Okay, I normally avoid threads with a "spoiler" tag but I figured I knew what character this was so I read it anyways because I had to read Tim's comments. I can't wait to see this, I wish it was September 30th already!

Firefly Flanatic | January 24, 10:22 CET

Upcoming CBS series?!

eddy | January 24, 11:37 CET

I was just thinking that... I would hope Fox aren't promoting it as a CBS series :)

aapac | January 24, 15:51 CET

This shouldn't be a spoiler for anyone who saw (well okay, scrutinized) the television series. All the clues are there. This is my take, and you fellow spoiler whores can compare notes with me come September. See how far off the mark I was. If you don't like spoilage you shouldn't be in this thread. Consider this your final warning. The following is a combination of facts from the show, and my interpretation of said facts, extrapolating what I believe to be logical conclusions. I haven't seen the film, but I imagine the film will involve some or all of the following elements.

River was taken to an 'academy' with her parents' blessing, and while there some government scientists cut into her brain, repeatedly, removing her amygdala. It is generally accepted that this part of the brain is instrumental in emotional response and reactive measures, particularly in regards to fear and arousal. You have two of them in your head. They're about the size of almonds.

Some have theorized that this part of the brain is integral in human creativity, intelligence, pleasure, and even extra sensory perception. Simon Tam says in "Ariel" that "they stripped her amygdala" then points out that because of what they did, she feels everything. "She can't not." Though I refuse to accept that Whedon's going to literally make her psychic, there's a way to describe scientifically (to the satisfaction of scifi as opposed to fantasy I mean) how a brain could be reconfigured to "do the math" far faster than any modern day computer.

River theoretically takes in sensory input from all five senses, her brain processes said input in a preprogrammed manner, and then she'd react accordingly. Jayne wasn't too far off when he said she "kills with mathematics." Her brain's been reconfigured to turn all input into mathematical formulas, with probability percentages on what's going to happen next. It's why she lashed out at Jayne with a knife that one time. She unconsciously knew he was going to turn them in, because of his behavior up to that point. It's a kind of SpideySense: a RIVERSense.

However, Tam and the people who helped him get River back did so before the 'two hands of blue' could finish their job. No doubt they had intended to continue her conditioning after the surgeries were completed. So River looks at her own brain like a child would look at an unfinished bicycle on Christmas morning, with the parts strewn about on the floor and the instructions in chinese.

I was assuming that by the end of the first season, she'd figure out basically what she was; a genetic designer child with brain tweaking that turned her into an assassin for the Alliance. And oh yes, her parents had a vague idea what was going on, which was part of why they were trying to keep Simon from investigating it further. Both kids being so bright was not pure chance. His parents must have paid dearly before Simon was born, to have genetically enhanced children. Simon may have been a failure, retarded compared to River. Or perhaps the agreement was that the first son would be left alone for the Tam parents, with the understanding that their second born was part of the cost of the agreement. Simon and River's parents couldn't help Simon track down River, because they had made an agreement before Simon was even born that when the time came, they would not interfere.

Had the Alliance been able to complete their job, she would have probably been returned to her family after a couple years with the appearance that she was fine, but the Alliance would give her a job which required she be gone from her family for several days at a time. Her life would have been not unlike Jennifer Garner's character in the first season of Alias, I'd imagine. However, her brother had her snatched out of there before the "bad guys" were finished with her. Whether he did her a favor, or made things worse, remains to be seen.

If you study what River Tam said in the course of the series, her words make more sense" with the above in mind. She talks about being able to see with her eyes and stand on her feet after Simon's drug treatments, as if that's not how she was feeling before. Without the drugs, she couldn't function as she had functioned her whole life, because the metaphorical wires in her head have been reconfigured. Once the new drug regimen helps her get her bearings, she'd start to learn how to function with the changes to her brain. Eventually kicking ass and taking names.

ZachsMind | January 24, 16:38 CET

That's exactly what I was thinking about River, ZachsMind. The Blue Sun is the black ops of the Alliance. The hands of blue can gather information using their 'amplifier' wands, but it kills the person in doing so. River can do the same, but she can do so undetected. And her purpose was to be an assassin for the Alliance. She can track a target remaining completely undetectable, then strike, kill, and escape before anyone was the wiser. And I've the feeling the person coming after them in the movie is the same, except he's fully trained. And his orders are to get River and kill everyone who has been in close contact with her.

I didn't make the connection that Simon's parents were involved, but I bet you're right. The time Simon tried to tell his father something was wrong, he denied it. Good catch.

Dancing on pins and needles until September 30.

Madhatter | January 24, 17:28 CET

Nice post Zach, just one thing:
It's why she lashed out at Jayne with a knife that one time. She unconsciously knew he was going to turn them in, because of his behavior up to that point.

I thought that was because he was wearing a shirt with a Bluesun logo on it and that's what she was slashing. Just like that's why she was removing all the labels from the tins of food. I could be wrong of course but that was my interpretation.

Paul_Rocks | January 24, 17:33 CET

That's what I love about Firefly, and Buffy & Angel too: there's so much meat to chew on. It's logical that no two people would digest it the same.

I don't mean to insinuate that Tam's parents were evil or were directly involved. I imagine they were like many other couples in their community. The Alliance would offer to genetically enhance children while still in the womb. The price would be exhorbitant, but special deals could be made for couples who would be willing to promise that one of their children would serve The Alliance for a specified period of time. They'd probably sign something like that without a second thought. Certainly without reading the fine print. It'd be like a patriotic thing. Knowing before the child's even born that they would serve the government in some official capacity. Remember, we're talking about a fictional society in which corporate mentality is left unchained and indentured servitude is accepted.

As for River cutting Jayne because of the Blue Sun shirt, that may have had something to do with it too. However, an episode or two later we see her walking through the ship in "Objects In Space," and she can infer from Jayne his excuse for "being stupid the money was too good" before he said it to anyone but Mal. So it's not far fetched to believe River could infer on at least an unconscious level that Jayne was pulling a Judas. Later on in the episode "Ariel," before they'd been captured, she looks at him and says, "your toes are in the sand." Later she says to him, "They took Christmas away. Came down the stairs for the shiny presents, but they took the tree and the stockings. Nothing left but coal." Though Simon Tam is completely oblivious to Jayne's misstep, River figures it out consciously, only too late to do anything about it. Whether she saw it before that moment for what it was on anything more than a gut level, is a matter of conjecture -and if you've ever had to con your jecture, you know how painful that can be.

[ edited by ZachsMind on 2005-01-24 17:11 ]

ZachsMind | January 24, 19:09 CET

One could also argue of course that the very act of her cutting Jayne convinced him to sell them out :) As you say, it's why so many of us love Firefly, Angel and Buffy so. Plenty to discuss and rarely a straight forward conclusion to be drawn. Roll on Serenity!

Paul_Rocks | January 24, 19:42 CET

I absolutely can NOT wait to see this cast back in action. Gina Torres and Nathan Fillion ("You can call me Caleb") are two absolute favorites of mine. Thanks for the insight into River, Zach. Sounds like it's time to rewatch Firefly.

GrrrAargh | January 24, 22:00 CET