The Best Character In Firefly?
Ever since Firefly was cancelled 15 years ago, the show has been talked about to death…
But we're not above beating a dead horse, so here we are.
Firefly achieved its cult status through the audience's addiction to the great personalities
that appear on the show, but today I want to talk to you about a character that nobody
really remembers.
Its one of the best-written roles I've ever seen on TV.
Criminally underrated and almost always forgotten about.
Obviously, they'll be spoilers in this video, but I don't really know why you'd be watching
this video if you hadn't already seen it.
The pilot sets up the 'Verse' really well.
Like the use of the Revears to establish an ever-present threat
Jesus…
But it is not dodgy CGI or looming violence of this first episode that keeps you coming
back.
Its the people aboard Serenity that really hook you in.
I mean they're all pretty great.
Mal Kaylee
Wash Zeo
That guy I'm sure they're more…
But I don't wanna talk about any of those characters tho, I wanna talk about this guy.
For those of you who don't remember him.
And why the hell would you?
This is Lawrence Dobson, the Alliance operative who joins the Serenity crew in search of River.
Looks like you bloody found her mate, Good job.
Dobson is a bit of an idiot.
He gets outsmarted by Jayne really easily.
He's also a dick.
I mean… really?
Plus, he dies like a chump… ooow
It's tough to gauge how insignificant dobson actually feels to the show, but in this totally
legitimate poll run on Gizmodo, he received just 36 votes, even being beaten out by that
famous character, someone else we forgot.
So what's up with the love for Dobson then?
He's clearly not the best character.
That's obviously this guy.
I mean, look at him.
Jeez, that's a cool hat.
Okay, so Dobson might not be your favourite character, or anyones really.
Except for these weird, 36 unhinged human beings.
But, his role within the story is one of the best you'll ever witness on TV.
Sure, he's not a great character in the traditional sense.
You know, like having charisma or likeability or energy, however, he does have something
else going for him.
Dobson does more than any other character to make the pilot the powerful opener that
it is.
So you probably think I've gone a bit crazy, right?
I mean, what does Dobson really do anyway?
Other than make a bloody mess of Kaylee.
The thing is though, Dobson accomplishes a lot during his time aboard Serenity
As I've mentioned a million times already, its the characters of Firefly that make the
show, and the pilot sets them up so well that you can't help but watch the rest of the
episodes.
Even when those episodes follow some sort of duelling bullshit or something.
Dobson actually has a profound effect on nearly every member of the crew.
He helps to establish them as the characters that made the show so addictive.
Turning it from your typical sci-fi to a genuine classic.
Without him we wouldn't have the Firefly we know and love today, but how does such
an obscure and forgettable character influence the show in such a big way?
Because I'm easily confused, I'm going to break this down character by character.
So if you were hoping for some perfect explanation set in chronological order, well…
There's the bloody door.
Okay, let's do this.
MAL!
Too much?
So Dobson's influence all kicks off the moment Mal finds out there is a mole on Serenity.
Immediately he takes action.
He doesn't think about the consequences.
He doesn't stop to question what is going on.
He just, he just goes for it.
You know?
Right here we learn a lot about Mal.
We see he has a temper and a reckless side.
Most importantly though, we learn he is not to be messed with.
He didn't think, there is a mole we better investigate this.
He thinks, there's a mole, I reckon I know who it is, I'ma fuck that bitch up.
Already we know Mal is a man of action, but he probably makes quite a lot of mistakes.
And we do actually see this later when he makes the mistake of being in this terrible
episode.
Fast-forward to the end of the pilot and we get perhaps Mal's biggest and most badass
character moment, all created at the hand of Dobson.
And it doesn't actually end that well for him.
Having had enough of the agent's sneaky tricks, Mal guns him down in cold blood and
throws him off his boat.
Here we find out just how confident in himself Mal is, willing to shoot a man clutching a
hostage without a second thought.
It's not just Mal's darker side that Dobson opens up though.
We also get a glimpse at a softer side of Serenities captain.
Up until now, he's been a bit cold, even a bit of a wanker to be honest, but when carrying
for Kaylee, we see he really does care about his crew.
Even though he clearly developed a clear case of cynicism after the battle of serenity valley,
that he still harbours a deep attachment to the people under his wing.
Dobson's horrific aim also leaves us with a moment that plays around with Mal's lighter
side.
His humour might be dark and disturbing.
And just, just awful but we find out that he does actually have some.
In a moment that he jokingly convinces Dr Simon that Kaylee is dead, we catch a glimpse
of the human behind the captain's mask.
He isn't the totally stoic macho veteran who has seen 'waaaay too many things man'
-- at least not all the time.
Although he is a bit of an arsehole, I mean that joke is just evil.
Finally, the actions of Dobson ultimately lead to Mal accepting Simon and River onto
the crew, revealing his true nature: as a soppy bastard.
Without this act, his actions in the following episodes would make very little sense, considering
most everything else we've seen him do suggests that he cares about nothing else than himself
and his crew.
This moment here shows us that there is something beneath his tough shell.
