BuffyNvrForgets
Little Albatross
Hello, My fellow Browncoats!
After rewatching Firefly yet again, (yes, I know I have a problem, what of it?) I realized that even before the show had revealed River was "psychic", she was already babbling in code about things happening in the past, present, and future. Suddenly, everything she was saying started to make sense.
Ever watch Firefly and hear River launch into one of her nonesensical monologues and wonder if there is any meaning to it? Well, I'm here not only to tell you that there is (almost always) meaning, but also what that meaning is.
I'll also be analyzing the character herself, as she just so happens to be an impressivly deep character. Especially for having such little role/dialogue!
Notes before we begin:
*While I will try to be very detailed and accurate in my analysis, and my goal is to provide meaningful information to promote appreciation for the character, this post is being written on a fan forum. It's going to be organized, but rather casual. I will be making jokes, and personal comments in the hope to further the enjoyment of the reader. I'm not a fan of long winded analysis that dump facts on you and use weird, complicated language rendering them unreadable. We're all here to have fun.
*While I'll be attempting to explain some of River's behaviors, I'm not going to try and diagnose her with anything. I'm not a psychologist, and I'm not going to make a judgement based upon info from wikipedia. I'm working under the impression that she had no serious disorders pre Academy, and thus (barring perhaps some PTSD and psychosis, which I think everyone will agree is fair) she has not suddenly developed anything. Hey, maybe she did, but again, I'm not qualified to diagnose. I'm not going to be talking about depersonalization disorder, as she doesn't have the perception she is disassociating when she is, in fact disassociating, and she believes her halucinations are real. (though feel free to look that up and judge for yourself.) I'm certanly not going to claim she has Autism, as it's generally agreed that Autism is something people are born with, it doesn't develop. I think I've heard that people with Autism have seen parts of themselves in her character, and it's provided support for them. I think that is wonderful, and really, really beautiful, but even so, I will not work under the assumption that she's always been autistic, as there is no evidence of that.
*Important for ease of read (if that's even possible with this monster of a post): I will be analyzing quotes quite a bit. I've formatted them in a very specific way, for "ease of reading". Because River is the focus, All her quotes will simply be put in quotation marks. (Example, "I swallowed a bug". rather than River: I swallowed a bug.) Everyone else's quotes will have their name attached to the front. This is so that it isn't confusing as to who is saying what.
Example:
Bad:
"Do you know who I am"?
"Simon".
Good:
(Simon: Do you know who I am?)
"Simon".
*TIMELINE: The common accepted age for River during the series is around 17. I'd say she's more like bordering on 18 or 19, as, the vague timeline of events leading to her role in the series doesn't make sense to move as quickly as would be required for her to only be 17.
It's said she had grown bored of her Gen. Ed. studies at around 14, right? So, they didn't find the Academy right on her 14th birthday. No, she probably would have been close to 15, in order for her to have time to grow bored AND find, apply to and be accepted into this program. Okay, so she's nearly 15 if not already when she enters the Academy. Let's say it takes several months to AT MOST a year for her to be made fully aware of her terrible situation AND to reach Simon. (In the R. Tam Sessions we see her descent is more or less gradual. She didn't go crazy in a month.) Okay, so she's just about 16 when Simon begins to get her out. Simon says it took 2 years before he was able to get her out. So now she's just about 18. The series is established to take place over, I'd say AT MOST a year, so by the end, she's probably about 19.
* some of these are merely well researched opinions, if you don't agree or find fault with any of them, please do let me know, I would love to hear your take!)
*This analysis contains spoilers for the series Firefly. (Duh)
Now that's out of the way, buckle up children, this is gonna be long.
Let's take it episode by episode:
Ep 1. SERENITY
In "Serenity" (Episode) River's lines are minimal. Really in this episode, her only role is to establish herself (and Simon, to a degree) as a character. What she says is not nonesensical, and instead illustrates her terror, confusion and disturbance at her and Simon's situation.
Ep 2. THE TRAIN JOB
Once again, River's lines are, for the most part, entirely normal, if a bit anxious. A few lines to note, however:
"Mal...Bad...In the Latin".
Meaning: River and Mal haven't been formally introduced at this point. It's entirely probable Simon has told her about him, but if not, this is her first example of her foresight, knowing his name/nickname. This is also the first example of what I can only describe as some sort of "self soothing" behavior River subtly employs. When distressed, River will often state (seemingly) random facts she knows to be true. It's possible she does this to make herself feel more secure in a situation where she doesn't know what is going on. She's feeling unsure, and she doesn't know what's going on, so she thinks of things she does know. As we learn in"Ariel", she can't regulate her negative emotions. She just can't. but the human brain can only focus on so many things at a time. It's reasonable to suppose she can employ this as a sort of makeshift distraction. She still feels the negative emotions, but she can add possitive ones too, and maybe it even forces her to focus on something else, though the upset is still there.
"..Bad...In the Latin". is also River's way of saying she doesn't know how she feels about Mal. She's not sure she can trust him, so she muses out loud about her ponderings.
"Won't stop. Won't ever stop. They'll just keep coming until they get back what you took. Two by two, hands of blue. Two by two, hands of blue."
It's mean't to be implied she is speaking of the medicine the crew stole, (and perhaps on some level she is) but she is also speaking about herself to Simon and the rest of the crew, the "you" being Simon, and the crew for sheltering them, and the "what you took" being herself. The "They" refers to the two Academy agents (I like to call them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb) who are introduced in this episode.
"Two by two....Hands of blue....Two by two....hands of blue....."
This is one of River's more well known phrases, partially because she repeats it often. This refers to the two Academy agents who always wear blue surgical gloves. It is again unclear if she has encountered them before, (them possibly having participated in her captivity and torture) or if she's never met them, but knows they are coming because of her foresight.
Ep 3. BUSHWACKED
(Simon: What is it?)
"It's a ghost"...
Fairly obvious, meaning everyone on the ship is dead. The only person left is a "ghost". The person is dead, yet still walking around. He's not even human anymore.
"No...I can't sleep...Too much screaming".
(Simon: River...There is no screaming.)
"There was..."
