Firefly (TV series)/Heartwarming

• From the climax to the Big Damn Movie, just before River goes to kick reaver ass:

River: You've always looked after me. My turn.

• As mentioned in the main page, the tune playing in the accidental marriage in "Our Mrs Reynolds" is really taken from an actual wedding march. Once you know when to listen for it though, the whole scene becomes the sweetest thing you'll ever see. And then she turns out to be a triple-crossing BITCH.
  • Also from "Our Mrs Reynolds", during the celebration, there's this one shot of Zoe and Wash cuddling as they watch the others. And it's adorable.
• "You're on my crew... why are we still taking about this?"
  • Simon has his moments too, especially in "Safe," where he fights off an entire mob of torch-wielding witch-burning loonies to save River, and when he realized he couldn't win, choosing to die with her rather than leave her.
    • It's more awesome because when you know how much he already gave up, you can easily believe he would do such a thing. He had nothing left but love and honor (which in his case were the same thing) and it would be simply impossible to wimp out now. It was a very believable Heroic Sacrifice.

Simon: Light it.

• • • Or, maybe, he was just counting on the town being reluctant to burn the only doctor.
      • No, he knew the head was too pissed at River (She'd tried to reveal that he had murdered the previous man in his position) to let them go. The town probably would have tried to kidnap a new doctor, anyway.
• An unorthodox one in "War Stories": Jayne's the last one on the crew to agree to join the mission to save Mal... yet he's able to cover himself in more firepower than the rest combined. "...What?"
  • The real clincher here? He brought VERA.
• Meta-example: a Hilarious Outtake from "The Message" involves the slow rotating shot in Tracy's funeral, except Nathan Fillon is deliberately running counter to the camera rotation to re-appear beside every other cast member while acting like he's always been there, culminating in Mal sharing the coffin with Tracy. How does this count? Because the scene was being filmed just after the cast had learned that the series had been cancelled, and Nathan went above and beyond to keep spirits up.
• The whole ordeal Simon went through with River is one giant CMOH.
• Mal: Yeah, but she's our witch. So cut her the hell down.
• At the end of 'Ariel': 'No, mei-mei. Time to wake up.' It's the way he says it more than anything else.
• Pretty much any scene in Firefly between Wash and Zoe, or Simon and Kaylee, or Simon and River. Jayne even gets one in the pilot, where he's seen watching nervously through the infirmary window as Kaylee is operated on after getting shot.
• At the end of the pilot where River looks into Simon's face all beat up from protecting her. Then wonders at her doubts saying,"I didn't think you'd come for me", and he just teases her, "Well, you're a dummy."
  • This troper, too. * heart melts* The teasing note rings true, as exactly the way siblings talk to each other. But Simon's delivery makes clear how absolutely he loves his genius baby sister.
• This scene from "Ariel:"

Simon: Do you remember why we went to the hospital?
River: Time to go to sleep again.
Simon: No, mei-mei. (takes hold of her hand) It's time to wake up.

• There's also the brief scene between Mal and River at the end of "Objects in Space," after they've teamed up to take down Early.

River: Permission to come aboard?
Mal: You know, you ain't quite right.
River: That's the popular theory.
Mal: Go on. Get in there. Give your brother a thrashing for messing up your plan.
River: He takes so much looking after.

• • I found it especially heartwarming due to River's pure lucidity. All I could think was "She just cracked a joke. An honest-to-gods joke, not just some unintentional hilarity stemming from her weirdness. She...she's going to be all right."
  • And the second-to-last scene from "Objects In Space," showing the entire crew in one long, unbroken shot, signifying that River is now really considered part of the crew as a whole.
  • The bit where Simon has been shot and is still desperately fighting to keep Early from getting to River, thinking that everyone else is locked in their rooms and that he'll probably die doing it is another good one.
• One of the more pointed moments is at the end of "Safe," where Simon and River come into the dining room to eat with the rest of the crew, showing that they've been really accepted as part of the family on the ship.
• "War Stories." One line: "If it were any one of us, Captain wouldn't hesitate."
  • Also in "War Stories," River's breakdown, and Simon caring for her.

River: (sobbing) What am I?!
Simon: (hugs her tightly) You are my beautiful baby sister.
River: (sniffles and stops crying) ...I threw up on your bed.
Simon: Yep. Definitely my sister.

• In a crazy twisted way this editor found Mal's speech to Jayne at the end of "Jaynestown" rather heartwarming.
  • As did this troper, for two reasons: It shows that despite his flaws, Mal cares about Jayne, since if he didn't, he wouldn't bother trying to make him feel better. And it shows Jayne as someone who deep down inside, isn't a pure Jerkass. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so upset about the mudder's sacrifice.
• Two lines from the best scene in the series:

Mal: Well, look at this! Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?
Zoe: Big Damn Heroes, Sir!
Mal: Ain't we just?

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Mal: Cut her down.
Preacher: The girl is a witch.
Mal: Yeah, but she's our witch. [KA-CHINK!] So cut her the hell down.

• • And, "You're on my crew. Why're we still talking about this?" From the same episode.
  • Also from that episode:

Simon: Light it.
And
Simon: Mei Mei, all I have is right here.

