Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "Ariel" (November 15, 2002)

In “Ariel,” Simon Tam (Sean Maher) realizes that his sister, River (Summer Glau) is not getting any better, and that he must get her to a state-of-the-art medical facility to diagnose her condition; a condition brought on intentionally by the shadowy forces of the Alliance.

Accordingly, Simon makes a deal with Captain Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) that makes the possibility of a visit to an Alliance Planet appealing. 

With Simon’s help, the Firefly crew will break into a state-of-the-art hospital on the planet Ariel and steal a boatload worth of valuable medicine, which the crew can then sell on the black market. 

While the medicine is being stolen, Simon will have enough time -- but just barely -- to look at his sister’s brain on a high-tech image scanner.

The plan is exhaustively planned out at every step, but what neither Simon nor Mal can account for are the actions of Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin), who plots to sell out the brother and sister Tam to the Alliance for a big payday.

 “Ariel” and “Trash” are two of the most exciting episodes of Firefly (2000), Joss Whedon’s late, lamented science fiction series.  Both episodes showcase visits to high-tech Alliance Worlds, and significantly open up the “world” of the series in terms of visuals and background.  

But both episodes are also out-and-out “caper” shows that dramatize heists which rely on split-second timing, disguises, trickery, and other tricks of the trade.  Both episodes are purely and simply fun, in the same way that Oceans 11 might be said to be fun.  In the case of Firefly, there’s something inherently enjoyable about watching a band of merry men (and women) outsmart a vast, tyrannical bureaucratic establishment.  

There’s even an explicit Robin Hood mention here, as the crew discusses “stealing from the rich; selling 

to the poor.”

But, as always, Firefly is not content to be merely entertaining or fun.  Although the episode is ostensibly about Simon and River Tam, and Simon’s attempt to cure his “damaged” sister, “Ariel” really focuses on a different character, and one of my favorites: Jayne.

I wrote about Jayne some in terms of “Jaynestown,” but I often find him the most compelling of the Firefly characters (at least outside Mal…) because although he possesses a sense of morality, he doesn’t exercise that sense very often. Jayne finds it easy to rationalize a terrible betrayal, and in “Ariel,” he sells out his ship-mates.  He’s not a good man, though he does, paradoxically, understand the difference between right and wrong.

Obviously, a traitor of Jayne’s caliber could prove to be enormous trouble for Firefly in terms of believability.  One need only remember the name of Dr. Smith on Lost in Space to consider another character that would behave terribly, time and time again, and not get redressed for his betrayals by his shipmates. 

In fact, the famous joke -- from David Gerrold, I believe -- suggests specifically that the Robinsons should have kicked Dr. Smith’s ass out of the Jupiter 2 airlock and been done with him once and for all.

Amusingly, “Ariel” actualizes that scenario. 

It does so as if in determined, post-modern response to fears that Jayne’s behavior would go unaddressed, and he would mutate into a toothless, trouble-prone Dr. Smith-type character.  Here, Mal clocks Jayne and literally puts in him in an airlock.

Thus “Ariel” features a terrific final scene in which Mal calls Jayne on the carpet…and nearly kills him for his trespasses.  “You turn on any of my crew, you turn on me,” he declares.

The beauty in this scene, finally, however, comes from Jayne. 

He knows he is going to die, and accepts that fact.  But he asks Mal not to “tell ‘em” -- meaning the crew – “what I did.”  He knows he did wrong, and is even willing to face punishment for his actions, but he just doesn’t want to be remembered as a rat.  He doesn’t want to live on in the memory of his shipmates as a traitor.  I love this very humanizing touch, and it raises “Ariel” from being a mere caper show to a show that examines the morality of one particular outlaw.

“Ariel” also goes a little further depicting the agents (or are they Operatives?) of the Alliance who seek to take River back into custody. Here, they commit murder with a terrible, hand-held weapon, and don’t seem to care at all who gets in their way.  They are very frightening, and monstrous, and therefore perfect avatars of a thoughtless, inhuman State.

“Ariel” moves with slick ingenuity, features a stand-out coda in terms of character development, and absolutely nails a tense, dynamic caper situation. 

If I were to introduce Firefly to someone who had never seen the series before, this might very well be the episode I’d choose.