It's implied she is experiencing the massacre that occured on the ghost ship. River seems to "connect" to events happening near her, or to someone important to her (feeling Shepherd Book be shot in "Safe" for example). Because they have encountered this ship, and thus now they will have interection with it, only now does she experience this trauma, whereas she didn't experience it when/ before it was actively occuring (unlike Doyle's/Cordelia's visions in Angel). Yes, she is intuitive and possesses foresight (and hindsight), but she only ever experiences things she has some form of connection to, and only ever when she has connection to them.
(Simon: River? What are you-)
"I followed the voices".
Another example of her supernatural intuition being "cleverly" disguised in the writing. She is indeed not following the crew's voices, as the casual viewer might suppose, but instead the voices of the dead.
"He's coming back".
This is said right after she and Simon have come back in from their "space walk". Simon informs her that now that it's safe, they are to hide in the shuttle. River says "He's coming back". Simon mistakingly thinks she's speaking about the captain, (one of the many times this happens) but she is, in fact, refering to Commander Harkon, attempting to warn Simon that they aren't actually safe yet.
Ep 4. SHINDIG
While River does ramble when she pulls the labels off the cans, most of it is inaudible. It seems to be, however, simply babble about the abuse suffered at the academy. Nothing specific, just mumblings about "They come" or "Hands go everywhere" (Perhaps about the experimentation) stuff like that.
I don't have any serious evidence to support this, but it's also worth noting that, while they didn't have a chance to adress it in the show/movie, the "Blue Sun" corporation (Basically BnL from Wall-E) was a huge corporation that supposedly had their hands in a lot of stuff across the galaxy, including packaged food. I'm not sure if it's adressed in a novel or something (perhaps someone can confirm?) but I believe it's generally believed that company funded, or had something to do with the Academy, as River is consistantly seen acting agressive or stressed when presented with a reminder of their logo. (Not every time, but often). It would make sense if she saw their logo on the cans, and began to destroy them, with the logo/reminder of her trauma triggering her to panic and babble.
When she enters the cargo bay later on, she says "There are tiny.......(Simon: interupts her) Pull. Pull!" I dunno if there is any true meaning here. If y'all can think of something do let me know. The only thing I can think of is her encouraging Simon to have fun with Badger and his men, as she thinks they're silly.
Ep 5. SAFE
I'm going to go into slightly deeper analysis for this episode, as It is really important for both River and Simon, and their solidification with the team. It's also just an amazing episode.
"No! No! I don't want to go there!
(Simon: It's okay!)
It's not okay! You can't just dig into me, shove twenty needles in my eyes and ask me what I see"!
(Simon: All right. We won't go in. Look, No test today.)
"No rutting test? Stupid son of a b*tch dressed me up like a gorram doll"...
*Simon tries to calm her, she throws his medicine case.*
*Mal enters*
"You're not him? *calls Mal (as far as I can tell) son of a b*tch in chinese)"
I'll be honest, this one puzzled me. It's entirely possible it is only to convey River's growing upset and psychosis. If it does have meaning, however, this is how I, personally, interpret it.
"No! No! I don't want to go there! (Simon: It's okay!) It's not okay! You can't just dig into me, shove twenty needles in my eyes and ask me what I see"!
(Simon: All right. We won't go in. Look, No test today.)
Basically, River is still having problems seperating her reality from her trauma. I highly doubt the tests Simon does with her involve inserting needles into her face (something the Academy is actually shown to do) and ask her probing questions (again, something the Academy would do.) Instead, she thinks she's still there, at the Academy. Yes, Simon does ask her about what she dreams of, but only ever out of concern, and River seems to be refering more to a cruelly posed question. She's shown, in general, to rely on Simon, and she's normally very much at ease with him. She's clearly reminded of her trauma by the med bay (at times), perhaps being reminded of the experimentation done at the academy. (We don't get to see a lot of it, but between flashes from the show, the first scenes in "Serenity", and the "R. Tam Sessions" we get the idea that the subjects were treated very much like patients as well as prisoners, River (in the R. Tam Sessions) being seen wearing a hospital gown and yelling about how "even the orderlies wear masks". It's also established in "Ariel" that surgeries were performed, so it makes sense River doesn't like any sort of medical facilities.)
"No rutting test? Stupid son of a b*tch dressed me up like a gorram doll"...
I interpret this, her new instance (and sole instance, might I add) of cussing to, yes, as per usual, convey her anger/upset, but I also find it makes me think she's trying to "blend in" or "fake belonging" somehow. Think about it, she doesn't cuss until this point. Simon is established not to frequently cuss, so she seems to be attempting to mimic the other crew members, namely Jayne or Mal.
(I will compare this behavior to what is called "masking". Masking is normally a behavior employed by Autistic people (again, though, River most likely is NOT Autistic), in which the person takes on behaviors of other people they have observed and employs them so as to "blend in" and "seem normal". I won't say River is masking (I don't think it's exclusive to Autism, but still, it's commonly associated) but it is the closest name I can find to describe this practice.)
About the "Dressed me up like a doll", I think what River is saying here, is she's trying to convey she feels wrong, fake and out of place. A big point about this episode is that River (and Simon) don't belong, and that River is incredibly uncomfortable with herself, her lack of control over her own self, and where she is. The episode starts by showing us the quiet, happy life they lead before River left. It's established in this episode, once again, that River wants to go home. In the second episode too, River bemoaned the fact that they were on a ship, and not at home. When she says "dressing me up like a doll", she's sniping at Simon for dressing her up nicely (I think it's safe to assume that River isn't picking her own clothing in her state, more likely Simon is) as if they were home when she feels as if her trauma isn't even over yet. Look at how young River is dressed in the beginning. White dress, grey pinafore. Perfect, "like a doll". But now she's seen such cruelty and brutality, she isn't that perfect child anymore. And yet here Simon is, dressing her up in a pretty pink dress...like a doll. She's railling against Simon for trying to treat her normally, when she knows nothing is normal.
"The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems".
