Things Learned from Serenity

(Note: If some horrible fate has befallen you and you have not yet seen this movie, you should know that you're about to encounter spoilers go watch it immediately.)

I know Serenity has been around a while and most nerds and Browncoats like me have seen it multiple times, but I'm just now gleaning everything I can from its brilliance. Here's what I've learned:

- The theme of this movie is belief, and opposing beliefs cause the core conflict of the plot. The Alliance believes it can make people better and Malcolm Reynolds doesn't hold to that belief. He rightly believes trying to make people better actually hurts them. But it's more than that. The conviction of this belief led both Mal and the Alliance operative to extreme actions.

The operative's conviction led him to believe killing River was his moral duty. Mal believes protecting his crew (and causing harm to the Alliance) is his moral obligation. The point is, it's not enough for your characters to believe something; they must be so convinced that they are, in this case, willing to fight to the death for it. This conviction must be strong enough to get them through the torment you rain down on them in your story. If you're not torturing your characters, you're doing it wrong.

- Everyone has an agenda. I knew this before watching Firefly and Serenity, but these characters really bring home the point, and that's what makes them and the show so interesting. Yes, they are a team, and yes, they have one common interest: making money and not getting dead, but they all want different things and have different perspectives. Hence the incessant infighting. Bottom line: there is always conflict, whether it's coming from outside Serenity or within. This conflict fuels the story at every turn, and it can fuel your story too. Create characters that don't always get along.

- Never, ever kill a main character everyone loves for no good reason. Unless your name is Joss Whedon. Is it? No? Then don't do it. Just don't. Killing Shepherd had a purpose and made logical sense; killing Wash did not. I will never forgive Joss Whedon for killing him. Screw that, I'll just deny it altogether. Wash is alive!

- Sometimes, after your characters have exceeded the limits of their abilities and paid the price with broken bodies, it's OK for an outside source to call a cease-fire. But only after your characters have given their all and can do nothing more but surrender or die. Only then can you even begin to think about giving them outside help to save the day. Not only should this help make logical sense within the story, it must come about because of the actions of your characters. It should be earned. An ending will only be satisfying if it's earned.

I'm sure there's a lot more you can learn from the wonderful work of Serenity, but these are the highlights that really struck me. Please share what you've learned from the movie or other works by Joss Whedon in the comments.