"Shindig"

Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Vern Gillum


In which Mal’s fist has an unfortunate encounter with the face of Inara’s latest client, leading to a duel to the death...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, Mal and Jayne are playing pool with some other brigands, as Inara watches from her perch at the bar. One of the brigands, named Wright, describes his latest profitable venture. It doesn’t take long for Mal to realize the man is talking about slaves, which he obviously finds distasteful. Jayne’s only interested in the profit potential.

Mal wanders over to the bar, and calmly suggests that Inara leave. He hands her the stash of cash that he’s stolen from Wright, which she nicely stuffs into her bosom. He intends to get out before Wright figures out he’s been robbed, but no luck. Mal and Jayne beat down the slave traders and hustle Inara out of the bar with a smile.

Sometime later, Zoe and Wash discuss how quickly they had to leave the last planet, and wonder how long they might get to stay on Persephone, where the next job is. Mal warns them not to get comfortable being planet-side. They’re back to Persephone to re-supply and get work, nothing else.

On her shuttle, Inara screens her potential client list. After listening to some recorded proposals, she switches to a live proposal from Atherton Wing, a rich socialite of prior acquaintance. She accepts his offer to attend a rather lavish party, but has to cut the conversation short when Mal knocks on the door.

Seeing the picture of Atherton on Inara’s computer screen, Mal comments that he’s younger than he would have thought. Soon the banter becomes a little more biting. Clearly Mal is less than pleased to see someone so young and wealthy enjoying Inara’s company, because he begins insulting her profession again. She handles it well enough, and sends him packing.

Down on Persephone Moon, most of the crew walks through the streets, carrying luggage. Kaylee sees a dress shop window, and stops to gawk at the women modeling the store’s wares. The dresses are just a bit overdone and ultra-frilly. Kaylee is clearly in love with one of the more, um, “explosive” dresses on display, which Mal finds amusing. His comments, though, are a bit insulting, and Kaylee’s feelings are hurt.

As Zoe, Wash, and Kaylee leave to find their accommodations, Mal and Jayne are accosted by a gang of thugs led by a short man in a derby hat named Badger. He orders Mal and Jayne to attend a sit down to discuss some business. While Jayne eats and drinks everything in sight, Badger explains the deal.

There’s a local man named Warrick Harrow who wants to sell some valuable property off-world, but the authorities don’t allow it. Harrow is looking for a smuggler, but doesn’t find Badger respectable. Badger figures Mal to be just the man to cut into the deal. Even though things didn’t go well between the crew and Badger in the past, Mal agrees. The meet with Harrow requires invites, of which Badger happens to have two.

That night, at the grand ballroom, Atherton and Inara are announced by the porter as they enter the party. Inara is immediately noticed, and Atherton takes the moment to tease her about how many of them wish they could have her in their bed. But he counters his own insensitivity with open admiration. Back on the ship, Mal finds Kaylee in the engine room, and tells her that he’s got a job for her to do.

Back at the party, Atherton offers the chance to live on Persephone as his personal companion. She doesn’t answer immediately, especially when he starts calling Serenity a piece of “gos se”. Before she can defend Serenity, two new arrivals are suddenly announced: Mal, looking barely respectable, and Kaylee, wearing the dress she saw in the window.

Kaylee is utterly fascinated by the ballroom and the lavishness of the party. Mal’s more interested in finding Harrow and making the deal. Kaylee helps by correctly identifying the buffet table and taking samples to make sure it’s real.

Back on Serenity, Book, Simon, and Jayne are playing cards in the mess, using the ship-board chores as bargaining chips, while River agitatedly peels the labels from the canned food. When River starts mumbling incoherently as she attacks the canned food, Book and Simon rush over to calm her down. As they struggle to get River under control, Jayne calmly steals some of the “chips” from Book’s pile. In their quarters, Wash and Zoe bask in the afterglow of post-coital bliss. (Zoe, in particular, is nicely vocal in this instance.)

Back at the ballroom, Kaylee finds herself feeling the brunt of the wealthy social bias. In particular, when she tries to speak to some of the young women her own age, they make light of her dress and apparent upbringing. Thankfully, one of the older gentlemen in the crowd comes to her rescue, dressing down the harpies.

Finally finding Harrow, Mal introduces himself and mentions that he’s representing Badger. Before Mal can get any farther into the discussion, Atherton comes over with Inara to introduce her to Harrow. Mal greets Inara kindly...Atherton, not so kindly. Especially when he notices how tightly Atherton is gripping Inara’s arm at the thought of another man being close to her. Mal graciously asks for the favor of a dance with Inara. Atherton, displeased, cannot refuse.

As Mal leads Inara to the dance floor, she asks him why he’s at the party. He explains that it’s business, but Inara notes that he was staring at her. He quips that she was standing out from the crowd, and she points out that he’s the one that doesn’t fit. That wounds his pride, and he snaps back with another comment about her reasons for being with Atherton.

