Firefly/Serenity

Feb 21, 2017 4:03:32 GMT Blue said:

I think the show would work without Wash and Book if it were a continuation that took x years after Serenity left off. And because it's a sci-fi show with fantasy elements, who's to say there's not a way to bring back Wash?

SPOILERS for Serenity the movie follow:

I've always thought that they might reintegrate Wash this way:    He would just show up at Serenity one day.  We eventually would learn that he  had been taken by the Alliance right after Zoe and Mal had to leave the ship.  The Alliance patched him up and sent him to Mal as a brain-washed mole / double agent / Manchurian candidate.  As the Operative warned Mal, the Alliance neither forgives nor forgets -- and while the information on Reavers is out,  we (and they) do not know what is still in River's mind and they probably still want her back as a weapon.  Also, Mal  and his crew are aware of what is happening in the Alliance "schools" which makes them a threat to the Alliance's existence.

I always thought that they could play Wash either strictly evil or perhaps  so messed up that he rotates through his old self, his evil self, and possibly even some wacky, semi-insane version of himself.  (Alan Tudyk has definitely  shown that he  can  play evil, suave, and wacky characters convincingly.)

A lot can come of a scenario like this: Will Mal and Zoe accept him, especially if they suspect or know that the Alliance is trying to use him against the crew?  Will they try to help him?  How would they deal with Wash as a threat?  Does he know he's a threat to those he loves and if so, how will he handle it? Can he work his way back to his old self?  Can the crew forgive him if he becomes evil?  Can  the crew (and ultimately we, the audience) accept him?  There would certainly be a wealth of storylines that could follow a situation like this.  As an aside, I also, I wonder if River and the crew would want to try to expose the Alliance academies or at least try to help the ones who are stuck inside and being hurt.

Whenever I bring up this possible solution, I always hear that "dead is dead" and that I'm foolishly holding out hope that Wash will return.  However, Joss did go on record that should there be a sequel, the entire cast would return, and "not in a lame way" (I'm paraphrasing from memory.) And the Firefly mythology has already shown numerous medical advances: reattaching a severed ear after a day or more without so much as a scar, removing or moving nerve clusters, Niska killing Mal and then reviving him quite  easily,  removing all of someone's vital organs and replacing them with synthetic ones,  etc etc etc.

OR: They could just open on Simon's surgery with Wash resting comfortably, the funeral was a sham to throw off the Alliance.  This could have been  foreshadowed by Mal's line to the Operative to the effect that the Alliance would be after the Operative (in part for) "patching up our hurt".  They managed to get Serenity back, so I don't feel it's implausible that  the Operative might also have helped Wash, perhaps as part of him seeking a sort of redemption.  Good characters becoming evil and vise versa,  forgiveness, family, over-arching impossible missions, and seeking redemption are all typical of Joss' work.