S01.E11: Trash

[Lisin]

From Wikipedia

 

Saffron returns to plague Serenity with a scheme to steal a rare antique weapon from a wealthy landowner. Unfortunately for Mal, she neglects to mention just how she came across the information needed to break into the landowner's home.

I love a good heist! This is a fun episode for me, we get lots of good bits, Inara finally working with the team and of course:

[decembar13]

Return of YoSaffBridg! I just know Joss was aiming to make her recurring character (if show lasted). Damn you Fox executives!

 

Nekkid Mal! Oh, Joss, you did a lot for girl-power thingies, and I thank you for it. But it was nice of you to recognize that we girls also swim in a shallow end of the pool and like to see naked handsome men.  ;)

 

Zoe! Hitting YSB was just all kinds of badass.

 

Crude Jayne! It was nice seeing depth of Jayne in previous eps., but sorrowful Jayne would never ever threaten to "show (her) good 'n' all, I got man parts!"  :)))

 

Also, scared Jayne! Loved that too... Adam's eyes going all wide when River told him that she can kill him with her brain. Ha! Although, personally, I found Simon's calmness when he explained that he knew of Jayne's betrayal more scary.

Btw, River telling Jayne that she can kill him with her mind... Does she mean by telling what she knows? Because she's so much smarter than him? Or does she mean literally? (if we take BDM in account, presumably it's latter)

 

Monty! Favourite line of the night: "Damn you, Bridget! Damn you to Hades! You broke my heart in a million pieces! You made me love you, and then you… I shaved off my beard for you, devil woman!" Poor, poor Monty. To sacrifice so much for some space trollop. I feel for him.  :)

[Ffiferoo]

I adore this episode and still wish it had aired during the original run.  Christina Hendricks had such great chemistry with the main cast, it's definitely a huge part of the reason I think people love Our Mrs. Reynolds so much, so this was more of the same in a lot of (good) ways.  Saffron would have been an awesome recurring character whose backstory I'd have liked to learn in bits and pieces over time through all of her "husbands".  

 

The more developed interactions between the crew were also really excellent in this episode - Jayne's scene with Simon and River at the end was mentioned upthread, and I agree that it was a really well done moment, especially between Adam Baldwin and Sean Maher.  I always thought River was just fucking with Jayne when she said she could kill him with her brain, but maybe she meant it!

[jhlipton]

Was Christina Hendricks padded in her first scene or is that all her?  (It appears to be all her.)  Gazoinks!

 

Definitely a fun character, and it would have been fun to explore her history.  Alas for what might have been!

[Danny Franks]

Christina Hendricks is such a big girl, that I have no clue how I never noticed it during Our Mrs. Reynolds, or her guest stint on E.R. Yowza! Perhaps it's that her face is so beautiful that it's hard to look away from.

 

But I love Yo-Saff-Bridge, and agree that Joss was setting her up to be a recurring antagonist/reluctant ally to our intrepid gang. And it would have been so much fun, because she was so gleefully bitchy and cruel to them, and so adept at getting under their skin in different ways. I also think the chemistry between her and Nathan was pretty smoking.

 

She's just so much fun! But again with undertones of tragedy, and the question of why she's like she is. I think she could have had a wonderful journey of her own, had the show been a success.

 

Love the scene where Simon confronts Jayne, and comes off as genuinely scary, even while he's actually not threatening him at all. I think Jayne found a new respect for Simon, in that moment. Of course, it helps that Jayne truly is scared of River, and her killer brain.

[SophiaD]

That Simon-Jayne confrontation is one of my favorite moments in the whole series.  (Full disclaimer:  Simon is my favorite character, and I always felt he didn't get nearly enough screen time.)  Just how he has Jayne utterly at his mercy, and calmly tells him that he knows all about his perfidy, but not to worry, because Jayne's a member of his crew!  Right?  I think it never occurred to Jayne that someone might be wronged and have the upper hand and not use it.  I love the understated way that Sean Maher plays it, too, and Adam Baldwin's facial expressions are priceless.

