Two by two, hands of blue...

"Ariel", Firefly episode 9



This episode is infuriatingly solid, not as stylish as Out Of Gas or Objects In Space, but it is more solidly entertaining than say Heart Of Gold or Trash. The setup is particularly well thought out, if a little implausible, almost belonging to an episode of MacGyver and the A plot (Simon trying to find out what the Alliance did to River) would have been further played out had the series continued. The humour is broader in this episode than the previous (Out Of Gas) and the heist details are generally nicely handled.

The double-cross by Jayne is one of the more important plot points of the episode, and while not entirely unexpected, is completely in keeping with the character. In fact, the entire airlock scene with Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion is quite exceptionally written and played by both actors. The following is the transcript dialogue, substantially different and improved upon the script dialogue available freely on the Internet (although the word 'guts' in the final dialogue was 'balls' in the original script). What you don't get unfortunately from this dialogue is the inflection of the performances, the choices they make with body language and props and the judicious cutting choices made by director Allan Kroeker. You also can't recapture the hilariousness of Adam Baldwin's final line reading.

Jayne: "Hey, the hell are you doin'?"
Mal: "Job's done. Figured it's time for a little chat. (pause) Seems to me we had a solid plan. 'Scruth' you might say. But what I can't figure out is what you were doing round the back exit."
Jayne: "What? I couldn't go out the front. I had to improvise! Open the damn door!"
Mal: "You called the Feds."
Jayne: "What? I got pinched!"
Mal: "Which is what happens when you call the Feds."
Jayne: No! I would never do that! My hand to God! May he strike me down as I'm standing here."
Mal: "Well you won't be standing there long. The minute we break atmo, you'll be a lot thinner once you get sucked out that hole."
Jayne: "Oh, c'mon Mal. That ain't no way for a man to die! You wanna kill me, shoot me! Just let me in!"
Mal: "You know, I hear they used to keelhaul traitors back in the day. I don't have a keel to haul you on, so..."
Jayne: "Oh, okay. I'm sorry, all right?"
Mal: "Sorry for what, Jayne? I thought you'd never do such a thing?"
Jayne: "Money was too good. I got stupid. I'm sorry okay? Be reasonable. What are you taking it so personal for? It aint' like I ratted you out to the Feds."
Mal: "But you did! You turn on any of my crew, you turn on me! If it's such a concept you can't wrap your head around then you got no place here. You did it to me, Jayne. And that's a fact."
Jayne: "What are you gonna tell the others?"
Mal: "About what?"
Jayne: "About why I'm dead."
Mal: "I hadn't thought about it."
Jayne: "Make something up. Don't tell 'em what I did."
[pause]
Mal: "The next time you decide to stab me in the back... have the guts to do it to my face."
[pause]
Jayne: "Can I come in?"

The blue hands make their second appearance for the series in this episode and it is their most chilling as they dispatch Alliance with ease with their "haemorrage" pens. At the other end of the scale, the fight between Jayne, Simon and the Alliance is quite brutal for television, and unusual for Jayne it takes quite a while for him to eventually snap the guard's neck.

A couple of minor details about this episode. It features what I think is the only use of a sonic gun in the entire series by the Alliance. This episode came out the same year as Minority Report which also featured sonis guns. Whether one informed the other I do not know. But it got me thinking about about the influences of Philip K. Dick on Firefly. They are visible and apparent, but not so considerable as to be plagarism. Firefly is influenced by everything from Robert Heinlen and Philip K. Dick to Gene Roddenberry and Sergio Leone. In fact, Firefly is an amalgam of so many different influences that it could not be considered anything but original.

As with most episodes, Ariel showcases the beautiful effects work of Zoic under the supervision of Loni Peristere. The vistas of Ariel are sumptuous and the final shot of Serenity leaving Ariel is especially exquisite. The medical shots of Simon studying River are also imaginatively handled (although this type of effects work may have been farmed out to another company?).