Inara points out that her job, at least, is legal. But Mal counters that it’s dishonest, what with Atherton parading her around as though he had won her heart. Inara angrily informs Mal about Atherton’s offer, and how easily she could fit into his world. Mal concedes, and when Inara realizes that her response has hit a nerve, she asks after Kaylee. He admits that she’s adorable, but he’d never say it to her face. Elsewhere at the party, Kaylee charms several of the older gentlemen with comments on engine parts!

As the dance ends, Mal and Inara are back to their usual comfortable interplay, much to Atherton’s chagrin. He walks out onto the dance floor and roughly grabs Inara by the arm, claiming her as his. Mal takes exception to the idea of ownership, and Atherton begins commenting that no matter how she dresses, Inara is still a whore. But he doesn’t get that far, because Mal punches him in the mouth.

The party comes to an abrupt halt, and everyone turns to look at Mal. Inara moans in sorrow as Atherton rises...and accepts. Mal is confused, until the porter announces that a challenge has been made. Mal assumes that they are going to fight, but the porter clarifies that the duel will take place the next morning. Again, Mal misunderstands, expecting pistols. Then the porter mentions swords.

As Kaylee joins the onlookers to find out what’s happening, Harrow explains that Mal will be housed for the night to prevent escape. Atherton is an expert swordsman, so the risk of flight is seen as high. Harrow offers to be Mal’s second, to fight in his place should Mal refuse. As Atherton orders Inara to leave with him, Harrow informs Mal that at best, he’s won his respect by messing up Atherton’s face for the night.

Back on Serenity, Jayne opens the cargo hold door when Badger comes knocking. A short time later in the hold, Badger informs Book, Wash, Zoe, and Simon about the duel. The men start talking about a rescue, but Zoe realizes that Badger has come to ensure that Mal stays put. After all, it wouldn’t do to have his name connected to something so public. On the catwalk above, Jayne cocks his rifle and takes aim at Badger, but Zoe warns him to stand down. She points to Badger’s thugs, who have just arrived with Kaylee in tow.

Back at the large mansion where Mal is being kept, Inara sneaks into his room, and finds him awkwardly swinging a sword in some semblance of practice. He petulantly wonders why Inara is still with Atherton, letting herself be kept, and Inara counters that it’s her choice, not his. Still, Mal notes that Atherton made his true feelings about Inara clear. All Mal wanted to do was defend Inara’s honor.

Inara offers to let Mal escape, but Mal refuses. He doesn’t want to back down from making that stand. Inara doesn’t see how his death is going to help her honor, but Mal figures she could train him some in the time remaining. She gamely agrees, even knowing that it won’t matter.

Back on Serenity, the crew discusses what to do about their situation. Jayne suggests making a diversion and taking down Badger and his thugs, so they can rescue Mal. But Book notices River coming into the room, and alerts Simon so he can see after her. But before Simon can get River to hide away, Badger notices her and confronts them. Without warning, River affects an accent just like Badger’s, and handles him with ease. As River leaves without trouble, Jayne comments that River was exactly the distraction they had needed.

Meanwhile, Inara tries to give Mal some pointers, but he is completely out of his depth. Recognizing that fact, Mal once again takes a job at Inara’s profession. Inara points out how Mal objected to Atherton calling her a whore, but he keeps saying it to her face. Mal disagrees; he doesn’t respect the profession, but he always respects her.

Inara wonders how death will solve the issue, but Mal figures that it’s the rules of her society, not his. But Inara doesn’t think that matters, because Mal breaks the rules regardless of where he is. But Mal believes that some rules just make you a slave. More than that, he doesn’t want Inara to take Atherton’s offer. He knows that he has no say in the matter, but he doesn’t want her to be with the man that killed him. She leaves, unable to respond.

The next morning, Mal and Atherton face off as others look on, Inara and Harrow included. Mal draws first blood, and it makes him cocky. Atherton strikes the next blow, and soon enough, it’s obvious that Mal’s being toyed with. Just moments into the duel, Atherton tricks Mal into making a foolish attack, and he stabs Mal in the gut. It’s a serious blow, and Harrow figures it won’t take much longer.

As Mal stumbles from the wound, Harrow advises Inara to look away. Atherton pushes Mal to his knees, and snaps Mal’s sword at the hilt, his own sword at Mal’s throat. Inara cries out, agreeing to stay with Atherton if he lets Mal live. With Atherton distracted, Mal knocks the man’s sword out of his hands and smashes him in the face with the hilt of his broken sword. He quickly grabs Atherton’s sword and throws it into the man’s shoulder. Atherton manages to pull out the blade, but Mal has the advantage now.

