Malcolm Reynolds Part 2: “The Train Job” – Firefly, Episode 1:2 (September 20, 2002)

We see how Mal feels about the Alliance and his fellow thieves in this episode, as well as how strong his conscience can be.

I have this episode in the Firefly 4-Disc DVD set.

It’s Unification Day, and Mal celebrates it the same way he has for the last six years…picking a fight at an Alliance-friendly bar. He also manages to make contact with someone who has a job for them. A man named Adelai Niska needs two crates taken off a train. Mal knows of Niska’s dangerous reputation, and witnesses it, but takes the job because prospects are scarce. Niska ensures that Mal understands: failure isn’t an option.

The job itself goes fine but Mal and Zoe are stuck on the train until the next stop, which is Paradiso, a mining town. Since the train was robbed, the sheriff questions everyone onboard. Mal tells Zoe they should pose as a newlywed couple looking for work, and as they’re questioned, Mal learns that the townsfolk suffer from Bowden’s Malady, a degenerative affliction of bone and muscle caused when the ore in the mines mixes with air. The condition is treatable with Pescaline, which was stolen from the train.

The sheriff finds Mal’s newlywed story odd, and plans to keep them for a while, when Inara arrives and slaps Mal across the face. She tells the sheriff that Mal is an indentured servant of hers with three years left on his debt and that he stole her money and ran off with Zoe – who’s married to another man. Since Inara’s status as a Companion is impeccable, the sheriff releases Mal and Zoe.

Mal returns to Serenity with the others to find Jayne passed out on the stairs and tells the crew they’re giving back the cargo, knowing that Niska’s gonna be mad. Before they can do anything else, Niska’s men show up since Mal never reached the rendezvous point. Mal calls off the deal and offers to give the money back, but Niska’s men disagree and Mal gets a blade in the shoulder. During the ensuing fight, Mal takes on Crow, Niska’s head mercenary. The fight goes poorly for Mal, and Jayne wakes up in time to shoot Crow…saving Mal’s life.

Mal takes the medicine back to the edge of town with Zoe and are about to leave it behind when the sheriff and his men come out of the shadows. Seems the sheriff had a hunch that whoever took the medicine had a hard choice to make. Mal says there isn’t one – the goods go the where they’re needed, nowhere else.

Back at the ship, Mal offers Crow the money Niska gave upfront to be returned, calling off the deal. They’re thieves, but they’re not robbing him of his money. Mal also promises to stay clear of Niska and all his dealings in the future. Crow tells him that he will hunt Mal down and kill him, and Mal kicks him into Serenity’s intake valve. Then he gets another of Niska’s men and starts making the same deal. This one agrees to take the money back.

Mal ends up on Simon’s table getting his shoulder sewn up. Mal tells him that doping up Jayne was the right thing to do, and feels confident that Simon can handle Jayne if need be.

Notes of Interest:
1) Mal knows how to play Chinese checkers – albeit badly.

2) Early in the episode, Mal enters sickbay to wash a wound he got in the bar fight. Simon offers to help, but Mal declines needing it. This makes the ending more interesting, as it shows that Mal sometimes needs help despite what he thinks he needs. Plus, Mal is gaining some respect for Simon – especially after his dealing with Jayne – and Mal shows some genuine concern for River.

3) Mal continues to treat Kaylee like a younger sister here. She rearranges things in the engine room not to Mal’s liking and he basically tells her to clean her room. Mal would never tell anyone how to keep their own personal space, but Mal sees the engine room as part of his ship and therefore puts him in the right to have her keep it the way he likes it.

4) Book asks Mal why he decided to keep Simon and River onboard. Mal says it’s for the money and is the right thing to do, but we’re not sure he’s speaking the truth. It could be just to piss off the Alliance, having something they want.

5) Niska has heard of Mal’s reputation for “getting the job done” which is why he wants Mal for the job.

6) Mal has strong feelings against religion, but not religious folk as he tells Book he’s not looking to be converted, and God isn’t welcome on his ship.

7) There’s more info about his relationship with Inara as he teases her about her profession, and confesses that he’s distracted by her presence, but warns her not to leave Serenity while docked at Niska’s skyplex.

8) Mal loves upsetting the Alliance, even if it includes robbing a train full of Alliance troops.

9) The scene where Inara hits him shows Mal’s willingness to go with the flow, even when it pisses him off.

WTF? Moment: Mal must have quite a rolodex if he can get contact for a job through a belly dancer at an Alliance-friendly bar.