Rancid Burgess on the scene and he is truly one of the most vile people in the entire franchise. What a scumbag
Mal entirely failing to be cool because like that was never gonna work, Inara's just seen you jump about ten foot in the air you were never gonna play that off as anything else
Of course he still decides to antagonise her and sometimes I really want to smack him upside the head like please. Get over yourself
I absolutely love Inara and Nandi's friendship to be honest, kinda wish we'd seen more of it but on the other hand it do get a solid idea just from the one episode
Mal's still something of an ass but he refuses payment of all kinds immediately and that speaks volumes
Also I know his calling Inara a whore is mostly to do with their complicated relationship and his inability to deal with his own feelings in a healthy manner but...is there also the element of him just thinking that the Companion's Guild are getting above themselves? Because some episodes back he tells Inara that it's her job he doesn't respect, not her...but in this episode he never judges any of the whores, is willing to go to bat for them without blinking, so that reasoning kinda falls flat a little...
And also ultimately the one thing Mal always supports is a person's freedom of choice so is it that on some level he just sees the Companion's Guild as being unnecessarily uppity? I mean this is still rooted in ignorance and doesn't excuse how he treats Inara, but I'm just wondering if there's more to it than the sexual tension with her...
In any case I do like that there's no real judgement from any of the crew - of course it's mostly because there is an actual job to do but they treat these people as pepole. Book gets over himself, even Jayne's not as rough and ready as you'd expect (though still fairly coarse in general but that's something that'll never change)
"Wash, tell me I'm pretty." "Were I unwed, I would take you in a manly fashion." "Cos I'm pretty?" "Cos you're pretty." Love them so much
As though it wasn't obvious from the start that Rancid was a piece of shit, we also get the triple whammy of 'he hoards his wealth', 'he deliberately tried to get one of the girls pregnant because he wants a son and his wife's barren' (which is tied in to the first thing because someone with that much money could surely probably pay for some official surrogate or some shit but nope, he wants to put women in their place, specifically these women, in their place) and 'cares about his fancy high tech weapon more than his wife'
(Also I've been looking at the shooting script some and my suspicion about his wife was right cos I wondered just how much she was into this plan but when it's confirmed the child is a boy and says 'Come first light you ride over there...and you get me my boy' like woah
It's not surprising that Mal's initial plan afterwards is to nope right out of there with all the girls - 'I don't believe you do understand, Nandi. I said "we run." We. My people. Your people. And whatever bits of precious you got in this house you can't bear to part with. We load up Serenity and leave Burgess in the dust."
But when Nandi decides to stay and fight he's fine with that too and everyone aside from Simon (on baby duty) gets to work with the fortifications
Wash and Zoe discussing their future children is always kinda sad - would that have materialised in the show had the series not been cancelled, I wonder? Instead they get a child in the comics only Wash doesn't her to meet her...
One of the best interactions in the franchise is the one where Nandi asks Mal if he's gay and he simply replies that no, he's not, because like...so many shows have it played for laughs with the character reacting badly or over the top to it but Mal doesn't. Even the shooting script describes him as 'totally comfortable with the question' and you can tell he really is and for a show from the early noughties that's quite impressive and I love it
Nandi then immediately clocks his feelings regarding Inara and we also get more hints to Inara's illness with how suddenly she left House Madrassa...if only that woulda led somewhere
As though having to deliver a baby isn't stressful enough this is Simon's first as the main doctor and he's freaking out just a little bit
'Who do you think is in there?' River this isn't really the time
Nandi and Mal do have pretty good chemistry but this is the second time we've had reference to him not having been with anyone for ages - 'a long damn time', he told YoSaffBridge, 'Longer than I care to tell' is what he reveals to Nandi...honestly I've got the feeling he's not had anyone since before the war because obviously in five years of fighting you've got much more pressing matters on your mind...and in the six (nearly seve, by this point) years afterwards he's not really let anyone close enough to do that, sees his crew as family because they are but...it's gotta be over a decade, right?
Why does Chari betray everyone though? Just for money? Really? You sell out the woman who's literally done everything in her power to make things better for you and you sell her out for money?? Why??? Why would you do that????