Soon enough, Mal is standing over Atherton, the one good blade at the man’s throat. Harrow informs Mal that he has to kill Atherton, or Atherton will be branded a coward and humiliated. Mal figures that mercy is the mark of a great man...but he’s only a good man. He pokes Atherton in the belly a couple times, and then walks off with Inara helping him stay on his feet.

Atherton rises to his feet, indignant when Inara refuses to come back to him. He calls her a whore, and tells her that he should have uglied her so no one else would want her. But when he threatens to cut off her livelihood, Inara reminds him that it doesn’t work that way. In fact, Atherton will now be banned from ever having the company of a Companion. Even better, Harrow agrees to allow Mal to move his property.

Later, in the cargo hold, Mal and Inara greet the rest of the crew. As soon as Badger is aware that the deal is on, he leaves them in peace. Jayne lamely mentions their talk of rescue. Once Serenity is back in space, the crew gets back to normal, though Kaylee happily displays her new dress in her quarters.

Down in the cargo hold, Mal and Inara share some of Kaylee’s engine hooch as they discuss their fortunes. Mal dramatically notes his wound, and Inara notes his good fortune in lining up a new job. Inara admits that she appreciated Mal’s attempt to defend her honor. Mal figures he ought to have stayed out of her world, but Inara isn’t sure that it’s still her world. After all, someone needs to keep an eye on Kaylee, and why would she want to leave Serenity? Mal, of course, can’t think of a reason.

As they continue their pleasant drink, Mal and Inara watch over Harrow’s precious cargo...a small herd of cattle.


Analysis

Though it’s been dealt with to some small extent in the previous episodes, the relationship between Mal and Inara finally takes center stage. To say that it’s complicated would be one of those famous understatements. Certainly there is an attraction and sexual tension between them, but that tension doesn’t always seem to express itself in the most healthy of ways.

Mal is a man of contradictions, to be sure, but his mantra appears to be “freedom”. However his time in the war ended, it left a terrible weight in his soul, maybe even a sense of inevitability that everything he holds dear will be subsumed by the expanding federalism. As Inara notes, it’s not just the imposed order of the Alliance that Mal rejects, but the rules that come as a response to the Alliance among those acting outside of the law. Either way, it’s the Alliance and all that it represents controlling behavior, compliant or adversarial.

It’s interesting to see Mal speaking so badly of Inara’s profession, especially since there is very little difference in what they do. Just as Inara sells her services, Mal sells his. But Mal apparently believes that there’s a difference in the way that they approach the deal. Inara works within the system, and that makes her a victim of the code she lives by. Mal, on the other hand, uses his illegal activity as a means to simply be.

That’s what he appears to want for Inara, but he sure has a tough time saying it. He regards her highly, and quite possibly is already as much in love as he can allow himself to be. And maybe that’s why he feels the need to push her so hard. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t keep trying to get her to take a hard look at her life.

Of course, does he really need to try so hard? Unless he’s a fool, he has to see that Inara is just as interested in him. And she’s already taken the step to travel with Serenity, which is hardly what someone slavishly following the rules of the Alliance would be doing. Granted, we still don’t know her reasons for joining Mal and the others. But she doesn’t seem too put off by his activities in the end.

That’s where the genius of the dancing scene comes into play. Mal sets the stage by commenting that he knows that particular dance, and the rest is the game of cat and mouse that they seem used to playing by now. There’s the heated dialogue, to be sure, but there are also the thinly veiled looks. For all that Mal insults Inara’s choices and she points out his lack of sophistication, in the end they find a sense of happiness together.

Inara’s not the only victim of Mal’s attitudes about the lures of a “civilized” life. His attitude with Kaylee is clearly related to his dislike of Inara’s adherence to high society. It’s almost as though he sees Kaylee putting on airs, when it’s really just the simple dream of a young woman who knows that she will likely never have the life that is so widely glamorized. Kaylee still dreams, and in the end, that’s something Mal can only partially disapprove.

The other characters get some small moments. We finally get to see the depth of Wash and Zoe’s love for one another, something we now understand was hard earned. Jayne is his usual mercenary self, whether it’s a friendly game of cards or serious business. It’s interesting to see Simon turning into a man of action as time marches on. It’s nearly impossible to figure out what’s going on with River, though it’s clear that her lucidity comes and goes with little warning.

Still, in the end, this episode is about Mal and Inara, and to a lesser extent, Kaylee. And it’s the characters that make such a simple plot device work. If the complex interplay between Mal and Inara hadn’t been there to begin with, would the conflict in this episode have been nearly so interesting?


