Malcolm Reynolds Part 5: “Safe” – Firefly, Episode 1:5 (November 8, 2002)

Mal arrives in the nick of time to be a Big Damn Hero.

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

Mal enters the waiting area outside Serenity’s infirmary as medicine is thrown at his feet and River swears at him in Chinese. The reason he’s there is to let Simon know that River’s shouting could scare the cattle (which Mal agreed to transport at the end of “Shindig”) causing a stampede which - when there’s nowhere for cattle to run turns into a meat grinder – could kill half the herd. The good news is that they’re about to land at their destination and deliver the goods, after which time she could holler as loudly as she wanted…but Mal would take it as a kindness if she didn’t.

The deal goes badly (as usual) and Book gets shot in the ensuing gunfight. Mal helps get him back to Serenity, and tends to the wound as best he can, then sends Wash into town to look for Simon. Turns out that people have a history of disappearing into the hills surrounding the town, as villagers grab whomever they need. Mal deduces that they’ve got Simon, but given the choice between searching the woods for him and getting Book to a medical facility, he tells Wash to take off.

He looks over some charts with Wash and discusses where they should go when Inara mentions an Alliance vessel less than two hours away. Mal reluctantly agrees, and isn’t surprised when the boarding Alliance troops start to turn them away. But he is surprised when the Alliance officer scans Book’s ident card…and immediately takes him to their infirmary.

Mal waits outside the operating room and wonders what kind of ident card gets such treatment. Book survives the operation, and the Alliance allows everyone to return to Serenity and sends them on their way. Mal confronts Book about his connection to the Alliance, but the preacher refuses to discuss it. He then learns that Badger is looking for his cut from the cattle deal, and Jayne comments that things would be a lot simpler without going back for Simon and River. Zoe agrees…and so does Mal.

Simon and River are about to be burned at a stake when Mal, Zoe and Jayne arrive and convince the townsfolk to free the siblings.

Later, Mal checks the infirmary to look in on Book and finds it empty. Simon tells him that Book’s been moved to his room and is faring well. He then asks Mal why he had everyone go back and save him and his sister, and Mal replies that they’re on his crew, and leaves it at that.

Notes of Interest:

1) Mal seems right at home working with cattle…at least until he has to deal with the mess they leave behind.

2) While this episode focuses primarily on Book, Simon and River, we learn how much Mal’s crew means to him. He’s willing to leave River and Simon behind in order to save Book’s life, but goes back to save them. He’s also willing to face capture by Alliance if it means getting Book proper medical attention. He’s even willing to put up with River’s crazy and Simon’s…Simon-ness…because they’re part of his crew. This speaks a lot of Mal’s loyalty - which could explain why Zoe has stayed with him since the war.

3) The brief conversation Mal has with Jayne as they get the cattle unloaded tells us that Mal prefers to lead others to do what he wants or needs them to do rather than smack them into submission. This is proven when he talks Simon into taking River for a walk to get them out of the way. He could have just as easily drawn his gun and forced them both back onto Serenity.

4) Let’s talk about the bag of money for a minute. Mal risks getting shot as he reaches for it, but once he gets Book to the infirmary he tosses it aside to focus on his injured crewman. And the look he gives Jayne when asked if he got the money? Priceless.

5) Watching Mal and Zoe work on Book reminds us that both of them have seen their share of wounds in the war, and that Mal knows enough field medicine to work his way around sick-bay.

6) It seems Mal has some respect for Simon, acknowledging that the doctor doesn’t strike him as a coward.

WTF? Moment: I understand that Mal would have some fake papers drawn up in case they ran into Alliance. I also understand why Mal would use an alias in such cases, but Captain Harbatkin? That seems too interesting a name for Mal to pull out of thin air. Did Mal buy Serenity from Harbatkin? Was Harbatkin Mal’s superior during the war? Maybe he was another soldier from Mal’s outfit, or the one responsible for introducing Mal to Zoe? I’m just saying that there’s be a great story in there somewhere.

WTF? Moment #2: Mal’s comment about men of God making everyone feel guilty and judged. Where does that come from? Those feelings seem pretty strong, but Mal went to great lengths to save Book’s life. My guess is that there’s another facet of Mal’s past that involves religion on some level, and not in a good way.