 

Both "Ariel" and "Trash" really demonstrate the hidden arc of what a fantastic doctor Simon is, and what a waste of his talent it is, having him bandaging the crew's scrapes.  I wonder if that frustration wouldn't have gotten more play, if the series had continued.

[mstaken]

ull disclaimer:  Simon is my favorite character, and I always felt he didn't get nearly enough screen time.)

 

Oh, wow, I can't believe there are two of us! Mal is in many ways the most compelling, central character of Firefly, Zoe is the one I find it easiest to flat out admire, River is the most surprising and unique, Jayne and Wash are the ones I find most amusing, Inara is...well, the one I could most happily do without. But, like you, it's Simon who's my special favorite. He's just such a great mix of strengths and flaws.  I agree wholeheartedly about loving the episodes in which we see the gap between the life he once had and could have led vs the life he's chosen in order to save his sister. 

 

Add in my immense enjoyment of YoSaffBridge, and this is definitely one of my three or so favorite episodes, though I think I make that claim about more than three :) 

Edited August 9, 2014 by mstaken

[TeeVee329]

I've been doing one of my periodic rewatches and, man, it's so crazy watching this episode and "Our Mrs. Reynolds" now that Christina Hendricks is Christina Hendricks, you know?  She was so, so good in this part.

[femmefan1946]

The episode that made Nathan Fillion a star!

My second favourite bit was Mal biting his nail shyly when YoSaffBridge was canoodling with her 'husband'.

For my favourite;

Won't you join me in the shallow end of the pool.

[Christina]

That is awesome! When my son was 15, we had moved and before the internet and cable were set up, we were watching DVDs. I had to make him start to watch this show, because of the name. Halfway through the first episode, he wanted to know why it was cancelled. : (  This show just holds up, year after year. 

I'm going to be singing to Nathan to take off his pants in my sleep now. Ignore the fact that I was probably going to be doing that anyway : )

[SVNBob]

On 5/3/2014 at 1:38 PM, decembar13 said:

Btw, River telling Jayne that she can kill him with her mind... Does she mean by telling what she knows? Because she's so much smarter than him? Or does she mean literally?

All of the above?

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎03‎/‎05‎/‎2014 at 5:00 PM, Lisin said:

From Wikipedia

 

I love a good heist! This is a fun episode for me, we get lots of good bits, Inara finally working with the team and of course:

 

 

Totally fooled me, I thought she was genuine.

 

On ‎03‎/‎05‎/‎2014 at 7:38 PM, decembar13 said:

Return of YoSaffBridg! I just know Joss was aiming to make her recurring character (if show lasted). Damn you Fox executives!

 

Do you have a source or is that just your theory?

On ‎09‎/‎08‎/‎2014 at 6:06 PM, SophiaD said:

 

 

Both "Ariel" and "Trash" really demonstrate the hidden arc of what a fantastic doctor Simon is, and what a waste of his talent it is, having him bandaging the crew's scrapes.  I wonder if that frustration wouldn't have gotten more play, if the series had continued.

I like that aspect as it shows how much he sacrificed for the sister he loves (like Buffy?)

On ‎05‎/‎09‎/‎2014 at 7:09 PM, TeeVee329 said:

I've been doing one of my periodic rewatches and, man, it's so crazy watching this episode and "Our Mrs. Reynolds" now that Christina Hendricks is Christina Hendricks, you know?  She was so, so good in this part.

You can also catch her in Angel in a small role as a barmaid in an ep called 'The Prodigal' interestingly enough.

The good; Real white knuckle stuff with Zoe and Kaylee on the garbage barge, Indy snatching his hat close. Also love a paralysed, terrified Jayne at Simon's mercy calling out 'Anybody there?" only for River to stick her head around the corner of the door, for such a little thing she can be extremely sinister ("When did your little sister become unbelievably scary?"). 2nd appearance for Saffron and when you see her turn up you just know it's going to be a good one, the interplay between her and Mal and the bitchy rivalry between her and Inara is delicious.

The bad; Doesn't anyone notice a bloody great spaceship like Serenity screwing with the garbage?

Best line; Saffron; (of Mal) "He's my husband" Mal; "Well who the hell in the galaxy ain't!?" plus Doren; (after Mal has explained they're here to steal his property but that Saffron lied to him) "I appreciate your honesty...not you know, a lot...but...."

