Mark Watches ‘Firefly’: Episode 3 – Bushwacked

In the third episode of Firefly, Whedon and crew tackle the abandoned spaceship trope to crank up the suspense. When Mal discovers what is on the ship (and what did it), we see the captain in fear for the very first time. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Firefly.

Man, this show is getting to be pretty fantastic. I think it’s important to acknowledge that the opening 15 minutes or so of this episode is a trope that pops up in science fiction fairly often. That’s not to say this episode doesn’t do the “abandoned spaceship floating around” trope very well. As Mal and Zoe explore the ship, we’re given glances at children’s toys and a solitary red balloon. Because there are few things creepier than random children’s shit strewn about a vacant space. right.

The silence of the ship is what’s creepiest here though. I think that’s one of the things that can unsettle me most when I’m watching a TV episode or a movie. It adds to the sensation that something is abandoned and open. It makes it all the more scarier.

The episode continues to venture into the creepy as they realize that the entire vessel, which should be holding 14 families, is completely empty. The discovery of some valuable Alliance supplies at least gives them some validation for boarding the ship, but then River….oh River.

I don’t get her quite yet. She has some mysterious connection to people, their thoughts, and their motivations; she continues to show that she can mutter a non sequitur phrase that means something important later in the episode. What did they do to her brain??? DON’T ANSWER THAT.

Her strange thoughts and comments lead the crew to discover bodies hanging from the ceiling. For real. I literally yelled at the TV, “WHAT THE FUCK.” But what happened next was even worse: the look on Mal’s face.

Mal’s been pretty fearless this entire time. A look of caution might slip on to his face every now and then, but he’s largely a man with few fears. So when he immediately orders everyone to meet in the engine room, his face suddenly turning to fright, it disturbed me more than anything else in the entire 42 minutes.

Reavers. Reavers did it. I still don’t know exactly what Reavers are or what they look like, but this episode continues to adds to their mythology: they are cannibals who faced the nothingness at the “edge of the galaxy” and lost everything that made them human. They’re a faceless enemy at this point, but the threat of their existence scares Mal. And if they scare mall, they absolutely terrify Jayne, who starts sweating again once Mal reveals what he thinks happens aboard the ship. I’m interested to know if there is a backstory to Jayne’s fear or if the Reavers are something that everyone fears.

I appreciated the black humor in the idea that as the crew solved one problem, they continued to be forced to deal with one worse than the one before it. As Book and Simon help deal with the bodies, Kaylee has to deal with a potentially damning booby trap on the ship. And even when that is solved, the actual worst thing arrives: an Alliance cruiser, and one they can’t even escape.

“This soon???” I thought to myself. We’re only into the third episode and River and Simon’s fugitive status is being put to the taste. (This show is wasting no time at all.) Simon’s anger at Mal potentially preparing to hand them over is raw and realistic, but I found myself drawn more to the idea Simon brings up: Did Mal bring them on board to act as a bargaining tool in case the Alliance came on their ship?

The thing is, I still cannot figure out Mal. I said it in the last review, but his own moral compass seems to be entirely arbitrary. When I thought that he was being benevolent in taking the bodies down in the abandoned ship to give them a final ceremony, I was immediately shown that he was actually doing it so that him and Kaylee could be alone to deal with the booby trap.

Mal’s a pragmatic captain, seemingly always looking for a way out or a way in. While he certainly cares for his crew dearly, other people are just obstacles or pawns to him. He doesn’t get attached and he’ll do as he needs to in order to get what he wants. But even strict pragmatism doesn’t seem to describe him faithfully. When Mal realizes the lone survivor they picked up has sliced his tongue in two because he is turning into a Reaver, it would have been more pragmatic to not tell the Alliance sergeant what was happening; surely, when the man attacked the Alliance crew, Mal could attempt to make an escape, no?

Mal, you are a tricky one.

The interrogation scenes were an ingenuous method for us to get a slight bit of background on the characters, but mostly worked so well to see the contrast between Wash and his wife Zoe. Their chemistry is a bit Hermione and Ron, isn’t it?  It’s a testament to how well they’re written that I don’t question their pairing at all.

