River Tam (Firefly)
Title: Girl on the Brink
Author: inalasahl
Character: River Tam
Fandom: Firefly
Spoilers: Everything including "Serenity," "Bushwhacked," "Safe," "Ariel," "War Stories," "Objects in Space" and Serenity.
River Tam is the most complex character of Firefly's main nine, to my mind. More is probably known about her background than anyone else on the show, and yet ... very little at all has been revealed about River's thoughts, feelings and hopes for the future. A study in contradictions, she is presented variously (sometimes simultaneously) on the show as both waifish damsel in need of protection and deadly killing machine.
Much of what we know about River's early years comes from the flashback episode, "Safe." One scene shows River's father ignoring her and cutting her off when she tries to speak, in favor of encouraging Simon and agreeing to buy him a presumably expensive gadget.
Later scenes, which take place after River has left home for boarding school, show the Tam parents ignoring, dismissing and being downright hostile toward Simon's legitimate concerns about what is happening to River at her new school. There is no textual evidence that the Tam parents are complicit with what's happening to River, but it is one possible interpretation. In any case, it is clear that Simon was always given preferential treatment and that River received little, if any, signs of overt love from her parents.
A prodigy both in terms of mental acuity and athletic grace, River chooses to go to a government-sponsored academy that offers a more challenging, exciting program. In reality, the school is a cover for the Alliance to recruit bright youth for torturous experimentation. The end goal is unclear, but some guesses can be made. The River Tam Sessions, a video viral marketing campaign for the movie, show River's first task is an assasination. The movie also reveals that the Alliance employs a shadowy class of nameless operatives who seemingly have unlimited authority and discretion to accomplish their objectives. It may be that River and those like her were intended as a more loyal, uber-class of operatives. We know that the experimentation done to River involved both brain-washing and brain surgery. In addition to being an efficient killer, by series end River has also gained the ability to read minds.
Discovering exactly what happened to River and why is complicated by the fact
that she herself may not know. During the one session we witness (in the movie)
River is asleep. Certainly, she is incapable of articulating what happened. As for the specifics of how the Alliance was turning River into an assassin, brain-washing is alluded to in the movie, as well as radical brain surgery. In the episode "Ariel," Simon takes pictures of River's brain and discovers that the she's received a form of lobotomy.
River went away to school at 14 (whether that's typical of her culture or a commentary on the Tam family dynamics is not explicated) and is not rescued for three or four years, making her a late-end teenager during canon's run. Moreover, she is a teenager who has skipped most of the normal teenage rites of passage and social skill development.
River's strengths are numinous. Physically, she has a dancer's power, flexibility and balance, as well as deadly coordination. Coupled with a quick brain and mind-reading abilities, she has the potential to be an unstoppable threat. In "War Stories," she picks up a gun and (with eyes closed) shoots and kills three people. In Serenity, she takes out an entire club of people bare-handed, and in the movie's climax, dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Reavers. In "Bushwhacked," Jayne states that Reavers don't leave survivors. Hyperbole or not, they certainly aren't easily defeated.
Her strengths, however, are also her greatest weakness. Whether her rescue prevented the Alliance from finishing their work, or whether their technique still needed "perfecting," River has a host of mental, social and emotional difficulties.
At the beginning of the series, prone to outbursts, which Simon tries to control through medication. Beyond that, River doesn't converse much, speaking only cryptically or incoherently with difficulty processing the sensory input provided by her new abilities. When Serenity docks with a ship that's later revealed to have been attacked by reavers, all aboard save one being slaughtered, River complains that she can't sleep for all the screaming. Simon, confused, notes that there is no screaming. In fact, throughout the show's run, River is haunted by waking dreams that further disintegrate her ability to distinguish reality.
Awkward at reading social cues, River has a tendency to make inappropriate comments that distance her from the others onboard the ship. After shooting Niska's guards in "War Stories," River grins at Kaylee, oblivious to her horror, and declares "no power in the verse can stop me," an obvious reference to something Kaylee said while they were playing earlier. In the episode "Safe," River continues talking about the things she's gleaned from Ruby's mind and the patron's long past it's obvious that it's dangerous, nearly leading to her and Simon being burned at the stake.
