Episode 6

Synopsis

Kaylee asks Simon why he never swears as Inara leaves to meet a client. They are visiting a run-down planet where the primary export is clay, where Mal has hidden some loot. Simon poses as a buyer of mud and doesn’t do a very good job. Jayne is nervous because he has a history there. In the town square, they find a statue of - Jayne.

River is busy tearing pages out of the Bible, saying it’s broken. Sheperd says people have a need to believe in things, even when they don’t make sense - this is called faith.

The crew drinks beer in a pub and wonders why anyone would build a statue of Jayne. Jayne chases off a boy who stares at him. A man starts singing a heroic song about Jayne and the whole crowd joins in. The song’s hero is a Robin Hood type who gave stolen money back to the workers.

Jayne divulges to the crew that a while back, he and a partner stole money from the town magistrate. During their escape, their ship was damaged, and they had to jettison the cash to stay airborne. Jayne is now recognized, and a huge crowd gathers outside the bar. Drunk on beer, Simon calls Kaylee pretty.

Jayne finds out that after the villagers built the Jayne statue, the town magistrate wanted to tear it down, leading to a worker riot.

Inara meets Mr. Higgins, a wealthy client. He wants her to help his son Fess “become a man.” Fess is called to attend a criminal hearing for a villain that’s returned to town. Inara assumes this villain is Mal, but it’s actually Jayne. Fess is impressed by Jayne as the only man who ever stood up to his father - the town magistrate. He mentions his father put a “land lock” on Serenity to ground it on the planet. Higgins goes to a cell and lets Jayne’s old partner, Stich free.

The next morning Mal wakes Simon and Kaylee who fell asleep at the bar. Simon said he would never sleep with Kaylee, offending her. He stays behind.

Mal, Kaylee, Wash, and Zoe make their way to a crate of hidden cargo in a grove, and bring it aboard Serenity.

Stich finds Simon in the bar, beats him up, and takes him hostage. The workers have gathered in the town square, cheering Jayne who is now standing by his statue. Jayne gives a short speech about the villagers grabbing hold of the short end of the stick, which should count for something.

Stitch arrives at the town square with Simon as his captive. Stich tells the crowd that Jayne tossed him off the ship before the money, showing he is far from a hero. He shoots Jayne, but a man leaps up, taking the bullet and saving Jayne. Jayne kills Stitch.

Jayne yells that people wouldn’t drop money for no reason like that, and he is not a hero. He knocks over the statue of himself.

The crew returns to the Serenity. Wash notices a land lock on the ship, but it is suddently released. Fess defied his father and removed the lock to let Jayne escape.

Safely away, Kaylee asks Simon why he insists on being so proper, and he says it’s out of respect for her. Jayne doesn’t understand why the worker took the bullet meant for him. Mal says the workers just needed someone - anyone - to believe in.

Thoughts

Jayne, a common, selfish criminal, learns he’s become an accidental hero. At first the situation is played for laughs, largely due to what we know of Jayne’s character from previous episodes. He’s a loose-cannon opportunist who steals from his own crew members when given the chance.

But by episode’s end, when his true criminal self is revealed to the workers, they still insist on admiring him. The legend will likely outlive the man and his failings forgotten. At episode’s end, Mal suggests this belief has more to do with the workers’ terrible circumstances than Jayne himself.

The acceptance of imperfection - “faith” - is related to River’s attempt to “fix” the Bible when it doesn’t make sense. Jayne is an imperfect hero, but that’s not the point - he doesn’t have to be perfect for people to believe in him. The faith itself is more important and sustaining for the workers, down on their luck, than the worthiness of the object of worship.

Then there’s the second sub plot of inara’s client actually being pivotal to the escape of serenity. Again, the boy “Fess” has faith in Jayne for his own reasons - the folk story and standing up to his father. He has faith that Jayne is worth freeing. Fess bravely takes on his father’s wrath for Jayne. In a sense, he’s “taking a bullet” for Jayne as well, behind the scenes. 

All in all, it’s an interesting commentary on faith and comments on why people believe things that actually have no grounding in reality. Not too shabby for an episode that starts out like a slapstick comedy.

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