| Episode No. | Firefly Season 1, Episode 11 |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Vern Gillum |
| Written by | Ben Edlund & José Molina |
0:01 : The opening narration is dropped in this episode, which goes straight into the recap.
0:60 : We’re out on location again, filming out in the desert…
0:60 : …where Captain Malcolm Reynolds sits, naked on a rock. The tattoo is of an Egyptian glyph that translated means peace. Nathan Fillion got the body art at 19 and apparently, isn’t too fond of it.
1:29 : As the on-screen caption states: 72 hours earlier…
1:44 : Mal’s former soldier in the Independence is named Monty. Mal seems rather fond of him. He’s played by Franc Ross, who was unrecognisable under the Razor makeup in the Buffy episode Bargaining.
2:58 : Christina Hendricks returns as Saffron, making her a recurring character and an instant fan-favourite. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation, this is her last appearance.
4:45 : Mal dates his ‘marriage’ to Saffron as happening ‘half a year ago’ and recalls that it happened on Triumph in Our Mrs. Reynolds.
5:25 : Saffron insults Mal, which translates to “Stupid inbred stack of meat.”
5:54 : Mal takes Saffron’s lipstick from her, remembering her sedative trick in her previous appearance, administered through a kiss with her target.
8:30 : Mal is really getting it from Saffron today. Here she calls him a “monkey’s butt!”
11:07 : Mal tells Inara “Let’s take a deep breath.”
11:37 : Inara reminds Mal that the best job the crew have ever pulled was on a Central Planet. She’s presumably talking about Ariel.
11:38 : In Out of Gas, upon meeting Mal, Inara warned him that he would never call her a ‘whore’ again. He does so again here, and she rolls her eyes in frustration (“Well, that didn’t take long.”) It does seem to be his favourite insult when it comes to women as he yells it at Saffron later.
13:09 : Durran Haymer is Saffron’s intended target: he is a rich collector of war artefacts and weapons, with a large estate in the skies of Bellerophon. He has a huge secret however: it seems he was also Alliance and was a biological weapons expert during the war, killing populations with weapons that left their treasures intact. He’s essentially the ‘Josef Mengele’ of the Alliance. Of course, we only have her word for that. He’s played by Dwier Brown, who was in Field of Dreams (1989) with Kevin Costner.
14:15 : Wash’s line is comedy gold: “I was just wondering… WHAT’S SHE DOING ON THE SHIP?” It’s the way he says it. Also, both Alan Tudyk and Jewel Staite struggle to hold their giggles.
15:28 : Inara tells the crew that they’re “idiots, all of you,” for trusting Saffron.
16:40 : River senses Jayne’s discomfort. She tells Simon that ‘she’s’ lying and both Jayne and Simon miss her hint when she tells him that Jayne is a girl’s name. She knows about his betrayal.
22:21 : As Kaylee is trying to rewrite the program on the rubbish barge so she can change it’s destination, the screen shows a CD Writing Menu from WINDOWS XP. It’s either a mistake, or Bill Gates’ reach goes further than we ever suspected…
23:11 : Mal’s reaction to the antiques room is the crass “Holy testicle!”
24:50 : Haymer says that ‘Yolanda’ has been missing for six years.
26:35 : Heinrich seems to have been another of her victims, but Saffron doesn’t seem to be lying when she tells Mal she didn’t kill Heinrich. In fact, it’s implied by the way he says it that it’s Haymer himself who had Heinrich killed.
29:47 : For those interested, the signage on the rubbish barge says it’s part of Amalgamated Waste Industries.
30:50 : Another great line from Mal when Saffron tells Haymer that he’s her husband: “Well who in the damn galaxy ain’t?”
31:33 : The lush green of the Bellerophon estate is actually the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. It was used as the original Starfleet Academy exterior and some alien planets from Star Trek‘s The Next Generation through to Voyager. Due to the nature of the work there, there’s usually an unpleasant smell in the surrounding area.
32:33 : As they run away, Saffron insults the men in Mandarin. Translated, she says “Whores of sons of bitches!”
32:37 : The sonic weaponry carried by the guards is the same sort of weapon used by the security in Ariel.
34:20 : Is she being serious here? Or can we not trust a single word she says? Mal thinks that Yolanda Haymer was her first and true identity: the original do-or-die marriage. Considering his actions in life, no wonder she ran. She appears completely contrite and genuine here…
36:16 : …until she twists it around again! So we seemingly have no clue about her origins, although it’s open to interpretation whether she’s truly lying here…
37:41 : Kaylee is incensed with Saffron when she discovers the sabotage. Translated her line is “She’s the mother of all the whores in hell!”
38:52 : Inara finally gets one over on Saffron after being tricked by her in Our Mrs. Reynolds. By the look of glee on her face, along with the little wave, it’s safe to say she enjoys it.
39:14 : And the vixen is left for the authorities. It’s the last we hear from Saffron, however you can bet there were instantly plans for her to return.
42:01 : A fan-favourite line that’s often quoted and imitated – but it’s Summer Glau‘s delivery and the look in her eyes here that creeps Jayne out: “I can kill you with my brain.”
42:20 : And we’re back where we started, Mal is rescued and conveniently tries to ignore the startled looks of his crew as Serenity leaves Bellerophon. “Good day,” he declares – although his scar from The Train Job is missing again, as is his wound from Shindig. Both are visible in the movie.
43:25 : Nathan Fillion had no way to fake the nude scenes. He wore a small modesty pouch and, afterward, compared the difference between his scenes and the way they were shot to Inara’s in the pilot; a closed set for Morena Baccarin, but a ‘no one cares’ attitude when it was him.
To save some embarassment, he attached a picture of the show’s creator onto the front of the garment, and that’s what Alan Tudyk is reacting to when he sees Mal.
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