Okay, so I’m rewatching “Shindig” because… well, it’s a fun episode and the recent mentioning of favorite episodes got me wanting to. It was either this or “Out of Gas,” and I didn’t want to cry.
Anyway, not even fifteen minutes into the episode and Mal’s already needled Inara about paying customers and Mal snapping at Kaylee about the frilly dress. (Oh, and here he is giving Kayle the frilly dress!) Do I see these things as bullying? It could be seen that way. I don’t, not really. Especially not compared to Atherton Wing, who is very firmly in the bully territory. I think Mal’s needling of Inara is the closest to bullying behavior–you can’t convince me that he’s not doing it because the thought of someone he might very well love being with other people hurts him so he wants to hurt her back. The snapping at Kaylee? (Oh, I love Kaylee, she’s being so cute right now.) I don’t think it’s any more bullying than it is when my friends snap at me for wandering off topic like I frequently do. It’s not right, but people are never perfect. So yeah, I think being completely disillusioned made Mal into something of a bully, but not completely so. He’s still trying to do the right thing somewhere down in there, but it’s like sometimes he forgets how to on the little things.
Funny thing that I thought of the other day. We see heroic!Mal being broken during “Serenity pt. 1,” and we see him on his way to being put back together in “Serenity.”
Also re: Shindig, Dr. Giggles is in this episode as the guy Mal’s there to talk to. I can’t take him seriously because I keep seeing him as an evil dentist.