Firefly: Shindig

September 23rd, 2008

Episode 3

Synopsis

Jayne, Mal, Inara are in a bar playing futuristic pool. A man brags about making tons of money transporting slave labor. Mal gives Inara something he stole from the man, and a fight breaks out. Jayne and Mal take everyone out and hurriedly leave.

As Serenity approaches the planet Persephone, Inara reads an invitation to a ball from a client named Atherton. Inara tells Mal the ball will surely be more civilized than the bar she just experienced.

On Persephone, Wash, Zoe, Jayne and Kaylee go shopping, and Kaylee takes a liking to a “puffy” dress. Mal runs into Badger (from the second episode), who talks about a local businessman who wants to sell property on another planet. This man doesn’t like Badger, so he asks Mal to represent him. Part of the deal is going to the same ball Inara has been invited to.

At the ball, Atherton compliments Inara on her beauty and asks her to stay on Persephone. Mal arrives with Kaylee, who is dressed in the gown she saw earlier. Taken aback by the extravagant decor, they feel rather out of their element.

A group of women tell Kaylee the party wasn’t as good as last year and her dress isn’t custom. An elderly gentleman defends Kaylee and the women run off. Mal finds the local businessman with a cargo, who calls Badger a psycho. Atherton and Inara, surprised to see Mal present, interrupt their conversation. Mal asks Inara to dance — and they begin arguing about the legitimacy of their chosen professions. Inara mentions she may stay on Persephone, to which Mal responds he won’t stop her.

Atherton cuts in and grabs Inara away. Mal punches him. Atherton challenges him to a sword duel, to the death.

Badger visits Serenity to inform the crew that Mal is in trouble — but he wants them to stay put. Jayne comes in with a gun, trying some power grab — but Kaylee has also returned, along with several of Badger’s henchmen.

Zoe, Kaylee, Jayne, and Simon play cards while discussing how to take out Badger so they can rescue Mal. Jayne suggests a diversion. River chats up Badger, mimicking his accent. Jayne says that was the diversion they could have used.

Mal spends the night at Atherton’s house, and Inara tries to teach Mal how to swordfight. They argue, after which Mal asks her to stay.

The next morning Mal and Atherton duel with a crowd watching. It’s soon clear Mal will lose. Inara yells that she’ll stay with Atherton if Mal is spared. Using her outburst as a distraction, Mal fights his way back and traps Atherton on the ground at knife point. The local businessman says Mal must kill Atherton, but Mal has mercy on him. The local businessman is impressed by Mal’s courage that he gives him the job of transporting his precious cargo.

Mal and Inara return to Serenity to find the crew still discussing how to rescue them. Mal tells Badger the deal was made. Kaylee returns to her bunk to admire her dress.

Inara thanks Mal for defending her honor and says she wouldn’t have stayed on Persephone anyhow. The precious cargo turns out to be a herd of cows.

Thoughts

Overall, a very tight episode showing Mal and Inara’s relationship. What most impressed me was Mal trying maintain his manly composure while his aggressive nature gets him into trouble. He can’t resist punching Atherton winding up in a duel for his life. Mal is unwilling to admit his feelings for Inara because of this macho self-image. But the resistance goes both ways — at episode’s end, Inara confirms wanting to stay on Serenity but won’t exactly say it’s because of Mal.

The western theme actually helps communicate Mal and Kaylee as lower-class representatives at the ball. More typical sci-fi has no clear historical references we can refer to visually. Our familiarity with the past aristocratic world of balls, manners, and duels works well dramatically here, as a lot less needs to be explained.

Next Episode: Safe
Previous Episode: Bushwhacked