Firefly Marathon #14: Objects in Space

Almost at the end now.

While wandering Serenity, River finds a discarded gun in the cargo hold and picks it up, causing panic amongst the rest of the crew. As the crew debate the incident, Kaylee reveals what happened during "War Stories" while Mal begins to suspect River's psychic ability and that the Alliance may have tried to make her into a super-soldier. As the crew are sleeping on the matter, a bounty hunter named Early sneaks on board Serenity in search of the Tams.

This episode is mainly focussed on River, showing us how she seems to perceive the world. As she wanders the ship, she seems to hear the crew's thoughts, and we hear what she hears, rather than what they're actually saying. It's a great look at the internal monologues of most of the characters. For example, Simon is telling Kaylee a funny story about his graduation. As River walks past, she sees Simon look at her and say "I would be there right now". The line suggests an underlying bitterness Simon is harbouring over giving up the life he once had. While he's never presented as being bitter, her reading suggests that this very human bitterness is there, no matter how much he does. She also sees autumn leaves on the floor of the cargo bay, and perceives the gun as a stick.

Early's arrival makes things even more tense. When he's present, he's in control. He locks the crew in their quarters and takes Simon hostage, threatening to rape Kaylee if he doesn't cooperate. He's reprehensible, but the dialogue between him and Simon produces a ton of funny lines. Especially when River hatches a plan to take care of him. He also seems to recognise Book, once again hinting at the Shepherd's dark past.

This is probably River's crowning moment of awesome, because she is able to think clearly when the situation demands it. The plan she hatches is incredible, and it's nice to see her growing closer to the rest of the crew.

As far as funny moments go, my favourite has to be when Simon tries to attack Early. Jayne wakes up to the sounds of the struggle, pulls off the curtain to his personal armoury...and then uses it as an extra blanket and goes back to sleep.

Well, that was the last episode in the series. I'll do the wrap-up tomorrow, and maybe look at the film.