompass that ideal with one particular episode: Ariel. Here we see Simon getting the crew to break into a core planet hospital in order to steal drugs, while he gets a chance to scan River’s brain and see the full extent of the torture done to her. When everything seems to go fine, we get our true sense of betrayal as Jayne calls the feds; planning to turn in the fugitive siblings for some cash. While I never fully looked at Jayne the same again, Mal took matters into his own hands to let Jayne know just what crew meant. Proving that family is what you make it.

Lastly, Firefly and (mostly) Serenity taught me that being emotionally attached to characters is not the best course of action. Especially in the world of Joss Whedon. He will kill everything and everyone you love. It will be the saddest deaths ever. And you will never fully recover. That’s why in the world of Shae, Serenity never happened.

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