Packing heat; The whole plot revolves around 'The Lassiter', an antique laser pistol of untold value (check out Jayne's double take when he hears the name). We've seldom seen projectile energy weapons in the Fireflyverse, most people seem to still rely on lead. Noticeably the police on the core worlds seem to use some form of advanced stun guns whilst those on the outer planets stick with bullets. Inara with a gun, the first time we see her with one an elegant, delicate looking affair, maybe a Ruger.22?

Kinky dinky; Naked Mal. Give Joss his due, whilst he has plenty of female nudity on his shows he makes sure there's plenty of male eye candy too (Spike, Angel, all the Actives in the Dollhouse showers). He frisks Saf-Brid-Yol commenting he's "never been there before'.

Capt subtext; Inara's customer was able to provide sophisticated medical equipment at the drop of a hat which Simon uses to sew Mal's ear back on, if we do believe that Inara is sick, maybe this was all intended for her as part of her treatment? Inara accuses Mal of avoiding the core planets not through his hatred for the Alliance or wish to avoid law enforcement but because he's jealous of her clients and wants to stop her working. Inara resents Saffron so much because she recognises her as a fallen version of herself?

Total Serenity crew; 9-Inara refers to 'our cut' and actually participates in the plan which is unusual for her (or at least she's the backup for when it inevitably all goes wrong). Simon and River inform Jayne they won't kill him for his betrayal because they consider him part of their crew.

Knocked out; Jayne by an electric shock

Women good/men bad; Even by his standards Jayne is amazingly crude to Simon and River, threatening to show then his 'man parts' and proclaiming that 'womenfolk ain't to be trusted'. Saffron leaving Mal naked in the desert is undoubtedly funny although would it have been acceptable to us if Mal had done the same to her?

Fanfic; read an interesting one where Mal does leave Saffron naked in the desert. He returns a year later to find her running her own 'Heart of Gold' style brothel

Happy high-class hookers in Space; Inara refers to her 'house mistress', presumably some form of high-ranking companion supervisor/tutor. She also refers to the Geisha dolls Mal has been smuggling, a similar profession to her own. Is she Mal's Geisha Doll? Mal calls Saffron a 'Dirty, dirty whore' as an insult, once again showing how his mind works. Saffron asks Doren if he regards her as his 'Princess in the tower', maybe suggesting she was a companion who made the mistake of becoming a kept woman as a couple of Inara's past clients have wanted of her.

Alliance good or bad?; Mal actually shows real sympathy for Duren even though Saffron claims he's an Alliance war criminal, pronouncing him the one guy 'who don't have it coming'. Maybe Mal is starting to put the war behind him? (Or did his own share of looting which is how he afforded the Serenity?)

Crew injured; Mal gets a bloody nose from Saf-Brid-Yol.

Reminds me off; Inara's pistol is reminiscent of Princess Leia's in Star Wars. The police vehicles remind me of US Navy Viking ASW planes. The phonebox amongst Doren's collection may refer to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Floating balloons on tethers as we saw in The Initiative and may refer to The Prisoner. One of the fences Mal suggests is called Ellison, again a famous sci-fi author.

Questions and observations; All the mechanics on the Serenity seem to (literally) revolve around the one moving part, it's like the engine on the Beatles' Yellow Submarine or something. So what did happen to Heinrich the security guy? Saffron refers to a fence she has standing by on Prersephone to buy the Lassiter, does she mean Badger? Simon is noticeably dressing down now, no longer so dandy as he used to be (like Wes on Angel). Does River just sense Jayne's betrayal on Ariel or can she actually read his mind? Check out Kaylee's flowery cup, you just instinctively know it's hers. It seems to be you can now fix spinal damage with a simple injection. So, River tells Jayne that she can kill him with her mind? Does she mean by telling what she knows? Because she's so much smarter than him? Or does she mean literally, implying once again the supersoldier/Dark Phoenix from the X-men idea?

Marks out of 10; 8 out of 10, an awful lot of fun to be had, as Mal says at the end, it's a good day. For me Firefly is very much hitting it's stride at this point.