I’m pretty much hooked at this point. The show isn’t really wanly, it’s entertaining, and the characters and their dialogue are what set it apart from other science fiction shows. Ugh, too bad there’s only one season of this. I could do with more!

THOUGHTS

  • “We’re all doomed! Who’s flying this thing?” ILU WASH, NEVER CHANGE.
  • If I ever go into any place on some sort of exploration mission and there is uneaten food sitting at the table, I will immediately turn around and never come back. I’m sorry, that has never been a good sign in the history of everything forever.
  • I laughed at Jayne’s joke on Simon.
  • CREEPY DOLLS. REALLY?
  • “Not now, dear.” Oh, Zoe, you are so badass that dismissing your husband is hilarious.
  • “Besides, if I mess up, it’s not like you’ll be able to yell at me.” Even in the worst situations, Kaylee still has something to say that makes me smile.
  • I’m totally into the subversive story for why the ship is named Serenity.
  • Well, as it stands, Mal has killed a person at the end of each episode so far. And yes, I will keep track of the body count.

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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137 Responses to Mark Watches ‘Firefly’: Episode 3 – Bushwacked

  1. Syd K. says:

    This episode is one of my favorites, simply because I love watching Jayne turn into a terrified mess because they're on a ship that Reavers MAY HAVE been on, possibly, at SOME POINT in the past. A bunch of stuff that they could swipe and sell to make a fortune? HELL NO, REAVERS WERE HERE (MAYBE) AT SOME POINT IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WHY ARE WE NOT A MILLION MILES AWAY RIGHT NOW

    Also, "…he was a lot bigger when I couldn' see 'im."

  2. Lily says:

    I ADORE this episode. It's so creepy and haunting.
    Gah the Reavers. I love Jayne's reaction to them, it just makes it more real for me, I think. That someone who has seen all he has is still terrified by the thought of something.

  3. Marc064 says:

    If you were in their situation, and turned and ran when you saw the plates, you would asplode and die in a fire. That would be bad, no?

  4. affableevil says:

    Mal is really built to be an enigma – as soon as you're pretty sure you've got him figured out, he'll suddenly be like "Oh hai let me introduce you to a TOTALLY NEW FACET OF MY PERSONALITY have fun figuring out how this fits in with the rest lolololol".

    • cait0716 says:

      Even Inara, whose job it is to figure people out so she can give them what they want, can never figure Mal out

  5. aliens&chocolate says:

    I think you're the only one who would think to compare Zoe and Hermione! I love it!

  6. Hypatia_ says:

    I love the game they're playing at the beginning of the episode. It's like Calvinball IN SPACE.

  7. kellythered says:

    It was this episode that truly got me hooked. The part where River is just standing there, looking up at the ceiling… it gives me chills, every time. Even just thinking about it while typing this made me freak a little.

    I also thought it was interesting that while Simon fears the infinite nothing, River just absolutely loves it. It's an interesting contrast.

    I'm inclined to think that the Reavers were meant to be a space version of how Native Americans tended to be portrayed in Western culture. What do you guys think about this?

    • Hermione_Danger says:

      Eeeehhhh, I think it's a tough case to make. The Reavers are said to be humans who lost everything that made them human, not inherently subhuman non-people (like some Native cultures were), nor are the Reavers ever, ever romanticized (as happens and happened with many Native cultures).

      • I agree, i don't think there is much of a correlation between native amaricas and reavers. Like Hermione up here said, Reavers are said to be normal people, that for some reason (seeing the emptiness of the end of the galaxy is the common story) lost all their humanity. So they because something inhuman and totally bizzare and evil and cruel and RUN AWAY IF YOU SEE THEM!
        They are not missunderstood, by those corpses on the ceiling!

    • pica_scribit says:

      Yeah, I love that River loves space. I figure she likes it because it's quiet, unlike the inside of her head.

    • bookling says:

      Are you watching for the first time? You'll learn more about the Reavers. Your analogy doesn't really hold water.

    • Angela Slamsbury says:

      I think your Native American/Reaver theory is pretty legit. In early westerns, Native Americans are portrayed as savages, carrying off women and scalping whities left and right. Many settlers lived in fear of raids, and tales about actual tribes were exaggerated, warping them into monsters. Sure, Pocahantas, the Disney one with the acidtrip talking tree, and The Last of the Mohicans were sympathetic to Native Americans, but the stance is rare in older films.