It's impossible to tell how much of River's difficulties are physically caused by the brain damage, and how many by the mental anguish she endured, and pretty much irrelevant. Some people see her character as truly crazy, schizophrenic, others see her as mostly misunderstood, a River whose brain works better than her tongue. Both interpretations are equally plausible. After the Alliance's secret is exposed, River tells Simon, wonderingly, that she is fine, implying she is fixed. But the movie ends with River spying on Simon and Kaylee having sex, a less sane action.
Without a doubt, the most important relationship in her life is her relationship with her older brother, Simon. Despite the atrocious upbringing, it's obvious that Simon genuinely cares for River, having given up the possibilities of fame, esteem and power to rescue her, not to mention the rest of his family and the only way of life he's ever known. They are depicted as close as children, and it's not much of a stretch to assume that Simon, perhaps, provided the only consistent affection River received growing up.
It's a love that's returned. Consistently fearful of violence in early episodes, River eventually breaks out of her shell in the episode "War Stories," killing three henchfolk with her eyes closed in order to protect Kaylee. But her greatest prowess is displayed in defense of her brother. When Simon is shot in the movie, River locks herself outside the corridor the crew has barricaded itself in and single-handedly takes on what are dozens, perhaps hundreds of enraged Reavers in order to keep her brother safe.
It is in scenes with her brother that River's confusing human frailty is depicted. Here is where we are shown River the weaker, the little sister, the protectee, making her decision to go after the Reavers in Serenity all that more powerful. From the first moment we see River in "Serenity" her vulnerability is evident: River appears fetal and literally naked before Simon manages to get close enough to wrap his arms around her. In the movie, River first appears as a child, a scene immediately replaced by one in which Simon rescues her. This is a consistent coding of their relationship throughout the series: River as youthful waif, Simon as paternal protector. (See, for example, "War Stories," when River throws up on Simon's bed or any of their scenes where Simon tucks River into bed.)
Some see incestual overtones to the powerful relationship between Simon and River (also known as CSI, crazy space incest). Canon, itself, plays with the subtext. In scenes cut from "Our Mrs. Reynolds," (though filmed) River stuffs a pillow under her dress and announces that she's having Simon's baby. Additionally, in the movie, River watches while Simon has sex with Kaylee. It's not hard to believe that having missed the normal stages of teenage development, River's love for Simon, the heroic author of her rescue, has become somewhat confusingly twisted in her mind, especially during that hormone-soaked period when she was trapped at the academy, with her only hope being that he would understand her encoded cries for help. However the scenes are interpreted, it's obvious that the relationship between Simon and River is one of the most consuming and powerful relationships on the show.
Next to Simon, River's most important relationships on Serenity are with Kaylee and Mal. Kaylee, the friendly ship's mechanic who champions her early on, provides River with the friendship she hasn't had in a long time, perhaps never. By the time the episode "War Stories" rolls around, Kaylee and River have become friends, larking about the ship together. River later tells Simon that the play made her feel "like a girl." (The suggestion that River is no longer human thanks to the Alliance's tinkering is a theme revisited, then rejected, in the movie.) The episode "Objects in Space," which is all about the Tams finding out that Serenity is their home and they do belong there as part of the crew, end with River and Kaylee dishing while playing jacks. Theirs is probably the most equal relationship River has in canon. In contrast, Mal is the everyman, a little apart from River. He is a stand-in for the viewer, finding River perplexing and scary, but ultimately worth keeping around. (In daily interactions, the majority of the crew forms no special relationship with River as herself. She is merely a more concrete example of every person hurt by the Alliance.)
So where can one go with a deadly, yet befuddled and innocent, mind-reader? Where can't one? As a character, the possibilities for River are wide-open. Whether that's confusing or intriguing, I leave to each of you.
