Firefly: Settle a Dispute

[DonAdam]

So, my roommate and I have an ongoing debate about the end of the Train Job episode of Firefly.

I think that when Mal kicks Niska's goon into the engine it's an accident. I say this because:
A) He looks surprised
B) He makes it clear at the end of the pilot that he wouldn't kill an unarmed man

My roommate thinks that it is quite intentional, because:
A) The guy was a bad man
B) He would know that the engine was right there
C) The look of surprise could be because of how gruesome it was

So... what do you browncoats have to say? Intentional or no?

 

[Chun-tzu]

It seemed pretty clear to me that it was intentional. The guy may have been unarmed, but he was threatening Mal's life, and he most definitely meant it. Mal doesn't like killing, but he will not hesitate to do it when the situation calls for it, like in the original two-hour pilot.

 

[Richards]

I say intentional without a doubt - I'm surprised it's even under question.

Johnathan

 

[Crothian]

I never doubted that it was intentional at all, I don't think Mal looks suprised I thought he looked amused.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Delightfully intentional. It was a clever play on a cliched situation, the kind of thing everyone yells at the screen when you see it happen in a movie or TV show. "Don't let him go, KILL HIS A**!" If there was something ambiguous about that scene I didn't pick up on it.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Intentional. I never even questioned that he would do it in that situation.

 

[argo]

Absouetly it was intentional. Mater of fact I consider that intentional killing to be one of the defining moments for Mal's character.

 

[Krieg]

Nah Greedo shot first, you can see it plain as day on the DVD.

 

[Ranger REG]

It was an intentional "accident."

 

[John Crichton]

One is not kicked into an engine by accident.

And yeah - there is no doubt in my mind that he did it on purpose. Mal has killed in similiar situations before - see the real premeire.