This is another instance of the self soothing behavior I mentioned earlier. It's a totally random fact, not relevant to the situation at all (Well, my sister and I actually have a theory that it is, involving Mal running a secret blood farm. The theory actually holds a bit of weight, but that's an entirely different thread. Lemme know if y'all are interested. It's wild). Notice how just a second ago, she's shouting, cursing, crying, throwing things. In full freak out mode. Now, suddenly, she's sitting quietly curled up on the couch. In the back of the shot, right before this line, Mal and Simon talk. River can be seen in the back, curled up, playing with the hair at the base of her neck, her other hand in/near her mouth. This is what's considered self stimulatory behavior, or "stimming". It's often used by people to regulate/ease feelings of anxiety, frustration, and boredom. While yes, it is commonly associated with Autism, in reality everyone stims from time to time (biting nails, drumming fingers, shaking your foot, all these are common stims. I'm "stimming" right now by shaking my foot as I write. I don't have any sort of disorder, not even abnormal levels of anxiety, (though of course I have some) it's just my body's way of managing any nervous energy). I'm no expert, but I don't think River has Autism. Not at all. She suffers from something very different (Probably closer to some form of PTSD, for sure), but nevertheless, stimming might help her sooth herself, as proposed above.
As the conversation continues, she can be seen still holding herself, but not turned away from them as before. She rocks/ shakes gently.
Next we see her, she delivers the "blood" line, now relaxedly sitting, her head on her arm as she plays with the grate above her head with her finger (The tactile stimulation of the grate might also be self soothing/stimulatory). This line, I think is the strongest indicator of her using facts she "knows" to soothe heself in uncertain situations, as it follows a whole sequence of escalating distress, then self soothing behavior, as well as being entirely random otherwise.
(Yikes, that evaluation as long)
"Little soul, big world. Eat, sleep, and eat....many souls"...
(Mal: Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don't go near 'em. Suddenly we're on Jiangyin and she's got a driving need to commune with the beasts.)
"They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see sky, and they remember what they are".
Oh, she's just contemplating the cow's exsistence, that's all.
Ha, for real though, this is a little, tiny line, that actually sums up her entire character development in this episode. And let me tell you, it's hardly visible, but it's huge.
Remember what I was saying about her feeling wrong, and stuck in her trauma on Serenity? This episode is the episode where she can finally let go of that distress of "not being home" and accept Serenity as her new home.
Something I love about this episode, is that not only does River get to see the sun for the first time since she left for the Academy, (the Academy doesn't strike me as a place with a lot of windows.) River gets to dance. It's established through the series (and the R. Tam Sessions) that River loved to dance before the Academy (which is an especially cool detail, considering the actresses story. If you've not heard it, look her up (Summer Glau) or read my Summer Glau appreciation thread in the Cast and Characters: Other section, as I go over it there), and was deprived of it, all this time. "River's Dance" in this episode is one of the first times the character expresses true joy in the series, and it's really beautiful. She's actually and truly free. It's the catalyst for the events of the episode, and it's what allows her to break from her anxieties long enough to embrace her new home on Serenity.
Look at the quote again from this new perspective.
"They weren't cows inside. (I wasn't River inside.) They were waiting to be, but they forgot. (I was waiting to be, but I forgot.) Now they see the sky, and they remember what they are. (Now I see the sky, now I dance, now I'm home, and I remember who I am.)".
Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me?
RIVER'S DANCE:
As I said, this is a very important moment for her character. It's by all means, the start of her slow recovery. What's most interesting, though, is how it ends. She dances. She dances her heart out. The music begins to fly, and so does she. But suddenly, she senses something wrong. Shepherd Book has been shot, and she can feel it (Remember how she has connection to people she is affiliated with). I want to note, this might actually be more of a connection to Mal than Book, because she only seems to realize it right as Mal does. Book has already been shot by the time Mal finds him, and in turn, when she suddenly stops dancing. And then, as Simon watches her, confused, he's kidnapped, a bag put over his head. Suddenly, her connection (Note: by connection, I don't mean she has "psychic connections" with people, I instead mean she is "connected" to people in such a way she can tell when things are wrong, or their presence is absent. I don't think she's able to actively read minds, as such, only feelings.) with Simon is also disturbed, and she grows confused, looking utterly lost as the other dancers begin to colide with her, and she stumbles back and forth.
This next quote is from when Simon and River are stationed in the village, after she's presented him with the hodgeberries. They begin to reminice. Suddenly, we see River for the first time. Not her traumatized shell, nor her childlike regression. This quote is just...River. This quote needs no explaination. It's one of the only times River is able to actually articulate what she is trying to say. It's kind of interesting, and a little sad...some of the only things she is able to properly express...are expressions of heartache.
"I took you away from there."
(Simon: No.)
"I know I did. You don't think I do, but.............I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and.....some of it's made up, and.....some of it can't be quantified, and.....there's secrets".
(She begins to cry, as she begins to babble like always)
(Simon: It's okay.)
(She composes herself, and looks him in the eyes)
"But I understand. You gave up everything you had to find me. You found me broken. It's hard for you. You gave up everything you had"...
(Simon: Mei mei (Little sister), everything I have is right here.)
Ah, great. Now I'm crying.
Excuse me while I take 5 minutes to listen to the saddest music I can find and indulge my ugly tears.
-*-
Okay, I'm back.
The final part of this exchange is as follows:
"You need to eat. Keep up your strength. We won't be here long. Daddy will come and take us home. And I'll get better. I'll get better"!
This could be seen in one of two ways. I prefer the latter.
1: River still doesn't fully understand the weight of their situation and the fact that they are cut off from their family,
2: River is not refering to their actual father, and instead she is refering to Mal as their father figure, and Serenity their home.
I don't think the first one is accurate because she has just established that she understands, she just has trouble processing. (To quote her later in the show, "She understands, but she does not comprehend".)
I think the second is accurate, because it actually demonstrates the developement that will be completed closer to the end of this episode, which is that River (and Simon) now truly see Serenity as their home, and the crew their family, with Mal being their father figure, leading them along. ( The comparison between Mal and their father being that their father loved them their whole life, and yet when things got hard, refused to come for them, ("I will not come for you".) But Mal, even though he "doesn't like" Simon, came to their aid, and didn't leave them behind, beause they were "On his crew" (In otherwords, part of his "family").
(Simon: These are better than the Cambersons' berries)
"They are...except they're poison".
(*Simon spits*)
*laughing*
"You believed her! Made a face"...
Here River uses the third person. Why? Well, there isn't any solid evidence, as, while she does it once or twice more, there isn't a solid pattern. My explaination utilizes the observation that River seems to act vastly differently at different times. And while I don't think she has any serious multiple personality disorder, (Though again, not the expert) it can be argued that her personality has fragmented, to some degree, and she she has an understanding of this. We see it a lot in this episode especially. She seems to have 3-4 "fragments".