    • notemily says:

      I have heard that before, that Firefly is a Western and our heroes are the cowboys and the Reavers are the "Indians." Which, I mean, I guess that works. I wish we didn't have the trope of the "savage Indians" in the first place, but if you're going to replace that with something, better it be Reavers than another ethnic/cultural group.

  8. ldwy says:

    I really liked this episode. But what you say about the "abandoned spaceship floating in space" trope…I actually don't watch that much science fiction, so I don't have a huge basis to compare this to. It is a suspenseful, riveting episode though, so I agree it was done well.
    But I'm too much of a scientist to let this slide. Coming across an abandoned spaceship floating in space? It wouldn't happen. SPACE IS BIG. The odds to one spaceship "coming across" another, when there is no signaling going on (ie active looking for stuff) or predetermined, used routes is kind of absurd to me. The probability of this happening randomly is so small it's negligible.

    • xpanasonicyouthx says:

      HEY.

      WHO ASKED YOU TO BRING LOGIC HERE

    • cait0716 says:

      But there are predetermined used routes. Or at least fastest routes. I think it's pretty safe to assume that for the most part everyone travels the shortest distance between planets. Except planets move, don't they? Damn.

      • Penquin47 says:

        So you do the shortest distance between those stars when you're FTL, and when you drop to regular speeds, figure out where to aim to get to the planet.

        At FTL speeds, the motion of the stars wouldn't really mean THAT big a difference over a few weeks.

        • cait0716 says:

          True, but over months or years or decades the routes would inevitably change.

          And depending on how far apart the planets were – or rather how far apart each was from the star they were orbiting – that initial route would change over the course of three weeks. I need numbers so I can calculate this…

          Why am I such a nerd?

        • porcupine8 says:

          I'm pretty sure there's no FTL in the Firefly universe. That's why all of humanity relocated to and currently lives in a single star system.

          • Penquin47 says:

            …What? No.

            Book describes "hundreds of new Earths" in the introduction. While we only have one data point to go on, it is slightly implausible to imagine hundreds of colonizable worlds around a single star. No star has a habitable zone that big, even allowing for colonizable moons of planets beyond the habitable zone. Yes, he says we "found a new solar system", but I'm much more inclined to believe that he messed up the scientific term than the world count.

      • ldwy says:

        This is a fair point. Assuming you're within a reasonable time frame, they might be on the same "route" between point/planet A and point/planet B. Hahaha, I love this. I guess it is science fiction.

    • MichelleZB says:

      But this isn't a whole galaxy. This is just one star system. So, mostly likely, ships can run into each other in the routes from one popular planet to another, or in orbits around any populated planet.

      • ldwy says:

        I concede. Still unlikely, but not negligible. 🙂 Thanks for having a nerdy debate with me, it's my favorite.

    • PJG says:

      if Im remembering correctly (watched a couple of days ago), wasnt there a proximity alarm or something that went off that Wash left the funky basketball game to go see to– "who's flying the ship?" comment… while there, the body bumped into Serenity.

      and yes, I think in SciFi, there seems to be regularly traveled routes between worlds… makes sense to me, as even though space is a lot of nothing, gravitational pull is out there, and there must be some sort of natural courses to take to get to different worlds. At those speeds, even within a couple hundred miles (maybe even couple thousand) those could/would count as near-hits (I dont say near miss, as if its nearly a miss, you really hit it) so, yeah, sensors reading an abandoned space ship within that distance would be investigated. Admiralty law 500 years in the future… always investigate for trouble, survivors, rescue, recovery, salvage

    • notemily says:

      JOSS WHEDON NEEDS NO SCIENCE

  9. monkeybutter says:

    Zoe and Wash foreverrrrr.

    I love this episode. I had no idea what to think about what had happened on the ship and what was wrong with the survivor when I first watched it, and it still keeps me on the edge of my seat on rewatching. The humor peppered in to relieve the tension is perfect. Kaylee being awesome is just the icing on the cake.

    You're right: silence is scary. And I totally feel for Simon when he looks out at all of that empty space behind them. I would flip the fuck out.

