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Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill ’em right back!
— Mal ‧ Firefly
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Mal lays down a simple rule of self-defence. If someone tries to kill you, you answer in kind. There's no hesitation or diplomacy in it, just a hard-edged code that treats fighting back as only fair.
Context reviewed