Firefly

(Unaired) This episode was depressing to watch. Why? Because it never made it to air. This, my friends, is a fine example of what Firefly is all about. It’s when you get a good mix of science fiction and good ol’ Western-like heists and gunplay that this show shines. But I have a confession to make — this was the first time I saw this episode.

The return of Saffron (had we established her real name at all at this point?) was a great surprise. I’d said before that ’Our Mrs. Reynolds’ was possibly the best episode of the series, and this just gives that episode even more weight by extending it. I wonder if Joss had a sort-of Firefly bible in mind when this series was being written, before the Serenity movie. Did he consider bringing Saffron back for a third or fourth time in future seasons? For that matter, did he have an idea on how everything would go down in the end?

Oh, can I just add that Christina Hendricks is mighty fine (that’s Firefly-like talk for you).

Inara played a great part in this episode. The fact that both Inara and Saffron consistently demonstrate how calculating they can be proves why being a registered companion isn’t necessarily considered a lowly profession. I say "necessarily" because, well, Mal doesn’t so much care for what she does for a living.

The backdrop for this story was one of my favorites so far. The air-floating, cloud city-like islands was a cool touch. And the objects from "Earth that was" were great as well — the old phone booth in Haymer’s office, and the legendary "Lassiter" pistol, one of the first laser guns of its time. Did anyone else want to see that thing work?

We get another example of what makes River special in this episode, as she demonstrates how she clearly read the mind of Jayne to learn of his plan in ’Ariel’ to turn them in. Oh, and that she can kill Jayne "with her mind." Couldn’t anyone?

Oh, and did anyone else catch the Windows OS on the trash bin when Jayne was working on it? Hm... Windows... Trash bin... That sounds about right.

Jayne-ism of the episode:

Jayne: "Well, as a rule, I say, girlfolk ain’t to be trusted." River: "Jayne is a girl’s name." Jayne: "Well, Jayne ain’t a girl! She starts in on that girl’s-name thing, I’ll show her good ’n’ all, I got man parts!" Simon: "I’m trying to think of a way for you to be cruder. I just ... it’s not coming."