  10. elusivebreath says:

    So far, Bushwhacked is the creepiest episode yet! First, when the guy falls over their “windshield” I actually jumped, and then the entire time they were on the other ship I was just waiting for something bad to happen.

    And boy does it! Hearing about the Reavers was creepy enough, but seeing what they could do was even worse. Especially when you consider that there were children aboard. When Zoe looks into that crate and sees the doll, and then they find the bodies, it gave me the chills.

    Then there’s the survivor, and it seems like River has some kind of psychic connection to him. People should pay more attention to her and not dismiss her as a crazy person (I’m looking at you, Simon), because it seemed pretty obvious to me that she was on to something there.

    To be cont. (lol my comments are too long always)

    • elusivebreath says:

      Speaking of Simon, when he describes how he feels about going out into space in just a spacesuit I think I hyperventilated a little. LOVE how Jayne got him to suit up just to walk into the other ship and Kaylee pointing out that he had it on wrong. Which all led up to hanging on to the hull of the ship to hide from the Alliance. When Simon looked back at all that empty space, I actually felt a little dizzy.

      And can we talk about the Alliance (and the dude from Melrose Place?) … what is with those people? Seems like it’s full of petty individuals who love to feel important by being assholes. GRRRR. Although, I admit, the interrogation scenes were amusing (and when they searched Jayne’s room lol).

      Lastly, how creepy was the survivor guy?? When they showed his face after he attacked Melrose Place Guy, I was thoroughly CREEPED OUT. I had to watch something funny before I could go to bed!

      Favorite Quote: Mal: "May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

  11. D.J. says:

    I really like how Mal kind of manipulates the feelings of the crew to get them to go back on the ship while he has Kaylee and Wash fix the booby-trap. Smart, clever man.

    and Zoe's "Jayne. Scare the women." line KILLS me.

  12. Mary Sue says:

    Mark, seriously, I adore you. Never change, pumpkin.

  13. Marie_Goos says:

    OH GOD THIS EPISODE. Nothing scares the crap out of me like abandoned shit (and dentists, but luckily there were only Reavers around). I remember the first time I watched this I was curled up on the couch with a blanket around me, WITH ALL MY DOORS LOCKED. D: And then the bodies on the ceiling WHAT THE FUCK INDEED. And I never even thought of comparing Zoe and Wash to Hermione and Ron but now that you mention it, the similarity is totally there! And I'm sure there's fanfiction for it somewhere out there, too. Awful crossover fanfiction aside, this is still one of my favorite episodes just because of how much crap is scares out of me.

  14. cait0716 says:

    This is the first episode of Firefly I ever saw. Due to a VCR/clock/brain failure, I only got to see the first three minutes of The Train Job when the series originally aired. That said, I think the interrogation scene served as a great introduction to the majority of the characters. It remains one of my absolute favorite scenes, and I, too, love the juxtaposition between Zoe and Wash.

  15. DameDallas says:

    I'm sure River is uber-important to the overall plot of Firefly, but right now, I just don't get her. She just kind of floats around, says stuff, does something weird, and Simon freaks out. I know she is supposed to be the big mystery, and half of where they go or don't go are based on the fact that she's on board.

    In the end, I just have to keep watching. It's just that Mr. Whedon has done such a great job on giving depth to all of the other characters that I see her character is lacking.

  16. Meltha says:

    "surely, when the man attacked the Alliance crew, Mal could attempt to make an escape, no?"

    See, though, I don't think Mal would send a Reaver after anyone, even the Alliance. He has a code… a complicated code, but it's there. You get more of it as the show goes on. But no, Mal wouldn't feed anybody to a Reaver.

  17. GingerBlack123 says:

    I love the Jayne & Simon wordy/prank “war”! LOL!! And this series is somewhat made of awesome!sauce, and that’s just from watching 3 episodes! (Trying my best to watch it with you, since I failed in reading a chapter a day of THG, and finished it, as well as CF, now in the middle of reading Mockingjay.) 😀

  18. Elfy says:

    Zoe & Wash = Hermione & Ron. I never thought of it this way, but you are so totally right.