1: River (The Untouched)
2: Childlike regression (The Innocent)
3: Traumatized shell (The Victim)
4: Intuition/"mind reader" (the Empath, which often goes hand in hand with, or even resides under the umbrella of the Innocent)
These are all, completely, 100% River, but she seems to use different "mindsets" for different situations. All of us more or less change our behavior depending on the situation, but River does this to an extreme degree.
We saw the Victim outside the med bay at the beginning. We saw the Innocent in the store. And we saw the Untouched for the first time ever, here in these scenes.
This is most likely one of the fragments refering to another.
The Innocent teases Simon for believing the Untouched. (or another combination). After this, she quickly switches to the Empath (if you subscribe to the fragmentation proposal).
Also, I'd like to note here, just about the episode, I love the fact that supposedly, hundred and hundreds of years in the future, some people were like "You know what we should start doing again? Burning weird people alive. Yeah, that was really fun the first time, and never ever caused any problems or raised any moral questions".
And now the stake scene.
Oh, gosh dang it, I'm crying again. GAH WHY IS THIS SHOW SO GOOD.
Simon pleads with the townsfolk. But they refuse to listen. River will die. He looks to her, who he's sacrificed so much for. She smiles, and babbles about the meaningless interaction they had earlier, in the shop, her naiive, childlike innocence protecting herself from the terrifying reality. Will she ever be whole again?
You can see on his face...Even broken, he still believes she's the same River. He can see through the Innocent, through the Empath, even through the Victim, River is still in her. And he would rather die than lose her.
Man, Simon is a great character.
"Time to go".
The episode is over. Just think about happy River stealing Jayne's bread.
Happy River.
There. That's better.
Ep 6. OUR MRS REYNOLDS
Okay, hopefully I can make up for the super long analysis of "Safe" with the super short analysis of "Our Mrs. Reynolds". It won't be hard. River literally doesn't do or say anything this whole episode. There is a deleted scene in which she does, however, and that is what we will analyze.
In this clip, we get to see River's more "childlike regression" side. She sees people on the ship pairing up, (Zoe and Wash, Mal and Saffron) and thinks she needs to follow suit. So, who on the ship does she love? Simon. No, not in that way, but she's not thinking of that way. (My sister didn't understand the joke when I showed it to her, and she got really confused and concerned. The scene is meant to be funny, seriously). Her vision of their "marriage" is them, sitting around, taking care of eachother. "I'll knit"! She says. No, River doesn't actually want to marry Simon, in the proper sense, the scene (which was, as you can tell, ultimately cut) was just a way for River to do something in the episode, as well as a funny way to portray the weird way she views the world, just out of step with the rules of our own.
(To Saffron)"You're a thief".
(Mal: Woah! Let's play nice here. (To Simon) Your sister's got some funny notions.)
(Simon: That's...not untrue.)
(Saffron: I'm sorry. I didn't know when I was to be fed. And I was afraid-)
(Mal: You made that fine meal, didn't eat nothin yourself?)
(Saffron: That was for you. Weren't but potlickins left. I took this for later. I didn't know she saw me.)
"I didn't see you".
What's important here, is that River clarifies that she "didn't see" Saffron take anything. She's calling her a thief instead because she knows she is. Probably even knows she's intending to steal more that a little packet of food. This is a demonstration of River's intuition.
Ep 7. JAYNESTOWN
I won't go through the whole exchange here, as it isn't necessary, but one of River's first interactions here is with Shepherd Book, after he says he'll look after her. He comes in to the dinning room to check on her, and finds her "fixing his Bible". Basically, she finds fault with the metaphors of Genesis (Desiring them to be in line with scientific theory).
This is just an example of her amusing herself by using her logical brain. It's fun and comforting for her. She can also be seen babbling, every so often (Her short musing on the nature of the number 11). We get to see River in her (post traumatized) "resting state". She is relaxed here, and she's content, even happy, but she's exhibiting spurts of nervous and excited energy, mixed with her calm, logical evaluations. She laughs as she explains her conclusions, clearly rather enjoying her chosen passtime.
This is also the first time someone proposes to her that there is more to the world than facts and logic. We don't get to see if pre traumatized River acknowledged or believed this concept, but here, she looks bewhildered. She doesn't argue it. She let's it sink in. Even so, she isn't quite willing to let go of the pages she's torn. (Interesting note: This is the last instance of her logical self soothing.)
Later, after the "hair incident", Zoe tries to console River and she can be heard saying: "They say the snow on the roof is too heavy. They say the roof will cave in. His brains are in terrible danger"!
Just River's way of saying Book has an "unsettling" amount of white hair on his head. This whole exchange was pretty funny.
Ep 8. OUT OF GAS
Can I just say, this is one of the best episodes ever?
In one of the first "present day" context scenes, (Simon's Birthday dinner), we get little tidbits of River dialogue, including when Simon asks her if she told the crew when his birthday was. She responds,
"'Day' is a vestigial mode of time measurement based on solar cycles. It's not applicable....I didn't get you anything".
This is one of my favorite River quotes. it shows her seemlessly drifting from her over logical mode to just plain River.
In normal speak, she's trying to make an excuse for why she doesn't have anything for him, (which I personally think is forgivable, considering not only their situation but also the fact she basically never leaves the ship). It's actually super cute/funny.
Translation: "A 'day' is just a meaningless way we measure time based on the solar cycle. It really doesn't matter, in the grand scheme of things.......I didn't get you anything".
Next, we see a clear indication of River's foresight, once again misunderstood by the crew. After the lights flicker, and people begin to go check on what's wrong, River says,
"Fire..."
Everyone (primarily Simon) takes this to mean she's reminding him to blow out the candles on his cake. But a moment later, Fire erupts through the halls, and everyone is thrown.
Now River can be heard screaming it. "Fire! Fire"!
Later on, she comes across Shepherd Book, reading his Bible in his room. I won't take up space analyzing the exchange, because it's pretty straight forward, and doesn't present any new informaton. Just River once again using her beloved facts to "save the day" (She said sarcastically.)
She also seems to be sure of her feelings about Mal now, as she can be seen visibly happy/relieved at the end when he is okay.