A soft gooey centre of deliciously melt… mmmm
I'll be back in a sec
Right, so Kaylee's up next (mouth full)
You could say that character Dobson had the biggest impact on was Kaylee.
Get it?
You get it?
They say you only really see somebody when they are staring down the barrel of death.
If that's true, then Dobson could have done nothing better for Kaylee's character than
gift her a bullet to the gut.
In the moments around her near death and recovery, we really get a sense of who Kaylee is.
We see her bravery as she smiles in the face of death.
We see her kinds as she pleads with Mal to forgive his actions, even though it was kinda
his fault that she, got shot.
We also see her determination as she fights through her near-fatal wounding to take her
crew to safety when those freaky ass reavers show up
If Dobson hadn't shot Kaylee, all we'd have seen of her is that bubbly and chirpy
side revealed by her colourful umbrella and conversation with the preacher.
Sure, it's a great aspect of her character, but without that gunshot wound, we'd have
never got the depth we actually did.
Right, so now it's time for a bit o'Jayne
Dobson has a major impact on most of the main cast, but his biggest effect is on how we
perceive Jayne.
Their first interaction sees Jayne attempt to offer Dobson a bullet in return for the
one he gifted to Kaylee.
In this moment we see that Jayne is unstable, caring very little for the repercussions of
killing a member of the alliance.
We also feel his connection to his crew.
How this man, who seems to be at constant odds his captain and who, up until this point,
seemed to only interested in himself, is utterly enraged by somebody harming a member of his
own.
During this integration that follows this little misunderstanding, we go further down
the rabbit hole that is Jayne's psyche.
We that he revels in the idea of torture.
But we also see he is also capable of restraint once he's a bit more level-headed.
Alone with Dobson, he could have done anything, but he didn't.
He followed his orders.
Dobson's terrible lying also ups the intelligence of Jayne.
He isn't just a brute with an affinity for violence.
He's much more diverse than he appears to be.
Perceptive and sharp, to a point.
Finally, Dobson tests his loyalty to the crew.
The result is an ambiguity that never really leaves us.
It's never made clear whether or not he did betray the crew, adding to that level
of intrigue in Jayne's dynamic that runs for the rest of the season and plays into
some important plot points later on.
Okay so let's move onto this silver fox right here.
After Dobson is taken down, Shepard book immediately comes to his aid.
By this point, we've got a sense of this man as a preacher, but his willingness to
step between Jayne's gun and Dobson hits home his dedication to his faith.
He's not just a man of word's, that he's not a coward hiding behind a bible, this is
a man who will die for what he believes.
Book then takes it upon himself to protect Dobson.
Which doesn't exactly go well for him.
Even in death, Dobson continues to impact his character, resulting in a crisis of faith
that reveals the true nature of the preacher.
Despite the actions of Dobson, Book is still deeply saddened by his death, feeling responsible.
It also reveals Book's acceptance of Anaras lifestyle and his ability for tolerance.
This scenes, combined with the preacher helping Kaylee instead of fleeing in the reaver chase,
another direct result of Dobson's actions, give us a real understanding of man we've
only spent a very small amount of time with.
We see him for who he really is, on a deeper level than some religious nut.
Now before we get into the last character, I just want to note that yes, we're missing
a fair few members of the Serenity crew.
While Dobson does have an impact on everyone, his effects aren't always as noteworthy,
and damn this video is long already.
Right so, finally, we have good old sexy Simon.
Early on we don't really get a good feeling about Simon.
I mean, look at this wanker.
As time goes on though, we come to learn a lot more about him, and that's all thanks
to one sneaky little operative.
Dobson's shooty little episode is ultimately the catalyst for river's reveal, bringing
us to the realisation of Simon's true motivations.
But that's not all he does.
Lawrence opens us to a desperation in Simon, revealing his devotion to his sister.
In one of the closing scenes, we witness a standoff between Dobson and Simon where Simon
has the upper hand.
Shoot him.
Shoot him, you fucking idiot.
Despite the threat, he is reluctant to kill the operative.
He doesn't want to hurt anyone.
Flashback to Kaylee lying with her stomach splayed open, and the good doctor refusing
to help until his demands are met, we start to understand how far he'll go to protect
his sister, and how much letting an innocent suffer must be tearing him apart inside.
He stands firm in his role of protector though, no matter how much it damages his welfare
and ethical code.
This makes the events that follow in future episodes, involving his connection to his
sister, completely within his characterisation.
Thanks to Dobson, we know Simon would do anything for River, stopping just short of actually
murdering someone.
So that's about it.
Dobson might not be your favourite character.
He might not even be a character you remember.
I mean, there's only about 6 bloody pictures of him on all of Google for christ sake.
Despite this, he's an undeniably well written, well constructed, and influential character.
A severely underrated addition to the Firefly 'Verse.
God bless you, Dobson, may you rest in peace.
That's it.
I'm done droning on about Firefly.
If you liked this video, you can subscribe, you can hit the thumbs up or you can share
it.
Or, you can click the back button, leave and never say a word about it to anyone, hiding
your passionate love of Firefly like a man who desperately wants to dance but is afraid
of what his disapproving 1950s father might so… the choice is yours.
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