"Bushwhacked"

Written by Tim Minear
Directed by Tim Minear


In which Serenity comes across a drifting transport with a terrifying mystery and a single survivor with a very disturbed state of mind...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, the crew of Serenity is playing a game of free-for-all basketball, much to River’s delight. Inara emerges from her shuttle to watch the festivities, and ends up talking with Simon. Simon mentions that River still doesn’t remember what happened at the Academy, though she dreams about it. Simon isn’t sure whether or not being on Serenity is actually helping, but Inara assures him it is.

The game is interrupted by the sound of proximity alert, and Wash goes to check it out. Kaylee takes the opportunity to invite Simon to the game on her side. On the bridge, Wash sees a derelict transport spinning in space nearby, and a body smacks into Serenity’s observation port. Wash’s subsequent nudge on the ship’s controls halts Simon’s intentions to join the game, and the crew runs up to check on what’s happening.

There’s no answer to their hail, so they come in for a closer look. River doesn’t take the idea very well, worried over “ghosts”. But the rest of the crew doesn’t notice. They realize that the derelict was a retrofitted short-range ship used to mass-transport families searching for new lives among the outer planets.

Jayne thinks that the man they ran into killed the crew and then committed suicide, and he’d like nothing better than to move on. Book suggests they dock and check on the crew, since it’s unlikely anyone else will run across the derelict. Mal decides to take the practical approach, and give in to Book’s suggestion...just in case there’s leftover cargo that might be useful. Jayne has a very quick change of heart.

Serenity docks with the derelict, and unknown to the rest of the crew, something left on the hull of the derelict attaches itself. As the crew prepares for EVA exploration, Simon stops by to see if he can help, just in case there are wounded on the derelict. Simon admits to Jayne that he’s more than a little nervous about the idea of wearing an EVA suit. Jayne replies by essentially telling Simon that he and his sister are dead weight to him.

Mal and Zoe are the first to cross to the derelict. They find children’s toys, tables set for dinner, everything one would expect to see on a transport...except for the people. Mal realizes something had to have happened very quickly, because everything was left on; the ship powered down on its own. Zoe finds a personal log in mid-entry, and when she touches the computer, River begins flipping out on Serenity. Simon checks on her, and River tells him she’s hearing screaming in her mind.

Jayne runs across them, and he tells Simon to suit up. Simon tells him that he needs to find Inara so she can take care of River, and Jayne tells him to come over when he’s ready. Jayne, of course, isn’t waiting around. Moments later, Simon crosses over to the derelict, his suit obviously not on correctly, and he finds the rest of the crew standing around...without suits. Jayne, of course, begins laughing hysterically, even as Kaylee points out that the suit wasn’t sealed. It makes Simon even less amused.

Since he’s there, Mal tells Simon to help Kaylee find something of use in engineering. He and Zoe are going to find the cargo, and Jayne is going to hit the galley for food. As they work, Inara checks on River, and finds her missing. Instead of being in her room, she’s crossed over to the derelict. Unaware of it, Simon and Kaylee check the engines, and Kaylee notes that nothing is wrong with the engines.

Down in the galley, Jayne is stuffing his face as he shoves food into a large container. As Mal and Zoe break into the cargo hold, River roams the ship, staring into the hidden spaces. When they get into the cargo hold, Mal and Zoe find all of the personal effects of the missing passengers, as well as a great deal of high-value food concentrates and genetic crop material. Zoe points out that had anyone left the ship willingly, even in an emergency, they would have found room for the high-value items. Then Mal notices River standing behind them, staring at the ceiling, and he realizes what has happened.

Bodies hang from chains high above the deck. They call Jayne, and tell him to go to the engine room and get the others off the ship. But before Jayne can move, a crazed young man tackles him against one of the tables in the galley. They hear gunfire, and realize it’s coming from the galley. Everyone collects by the entry point. They all go to check on Jayne.

In the galley, they find Jayne wigging out, but he managed to shoot his attacker. Mal follows the trail of blood to an access panel, and finds the crazed young man hiding there, babbling about “no mercy”. Mal knocks him silly, and pulls him out. They all leave for Serenity, and take the victim to the medical bay. Jayne thinks the man killed the others after going insane (a real theme with his theories).

As the man babbles more and more, Simon gives him a once over. But Mal tells Simon to dope the man up, obviously worried over something he recognizes. He locks the man in the medical bay, and laments over the man’s survival. Some of the others are shocked at his lack of sensitivity, until he explains himself. The derelict, it appears, was struck by Reavers.

Mal explains that the young man is unlikely to ever recover, which Book doesn’t want to accept. Jayne, on the other hand, doesn’t even want to accept that Reavers were involved. He’s clearly afraid of them, and with good reason. Reavers are humans who have lapsed into a primal, violent state of being, killing randomly in their madness. Book still thinks that might be redeemed, which Mal doubts greatly.