  19. Mel says:

    I think the thing with Mal and telling the Alliance exactly what was going on is that the Reavers are a universal enemy. They aren't something you wish on anyone. And, as evidenced by the episode, the more attacks there are, the more the Reaver population grows–while the man on the ship didn't see the edge of space, I believe the theory at this point is the Reavers always leave a spare few behind to become like them, after witnessing what they have.
    Mal's moral compass is very interesting indeed, but I don't think it's as arbitrary as it seems. His priority is keeping his crew safe, and I think the reason he took on Simon and River in the beginning, despite the threat they posed, was that he admired Simon's balls (not…in that…..way….>>) and, anyway, they ship could've used a medic. The thing I see with Mal is when his actions may have a "because I want to" or "because it's the right thing to do" reason behind it, there's always a very practical reason behind it as well–which is why I think he did want to give the dead people a proper "burial" as opposed to just getting himself and Kaylee alone with the booby trap. And I love those two sides of Mal.

  20. Quiqonky says:

    Love following along with you on this one. I am a Whedon fan but didn't watch Firefly when it aired and always meant to watch it since (BAD ME!), and now I am!

  21. petite-dreamer says:

    I love River in space. She has that "EVERYTHING IS SO BIG AND PRETTY AND AWESOME" face that you see on little kids all the time, and the fact that all we've seen of her has been either emotionally blank or full-on freakout makes this one moment so much greater. THAT is what Simon risked everything for.

  22. ramondestroys says:

    Damn. There goes my buffer. I will watch episode 4 tonight so I am able to read this tomorrow, haha.

    Mal's a sneaky bastard, but in the best way possible.

  23. IsabelArcher2 says:

    I liked this episode, a lot, but there were some weird things about it, and I feel like I need some more information about Reavers (btw, I keep thinking about Marcus yelling “REAVERS” in Gears of War every time I hear this) before I can give an accurate judgment.

    1) Why is this episode so creepy (in a good way)? I mean, I was really actually freaked out when River did that “Ghosts” whisper. Also, why are dolls so creepy?
    2) Why didn’t the Reavers take the supplies? How do they survive if they’re only OMFG IS THAT PIPE BLEEDING?!?!? (This is actually what I have written)
    3) The crew interviews were amazing! I loved every one of them. Especially Jayne… and Zoe… and Walsh… and Kaylee.
    4) The one thing I couldn’t figure out was the overall theme of “civilization.” Ever since I realized this is a “Western” I’ve been trying to find the “Indians” (possibly because I am cynical). At first I thought there was some connection between them and the “savage” Reavers, but then Mal also sarcastically called the Alliance “civilized” at multiple points during the episode. But THEN he made an odd comment about the one kid turning into a Reaver because he looked into the “darkness” of the Reavers’ actions, and it REALLY made me think about Joseph Conrad. I don’t know. I think I’m just going to have to continue watching so I can understand more about why the Reavers are the way they are. Is it really because they’ve been away from “civilization” so long? Or is there another reason? DON’T ANSWER THAT! I DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED EITHER!

  24. PolitiGal says:

    I am so, so, so much in love with how much you're loving this show. It's sad that we of the 'Verse have to continuously do this, but vicariously living through others watching these shows for the first time is what keeps our hope alive. "May have been the losing side; still not convinced it was the wrong one."

  25. Eilonwy_Llyr says:

    I have nothing of value to add except that I LOVE WASH SO HARD. I mean, I love the entire cast, I love this show, but I really, really love Wash.

    That's all.

  26. BinahtheBold says:

    I love Wash and Kaylee. They are (and will forever be) my favorites.

    There's a faction of Firefly fans (some of whom are good friends of mine) who really dislike Inara. I haven't been able to figure out why, really, and they haven't really been able to explain it to me. Any thoughts?

    • BinahtheBold says:

      I realized that this comment was non-sequitur to the actual episode. Whoops.

      As for the episode itself, I SQUEALINGLY LOVE the interrogation scene. And how Kaylee is a BAMF.

    • notemily says:

      Because they are haters. You should direct them to the left.

    • randomcheeses says:

      It's possible that they unconsciously subscribe to the Sex Worker automatically equals Morally Bankrupt mentality that is unforntunately rather rife in our society. Because Good Girls Don't Act That Way.

    • ladysugarquill says:

      Die For Our Ship, maybe? I got nothing.

