Following the events of the previous episode, Serenity has arrived on a backwater colony with Sir Warwick Harrow's cargo; a herd of cattle. Simon and River are sent to the nearby town, where they get abducted by settlers from a remote village. Meanwhile, Mal's business transaction is disrupted when a posse shows up to arrest their buyers. A gunfight breaks out, during which Shepherd Book is seriously wounded. With Simon missing, he's forced to seek medical aid elsewhere.
Again, this one is a tense one, with Mal forced to seek help from the Alliance to treat Book, and their bureaucratic refusal to do so. Until Book asks them to scan his identity card. Yeah, I'm spoiling it, but it leaves more questions than it answers regarding Book's mysterious past.
This episode also gives Simon and River a day in the limelight. As River wanders off, she finds herself at a maypole dance. She's brought up to the stage, stares at the dancers for a moment as if she's processing what's happening, and is then happily dancing along with them. It's nice to see her enjoy herself (and for Summer Glau to show off her dancing talent). It's also revealed that she's psychic (although this was hinted at in the previous episode when she meets Badger). However, this causes trouble in the village they get taken to when she identifies the cause of a young girl's muteness without speaking to her, prompting them to label her as a witch. This also gives Simon a chance to develop, when he tries to protect her when the villagers decide to have her burned at the stake. He tries to talk them down, actually lays three of the villagers out, and is even willing to be burned with his sister.
To further focus the story on the Tams, the episode is interspersed with flashbacks to Simon and River's childhood, along with the life and career Simon gave up when he broke River out. It also shows his parents were oblivious (or possibly even complicit) to River's experimentation.
It wraps things up nicely, and also establishes Simon as a fully-fledged member of the crew.
Also, that's Zac Efron as a young Simon. Apparently this was his first role.
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