And Rancid proves himself to be a hypocrite on top of everything else, decrying their 'decadent ways' as though he hasn't been using them for months
Mal awkwardness around Inara's is funny at first and then heartbreaking when she breaks down sobbing later on...and Nandi is not happy to find out that Mal knew of Inara's feelings and didn't let on
It's a hell of a gunfight and the stakes are even higher because Serenity's out of comission thanks to Chari's betrayal - Wash and Kaylee had two henchmen waiting for them and so Mal's back-up can no longer back-up
And they manage to deal with that but now they're both trapped on the wrong end of the spaceship
And as the shitty icing on the cake Rancid reveals that he was perfectly fine with using his own men as cannon fodder just so he could get to the baby
The baby's rescued it comes at a price because he kills Nandi...and Mal's fury ignites and Rancid never stands a fucking chance, Mal brings him down and brings him down hard, that pistol whip is so fucking satisfying
And Petaline gets the kill as she should - 'Jonah, say hell to your daddy.' *BOOM HEADSHOT* 'Say goodbye to your daddy, Jonah' iconic, a line I've never forgotten in ten years
A fusion funeral and one that is absolutely heartbreaking because we didn't have long with Nandi but the show made us care and that is powerful writing
Love the bait-and-switch on more than one level - first time around you think Inara's gonna confess her feelings, second time around you wonder whether she was considering telling him about the illness but no, she just tells him she's leaving and never reveals why...and that's where the episode ends
(Also Mal feels so guilty over not saving Nandi and we're reminded why he's so reluctant to let people in...)
I've always long been of the opinion that having psychic powers would really suck and this show proves it because it's nothing but pain for River
It's interesting what she does 'see' though like Simon wishing he were still a doctor isn't that much of a surprise, we've already been shown and told that he is only here because of the circumstances, because of River, and River's obviously already known this because she herself has said it...
But Jayne and Book are really interesting though - Jayne seems to be his usual self but then we find out he actually still feels really guilty about selling out the Tams...and possibly even wants to confess to Book but doesn't know how. Book, meanwhile, seems to show something of his past self but also now I'm definitely convinced he worked it out way before and doesn't care cos a) he's also worked out Mal must know because Mal always knows and b) all Book is concerned are his actions now - he's not gonna offer absolution so what will you do with that?
I am, admittedly, still a little thrown by River's reaction to Zoe and Wash like is she yearning for something she'll likely never have because of her condition? Does she have a flash of foreboding? Is it just that she's never seen such affection and still doesn't know what to do with it even after all her time on the ship (we've been told she can feel everything and something tells me the senior Tams didn't exactly have an affectionate marriage?) I've still no idea...
Inara and Mal's is to do with their current situation but on a deeper level shows their deeper fears also - 'I'm a big girl, you can tell me' because Inara's had to face up to her terminal illness but she wants to live, 'None of it means a damn thing' which is just Mal's outlook on life these days, has been since the war, he lost his faith and now he's just trying to keep him and his crew alive in the face of an uncaring 'verse
Still not over the next scene though because Mal is the only one who has any common sense, near everyone else is panicking because River's handling a gun and either yelling at her to put it down or yelling at the others to stop yelling at her...meanwhile Mal just hurries down, calmly persuades her to hand it over with an ease that tells us this isn't the first time he's had to get a dangerous weapon off of a kid who didn't know better - 'River, sweetheart, you want nothin' to do with that, put it down' - clarifies he's not mad but takes it, disarms it, and gives a warning to her and to the rest of the crew and there, the situation is dealt with
Then he does his usual 'gruffly pretending not to care' shtick with Simon - 'My point is it could've been you she might've shot just then - the doctor, as you just made note of. And who exactly could fix you? Not nobody.' like yeah, sure, pretend it's solely for practical reasons, Mal, we totally believe you
First time watching you fall for the whole 'Jubal Early is a cool, calm, ruthless bounty hunter'...second time around you know he's actually batshit crazy but the suspense is still built up brilliantly because of the silence, because of how he gets on unnoticed
Meanwhile Mal makes clear he's neither really forgiven and certainly forgotten what Jayne did - there's some development in that Jayne's first response to all this is that he's not the reason River's crazy, but then he seems to not remember he's still on thin ice until Mal sharply reminds him like yeah, if he'd screwed up again that probably would've been it, Mal is definitely fully prepared to reveal to the entire crew what happened
I do feel for Kaylee, though, because she's obviously been shaken up by River's actions a few months back but tried not to be, tried to keep it secret because yeah, she's a little scared of her but like eeryone else on the ship is well aware that it's not her fault she is like she is...but unfortunately there is a danger here