After rewatching Firefly yet again, (yes, I know I have a problem, what of it?) I realized that even before the show had revealed River was "psychic", she was already babbling in code about things happening in the past, present, and future. Suddenly, everything she was saying started to make sense.
Ever watch Firefly and hear River launch into one of her nonesensical monologues and wonder if there is any meaning to it? Well, I'm here not only to tell you that there is (almost always) meaning, but also what that meaning is.
I'll also be analyzing the character herself, as she just so happens to be an impressivly deep character. Especially for having such little role/dialogue!
Notes before we begin:
*While I will try to be very detailed and accurate in my analysis, and my goal is to provide meaningful information to promote appreciation for the character, this post is being written on a fan forum. It's going to be organized, but rather casual. I will be making jokes, and personal comments in the hope to further the enjoyment of the reader. I'm not a fan of long winded analysis that dump facts on you and use weird, complicated language rendering them unreadable. We're all here to have fun.
*While I'll be attempting to explain some of River's behaviors, I'm not going to try and diagnose her with anything. I'm not a psychologist, and I'm not going to make a judgement based upon info from wikipedia. I'm working under the impression that she had no serious disorders pre Academy, and thus (barring perhaps some PTSD and psychosis, which I think everyone will agree is fair) she has not suddenly developed anything. Hey, maybe she did, but again, I'm not qualified to diagnose. I'm not going to be talking about depersonalization disorder, as she doesn't have the perception she is disassociating when she is, in fact disassociating, and she believes her halucinations are real. (though feel free to look that up and judge for yourself.) I'm certanly not going to claim she has Autism, as it's generally agreed that Autism is something people are born with, it doesn't develop. I think I've heard that people with Autism have seen parts of themselves in her character, and it's provided support for them. I think that is wonderful, and really, really beautiful, but even so, I will not work under the assumption that she's always been autistic, as there is no evidence of that.
*Important for ease of read (if that's even possible with this monster of a post): I will be analyzing quotes quite a bit. I've formatted them in a very specific way, for "ease of reading". Because River is the focus, All her quotes will simply be put in quotation marks. (Example, "I swallowed a bug". rather than River: I swallowed a bug.) Everyone else's quotes will have their name attached to the front. This is so that it isn't confusing as to who is saying what.
Example:
Bad:
"Do you know who I am"?
"Simon".
Good:
(Simon: Do you know who I am?)
"Simon".
*TIMELINE: The common accepted age for River during the series is around 17. I'd say she's more like bordering on 18 or 19, as, the vague timeline of events leading to her role in the series doesn't make sense to move as quickly as would be required for her to only be 17.
It's said she had grown bored of her Gen. Ed. studies at around 14, right? So, they didn't find the Academy right on her 14th birthday. No, she probably would have been close to 15, in order for her to have time to grow bored AND find, apply to and be accepted into this program. Okay, so she's nearly 15 if not already when she enters the Academy. Let's say it takes several months to AT MOST a year for her to be made fully aware of her terrible situation AND to reach Simon. (In the R. Tam Sessions we see her descent is more or less gradual. She didn't go crazy in a month.) Okay, so she's just about 16 when Simon begins to get her out. Simon says it took 2 years before he was able to get her out. So now she's just about 18. The series is established to take place over, I'd say AT MOST a year, so by the end, she's probably about 19.
* some of these are merely well researched opinions, if you don't agree or find fault with any of them, please do let me know, I would love to hear your take!)
*This analysis contains spoilers for the series Firefly. (Duh)
Now that's out of the way, buckle up children, this is gonna be long.
Let's take it episode by episode:
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Ep 1. SERENITY
In "Serenity" (Episode) River's lines are minimal. Really in this episode, her only role is to establish herself (and Simon, to a degree) as a character. What she says is not nonesensical, and instead illustrates her terror, confusion and disturbance at her and Simon's situation.
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Ep 2. THE TRAIN JOB
Once again, River's lines are, for the most part, entirely normal, if a bit anxious. A few lines to note, however:
"Mal...Bad...In the Latin".
Meaning: River and Mal haven't been formally introduced at this point. It's entirely probable Simon has told her about him, but if not, this is her first example of her foresight, knowing his name/nickname. This is also the first example of what I can only describe as some sort of "self soothing" behavior River subtly employs. When distressed, River will often state (seemingly) random facts she knows to be true. It's possible she does this to make herself feel more secure in a situation where she doesn't know what is going on. She's feeling unsure, and she doesn't know what's going on, so she thinks of things she does know. As we learn in"Ariel", she can't regulate her negative emotions. She just can't. but the human brain can only focus on so many things at a time. It's reasonable to suppose she can employ this as a sort of makeshift distraction. She still feels the negative emotions, but she can add possitive ones too, and maybe it even forces her to focus on something else, though the upset is still there.
"..Bad...In the Latin". is also River's way of saying she doesn't know how she feels about Mal. She's not sure she can trust him, so she muses out loud about her ponderings.
"Won't stop. Won't ever stop. They'll just keep coming until they get back what you took. Two by two, hands of blue. Two by two, hands of blue."
It's mean't to be implied she is speaking of the medicine the crew stole, (and perhaps on some level she is) but she is also speaking about herself to Simon and the rest of the crew, the "you" being Simon, and the crew for sheltering them, and the "what you took" being herself. The "They" refers to the two Academy agents (I like to call them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb) who are introduced in this episode.
"Two by two....Hands of blue....Two by two....hands of blue....."
This is one of River's more well known phrases, partially because she repeats it often. This refers to the two Academy agents who always wear blue surgical gloves. It is again unclear if she has encountered them before, (them possibly having participated in her captivity and torture) or if she's never met them, but knows they are coming because of her foresight.
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Ep 3. BUSHWACKED
(Simon: What is it?)
"It's a ghost"...
Fairly obvious, meaning everyone on the ship is dead. The only person left is a "ghost". The person is dead, yet still walking around. He's not even human anymore.
"No...I can't sleep...Too much screaming".
(Simon: River...There is no screaming.)
"There was..."