Author: inalasahl
Character: River Tam
Fandom: Firefly
Spoilers: Everything including "Serenity," "Bushwhacked," "Safe," "Ariel," "War Stories," "Objects in Space" and Serenity.
River Tam is the most complex character of Firefly's main nine, to my mind. More is probably known about her background than anyone else on the show, and yet ... very little at all has been revealed about River's thoughts, feelings and hopes for the future. A study in contradictions, she is presented variously (sometimes simultaneously) on the show as both waifish damsel in need of protection and deadly killing machine.
Much of what we know about River's early years comes from the flashback episode, "Safe." One scene shows River's father ignoring her and cutting her off when she tries to speak, in favor of encouraging Simon and agreeing to buy him a presumably expensive gadget.
Later scenes, which take place after River has left home for boarding school, show the Tam parents ignoring, dismissing and being downright hostile toward Simon's legitimate concerns about what is happening to River at her new school. There is no textual evidence that the Tam parents are complicit with what's happening to River, but it is one possible interpretation. In any case, it is clear that Simon was always given preferential treatment and that River received little, if any, signs of overt love from her parents.
A prodigy both in terms of mental acuity and athletic grace, River chooses to go to a government-sponsored academy that offers a more challenging, exciting program. In reality, the school is a cover for the Alliance to recruit bright youth for torturous experimentation. The end goal is unclear, but some guesses can be made. The River Tam Sessions, a video viral marketing campaign for the movie, show River's first task is an assasination. The movie also reveals that the Alliance employs a shadowy class of nameless operatives who seemingly have unlimited authority and discretion to accomplish their objectives. It may be that River and those like her were intended as a more loyal, uber-class of operatives. We know that the experimentation done to River involved both brain-washing and brain surgery. In addition to being an efficient killer, by series end River has also gained the ability to read minds.
Discovering exactly what happened to River and why is complicated by the fact
that she herself may not know. During the one session we witness (in the movie)
River is asleep. Certainly, she is incapable of articulating what happened. As for the specifics of how the Alliance was turning River into an assassin, brain-washing is alluded to in the movie, as well as radical brain surgery. In the episode "Ariel," Simon takes pictures of River's brain and discovers that the she's received a form of lobotomy.
River went away to school at 14 (whether that's typical of her culture or a commentary on the Tam family dynamics is not explicated) and is not rescued for three or four years, making her a late-end teenager during canon's run. Moreover, she is a teenager who has skipped most of the normal teenage rites of passage and social skill development.
River's strengths are numinous. Physically, she has a dancer's power, flexibility and balance, as well as deadly coordination. Coupled with a quick brain and mind-reading abilities, she has the potential to be an unstoppable threat. In "War Stories," she picks up a gun and (with eyes closed) shoots and kills three people. In Serenity, she takes out an entire club of people bare-handed, and in the movie's climax, dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Reavers. In "Bushwhacked," Jayne states that Reavers don't leave survivors. Hyperbole or not, they certainly aren't easily defeated.
Her strengths, however, are also her greatest weakness. Whether her rescue prevented the Alliance from finishing their work, or whether their technique still needed "perfecting," River has a host of mental, social and emotional difficulties.
At the beginning of the series, prone to outbursts, which Simon tries to control through medication. Beyond that, River doesn't converse much, speaking only cryptically or incoherently with difficulty processing the sensory input provided by her new abilities. When Serenity docks with a ship that's later revealed to have been attacked by reavers, all aboard save one being slaughtered, River complains that she can't sleep for all the screaming. Simon, confused, notes that there is no screaming. In fact, throughout the show's run, River is haunted by waking dreams that further disintegrate her ability to distinguish reality.
Awkward at reading social cues, River has a tendency to make inappropriate comments that distance her from the others onboard the ship. After shooting Niska's guards in "War Stories," River grins at Kaylee, oblivious to her horror, and declares "no power in the verse can stop me," an obvious reference to something Kaylee said while they were playing earlier. In the episode "Safe," River continues talking about the things she's gleaned from Ruby's mind and the patron's long past it's obvious that it's dangerous, nearly leading to her and Simon being burned at the stake.
