If you were to plot my reaction to this episode (the rating I was thinking it deserved) as a function of episode time (0 to 45 minutes), it would look like a flat line near the 6.5 (par) mark with a sudden spike near the end up to 9+. I'm placing the final mark where the show left me.
Plot Synopsis:
A full summary can be found at the all-knowing Wikipedia
The Skinny:
The episode begins with a rather flat feel. Joss was looking for all kinds of reasons to keep Simon and Kaylee apart despite strongly pushing the chemistry between them in just about every episode, so that sequence felt a bit contrived. Then we have the dead soldier show up and there is a lengthy chunk of the script where it seems like a run-of-the-mill "Alliance = evil oppressors getting into our business no matter how trivial" episode, then the dead guy wakes up, and it seems like a "help a friend in need" episode a lot like Heart of Gold. Some action, a bit of nifty piloting (which actually was REALLY well filmed and awesome), and a tough decision that leads to a standoff with the dead (now alive) guy holding people at gun point and getting himself shot repeatedly.
Then we hit the part that reached me. The payoff at the end of this episode is absolutely awe-inspiring and reminds me of some of the tales of heroism and bravery (and moral fortitude) I have heard from U.S. military veterans over the years.
And when you can't crawl, you find someone to carry you.
That really is what a functional military is all about. That's why they break a young man down and remake him in basic training. That's why men who would normally not be able to stomach the act of murder (men who are of the highest moral caliber) can fight, kill and die for abstract beliefs. And that's what Malcolm Reynolds is about as well. There is something incredibly powerful about those words. I think it has to do with the way the script cleverly withheld the end of that expression until the right moment, and the way Mal's belief system is held up to the light against a backdrop of Private Tracey's skepticism (highlighted below).
Still, when looked at in total, the episode has a big payoff that makes it worth the viewing (absolutely!) but is otherwise somewhat tangential to larger events, and not particularly memorable in terms of dialogue, though I do think it was a wise choice to show us Private Tracey during the war and give us a bit of back-story. We need to feel badly for how things turned out for the poor guy, and by the end, we do. If only he'd trusted Mal a little more...been a little more virtuous (as Mal says, he should have listened to all those mid-war homilies). All in all, a well-made episode with a very satisfying and impact conclusion.
Writing: 9.0
The only beef I have is with the Simon/Kaylee plot...otherwise, the script is VERY artistically crafted despite not being laden with memorable dialogue. Actually, I do have one other complaint. It seems that Tracey's rampage at the end could have been stopped if Book had said five words: "We're not turning you over!" If they'd explained their plan, we wouldn't have the sorrowful ending...that's a tad convenient that such a thing was not said.
Acting: 7.5
Jonathan M. Woodward was par at best (as guest stars go), but the regulars put in their usual top notch work, with the possible exception of Sean Maher, who seemed a tad flat to me). Nathan Fillion definitely had the best day of the group.
Message: 10.0
The codes of honor and morality that hold together a well-run military unit mean far...far more than liberal Hollywood seems to recognize, even today.
Highlights:
Two additional big highlights survive my memory and are worth including here...(besides the two-line homily that Mal used to keep his people together during the war)
WOMACK: You're an ugly little man, aren't you?
MAILMAN: Well, I don't think...
WOMACK: Leads me to wonder...what hideous cast-off is going to take you in when we put you away. You're soft...you certainly won't be running the show. So what lowlife will get blue enough to want to take you from behind?
MAILMAN: I've broken no laws!
WOMACK: Trafficking human cargo - especially dead cargo - is a felony punishable by 5-10. Plus you don't know this yet, but you resisted arrest.
MAILMAN: I don't know what you're talking about...I never saw any bodies...
WOMACK: You're in a lot of trouble here, if you don't start talking. Boys? (two large henchmen grab him by the arms)
MAILMAN: That is...I never looked inside, but there was a crate big enough for a body!
WOMACK: Who received that package?
MAILMAN: Here...this man...
WOMACK: (reads the name) Malcolm Reynolds...and where do you suppose he might have gone.
MAILMAN: I don't know...(thinks better of insisting on a lack of knowledge after the henchmen tug him away toward the door)...he captains a firefly...he can't have gotten far. You can catch him if you leave now.
WOMACK: Are you telling me to leave?
MAILMAN: No, no, no...I just...
WOMACK: Relax - you did great. Besides I was only bluffing about taking you in. Who needs the paperwork. Boys, light him on fire.
MAILMAN: What?! No! (they spray him with lighter fluid and strike a match)
WOMACK: If you call anyone about this...warn Mr. Reynolds in any way...you'll wish we'd burned you alive. (YIKES!!)
TRACEY: Do you know why I picked you two? Because you're saps! You might come across in the trades as being back country killers and thieves, but I still remember the old Malcolm and Zoey. All those stupid homilies you used to tell us about honor and bravery...
MAL: And decency? Perhaps you should have listened to them.
TRACEY: Well look at us now, Mal? Where are we now?! (not the point...you wouldn't be this screwed up if you lived like Mal does...no matter how rough your life might have gotten, you'd still have been able to live with yourself)
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