The crew are travelling to Ariel, a technologically advanced core planet, so Inara can undergo her compulsory annual medical examination. During the journey, River unexpectedly slashes Jayne with a knife. Not long afterwards, Simon proposes that the crew help him break into the local hospital so he can determine what the Alliance did to his sister. The job comes with the additional task of stealing surplus medicines which would fetch a great price on the frontier planets. However, Mal is wary that Jayne may try and get even during the job.
Okay, so stealing from a hospital doesn't sound like the most noble goal (that's the government's job). And it is definitely a shift in aesthetic. But does that make it a bad episode? Not at all. It's actually nice to see the crew come out on top for a change. It's especially cool to see Simon acting like he belongs in what was once his natural environment. It also provides a greater focus on the the relationship between Jayne and the Tams, whom Jayne has been antagonistic and hostile towards since the beginning of the series.
I think my favourite joke is actually a minor one; while Kaylee and Wash are salvaging parts to restore an old ambulance, they find a compression coil amongst the scrapheaps. The same part which served as an important plot device in the previous episode, now gets casually thrown away.
Speaking of continuity, we have the return of "The Hands of Blue" from "The Train Job". After Simon, River, and Jayne are ambushed and arrested, these two men in suits arrive to collect River. However, they're also tasked with eliminating anybody who has had contact with here, even if they're Alliance personnel. And elimination involves showing them a blue light which causes them to hemorrhage to death.
This one is definitely a departure from the typical Wild West-style frontier setting, but it's still a good episode with a good twist.
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