Jayne wants to leave immediately, but Mal wants to unload the cargo. When Jayne refuses to go back to the ship, Simon volunteers. Book also wants to go, to speak a prayer over the victims of the Reaver attack. Mal is resistant, but Book talks him into it. But he also orders Jayne to help Simon and Zoe cut down the bodies. He makes it sound like he’s accepted a bit of Book’s philosophy, but he really just wants the others out of the way.

He’s noticed the thing that attached itself to Serenity, having come across Reaver traps in the past. It’s set to explode if Serenity tries to detach from the derelict. Kaylee is fairly confident that she can disengage the trap without blowing the ship to bits. As the others work on removing the cargo and Kaylee works on removing the trap, the madman awakens...and River awakens as well, screaming. Inara does her best to comfort her.

Of course, Kaylee manages to disengage the trap just in time for the rest of the crew to bring the cargo aboard. As Jayne begins to shove the cargo into one of the many cubbies in the fuselage, another proximity alarm begins to wail. They all think it’s Reavers, but it turns out to be something far worse...an Alliance ship. Serenity is ordered to shut down engines and prepare to be boarded.

On the Alliance ship, the captain is informed of the derelict’s designation, and he assumes that Serenity was responsible for the damage. But he’s also reminded that Alliance ships had been ordered to look for a Firefly-class vessel, believed to be carrying fugitives, a brother and sister. The captain orders his men to shoot the fugitives on sight if they are found, since the orders are less than informative.

Mal orders Jayne to remove the stolen cargo and place it in plain sight. Jayne objects, but Mal reminds him that it will go better for them if it looks like they have nothing to hide. Mal tells Simon to fetch his sister, but Simon objects, thinking that Mal is going to give them up and save himself. Jayne certainly thinks it’s a good idea, but Book tells him to stop being a fool and do what Mal tells him to do.

When the Alliance comes on board, Mal is confronted by the Alliance captain. Mal promptly tells him about the madman locked in the infirmary. The Alliance captain sends some men to fetch him. Then he notices the cargo, and accuses Mal of committing illegal salvage. He asks about fugitives, and does the courtesy of asking Mal about the two of them before hauling the crew into custody and ordering his men to turn Serenity inside out.

As the Alliance troops rummage through Serenity, the Alliance captain questions the crew. He discovers that Inara has been with Serenity for almost a year, and wonders why someone of her stature would travel with someone like Mal. She makes it clear that it’s a mutual business arrangement. Mal’s travels expand her potential client base, while she helps open doors he would usually find closed.

Zoe is questioned about Wash, but she doesn’t want to speak of her marriage. All she mentions is that she met Mal in the war, and then met her husband later during one of Mal’s jobs. She emphasizes that she and Wash are very private people...something that Wash doesn’t quite know about, apparently. He simply goes on about Zoe’s lovely anatomy. Kaylee, on the other hand, spends her time bashing the design of the Alliance engine rooms. Jayne just kinda sits and stares imposingly. The Alliance captain mentions to Book that the fugitives were last seen on a planet called Persephone at the same time that Serenity left. Book pleads complete ignorance.

Meanwhile, Simon and River are waiting for the search to end, hanging outside of the ship in EVA suits. Simon looks like he’s ready to puke his guts out, but River is practically giddy at the sight of the stars.

Finally, the Alliance captain interrogates Mal, having seen the derelict for himself. Mal suggests destroying the ship and never looking back, but the captain wants to keep it as evidence. He correctly identifies Mal as having been a sergeant in the Independent Army during the civil war. He also notes that Mal’s ship is named Serenity; Mal was last stationed on Hera, where the Battle of Serenity Valley took place. That had been the last stand for the Independents, and the captain believes that Mal killed the passengers of the derelict in some odd extension of a war that his side lost.

Mal suggests that the captain ask the survivor if that’s what happened, but the captain tells him that the madman has already split his own tongue down the middle. As the captain charges Mal with the killings, Mal realizes what’s happening, and tries to warn the captain that it was Reavers. He explains that the survivor is likely falling into the same darkness as the Reavers, and he’ll become like them...cutting himself first, then killing. The captain orders Mal taken to the brig.

Meanwhile, Simon and River return inside Serenity. River warns Simon that someone’s “coming back”. When the captain receives word that the madman has escaped, Mal offers to help find him, knowing where he’ll go. Back on Serenity, Simon tries to get River to step back into the mess, but she resists, knowing that the madman is there. Mal convinces the captain to let him lead the troops into his ship...but with his hands cuffed, of course.

Luckily, Simon and River hear Mal and the troops coming, and quickly hide. As the captain steps into the light, the madman attacks him, killing one of his men in the process, and it takes Mal to strangle him to death to end the ordeal. The Alliance captain responds by letting Mal go...but he takes the cargo back. As the Serenity flies off to find its next fortune, they watch as the Alliance ship scuttles the derelict.


Analysis

While last episode was about setting the stage for the series, albeit without the kind of introduction the actual pilot would have provided (thank you, FOX executives), this episode is more about revealing something about each of the characters. Sure, we know their names, but what about their relationships and personalities?