It's implied she is experiencing the massacre that occured on the ghost ship. River seems to "connect" to events happening near her, or to someone important to her (feeling Shepherd Book be shot in "Safe" for example). Because they have encountered this ship, and thus now they will have interection with it, only now does she experience this trauma, whereas she didn't experience it when/ before it was actively occuring (unlike Doyle's/Cordelia's visions in Angel). Yes, she is intuitive and possesses foresight (and hindsight), but she only ever experiences things she has some form of connection to, and only ever when she has connection to them.
(Simon: River? What are you-)
"I followed the voices".
Another example of her supernatural intuition being "cleverly" disguised in the writing. She is indeed not following the crew's voices, as the casual viewer might suppose, but instead the voices of the dead.
"He's coming back".
This is said right after she and Simon have come back in from their "space walk". Simon informs her that now that it's safe, they are to hide in the shuttle. River says "He's coming back". Simon mistakingly thinks she's speaking about the captain, (one of the many times this happens) but she is, in fact, refering to Commander Harkon, attempting to warn Simon that they aren't actually safe yet.
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Ep 4. SHINDIG
While River does ramble when she pulls the labels off the cans, most of it is inaudible. It seems to be, however, simply babble about the abuse suffered at the academy. Nothing specific, just mumblings about "They come" or "Hands go everywhere" (Perhaps about the experimentation) stuff like that.
I don't have any serious evidence to support this, but it's also worth noting that, while they didn't have a chance to adress it in the show/movie, the "Blue Sun" corporation (Basically BnL from Wall-E) was a huge corporation that supposedly had their hands in a lot of stuff across the galaxy, including packaged food. I'm not sure if it's adressed in a novel or something (perhaps someone can confirm?) but I believe it's generally believed that company funded, or had something to do with the Academy, as River is consistantly seen acting agressive or stressed when presented with a reminder of their logo. (Not every time, but often). It would make sense if she saw their logo on the cans, and began to destroy them, with the logo/reminder of her trauma triggering her to panic and babble.
When she enters the cargo bay later on, she says "There are tiny.......(Simon: interupts her) Pull. Pull!" I dunno if there is any true meaning here. If y'all can think of something do let me know. The only thing I can think of is her encouraging Simon to have fun with Badger and his men, as she thinks they're silly.
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Ep 5. SAFE
I'm going to go into slightly deeper analysis for this episode, as It is really important for both River and Simon, and their solidification with the team. It's also just an amazing episode.
"No! No! I don't want to go there!
(Simon: It's okay!)
It's not okay! You can't just dig into me, shove twenty needles in my eyes and ask me what I see"!
(Simon: All right. We won't go in. Look, No test today.)
"No rutting test? Stupid son of a b*tch dressed me up like a gorram doll"...
*Simon tries to calm her, she throws his medicine case.*
*Mal enters*
"You're not him? *calls Mal (as far as I can tell) son of a b*tch in chinese)"
I'll be honest, this one puzzled me. It's entirely possible it is only to convey River's growing upset and psychosis. If it does have meaning, however, this is how I, personally, interpret it.
"No! No! I don't want to go there! (Simon: It's okay!) It's not okay! You can't just dig into me, shove twenty needles in my eyes and ask me what I see"!
(Simon: All right. We won't go in. Look, No test today.)
Basically, River is still having problems seperating her reality from her trauma. I highly doubt the tests Simon does with her involve inserting needles into her face (something the Academy is actually shown to do) and ask her probing questions (again, something the Academy would do.) Instead, she thinks she's still there, at the Academy. Yes, Simon does ask her about what she dreams of, but only ever out of concern, and River seems to be refering more to a cruelly posed question. She's shown, in general, to rely on Simon, and she's normally very much at ease with him. She's clearly reminded of her trauma by the med bay (at times), perhaps being reminded of the experimentation done at the academy. (We don't get to see a lot of it, but between flashes from the show, the first scenes in "Serenity", and the "R. Tam Sessions" we get the idea that the subjects were treated very much like patients as well as prisoners, River (in the R. Tam Sessions) being seen wearing a hospital gown and yelling about how "even the orderlies wear masks". It's also established in "Ariel" that surgeries were performed, so it makes sense River doesn't like any sort of medical facilities.)
"No rutting test? Stupid son of a b*tch dressed me up like a gorram doll"...
I interpret this, her new instance (and sole instance, might I add) of cussing to, yes, as per usual, convey her anger/upset, but I also find it makes me think she's trying to "blend in" or "fake belonging" somehow. Think about it, she doesn't cuss until this point. Simon is established not to frequently cuss, so she seems to be attempting to mimic the other crew members, namely Jayne or Mal.
(I will compare this behavior to what is called "masking". Masking is normally a behavior employed by Autistic people (again, though, River most likely is NOT Autistic), in which the person takes on behaviors of other people they have observed and employs them so as to "blend in" and "seem normal". I won't say River is masking (I don't think it's exclusive to Autism, but still, it's commonly associated) but it is the closest name I can find to describe this practice.)
About the "Dressed me up like a doll", I think what River is saying here, is she's trying to convey she feels wrong, fake and out of place. A big point about this episode is that River (and Simon) don't belong, and that River is incredibly uncomfortable with herself, her lack of control over her own self, and where she is. The episode starts by showing us the quiet, happy life they lead before River left. It's established in this episode, once again, that River wants to go home. In the second episode too, River bemoaned the fact that they were on a ship, and not at home. When she says "dressing me up like a doll", she's sniping at Simon for dressing her up nicely (I think it's safe to assume that River isn't picking her own clothing in her state, more likely Simon is) as if they were home when she feels as if her trauma isn't even over yet. Look at how young River is dressed in the beginning. White dress, grey pinafore. Perfect, "like a doll". But now she's seen such cruelty and brutality, she isn't that perfect child anymore. And yet here Simon is, dressing her up in a pretty pink dress...like a doll. She's railling against Simon for trying to treat her normally, when she knows nothing is normal.
"The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems".
