Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "Our Mrs. Reynolds" (October 25, 2002)

Captain Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and the crew of the Serenity stop a group of bandits on a backwater world, and later celebrate their victory with the happy locals.

When the ship returns to space, however, Mal discovers a lovely stowaway aboard named Saffron (Christina Hendricks).

 Saffron reveals that by her laws, she and Mal were wed the night before.  But Mal -- who was drunk -- refuses to accept the custom of the Triumph Settlers (as they are known).  Instead, he promises to start Saffron off on a new life on another world.

In the meantime, Saffron cooks Mal a meal, offers to wash his feet, and even suggests sharing a marital bed with him.  Her willingness to “serve” Mal rankles Zoe (Gina Torres), and compels Jayne (Adam Baldwin) to make Mal an offer for her.  At Shepherd Book’s (Ron Glass) urging, however, Mal remains a gentleman.

But when Saffron shows up in his quarters and attempts a seduction, Mal succumbs to just one kiss.

That kiss, as it turns out, comes from narcotic lipstick, and Saffron finally reveals her true colors.  She’s actually working with a group of nearby space pirates, and planning to lure the Serenity into a trap, a giant electric net that will kill the crew while keeping the vessel intact for salvage…

“Our Mrs. Reynolds” is the Firefly (2002) episode that really cements the magic of the Joss Whedon series, at least for me.  The narrative is extremely simple -- a visitor who turns out to be treacherous turncoat -- but the (overwhelming) sense of fun and joy emerges from the established crew’s interaction with that “guest” character, and with each other.

In this case, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) proves an absolute show-stealer as Saffron, creating a character who, single-handedly, manages to fool just about the entirety of Serenity’s crew.  Saffron is a charismatic, compelling character, and one who approaches each established personality on Serenity where they are the weakest.

 As such -- and in a universe that also includes the Alliance and Reavers -- she makes for the most fascinating and watchable villain thus far.

In fact, watching “Our Mrs. Reynolds,” I was reminded of one of the reasons why I carry such an abiding love for the original Star Trek (1966 – 1969).  The stories were often great on that series, it is true, but the non-great stories were often carried by incredibly amusing and emotional moments between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  I believe this observation is true of all series that become pop-culture phenomena, whether we are talking about Trek, or The X-Files.  There are going to be weak stories, eventually, but watching good actors play compelling characters lifts those stories.

As if by osmosis, Firefly seems to understand that principle.  As I said, the story here is simple -- a con-woman attempts to trap Serenity by fooling its crew as to her real nature -- but the episode has wicked fun with the dramatis personae.  It exposes them, their fantasies, and their weaknesses with utter mercilessness.

For instance, Jayne is willing to give up Vera -- his beloved gun -- for Saffron. Zoe and Wash face tension over Saffron’s cooking, and coddling of Mal.  Shepherd Book gets to play the scold.  Even the wise and insightful Inara is nearly taken in before realizing the depths of Saffron’s capacity to trick.   Indeed, Saffron succeeds as much as she does because each character sees in her something that he or she needs or wants. 

Book wants to protect an innocent.

Wash longs for -- for at least a moment -- a more “traditional” wife, and Mal desires --deeply -- a woman who can see his nobility of spirit.  Saffron is able to, moment-to-moment, satisfy each of those fantasies, and pool the wool over each man’s eyes.

Another thing worth noting: There is no overt nudity or sex in “Our Mrs. Reynolds,” but damn if this isn’t a really sexy episode, as Saffron executes her seduction of Mal.  The key to getting him to kiss her, it turns out isn’t physical, but mental.  Saffron “plays” on the captain’s need to be seen as good and righteous.  That’s the turn on that he can’t refuse.

Finally, the episode’s final delightful joke is that Mal believes that Inara kissed Saffron, when in fact the companion kissed him when he was incapacitated.  For all his wheeling-and-dealing, and speech-making, Mal remains, in the end, his own worst enemy.

The formula for “Our Mrs. Reynolds” is repeated, in some ways, in another great episode, “Objects in Space.”  In both shows, a charismatic outsider comes in to test the main characters, with unpredictable results, and a great sense of humor.

I’ll be honest: “Our Mrs. Reynolds” is the episode of the series that got me hooked on Firefly. 

I’d been watching since the beginning, but this episode -- so playfully, so fun, and so sexy -- made me realize how much I love these characters and their universe. That reckoning about the characters comes with the knowledge that, in some sense, narrative isn’t as important as seeing these characters interact. 

These are characters I could watch feuding, fighting, and beating the bad guys in almost any kind of story…

Next week: “Jaynestown.”