Hrm...maybe the first opportunity, he just didn't want to kill an operative...probably get him in even MORE trouble? Maybe.
And as for the second, I think he was really fixated on showing him that new world he wanted so bad.
But if it were me...
He let him live, after he was an obvious threat. He was, he then went and killed everyone Mal knew, including Book.
I think he dropped the ball on Mal's character as previously written, at that point. Not the same character. A cynical veteran of a losing war who had been previously shown coolly and wisely eliminating what would be persistent threats would, I think, have shot him in the head before leaving.
It was for the sake of the plot, but that made the plot fall down for me.
First rule of a good narrative is "show, don't tell."
When we get dropped into Alien, do we get a twenty-minute explanation of the back story of the crew, the charter of the intergalactic corporation that owns the ship, and precise coordinates? No. Does that make it any less accessible?
Damn straight.
Seeing a character's or real person's character in action is much more convinicing than a dry back story.
Hrm...maybe the first opportunity, he just didn't want to kill an operative...probably get him in even MORE trouble? Maybe.
And as for the second, I think he was really fixated on showing him that new world he wanted so bad.
But if it were me...
He let him live, after he was an obvious threat. He was, he then went and killed everyone Mal knew, including Book.
I think he dropped the ball on Mal's character as previously written, at that point. Not the same character. A cynical veteran of a losing war who had been previously shown coolly and wisely eliminating what would be persistent threats would, I think, have shot him in the head before leaving.
It was for the sake of the plot, but that made the plot fall down for me.
I gotta side with MW on this one. A stunned operative who has shown the talents he did was the perfect opportunity for the teevee Mal to kill him and then go on & face consequences later. Just like the old "minion in the engine" and then "captured by minion's boss" later.
That is one thing I liked about teevee Mal: practical and understanding of current demands.
For the sake of plot, I am sure there is more than one operative in the employ of the Alliance. Heck, The Operative could have been a genetically engineered passel of clones if'n they wanted to use the same actor and a "Didn't I kill you already?" reaction from Mal.
For the sake of plot, I am sure there is more than one operative in the employ of the Alliance. Heck, The Operative could have been a genetically engineered passel of clones if'n they wanted to use the same actor and a "Didn't I kill you already?" reaction from Mal.
That makes a lot of sense, actually. Why try to hide or change or erase a man's identity, when you can just grow him in a lab, and never give him a Birth Certificate? And no one will ever recognize him from high school.
I was also annoyed that Mal didn't finish the job, before he climbed out to that generator/computer platform thing. But the failure to kill him at the training house was understandable. He had just been thrashed, his eyes and ears must have been ringing from the explosion, Alliance goons were about to come down on him, and his last attempt to kill the Operative had been futile. It was time to clear out without further ado.
I was just delighted to see Mal shoot him as swiftly as he did, that first time. Most movies would have had the Op draw his hidden gun, and then the two would have spoken at some length, as if an aimed gun is just an idle threat, rather than a clear and present danger to be eliminated toot sweet.