Mal knows it too, already suspected she could read minds and as Zoe says the Alliance could do a lot with a psychic assassin...but thing is Mal also knows that she's just a kid - Simon's right and it's not like anyone disagrees with that, really, it's not something they need to be reminded of. Mal says he'll think and he probably would've because it's not an easy decision. He wants his crew safe and River's an unknown element and yet in his own words the Tams are crew too, so...what to do? It's a very emotional discussion and it really hits you right in the feels
(Also the thing is...Simon's young too. There's a good few years between him and River, sure, but fact is this isn't a situation he should ever have been in either)
Jubal really is terrifying though - takes out Mal in seconds, calmly threatens to assault Kaylee in a way that says he has done this before and this disables her too, flattens Book and captures Simon and this is all within minutes. Minutes
Doesn't take long for Simon to figure out he's got a screw loose - 'I can't help you' is not just about finding River - but he wil not let anything happen to Kaylee neither
(He also recognises Book somehow, knows he isn't a Shepherd)
But River's already got a plan in action and I love that so much -starts by psyching out Jubal by pretending she's melded with Serenity (which I fully believed the first time around, by the way), comforts Kaylee and gets her back on track, loops in Mal while also trolling him 'I need you to trust me.' 'Am I dreamin'?' 'We all are' *Mal rolls his eyes* 'Don't make faces.' *Looks spooked*
River loops in Zoe and Wash but she has a plan - no touchin' guns
And then we get the revelation that actually she's been in Early's ship the whole time, proceeds to sike him out some more before proclaiming she'll go with him-
And does not factor in her brother trying to save her because apparently he's picked up some of Mal's determinator tendencies during his stay here like still tackling Early even after being fucking shot??? Pure Mal right there, I love it
But it was all a trick and Mal literally shoves him off into space and that's that, boots him off his ship without a second thought
'Permission to come aboard?' 'You know, you ain't quite right' 'It's the popular theory' *Mal grins* 'Go on, get in there. Give your brother a thrashing for messing up your plan. *River sighs* 'He takes so much looking after* love them so much
I am thinking that maybe the crew ought to learn at least a few more medical skills than they do just in case of situations like this though
Love the last scenes of the crew though - Book claiming he gave Early a great fight, Jayne super disappointed he slept through the whole thing, Kaylee and River are getting along again...I just love it
Meanwhile Early is left floating in space - 'Well, here I am.'
And that's it because the bastards at Fox stole it from us (listen, do I think more seasons would've inevtiably gone downhill? Probably. Some of Whedon's plans for S2 I really side-eye but still, it deserved better than it got, at least deserved all it's episodes to be shown in order if nothing else)
Deleted Scene time!!! And for once we also get the explantions as to why it was cut (more shows should do this please and thank you!!!)
There's two from 'Serenity'- the first one was the original opening scene, the aftermath of the Battle of Serenity with Mal and Zoe left with only a handful of injured and dying soldiers, still waiting for a medical ship, and Mal loses his faith for good when the one that does come is Alliance. This one was cut because Whedon wanted a much more dramatic opening and I agree, for once
Second one was then defunct because of the revised opening - Simon consults The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 'Verse about the Battle only for Zoe to tell him that he's not gonna find her or Mal there, and she exposits about the Battle and how both Alliance and the Independents left them and their troops there while peace was negotiated so those that survived the Battle were mostly wiped out by illness (also says that Mal will give him a chance if Kaylee pulls through but if he tells her to shoot, she'll shoot)
Third one is from 'Our Mrs Reynolds' with River seemingly having one of her moments by trying to get Book to marry her and Simon only she immediately stops that when Mal and Saffron appear and identifies Saffron as a thief
Of course Saffron pretends it's just the snack she took but Mal is less than impressed and again genuinely tries to do good because he has no idea about her true nature, he just thinks she's some naive girl and he tries to impart an important lesson on her because there's no place for that in the 'verse 'Dammit, be like a woman is. Not some petrified child. More than 70 earths spinnin' the galaxy and the meek have inherited not a one' (if only you remembered a bit more of the bible, eh Mal 🤨🤨)
River is one hundred percent messing with Simon though, his reaction is priceless and she knows it - but the episode would've been too long with this scene so sadly they had to cut it
The last one is for 'Objects in Space' and is really just a slightly extended version of River reading Inara and Mal that was in the actual aired version of the show but left out of the DVD version because the DVD didn't cut entire fucking episodes
