"Objects in Space"

Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon


In which Serenity is boarded by a bounty hunter chasing after River, which turns out to be a very,very bad idea...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, River is awakened by something outside the ship. Out of sorts, she wanders through Serenity, catching thoughts from many of the people on board. Before long, she’s in the cargo bay, holding what she sees as a stick, but is really one of Jayne’s guns. Mal convinces her to give the gun back without incident, but the crew is greatly spooked.

Meanwhile, something approaches Serenity, hiding out of sensor detection. The pilot is a bounty hunter named Jubal Early, and he has a copy of the wanted poster for River.

The crew debates what kind of possible threat River is becoming, but they are inclined to give the young woman the benefit of the doubt…until Kaylee decides to bring up River’s thrilling heroics from last episode. Simon doesn’t want to acknowledge that River could be dangerous, but Mal offers an even more compelling reason to fear River. He thinks she’s a psychic, a reader, and Book agrees. River listens in from the cargo bay, and Early listens from outside on the hull.

After the discussion, Simon storms off, but Kaylee tries to make peace with him. They are about to have a nice moment, but they are interrupted. Mal is the last to leave the mess, and encounters Early as the bounty hunter comes into the ship. Early quickly takes Mal down, tosses him into his room, and locks him in his quarters. He also locks Wash, Zoe, and Jayne in their respective quarters.

Early stops by the engine room next, and he garners from Kaylee a promise not to interfere, upon pain of personal violation. After taking down Book in the mess, he makes his way to River’s room. He finds Simon, who was awakened by Book hitting the floor. Early tries to get Simon to tell him where River is, but Simon doesn’t know. He convinces Simon to help him find River by reminding him that it’s his only chance to overpower his captor and what he has in mind for Kaylee.

Not finding River elsewhere in the ship, Early checks the cargo bay and the two shuttles. He comes to Inara’s shuttle, and locks her in, after dealing out a little violence to keep her in line. With no other idea of where she might be, Early uses the comm system to inform River that he has a gun to Simon’s head. River’s replies…but claims that she made herself merge with Serenity. She’s now the ship, and Serenity is very unhappy!

As she messes with Early’s head, River convinces Kaylee to risk torture by helping her unlock the crew quarters. She conspires with Mal on his part of her plan, and makes sure Zoe and Wash stay out of trouble. As River sets her plan in motion, she tips off to Early that she’s not Serenity. Instead, she’s gone over to Early’s ship, and she’s not afraid to use it if he continues to threaten Simon. But unexpectedly, she offers to go with him, claiming that the crew is afraid of her and her problems are holding them back.

Early is willing to take the bait, but Simon believes River and tries to stop the bounty hunter. He gets shot and otherwise beat down for his trouble. When Early steps out of the airlock to return to his ship, Mal shoves him into space, with nothing to stop himself with.

Shortly, River returns to the ship, with Mal’s blessing. Even though some of them are still recovering, the entire crew has come to terms with River’s troubles.


Analysis

Like every episode of the series thus far, this episode reveals more and more about the people traveling together on Serenity. While this episode focuses on River and how she becomes more accepted by the crew, her abilities open up interesting questions and layers to the other characters as well.

Even though River’s abilities were more or less confirmed in “Safe”, among other places, those abilities are finally discussed among the others on the ship. It’s an important conversation, because it presents River as a threat on more levels than just the physical. Among many with secrets that might not want to be revealed, River could be seen as a liability.

This is made clear during the first act of the episode, where River’s initial detection of Early’s impending arrival prompts her to reach out and “feel” the others on Serenity. Perhaps not surprisingly, Simon is still a bit regretful of losing his status as a rising star in the medical field due to the need to rescue his sister. Even though River recoils from that truth, she had to have known that he felt that way, despite his protestations. After all, she’s had more exposure with Simon than anyone else. Unless, of course, his treatment of her condition is finally allowing her to filter the information she receives into something recognizable.

Equally interesting is the complete lack of any hidden thoughts from Kaylee. This is completely consistent with what we’ve seen of Kaylee to this point. Kaylee always presents herself openly, with her emotions very plain. Kaylee is not one for artifice, and River appears to detect that.

Just as simple is Jayne and his constant thoughts of guilt and worry over his actions in “Ariel”. Ever since Mal let him live, he’s acted in whatever way is necessary to portray himself as contrite. Mal continues to remind him of the error of his ways, as seen later in the same act. With Jayne being concerned with his own survival and personal wealth, however transitory, it makes sense that he would dwell on his mistake.