It's impossible to tell how much of River's difficulties are physically caused by the brain damage, and how many by the mental anguish she endured, and pretty much irrelevant. Some people see her character as truly crazy, schizophrenic, others see her as mostly misunderstood, a River whose brain works better than her tongue. Both interpretations are equally plausible. After the Alliance's secret is exposed, River tells Simon, wonderingly, that she is fine, implying she is fixed. But the movie ends with River spying on Simon and Kaylee having sex, a less sane action.
Without a doubt, the most important relationship in her life is her relationship with her older brother, Simon. Despite the atrocious upbringing, it's obvious that Simon genuinely cares for River, having given up the possibilities of fame, esteem and power to rescue her, not to mention the rest of his family and the only way of life he's ever known. They are depicted as close as children, and it's not much of a stretch to assume that Simon, perhaps, provided the only consistent affection River received growing up.
It's a love that's returned. Consistently fearful of violence in early episodes, River eventually breaks out of her shell in the episode "War Stories," killing three henchfolk with her eyes closed in order to protect Kaylee. But her greatest prowess is displayed in defense of her brother. When Simon is shot in the movie, River locks herself outside the corridor the crew has barricaded itself in and single-handedly takes on what are dozens, perhaps hundreds of enraged Reavers in order to keep her brother safe.
It is in scenes with her brother that River's confusing human frailty is depicted. Here is where we are shown River the weaker, the little sister, the protectee, making her decision to go after the Reavers in Serenity all that more powerful. From the first moment we see River in "Serenity" her vulnerability is evident: River appears fetal and literally naked before Simon manages to get close enough to wrap his arms around her. In the movie, River first appears as a child, a scene immediately replaced by one in which Simon rescues her. This is a consistent coding of their relationship throughout the series: River as youthful waif, Simon as paternal protector. (See, for example, "War Stories," when River throws up on Simon's bed or any of their scenes where Simon tucks River into bed.)
Some see incestual overtones to the powerful relationship between Simon and River (also known as CSI, crazy space incest). Canon, itself, plays with the subtext. In scenes cut from "Our Mrs. Reynolds," (though filmed) River stuffs a pillow under her dress and announces that she's having Simon's baby. Additionally, in the movie, River watches while Simon has sex with Kaylee. It's not hard to believe that having missed the normal stages of teenage development, River's love for Simon, the heroic author of her rescue, has become somewhat confusingly twisted in her mind, especially during that hormone-soaked period when she was trapped at the academy, with her only hope being that he would understand her encoded cries for help. However the scenes are interpreted, it's obvious that the relationship between Simon and River is one of the most consuming and powerful relationships on the show.
Next to Simon, River's most important relationships on Serenity are with Kaylee and Mal. Kaylee, the friendly ship's mechanic who champions her early on, provides River with the friendship she hasn't had in a long time, perhaps never. By the time the episode "War Stories" rolls around, Kaylee and River have become friends, larking about the ship together. River later tells Simon that the play made her feel "like a girl." (The suggestion that River is no longer human thanks to the Alliance's tinkering is a theme revisited, then rejected, in the movie.) The episode "Objects in Space," which is all about the Tams finding out that Serenity is their home and they do belong there as part of the crew, end with River and Kaylee dishing while playing jacks. Theirs is probably the most equal relationship River has in canon. In contrast, Mal is the everyman, a little apart from River. He is a stand-in for the viewer, finding River perplexing and scary, but ultimately worth keeping around. (In daily interactions, the majority of the crew forms no special relationship with River as herself. She is merely a more concrete example of every person hurt by the Alliance.)
So where can one go with a deadly, yet befuddled and innocent, mind-reader? Where can't one? As a character, the possibilities for River are wide-open. Whether that's confusing or intriguing, I leave to each of you.