This is another instance of the self soothing behavior I mentioned earlier. It's a totally random fact, not relevant to the situation at all (Well, my sister and I actually have a theory that it is, involving Mal running a secret blood farm. The theory actually holds a bit of weight, but that's an entirely different thread. Lemme know if y'all are interested. It's wild). Notice how just a second ago, she's shouting, cursing, crying, throwing things. In full freak out mode. Now, suddenly, she's sitting quietly curled up on the couch. In the back of the shot, right before this line, Mal and Simon talk. River can be seen in the back, curled up, playing with the hair at the base of her neck, her other hand in/near her mouth. This is what's considered self stimulatory behavior, or "stimming". It's often used by people to regulate/ease feelings of anxiety, frustration, and boredom. While yes, it is commonly associated with Autism, in reality everyone stims from time to time (biting nails, drumming fingers, shaking your foot, all these are common stims. I'm "stimming" right now by shaking my foot as I write. I don't have any sort of disorder, not even abnormal levels of anxiety, (though of course I have some) it's just my body's way of managing any nervous energy). I'm no expert, but I don't think River has Autism. Not at all. She suffers from something very different (Probably closer to some form of PTSD, for sure), but nevertheless, stimming might help her sooth herself, as proposed above.
As the conversation continues, she can be seen still holding herself, but not turned away from them as before. She rocks/ shakes gently.
Next we see her, she delivers the "blood" line, now relaxedly sitting, her head on her arm as she plays with the grate above her head with her finger (The tactile stimulation of the grate might also be self soothing/stimulatory). This line, I think is the strongest indicator of her using facts she "knows" to soothe heself in uncertain situations, as it follows a whole sequence of escalating distress, then self soothing behavior, as well as being entirely random otherwise.
(Yikes, that evaluation as long)
"Little soul, big world. Eat, sleep, and eat....many souls"...
(Mal: Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don't go near 'em. Suddenly we're on Jiangyin and she's got a driving need to commune with the beasts.)
"They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see sky, and they remember what they are".
Oh, she's just contemplating the cow's exsistence, that's all.
Ha, for real though, this is a little, tiny line, that actually sums up her entire character development in this episode. And let me tell you, it's hardly visible, but it's huge.
Remember what I was saying about her feeling wrong, and stuck in her trauma on Serenity? This episode is the episode where she can finally let go of that distress of "not being home" and accept Serenity as her new home.
Something I love about this episode, is that not only does River get to see the sun for the first time since she left for the Academy, (the Academy doesn't strike me as a place with a lot of windows.) River gets to dance. It's established through the series (and the R. Tam Sessions) that River loved to dance before the Academy (which is an especially cool detail, considering the actresses story. If you've not heard it, look her up (Summer Glau) or read my Summer Glau appreciation thread in the Cast and Characters: Other section, as I go over it there), and was deprived of it, all this time. "River's Dance" in this episode is one of the first times the character expresses true joy in the series, and it's really beautiful. She's actually and truly free. It's the catalyst for the events of the episode, and it's what allows her to break from her anxieties long enough to embrace her new home on Serenity.
Look at the quote again from this new perspective.
"They weren't cows inside. (I wasn't River inside.) They were waiting to be, but they forgot. (I was waiting to be, but I forgot.) Now they see the sky, and they remember what they are. (Now I see the sky, now I dance, now I'm home, and I remember who I am.)".
Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me?
RIVER'S DANCE:
As I said, this is a very important moment for her character. It's by all means, the start of her slow recovery. What's most interesting, though, is how it ends. She dances. She dances her heart out. The music begins to fly, and so does she. But suddenly, she senses something wrong. Shepherd Book has been shot, and she can feel it (Remember how she has connection to people she is affiliated with). I want to note, this might actually be more of a connection to Mal than Book, because she only seems to realize it right as Mal does. Book has already been shot by the time Mal finds him, and in turn, when she suddenly stops dancing. And then, as Simon watches her, confused, he's kidnapped, a bag put over his head. Suddenly, her connection (Note: by connection, I don't mean she has "psychic connections" with people, I instead mean she is "connected" to people in such a way she can tell when things are wrong, or their presence is absent. I don't think she's able to actively read minds, as such, only feelings.) with Simon is also disturbed, and she grows confused, looking utterly lost as the other dancers begin to colide with her, and she stumbles back and forth.
This next quote is from when Simon and River are stationed in the village, after she's presented him with the hodgeberries. They begin to reminice. Suddenly, we see River for the first time. Not her traumatized shell, nor her childlike regression. This quote is just...River. This quote needs no explaination. It's one of the only times River is able to actually articulate what she is trying to say. It's kind of interesting, and a little sad...some of the only things she is able to properly express...are expressions of heartache.
"I took you away from there."
(Simon: No.)
"I know I did. You don't think I do, but.............I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and.....some of it's made up, and.....some of it can't be quantified, and.....there's secrets".
(She begins to cry, as she begins to babble like always)
(Simon: It's okay.)
(She composes herself, and looks him in the eyes)
"But I understand. You gave up everything you had to find me. You found me broken. It's hard for you. You gave up everything you had"...
(Simon: Mei mei (Little sister), everything I have is right here.)
Ah, great. Now I'm crying.
Excuse me while I take 5 minutes to listen to the saddest music I can find and indulge my ugly tears.
-*-
Okay, I'm back.
The final part of this exchange is as follows:
"You need to eat. Keep up your strength. We won't be here long. Daddy will come and take us home. And I'll get better. I'll get better"!
This could be seen in one of two ways. I prefer the latter.
1: River still doesn't fully understand the weight of their situation and the fact that they are cut off from their family,
2: River is not refering to their actual father, and instead she is refering to Mal as their father figure, and Serenity their home.
I don't think the first one is accurate because she has just established that she understands, she just has trouble processing. (To quote her later in the show, "She understands, but she does not comprehend".)
I think the second is accurate, because it actually demonstrates the developement that will be completed closer to the end of this episode, which is that River (and Simon) now truly see Serenity as their home, and the crew their family, with Mal being their father figure, leading them along. ( The comparison between Mal and their father being that their father loved them their whole life, and yet when things got hard, refused to come for them, ("I will not come for you".) But Mal, even though he "doesn't like" Simon, came to their aid, and didn't leave them behind, beause they were "On his crew" (In otherwords, part of his "family").
(Simon: These are better than the Cambersons' berries)
"They are...except they're poison".
(*Simon spits*)
*laughing*
"You believed her! Made a face"...
Here River uses the third person. Why? Well, there isn't any solid evidence, as, while she does it once or twice more, there isn't a solid pattern. My explaination utilizes the observation that River seems to act vastly differently at different times. And while I don't think she has any serious multiple personality disorder, (Though again, not the expert) it can be argued that her personality has fragmented, to some degree, and she she has an understanding of this. We see it a lot in this episode especially. She seems to have 3-4 "fragments".