Far more intriuging, Book’s inner thoughts betray a side of him that might have some ominous connections to his life before becoming a Shepherd. It is becoming more and more apparent that Book once lived a far more violent life, most likely in some kind of military intelligence capacity. Could he have been involved in retrieval of fugitives or war criminals for the Alliance?

It’s not hard to figure out, in general, what River was picking up from Wash and Zoe. It’s equally easy to assume that Inara was once again thinking very much about Mal and his potential feelings for her. It’s just as possible that Inara’s thoughts had nothing to do with that, but her character has had very little character development beyond her relationship to Mal.

Mal, of course, trumps everything with his fatalistic state of mind. It’s clear that he hasn’t recovered from whatever happened at the end of the war, and that whatever else happens, he’s consumed by the need to keep flying, to simply keep moving. He has his apparent friendships and interactions with the crew, but in a way, they are all just a means to an end. So long as he keeps flying, he stays ahead of whatever it is he doesn’t want to face.

The rest of the episode is an interesting bit of cat and mouse, highlighted by the fact that River’s unpredictable and indeterminate abilities leave everyone in doubt. Even Simon is unsure of River’s motives, which makes it that much more difficult for the audience to get a sense of her plans. In retrospect, it’s very simple and straightforward, but River’s unique problems lend it an air of mystery.

With this episode, the synthesis of the original crew of Serenity and the passengers is complete. The group has come together as a kind of family unit, for lack of a better term. With a little bit of time for development, this would be the perfect time for the series to begin delving deeper into the histories and psyches of the characters, while advancing the overall plot arcs.

Of course, thanks to the short-sighted bottom line of the FOX network executives, who couldn’t promote a series to save their lives, “Firefly” may never get the chance to show just how excellent it is and could be.


Memorable Quotes

BOOK: “Mm, no…I’m more or less intact. I just…direct my energy elsewhere.”
JAYNE: “You mean like masturbating?”
BOOK: “I hope you’re not thinking of taking orders yourself.”
JAYNE: “Oh, yeah, that’ll be the day…”

MAL: “When I want a lot of medical jargon, I’ll talk to a doctor.”
SIMON: “You are talking to a doctor.”
MAL: “Yeah, OK, my point is…”

WASH: “Little River just get more colorful by the moment. What’ll she do next?”
ZOE: “Either blow us all up or rub soup in our hair. It’s a toss-up.”
WASH: “I hope she does the soup thing. It’s always a hoot, and we don’t all die from it.”

JAYNE: “Anybody remember her coming at me with a butcher’s knife?”
WASH: “Wacky fun!”
JAYNE: “You wanna go, little man?”
WASH: “Only if it’s someplace with candlelight.”
ZOE: “Sir, I know she’s unpredictable, but I don’t think she’d harm anyone.”
JAYNE: “Butcher’s knife!”

JAYNE: “Wha…are you…are you saying she’s a witch?”
WASH: “Yes, Jayne. She’s a witch. She has had congress with the beast.”
JAYNE: “She’s in Congress?”

WASH: “Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction.”
ZOE: “We live on a space ship, dear.”
WASH: “So?”

SIMON: “Come on out, River…the nice man wants to kidnap you…”

RIVER: “River’s gone.”
EARLY: “Then who exactly are we talking to?”
RIVER: “You’re talking to Serenity. And Early…Serenity is very unhappy…”

SIMON: “What am I? Your advocate?”
EARLY: “You are starting now.”
SIMON: “He’s really very…gentle…and fuzzy. We’re becoming fast friends.”
EARLY: “You folks are all insane.”
SIMON: “Well, my sister’s a ship. We had a complicated childhood.”

MAL: “You know, you ain’t quite right.”
RIVER: “It’s the popular theory.”
MAL: “Go on, get in there. Give your brother a thrashing for messing up your plan.”
RIVER: “He takes so much looking after…”

WASH: “Can I mop your brow? I am at the ready with the fearsome brow-mop!”


Observations

- The idea of Jayne as a holy man is a very, very frightening thought…

- I wonder what exactly River was picking up from Wash and Zoe to make her blush like that!

- Come on, Simon, what is it gonna take? Hug her, kiss her, do something, man!

- You know, Early gets exactly what was coming to him…no one threatens our Kaylee like that!

- Did all the ladies enjoy the scene with Simon running around without a shirt?

- Early’s right…River’s laugh was a little unsettling…

- So I wonder what the real story was with the midget…

- I thought Zoe had mentioned something about playing field medic now and again…

Overall, this episode was a nice way to bring the entire group on Serenity together as a family, while also answering some basic questions about River and her abilities. Though River, the characters are once again given dimension, and should the series ever continue, this will be the perfect place to resume.

I give it a 9/10.


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