Shepherd Book: "If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."
After a job that appeared to have gone very well (despite Mal's frequent assertion that things never "go smooth"), the crew was bamboozled by a deceptive beauty who said she was married to Mal.
Other than "you can't judge a book by its cover" and "there's a sucker born every minute," I don't think there's any deeper meaning to this episode. But it was so much fun to watch. Dan said, "There's no part of this episode that I don't like," and I agree. I mean, if you're going to put your hero in a floral bonnet, at least Nathan Fillion can pull it off.
In fact, everyone was funny. Zoe was wildly amused by the situation until she got angry on Saffron's behalf. Wash was so completely faithful to Zoe that it got him bonked on the head. Even the usually cool and contained Inara, sprawled out half-conscious and determined not to let anyone know that she had kissed Mal, was amusing. And Jayne and his rain stick were a hoot. ("You got a wife? All I got was that dumb ass stick sounds like it's raining." And yet, he seemed very moved by the gift. Was he being gracious? Was he just very drunk when they gave it to him?)
What this episode told me was that Mal is a pretty good guy who doesn't have an inflated opinion of himself. He kept trying his valiant best to resist Saffron for her sake, even though it had been a long time since anybody but him took ahold of his "plow." And even though Inara's jealousy was nearly tangible, Mal didn't pick up on it. If he had, he might have guessed that Inara had kissed him, not Saffron. I can conclude, therefore, that Mal doesn't know how Inara feels about him. Makes sense. I don't know why I thought he did.
And then we had Jayne and his Callahan full-bore autolock gun named Vera. Jayne plus a big gun is a popular strategy of Mal's, and certainly saved the day. Which only reminded me of how different this show is from, say, Star Trek. No phasers or shields here. Serenity is vulnerable, and so is the crew.
Bits and pieces:
-- Christina Hendricks, the actress who played Saffron, was very good. I was completely fooled by her innocent act, right up until she knocked Mal out with her lips. [Note from later: she is now a big deal in the series Mad Men.]
-- And yet more dancing. Is there dancing in every episode?
-- This week's planets: The opening scenes were on Triumph. They were on their way to Beaumonde, which is French for "beautiful world". And Mal revealed that he was from Shadow, where his mother had a ranch and raised him alone with a bunch of cowhands.
-- Wash said he was from a polluted planet. No name given.
Quotable quotes:
-- Mal: "The way I see it, me and her got one thing in common. We're the only ones who don't think this is funny." (Well, except for Inara.)
Mal: "Don't you ever stand for that sort of thing. If someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill them right back."
Zoe: "Remember that sex we were planning to have, ever again?"
Mal: "Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle." Dan loved this line.
Saffron: "But we've been wed. Aren't we to become one flesh?"
Mal: "Well, no, we're still two fleshes here. And I think that your flesh oughta sleep somewhere else."
Wash: "I wish I was somebody else right now. Somebody not married, not madly in love with a beautiful woman who can kill me with her pinky."
Wash: "Okay! Everybody not talking about sex, in here. Everybody else, elsewhere."
I really enjoyed this one. Four out of four stars,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
This was just fun from beginning to end. Loved the broad comedy and the Whedon dialogue.
ReplyDeleteBut the coda at the end, "I knew you let her kiss you!" was gold. Tells us a lot about Mal's character.
Have to agree with Chris B here. By the time I saw Our Mrs. Reynolds, I was hooked on Firefly. This episode had me completely fooled; and I ws convenced that Saffron was the vulnerable innocent she said she was.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many twist and turns in this that just whn you think you understand, you don't.
The final line at the end by Mal to Inara, "I knew you let her kiss you" was an absolute gem.
I'm actually grinning while I write this!
Ten out of four stars for this one.
This episode has great dialogue. "I swear by my pretty flowered bonnet I will end you."
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Christina Hendricks from Mad Men, there's also Benito Martinez from The Shield. But you never quite see his face; he's one of "Saffron's" fellow heisters.