Of course, as thrilling as character exploration can be, it’s not necessarily action-packed. So this episode also introduces the troubling presence of devolved humans called Reavers. Once again, Mutant Enemy takes a page from history and puts an interesting spin on the old myth of the “noble savage”. And once again, they flirt with the dangers of alienating a part of the audience, should they not understand the difference between inspiration and affirmation.

Getting to the heart of the episode, we get to see the cracks beginning to form on the stereotypical shells of the characters. Not all of them, of course, since some characters get more time in the spotlight than others. But what we do see is the typical Joss Whedon character growth in action. At first, the characters appear to be nothing more than cardboard cutouts of existing icons, but over time, they begin to show their true colors.

Jayne, for instance, has been nothing but a self-absorbed bully since the series started, but already we see that his tough-guy routine is mostly a cover for his vast insecurities. That’s probably not much a surprise, but the fact that it’s come up this quickly suggests that he might have something very nasty that he’s hiding.

Simon, on the other hand, has begun showing more of the determination that we were simply told about last episode. A lot of people would let his desperate situation wear them down, but if anything, Simon is willing to fight to protect his sister, even when he knows he’s going to lose. It’s the fire of a man whose entire way of thinking has been undermined and destroyed.

Book is generally quiet, but one can tell that he has every intention of making sure that Mal proceeds with his work with morality in mind. The fact that he is so insistent speaks to the depth of his belief, but it also suggests that there is something he feels he is atoning for. Perhaps it’s something in the way he speaks, or the look in his eye, but it’s almost as though he wants to spare Mal from descending any farther than he already has.

As far as Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, and Inara are concerned, we don’t learn very much. We discover that Zoe not only presents a tough soldier’s front, but she uses it to shield her emotions where only her husband and perhaps Mal are permitted to glimpse. I expect her character to get more complex as the series proceeds. Kaylee strikes me as the kind of woman who grew up with the boys and never had the chance to just be herself, but she longs for some kind of intimacy. Inara is still a mystery behind the Companion façade, and Wash, unfortunately, strikes me as the comic relief.

Considering that River is basically a cypher at this point, we don’t get to see much of her personality here. One gets the sense that her childhood was stripped away, and it only comes out in unguarded moments with her brother. She also appears to be psychic at times, which is likely to be a result of whatever experiments were conducted on her by the Alliance.

These character moments are the best part of the episode, and matched with the tension of the first half of the episode, it’s very entertaining. Unfortunately, as soon as the Alliance steps into the picture, things are not quite so well done. The Alliance comes across as very stiff, which is likely the point, but it doesn’t exactly lend itself to much in the way of dramatics. Granted, casting a “Melrose Place” refugee as the Alliance captain probably doesn’t help.

It all comes down to Mal’s reactions to the situation. During his interrogation, he plays it very well, and the scene has a certain gravitas. But when he starts predicting the movements and actions of the madman, it’s a little too convenient, and it feels contrived. It’s all about resolving their capture as neatly as possible, and when you can tell that this is the driving motivation, it takes away from the drama.

While this episode starts off strong, the resolutions to the various problems are a little too easy. That’s a writing problem, but something that can easily be fixed over the long term. No series comes out of the gate with perfection, especially when the writers, cast, and crew have to build a universe while trying to maintain a sense of action. So even if this episode comes up a little short, it still highlights the potential for the series in the future.


Memorable Quotes

WASH: “Oh, God, what could it be? We’re are doomed! Who’s flying this thing! Oh, wait, that would be me..."

SIMON: “Oh, yes...he’s a real beast. It’s a wonder you’re still alive.”
JAYNE: “Looked bigger when I couldn’t see him...”

KAYLEE: “Junker!”
MALCOLM: “Kaylee...”
KAYLEE: “But captain, did you hear what that purple-belly called the Serenity?”
MALCOLM: “Shut up!”

MALCOLM: “Thanks...now I’ll really have the advantage...”


Observations

- You know, there’s something very sexy about Kaylee playing rough and tumble with the boys...

- OK, yes, it’s mean, but I thought Jayne’s little practical joke on Simon was hilarious!

- I wonder what “Blue Sun” is...Jayne seems to like wearing their muscle shirts...

- I love Inara’s blue dress in this episode...she’s absolutely stunning!

- I also like the continued use of the Chinese, both in their everyday speech and on much of the printed writing. It’s very indicative of what kind of influences persist into the future.

- Those Alliance ships are some funky looking things, aren’t they?

- Once again, the most common mistake when filming with EVA suits...the condensation on the inside of the helmets. It doesn’t happen in actual spacewalks!

- Now you see, this would be why you shouldn’t let just anyone do your body piercing...

Overall, this episode was an interesting introduction to the Reavers, but not as interesting a look at the Alliance in action. The episode was much stronger before the Alliance ship appeared on the scene. Even with the bit of character insight we received, the episode didn’t quite measure up to its promise.

I give it a 6/10.


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