Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Fictional Characters: 85

****SPOILERS TO FOLLOW****

85: River Tam

Created by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Summer Glau for the television series “Firefly”
First Appearance: 2002

I like me some crazy women. I mean, take a look at my dating history, would ya? That, alone, will provide all the evidence you need of that.

More to the point, though, River is Serenity’s personal nut, with a screw that is so loose, it fell out years ago. Experimented on and tested by a governing body that many in the known universe deem corrupt and tyrannical, poor Ms. Tam has lead a horrible life up to our introduction to her in the show’s pilot. Mystery immediately surrounds her the second Malcom Reynolds opens her case and peers into a naked River. And in a show with an entire cast of great, memorable characters, that very mystery is what really sets River apart from the others. Her brother’s origins make sense, Mal, Wash, and Zoe all make sense. And there is even an episode dedicated to the rest of the characters’ history with the ship. But River, along with the unfortunately absent Shepard Book, remain the two most mysterious characters in the entire series+movie.

But even with the movie creating a kind of book-end for the show and attemting to wrap up her past and powers, we still never get a solid feel for her capabilities, and that’s part of her allure, I think. Book, for example, is barely touched upon, just that he was part of the higher portions of the Alliance and that he had connections and information that was far and beyond what a normal shepard would have had. But the mystery of his past is never really at the forefront (which is sad, don’t get me wrong, and a horror FOX will have to answer for when they all go to Hell, someday) like River’s is, and that’s what puts her above all the others.

Her creepy ways, her odd mannerisms, and her off-kilter speech all contribute to this, but at her core, its the innocent little girl that steals the spotlight, for me. You see, she can be an action hero, she can pull off amazing trick shooting, and she can immediately know how to fly and handle an archaiac piece of spacecraft. This is all within the hinted-at realm of her manipulated abilities. But the thing that is always there, under all of that ever-ready carnage is the wonder and youth Summer Glau brings to the character. Her nimble actions, her frail personality, and her sense of constant amazement at all things reminds us that, while she is an engineered killing machine with psychokinetic powers up her sleeves, she’s just a lost little girl trying to make sense of the demons in her own head. Demons she can’t even really comprehend.

In a flashback involving Zac Efron, we see that River was always super, hyper-intelligent and well beyond her years in regards to intellect. So smart that she’s sent away to an academy where they poke at her brain for years on end, turning her into a telepath and trained physical warrior. So, while I appreciate and adore the levels they went to maintain River as a sweet, innocent girl the most, I also know how to appreciate a Whedon-written ass-kicker from space when the situation calls for it. The final brawl she has against an army of Reavers during the film “Serenity” and its closing moments, for example, not only further showcase her as a brutal powerhouse of a warrior, but adds even more depth to the mystery of her abilities and the shadowy Alliance organization responsible for them.

Whatever their intentions with her were to be, the drive the Alliance has to find her during the brief run of the show and during the entirety of the film is what moves the plot forward and keeps a kind of tension present throughout. While other narratives take over and force different kinds of situations for the crew of Serenity, its the River issue that singularly guides characters to their moral conclusions during the entire series. When the film is over and everything is said and done, it is clear that the series is really about two main characters, with River being the secondary of the two. Who is the primary? Well, we’ll be getting to him later.

Comics and ARG material aside (most of which I haven’t seen/read/heard of), the character lives and breathes on the show and in the film, and its characters like River Tam that keep the series as popular and well-loved as it always deserves to be.

Favoriate Portayal:
Well, I’ve only read one comic, so I have to give it to the show, particularly the script for the episode “Objects in Space” which showcases the entire range River has in one 45-minute episode (it being the best episode of the series has something to do with her, too). Quick, weird, and smart, River gives the bad guy – and even the crew – a run for their money.

 

Favorite Quote:
After seeing Book’s hair unbound and freaking the fuck out over it:
Zoë: River, honey, he’s putting the hair away now.
River: Doesn’t matter. It’ll still be there… waiting.

 

Favorite Moment:
As badass as her brawl with the Reavers is at the end of “Serenity”, the moment I love the most is River’s sudden and shocking shootout with bad guys in “War Stories” – Kaylee is flipping shit and scared and River comes out of no where, picks up a gun, and without even a second glance, blows every last member of the bad guys away, and with a cocked smile utters the simple yet powerful “No power in the ‘verse” line that she’s so famous for. The effects of this event aren’t fully realized for another few episodes, either, making it a wave that crashes much later, and leaves a lasting impression for years to come.

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Added August 30, 2016
Had to fix a TON of the editing on this post, man.
Also, this makes me want to instantly re-watch Firefly and Serenity, but – well – duh.