• The dancing scene in Safe was also good. For once we got to see her enjoying herself and see her brother see it.
  • And after Simon gets kidnapped, there's River, still happy. "Found you!"
• No one going to mention the end of "Out of Gas"? Mal's drifting off to sleep while recovering from his wounds, and just plaintively asks: "Y'all going to be here when I wake up?" Book's gentle reassurance cut this troper up some.
  • Equally or even better was the last flashback, where Mal first lays eyes on Serenity.
    • Amen. This troper and his friends always make it a point, when we watch the series front-to-back, to watch "Out of Gas" last; that whole scene is just a much more beautiful note to end things on.
• The end of "Ariel", when Mal shoves Jayne into the airlock for betraying Simon and River. About to be killed, Jayne begs Mal not to tell them about his betrayal and instead to make something up, as if he died in an accident. Mal spares Jayne's life, convinced that he is truly sorry about his betrayal. This is the turning point in Jayne's character, and it is sad that we didn't get to see how that ended up.
• The DVD extra about the making of Firefly is equally made of this trope and Tear Jerker. It starts with the usual behind-the-cameras information, but after a while it turns into a chronicle of the loving relationship formed between the cast, creators, and crew, the extraordinary fan support, and the good experience it was to work in the series.
• Jayne in the pilot. Standing outside of the infirmary while Simon's operating on Kaylee, as mentioned earlier, and the fact that he's willing to shoot Book so that he can exact revenge on Dobson for shooting Little Kaylee. Heck...Jayne is actually full of Crowning Moments of Heartwarming.
  • And let's not forget the celebrating in the engine room after they pull an Ivan on the Reavers. Jayne's hooting and hollering combined with Kaylee's whispered "That's my good girl" always makes this troper want to go hug someone.
• And then there's Simon's monologue from the first episode.
  • There's a shot during this monologue, when Simon is preparing the shot to put River under. She glares at the needle and sticks her tongue out. Considering she's still confused and uncertain and likely sick from being revived from cryo, that one little moment speaks volumes about both their personalities and their relationship.
  • When Inara tells Mal that "If you throw them out, I'm leaving too," there's a subtle but important implication there: that if Mal won't help Simon and River, Inara will.
• This troper would like to mention Wash, in Out of Gas. Zoe was hurt, and Mal made him leave her side to send a signal, but at the end, who is it who's giving Mal blood?
  • Admittedly, it's clear as day that Mal enjoyed bossing Wash around about as much as having teeth pulled out without sedation and his first words to his pilot once the crisis was averted were "Go see your wife."
• The final scene of Serenity:

Mal: But it ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross. You know what the first rule of flyin' is? Well I suppose you do, since you already know what I'm about to say.
River: I do. But I like to hear you say it.
Mal: Love. You can know all the math in the 'Verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off, just as sure as the turnin' of worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells ya she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her home.

• In "Ariel", when Jayne learns what the government did to River, the expression on his face, and what he did afterwards, namely trying to rescue the two of them from the mess he made.
• It's tossed off. It occurs in the background, and no one comments on it. Jayne's reading a letter from his mother and she mentions that the money he sent helped. Then he goes on to wear the hat she sent for the rest of the episode. How much of his cut do you think he sends home?
• This is already kind of hinted at in previous examples, but any scene in which Simon utters the words "Mei-mei". The amount of unconditional love Sean Maher can put in to those two words is heartbreaking.
• It's kind of in the background, but in the cold open of "The Message", Jayne receives a package and letter from his mother. In the letter, his mother thanks him for all the money he's sending home, as his little brother has been sick. There's a reason Jayne's a money-grubbing scoundrel.
• About 80% of Mal's actions in "Shindig" were a result of his sexist backwards views on how to defend a lady's honor, but it all comes together when Inara finally calls him out on it:

Inara: You have a strange sense of nobility, Captain. You'll lay a man out for implying that I'm a whore, but you keep calling me one to my face.
Mal: Look, I may not show respect to your job, but he didn't respect you. That's the difference. Inara, he doesn't even see you.

• • It's further sealed when he asks her not to stay with Atherton and even admits he has no right to say it, but he does because he cares about her.
• The scene in "Out of Gas" where Mal makes Inara leave the ship with the rest of the crew. The most important bit is when he touches her shoulder--one small little touch that shows everything in their relationship. He knows he can't tell her how he feels and she knows she can't reciprocate it and so that one touch conveys his concerns better than any dialogue could have.
• Mal quipping to Wash about Zoe during the torture scene in "War Stories" comes across just really damn mean-spirited, up until the music kicks in, where it becomes apparent that Mal is just goading Wash so he'll weather through it.
• My favorite Simon & River scene is in "War Stories" (before Niska captures Mal and Wash). He's started medicating River, and she throws up from the side effects. She starts saying that she hates it when she's lucid because she knows she'll relapse, and goes into a spiel ending with "What am I?" He hugs her and says, "You are my beautiful sister."
  • Then the CMOH is crossed with a CMOF:

River: I threw up on your bed.
(Beat)
Simon: Yep, definitely my sister.

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