(Season 1, Episode 6)
Finally! Six episodes in, and I can finally understand why people like this show. This episode was sexy, funny, extra weird, and everything in between. And, there was a definite sense of character and team dynamic that, up until now, felt rather weak. I have my fingers crossed that this fun isn’t just a fluke, but a sign of the awesomeness to come.
“Our Mrs. Reynolds”
So, in this episode, after some real hippie-dippy Hair/”Electric Feel”-esque partying, Mal finds himself somehow married to a super-shy pretty girl, Saffron, desperate to please. Right there, the writers have captured the hearts (and other parts) of the male viewers. The fact that Joan Holloway (okay, Christina Hendricks) was playing her, certainly didn’t hurt. And honestly, I was surprised that this character’s helplessness was a lot more intriguing than that of River, the ship’s resident screamy mumbleface. Perhaps it had to do with Mal’s level of discomfort in refusing her advances, in which I found endless enjoyment. His discomfort, I mean. Not her advances.
The rest of the crew’s near inability to resist Saffron’s charms was also extremely interesting. For one thing, Saffron’s presence shed some light on the great relationship between Wash and Zoe. Jayne’s almost romantic fascination with Saffron was also marvelous. Really, Alan Tudyk’s work as Wash, and Adam Baldwin’s as Jayne, have been the big stand-outs since the very first episode.
Of course, the tension between Mal and Inara hit a high point, when Mal got knocked out by the powerful combination of poison lips, and touching a girl for the first time after a long dry spell. Inara’s slightly drunk recovery from kissing Mal was the first time I felt anything but ambivalence towards her character.
I also read about the deleted scene where River wants Book to marry her and Simon, which sounds like twelve kinds of creepy. There’s no wacky incest business coming up in the near future, right? Just awkward Luke/Leia sort of tension at most, I hope.
Clacked by Annie Wu 
on Jul 17, 2009 @ 17:00 EST5EDT