  27. Laurel K says:

    Hai, been following since you were halfway through Twilight, just was never able to comment. Buzznet did not like me. Sadface. But huzzah for new sites!

    Oh god, I also just got into Firefly a few months ago and HOW DID I NEVER SEE IT D:
    I am torn between Jayne and Wash for best characters ever, but seriously this whole show is full of BEST CHARACTERS EVAR.
    when I first started watching this, it was supposed to be an episode a day, but at some point I looked up and realized I'd watched seven episodes in a row and it was dark out.

  28. Hotaru-hime says:

    Reavers are fucking horrifying and you will see just how fucking scary they are. Fucking nightmare creatures.
    I want to say I love one or two characters in particular, but every character in this series is so awesome you can't choose. I do get annoyed by River, but then again the Alliance messed with her brain.
    I love Wash for bringing levity to the scenes he's in. It's just great.

  29. Hotaru-hime says:

    Also, I wish you'd watch Farscape at some point. You don't have to review it or anything, just watch it. It's good fun and it's got Muppets.

  30. Megan says:

    The balloon. I love the balloon. Because the balloon is a Great Big Hint that there's no reason that they should be in spacesuits on that ship. A balloon is not going to be full of air floating upwards in a vacuum. So that red balloon was very very very much a useful plot device.

    It ALSO brings up the lovely Firefly idea that there is actually NO AIR IN SPACE, which so many space shows get wrong. No air in space, so no sound in space, so no floating balloons in space. So here we are to make the conclusion that this is not in fact, space.

    • takashid says:

      I LOVE THAT. seriously, the way they stick to the no air, no sound rule really makes it feel real. I always enjoy watching the clips of the ship flying through space making absolutely no noise.

  31. bookgal12 says:

    When I first saw this episode, I was kind of unsure of how it would play out. I mean the other episodes we saw death and how hard it can be to survive as cowboys in space. I know there is reference to Cowboy Bebop somewhere in this series, which is a great introduction to anime plus it has a lot of similar themes that you find Firefly. Anyway, back to Firefly… when they get on the ship and you look up to see the bodies, I almost screamed it was soo horrifying. And this was in my friend's dorm room surrounded by people, the suspense almost killed me, I was caught off guard, and ended up loving the suspense!

  32. takashid says:

    MARK WHERE IS A PICTURE?

    YOU HAD A PICTURE FOR THE FIRST TWO, BUT NOT FOR BUSHWACKED?

    lol great review as always. gotta say, the fact that we don't see the reavers makes them even scarier to me. when i saw that neo reaver guys face i was like "Holy shit!" i wonder if they all look like that or if thats just what the neo reaver thought of to make himself like them.

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  34. notemily says:

    "WHO'S FLYING THIS THING?" cracks me up. I love Wash. and then FUCKING CORPSE! ACROSS THE BOW! WHAM!

    Which reminds me, Joss never really takes the time to explain how space travel works in Firefly, which is deliberate on his part I think. He's just like "yeah, they fly around in space." Hardcore science-fiction fans apparently hate this.

    Which further reminds me, how fucking scary is it to FLY THROUGH SPACE? I mean, if your ship breaks, unlike a car, you can't just pull over to the side of the road IN SPACE. Instead you DIE. IN SPACE. *shudder*

    Which Simon eloquently expresses in this episode. And I love Simon and River's opposite reactions to the situation. Simon is like OH DEAR GOD and River is like AWESOMESAUCE!

    Jayne's fear of the Reavers is interesting, because he's the most like the Reavers of any of them, in terms of being angry and violent. But I think it's the idea of losing his mind, of not being in control, that really scares him. Plus, he's used to being the big strong dude, so anything that could take him down would scare him? I don't know.

    "River… there is no screaming." Simon is totally the Hermione of this show. "There are no voices, Harry. No one was screaming, Harry."

    I'm not sure how I feel about the one survivor turning into a Reaver himself. I mean, I get it, "he'll soon become a wraith, like them" (LOTR) but… aksd;jafsjlfsadklas CAN'T TALK, SPOILERS.

    I do love Wash and Zoe and their differences in the interrogation. "And your husband?" "Fight with him sometimes too."

    I also love that Kaylee is more upset that the Alliance people insulted HER SHIP than anything else. And that she just rants about that in her interrogation.

