Denial and Belief: What did the Tams know?

[author_by_night]

I just realized I never shared this bit of Firefly meta with anyone.  What did the Tams know?

When we meet Gabriel Tam in a flashback (with Zac Efron playing young Simon), he seems like a strict, but not unloving father.  We don't see Regan Tam with her kids when they're young, although we do see her in a flashback that's closer to when the events

Comments

[dimity_blue]

I think they were unlikely to know River was being tortured. Simon doesn't say or imply (IIRC) that the Tams were terrible parents. I think they probably believed whatever spiel the Academy gave out and any doubts were thoroughly squashed. Denial is a powerful tool.

If they had started wondering, they would have contacted the school and probably been fed more crap. I'm sure the Alliance would have had the ability to fake videos of River and the other children being happy and playing. Maybe they could even fake 'Skyping' (or their alternative) with River to reassure the Tams everything was completely fine.

[ellinou]

Super interesting theory! I always just concluded that the Tams were just dumb XD

This makes me even more sad that we only have 14 episodes and a movie (which I love).

[lyssa027]

What an interesting theory. I need to do a rewatch of Firefly

[rogueslayer452]

I had always believed that they were in deep denial, that they trusted their government so much that they never questioned why they had an interest in River, and thought that this would've been a fantastic opportunity for her. The fact that the Alliance wouldn't have good intentions with her probably wouldn't have crossed their minds, and even when Simon presented them with his suspicions that something wasn't right

[ragnarok_08]

That really is an interesting theory!