Firefly Flashback: Our Mrs. Reynolds

Oh, how I do love this episode of Firefly. It's a perfect example of a story you can only do effectively when you have a strong cast of characters. The plot is simple (or at least starts out that way): Mal unknowingly marries a submissive woman from a backwater planet; complications and hilarity ensue.

The reason that complications and hilarity ensue is because there are eight other characters on the show, most of whom have an opinion on what has happened, and most of them different. Book is consumed with the moral implications of the situation (but not so deeply that he can't crack jokes about it). Inara is offended -- ostensibly because of how this civilian intrudes upon her profession, but in large measure because of her hidden feelings for Mal. Jayne is jealous it didn't happen to him. Wash and Zoe hit some minor bumps in their marriage when faced with a very different take on how a marriage "should" be. And so on. The character of Saffron is a stone thrown into the pond, and we get to watch the interesting ripples she creates.

Of course, there's an extra wrinkle in it all, as Saffron is not at all what she seems. She's actually an incredibly clever and skilled con artist that manages to get the drop on the entire crew. She becomes a very likeable adversary, and yet our heroes don't have to be too dumb for it to work. (Inara, for example, figures out the ruse but is still unable to stop Saffron.)

The performances in this episode are perfection. Many of the characters find mirth in Mal's situation that's so genuine, you have to believe the actors' own laughter and entertainment at this story is showing through. And what a find was Christina Hendricks as Saffron?! Years before more people would come to know her from Mad Men, she played this wonderful part that I think was just as nuanced and interesting. Maybe even more so. One of the many great losses in the cancellation of Firefly was in not getting to see Saffron come back for more adventures (though I'm very glad we got at least one more after this).

Firefly started strong, and then got just a little bit rocky in some of its first few episodes -- as rocky as it would ever get, anyway. But starting with this episode, I think it began firing on all cylinders almost each and every time. An absolute grade A episode of the series.