Firefly
Shindig
original airdate: 11-1-02
Ask any
interior decorator, “how can I make my home into party
central?" Nine out of ten will agree you have got to
get yourself an animated hovering chandelier. Then add a liberal
selection of snooty rich people and an elaborate hors d’ouevre
table and you’ll have the makings of the finest “invite-only”
party this side of alliance outpost 37.
The world
of Firefly hasn’t changed much since our last
visit. The chemistry between Mal and Inara does seem to be
real and developing nicely. At this early stage it is merely
leading to unhandled sexual tension and frustration, which
in due time gets redirected at the rest of the ship’s
crew.
Kaylee,
unfortunately, becomes a vent for Mal’s discontent as
she admires a frilly evening gown in a store window. While
the abuse is mean spirited and you feel bad for Kaylee, it
does lead to one of the funnier lines in this episode. As
she stares longingly at the dress in the window the captain
states she would “look like a sheep prancing around on
its hind legs."
This planet’s
local head hoodlum is Badger, and he appears to have a history
with Mal. They’ve had dealings before and Badger proved
too disreputable for the deal to proceed. The hood is trying
to enlist help from the Firefly crew for a local who needs
to move some property off planet. For whatever reason moving
this property this is illegal, so it’s the perfect gig
for the Serenity crew.
While
on this world Inara’s services are retained by a particularly
wealthy local man that desires her company at the coming party.
This is the only party to be at; anyone worth their salt will
be there. Mal conveniently gets two invites to the same party
to make contact with their prospective client.
Inara’s
gentleman retainer turns out to be quite the unpleasant jerk.
He manages to be rude and cruel to all those around him, including
Inara. He even manages to get a dig in on the glorious Serenity
calling her a piece of Gassa.
During
the elaborate party he gets a little frisky with Inara and
Mal, “defending her honor," punches him out. This
constitutes a challenge, which Inara’s employer accepts.
According to the planets local system laws, Malcolm and he
are to fight with swords the next morning.
There
are a few good scenes back on the ship with Badger and the
rest of the crew. In an attempt to prevent them from interfering
with the fight and ruining his chances at continued business
on this planet, Badger has taken the crew hostage . During
the hostage crisis River comes into the scene completely and
utterly coherent.
It is
both disturbing and amazing to see this new side to her. She
manages to transparently blend with Badger’s cockney
accent using an accent of her own. It would be nice to learn
more about what’s going on with this girl. She continues
to show brief glimpses that she, in fact, has some capabilities,
but no further clues are given regarding how, why, or to what
extent.
Overall
this episode was interesting and fun with the usual blend
of trickling main plot information and a muddled moral code.
The relationship between Malcolm and Inara is interesting,
but hopefully it won’t lead to Firefly being overwhelmed
with angst and unrequited love.
Next week
the crew comes into mortal danger. Can Mal save them from
a death worse than fate? Tune in and find out.
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