1: River (The Untouched)
2: Childlike regression (The Innocent)
3: Traumatized shell (The Victim)
4: Intuition/"mind reader" (the Empath, which often goes hand in hand with, or even resides under the umbrella of the Innocent)
These are all, completely, 100% River, but she seems to use different "mindsets" for different situations. All of us more or less change our behavior depending on the situation, but River does this to an extreme degree.
We saw the Victim outside the med bay at the beginning. We saw the Innocent in the store. And we saw the Untouched for the first time ever, here in these scenes.
This is most likely one of the fragments refering to another.
The Innocent teases Simon for believing the Untouched. (or another combination). After this, she quickly switches to the Empath (if you subscribe to the fragmentation proposal).
Also, I'd like to note here, just about the episode, I love the fact that supposedly, hundred and hundreds of years in the future, some people were like "You know what we should start doing again? Burning weird people alive. Yeah, that was really fun the first time, and never ever caused any problems or raised any moral questions".
And now the stake scene.
Oh, gosh dang it, I'm crying again. GAH WHY IS THIS SHOW SO GOOD.
Simon pleads with the townsfolk. But they refuse to listen. River will die. He looks to her, who he's sacrificed so much for. She smiles, and babbles about the meaningless interaction they had earlier, in the shop, her naiive, childlike innocence protecting herself from the terrifying reality. Will she ever be whole again?
You can see on his face...Even broken, he still believes she's the same River. He can see through the Innocent, through the Empath, even through the Victim, River is still in her. And he would rather die than lose her.
Man, Simon is a great character.
"Time to go".
The episode is over. Just think about happy River stealing Jayne's bread.
Happy River.
There. That's better.
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Ep 6. OUR MRS REYNOLDS
Okay, hopefully I can make up for the super long analysis of "Safe" with the super short analysis of "Our Mrs. Reynolds". It won't be hard. River literally doesn't do or say anything this whole episode. There is a deleted scene in which she does, however, and that is what we will analyze.
In this clip, we get to see River's more "childlike regression" side. She sees people on the ship pairing up, (Zoe and Wash, Mal and Saffron) and thinks she needs to follow suit. So, who on the ship does she love? Simon. No, not in that way, but she's not thinking of that way. (My sister didn't understand the joke when I showed it to her, and she got really confused and concerned. The scene is meant to be funny, seriously). Her vision of their "marriage" is them, sitting around, taking care of eachother. "I'll knit"! She says. No, River doesn't actually want to marry Simon, in the proper sense, the scene (which was, as you can tell, ultimately cut) was just a way for River to do something in the episode, as well as a funny way to portray the weird way she views the world, just out of step with the rules of our own.
(To Saffron)"You're a thief".
(Mal: Woah! Let's play nice here. (To Simon) Your sister's got some funny notions.)
(Simon: That's...not untrue.)
(Saffron: I'm sorry. I didn't know when I was to be fed. And I was afraid-)
(Mal: You made that fine meal, didn't eat nothin yourself?)
(Saffron: That was for you. Weren't but potlickins left. I took this for later. I didn't know she saw me.)
"I didn't see you".
What's important here, is that River clarifies that she "didn't see" Saffron take anything. She's calling her a thief instead because she knows she is. Probably even knows she's intending to steal more that a little packet of food. This is a demonstration of River's intuition.
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Ep 7. JAYNESTOWN
I won't go through the whole exchange here, as it isn't necessary, but one of River's first interactions here is with Shepherd Book, after he says he'll look after her. He comes in to the dinning room to check on her, and finds her "fixing his Bible". Basically, she finds fault with the metaphors of Genesis (Desiring them to be in line with scientific theory).
This is just an example of her amusing herself by using her logical brain. It's fun and comforting for her. She can also be seen babbling, every so often (Her short musing on the nature of the number 11). We get to see River in her (post traumatized) "resting state". She is relaxed here, and she's content, even happy, but she's exhibiting spurts of nervous and excited energy, mixed with her calm, logical evaluations. She laughs as she explains her conclusions, clearly rather enjoying her chosen passtime.
This is also the first time someone proposes to her that there is more to the world than facts and logic. We don't get to see if pre traumatized River acknowledged or believed this concept, but here, she looks bewhildered. She doesn't argue it. She let's it sink in. Even so, she isn't quite willing to let go of the pages she's torn. (Interesting note: This is the last instance of her logical self soothing.)
Later, after the "hair incident", Zoe tries to console River and she can be heard saying: "They say the snow on the roof is too heavy. They say the roof will cave in. His brains are in terrible danger"!
Just River's way of saying Book has an "unsettling" amount of white hair on his head. This whole exchange was pretty funny.
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Ep 8. OUT OF GAS
Can I just say, this is one of the best episodes ever?
In one of the first "present day" context scenes, (Simon's Birthday dinner), we get little tidbits of River dialogue, including when Simon asks her if she told the crew when his birthday was. She responds,
"'Day' is a vestigial mode of time measurement based on solar cycles. It's not applicable....I didn't get you anything".
This is one of my favorite River quotes. it shows her seemlessly drifting from her over logical mode to just plain River.
In normal speak, she's trying to make an excuse for why she doesn't have anything for him, (which I personally think is forgivable, considering not only their situation but also the fact she basically never leaves the ship). It's actually super cute/funny.
Translation: "A 'day' is just a meaningless way we measure time based on the solar cycle. It really doesn't matter, in the grand scheme of things.......I didn't get you anything".
Next, we see a clear indication of River's foresight, once again misunderstood by the crew. After the lights flicker, and people begin to go check on what's wrong, River says,
"Fire..."
Everyone (primarily Simon) takes this to mean she's reminding him to blow out the candles on his cake. But a moment later, Fire erupts through the halls, and everyone is thrown.
Now River can be heard screaming it. "Fire! Fire"!
Later on, she comes across Shepherd Book, reading his Bible in his room. I won't take up space analyzing the exchange, because it's pretty straight forward, and doesn't present any new informaton. Just River once again using her beloved facts to "save the day" (She said sarcastically.)
She also seems to be sure of her feelings about Mal now, as she can be seen visibly happy/relieved at the end when he is okay.
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