Original artwork, not a still
I'll kill a man in a fair fight, or if I think he's gonna start a fair fight... If he bothers me, or if there's a woman... Or if I'm gettin' paid. Mostly only when I'm gettin' paid.
— Serenity
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The speaker begins with a fair fight as a reason for killing, then keeps adding less principled exceptions. The final emphasis on payment undercuts the earlier appearance of a code. The humour comes from a supposedly careful distinction dissolving into a blunt admission about money.
Context reviewed