Memorable Quotes

MAL: “There’s a chance you might want to head back to this ship.”
INARA: “Oh, I’m all right. This is entertaining, actually.”
MAL: “Yeah? What’s entertaining?”
INARA: “I like watching the game. As with other situations, the key seems to be giving Jayne a big stick and standing back…”

ZOE: “Planet’s coming up a mite fast…”
WASH: “That just ‘cause I’m going down too quick. Likely crash and kill us all.”
MAL: “Well, that happens, let me know…”

MAL: “Days? Boy must have stamina.”
INARA: “He does.”
MAL: “Well…fine…”

KAYLEE: “Oh…look at the pretties!”
WASH: “What am I looking at…the girls or the clothes?”
JAYNE: “There’s clothes?”

WASH: “You want a slinky dress? I can buy you a slinky dress. Captain, can I have money for a slinky dress?”
JAYNE: “I’ll chip in.”
ZOE: “I can hurt you…”

BADGER: “Had a problem with your attitude is why. Felt you was…what’s the word…”
JAYNE: “Pretentious?”
BADGER: “Exactly! You think you’re better than other people.”
MAL: “Just the ones I’m better than…”

ATHERTON: “Half the men in this room wish you were on their arm tonight.”
INARA: “Only half? I must be losing my indefinable allure.”

MAL: “Does…um…does this seem kind of tight?”
KAYLEE: “Shows off your backside. Did you see the chandelier? It’s hovering!”
MAL: “What’s the point of that, I wonder.”
KAYLEE: “Oh! Mangoes…”

MAL: “Yeah, well, just be careful. We cheated Badger out of good money to buy that frippery, and you’re supposed to make me look respectable.”
KAYLEE: “Yes, sir, Captain Tightpants…”

KAYLEE: “Is that him?”
MAL: “That’s the buffet table.”
KAYLEE: “Well, how can we be sure, unless we question it?”

WASH: “Don’t fall asleep now. Sleepiness is weakness of character. Ask anyone. You’re acting captain. Know what happens you fall asleep now?”
ZOE: “Jayne slits my throat and takes over.”
WASH: “That’s right.”
ZOE: “And we can’t stop it.”
WASH: “Well, I wash my hands of it. It’s a hopeless case. I’ll read a nice poem at the funeral. Something with imagery…”
ZOE: “You could lock the door and keep the power-hungry maniac at bay.”
WASH: “Oh, no, I’m starting to like this poetry idea now. Here lies my beloved Zoe, my autumn flower, somewhat less attractive now she’s all corpsified and gross…”

HARROW: “I know him. And I think he’s a psychotic lowlife.”
MAL: “And I think calling him that is an insult to the psychotic lowlife community.”
INARA: “You have no right to try to make me ashamed of my job. What I do is legal. And how’s that smuggling coming?”

PORTER: “If you require it, sir, any gentleman here can give you use of a sword.”
MAL: “Use of a swo…what?”

KAYLEE: “Up until the punching, it was a real nice party…”

INARA: “He’s an expert swordsman, Mal. You had trouble with the pillar…”

JAYNE: “What we need’s a diversion. I say Zoe gets naked.”
WASH: “Nope.”
JAYNE: “I could get naked…”
ALL: “NO!”

HARROW: “He thinks he’s doing well, doesn’t he?”

MAL: “See how I’m not punching him? I think I’ve grown…”

HARROW: “You didn’t have to wound that man.”
MAL: “Yeah, I know. It was just funny.”

JAYNE: “We was just about to spring into action, Captain. Complicated escape and rescue op.”
WASH: “I was going to watch. I was very exciting…”

MAL: “Don’t care much for fancy parties. Too rough.”
INARA: “It wasn’t entirely a disaster.”
MAL: “I got stabbed! Right here!”
INARA: “You also lined up exciting new crime…”


Observations

- I love that holographic pool table in the teaser…such a great example of the combination of rustic and high-tech!

- Persephone, if I recall, was last mentioned in “Bushwhacked” as the planet where Simon and River were last seen.

- I hope they give us another look at Inara’s client list sometime…that young dandy was hilarious!

- Who else wanted to slap the hell out of Mal after he snapped at Kaylee like that! Leave my Kaylee alone!

- If Kaylee can look any more attractive than when she has that radiant smile flashing, I don’t want to know. It might kill me…

- It’s good to see a completely non-apologetic biracial couple enjoying a little post-coital bliss. The fact that it probably brought my father close to a coronary warms my progressive heart…

- Exactly what kind of silly dance was that supposed to be? Rich folk…who can figure ‘em?

- Not a bad vaguely Cockney accent, there, River…

- You think Inara enjoyed thwacking Mal on the ass with her sword?

- Great idea to have cattle be the incredibly valuable items in question…it fits with what we’ve seen so far.

Overall, this episode works on the strength of the characters. Given time, the relationship between Mal and Inara could turn into one of the better romantic subplots produced by Mutant Enemy. Even better, there’s plenty of Kaylee along the way, and that’s beginning to be a very good thing.

I give it a 7/10.


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