Firefly Flashback: War Stories

Given how short a run Firefly had, it's an unlikely but pleasant surprise that several guest characters showed up for more than one episode. I think the villain of this episode (and The Train Job), Niska, comes out on the bottom of the rankings -- but only because he's in the illustrious company of Badger and Saffron. His reappearance here is great not just because he's a compelling nemesis of a very different style, but because he shows that actions in the Firefly 'verse have consequences. Mal crossed him earlier, and now Mal most definitely has to pay for it.

This is the most brutal and graphic episode of the series, with multiple scenes of torture (including a severed ear). And as I noted in Out of Gas, few can sell pain as believably as Nathan Fillion. You cringe to see what happens to Mal in this episode... and cheer all the more because of it when he triumphs at the end.

Mal is far from the only badass on display in this episode, though. Zoe has the awesome moment where she doesn't hesitate for an instant when forced to choose between her husband and captain. Book gives us another taste of his dark side when informing us that the Bible isn't quite clear on the subject of kneecaps. Inara takes on a female client and the only issue made of it is how gorgeous and graceful half the crew finds her. (Ah, an enlightened future!)

And, of course, there's River's big moment at the end. This is the first taste we get of the River we would ultimately see in the movie. Until this point, River (and Summer Glau) has given us plenty of humor, and many moments of emotion and gravitas. But when she picks up a gun here and kills three people literally without looking, we see an entirely new side of her.

Also great is Wash's role in all of this. You could argue that his jealousy of the relationship between Zoe and Mal seems awfully (in)convenient to come up right here, right now. They all seemed to be getting along well enough so far. Yet you really have to accept this would have been an issue either at some point in the past or at some point in the future. Better that the series actually dramatizes it and we get to see it. And, as always with Firefly, some great jokes come with it too. ("She promised to obey?")

I rate this episode an A-. Maybe the minus shouldn't even be on there. I'm not sure I can exactly point to one "off" element of the episode to explain it; I just know that while I liked this episode a lot, I didn't love it quite as much as the many grade A episodes I've reviewed so far.