Firefly 1x03 Review: No Survivors

“Bushwhacked”
Written by Tim Minear
Directed by Tim Minear
 
The Story
Serenity runs across a derelict ship. In the process of looting it, they discover the desecrated bodies of its passengers and crew, as well as a lone, extremely traumatized survivor. They were the victims of a Reaver attack. Simon gives the survivor medical attention. Then, the ship gets captured by an Alliance skyscraper ship. The crew is interrogated while Simon and River hide on the hull in spacesuits. The officer in charge of investigating them thinks they’re responsible for the deaths of the other crew and passengers, but Mal (and the behavior of the “survivor”) ultimately prove otherwise. The “survivor” is becoming a Reaver, and he attacks the officer and his men, but Mal kills him before he can kill the officer. The officer lets Serenity go, sans loot, and blows the derelict to smithereens.
 
Things I Liked

• The crew playing whatever game that was in the cargo bay. They’re adorable.
• Jayne tricking Simon into suiting up to go across to the derelict. It’s a good thing it was just a trick, considering that he didn’t put it on right.
• The music for the derelict. It’s beautiful.
• Simon and Jayne’s antipathy in general. It’s hilarious.
• Inara’s dresses (I basically always love those)
• The fragmented interrogation scene, particularly the difference between Zoë’s and Wash’s responsiveness
• Also, Kaylee giving the officer a piece of her mind until he looks like a little boy getting a scolding
  
• The look on River's face when she's on the hull, looking out into space
  
• The look on Simon's face when he sees that look on River's
  

 
Things I Didn’t

• Mal being a bit of a manipulative bastard. Yeah, go have a funeral! The only reason I’m letting you is the engineers need time to undo the Reavers’ booby trap. Why does he have to be so hostile to any hint of religion?
• The way Book is sort of portrayed as naïve for believing God can heal mental wounds

 
The Characters
I’m intrigued by the patience Mal shows the Alliance officer. He can tell how green the man is, and Reavers are a horrible thing for even a seasoned soldier to deal with. This guy is causing a ton of problems for him and his crew, and he’s pretty arrogant about being on the winning/“right” side of the war, but Mal focuses on getting him to understand what happened on that ship.
 
Zoë may be solid and reserved, but she can loosen up to play a pickup variant of basketball every now and then. But don’t ask her about her private life.
 
…When you could just ask Wash instead! I wonder if that will lead to an argument. I kind of love how opposite they are.
 
Jayne seems to be rather superstitious. He doesn’t even want to go near a ship that was hit by Reavers. Also, I think he does see Kaylee as a little sister. He’d probably be hitting on her very unapologetically if he was interested in her non-platonically, and I doubt Mal would’ve let him stay on board if he’d ever made a move on Kaylee that she didn’t like. So yeah, he’s the big brother who’s overprotective and suspicious of any guy his little sister likes.
 
Kaylee might be a sweetheart, but don’t you dare insult Serenity. It’s her baby.
 
Simon is so afraid of any potential threat to River, and he’s afraid of space. Had River never gone to the Academy, I think Simon probably would’ve led a very safe, calm life as a doctor with lots of comfortable routines, and the most excitement he’d get would be from his work. But he had to rescue River, and now he’s on an adventure he can’t get off of. He’s so very far beyond his comfort zone, and River is what makes it worth it.
 
River is definitely psychic. And I love how fascinated she is by space. You wouldn’t necessarily expect a super-genius to retain her sense of wonder at the universe, but River does.
 
Inara clearly wants to see good in Mal. Otherwise she would’ve suspected him of having ulterior motives in letting Book give the slaughtered crew a funeral. From behind-the-scenes stuff, I know Joss’s plan was to have Inara die of some incurable disease, and the knowledge that she would die was why she left Persephone to fly with Serenity. She wanted to see as much of the universe as she could before she died. The series ended before that arc could be more than set up and hinted at, and the comics are going in a different direction, so she essentially isn’t terminal in canon. What, then, is her motivation for wanting all this adventure all of a sudden? Simple restlessness?
 
Book is kind of serving as Mal’s conscience. Mal just wants to do what’s best for his ship and his crew, but he’s pragmatic sometimes to a fault. Book reminds him that ship isn’t just a source of loot, it’s the place where dozens of people were brutally killed, and those people deserve respect. Mal doesn’t respond very well to this nudging, but I think Book is taking the right approach with him. Being friendly and not pushing, until he needs to point out lines Mal’s about to cross.
 
Overall Rating
4.5/5