    Jayne: *sits*

    "May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

    The tongue-split thing makes me gag. ARGH. *shudder*

    And with that happy note… I AM GLAD THIS EPISODE IS OVER. LESS CREEPY, MORE FUNNY PLZ.

  35. bkr45678 says:

    I <3 you. I have ever since you read Twilight. And now that you are watching my favorite show ever, I think I love you more <3.

    Sooooo cannot wait til you get to Janyestown!!

    [Out of Gas is the best episode btw ;)]

    • Hermione_Danger says:

      Hi,

      Please be careful when discussing upcoming events. Generally, it's best to avoid saying things like "I can't wait till you get to X Event That Hasn't Happened Yet" because it lessens Mark's experience of reading/watching blind, and clues him in, so to speak, about what's coming up. Thanks!

  36. rainbowsinside says:

    God, Reavers are the creepiest things in the history of ever. I think they scare Jayne so much because they're something he can't understand. That's how the tough-guy characters tend to be. They can fight another person and not bat an eyelid, because they understand people. But when it comes to something not human, they get the hell outta there.

  37. Naazneen says:

    You havnt commented much of Jayne's characterisation Mark? He is actually one of my favourites on this show. Another character, like Mal, who at the best of times, i struggled to really figure out.

  38. Pseudonymph says:

    Buffy is amazing and I definitely recommend it. However I will say that most fans agree that the show didn't really hit its stride until the second season or toward the end of the first season. Although there are plenty of fans who like the first season the best so who knows. I'm just saying that if you decide to watch it you should give it a fair chance. It's one of my favorites and definitely Whedon's magnum opus.

    More on topic: As someone who has watched Firefly several times it's really fun to see so many people getting into it for the first time. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

  39. Danielle says:

    Wash is my favourite 😀

  40. cait0716 says:

    I entirely forgot to mention that I love how offended Kaylee is when they insult Serenity. It reminds me of Scotty's love for the Enterprise – though Kaylee is a better mechanic =)

  41. Johanna says:

    Part of the reason I first started watching Firefly was because someone used it in a really great essay to explain why Harry/Hermione wouldn't work, using Mal as Harry and Zoe and Wash as your Hermione and Ron. It was brilliant and I'm glad you made the comparison, too, because as far as great male/female friendships and non-existent love triangles go these series are some of my faves.

  42. Starsea28 says:

    Ah yes, Reavers. One of the few monsters to make you shit your pants before you even meet them.

    WASH IS FREAKING ADORABLE.

  43. Anri says:

    I think I screamed at least three times during this episode. THE REAVERS ARE HORRIFYING. Honestly, the bit at the end, with the "survivor"…god, I was sitting there whimpering, "Shoot it, shoot it, just shoot it, oh god," the whole (2 seconds) of it.

  44. Tilja says:

    Your final thought is one I wanted to make myself. Please, DO keep track of the body count! I think that's actually the most interesting thing in this show, the fact that people always die. If they aren't in the initial credits, then you can't count them as indispensables.

    This episode is so full of great lines and jokes I'll still leave it to your discretion to arrange them in order of importance or awesomness.

    The Alliance ship commander. Actually not bad at all. He holds his own… until he meets the Serenity crew and gets served. At least he had the sense to release the Serenity after seeing for himself what he was dealing with. For a moment there I thought he might just use them as an excuse to blame for the deaths of his men and take them prisoners. I might be morbid, but I want to see something like those stunts they pull go horribly wrong and cost an unforgivable price to boot.

    Mal is getting to be my new favorite character little by little. If he keeps the path I like, I'll keep him up. I actually did expect him to have ulterior motives for all of his actions; he looks like that kind of guy. If he did something honorable without meaning something else by it, then I'd be disappointed.

    I won't comment on River because I've got ideas about her, and as I've never watched this show before, I want to see if my ideas pay or are averted. So far it looks just like the kind of thing I think it is. I hope it has real consequences in the end.

  45. KMouse says:

    I’m totally into the subversive story for why the ship is named Serenity.

    Huh. The answer to this is in a deleted or alternate scene in the episode Serenity. I do not recall whether the answer appears clearly anywhere else in the series. Does answering this question count as a spoiler???

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