Oh - that was utterly perfect. Thank you so much for summing up my thoughts on this pairing about a billion times more eloquently than I could.
I completely missed this pairing the first time around when it first aired on television. And that's because it's so subtle, but so very THERE once you're aware of it. The tension between them nearly kills me.
Then, in Heart of Gold Mal sleeps with a woman (not just a woman, but a 'whore') and, despite the fact that Inara sleeps with other people all the time, she can't handle that he's now doing the same. A reversal of the classic situation, where the woman is expected to be pure while the man sleeps around (with the additional complication of her sex being work).
So, so true. And that's why that's such a poignant moment for this pairing. Seriously great essay.
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Date: 2005-12-24 05:39 am (UTC)I completely missed this pairing the first time around when it first aired on television. And that's because it's so subtle, but so very THERE once you're aware of it. The tension between them nearly kills me.
Then, in Heart of Gold Mal sleeps with a woman (not just a woman, but a 'whore') and, despite the fact that Inara sleeps with other people all the time, she can't handle that he's now doing the same. A reversal of the classic situation, where the woman is expected to be pure while the man sleeps around (with the additional complication of her sex being work).
So, so true. And that's why that's such a poignant moment for this pairing. Seriously great essay.
*runs away to rec it*