Thinking Critically About Firefly: Bushwhacked (Episode 4)

I've said in each of my last posts that I'm not overly fond of this episode, which is why it's taken me so long to get to it (in fact, Sepinwall beat me to the punch on this one =/). Unfortunately, now that I have time and nothing better to do, my laptop doesn't want to read the disc, so I'm doing this from memory. So, instead of walking through specific moments in the episode, I'm going to briefly explain why, this episode ranks so low on my list.

Fortunately, my problems don't have much to do with the episode itself. It's a tightly paced episode that provides a solid introduction to the mentality of the series bogeymen and what makes them so scary all the while keeping them shrouded in horrific mystery. It provides some great humor moments to ease this tension, as well (Wosh and Jayne's interrogations) and also finishes the job of re-establishing characters who didn't really get their moments in The Train Job (Kaylee's unstoppable cheerfulness; Simon's insulated naivety). Finally, as Sepinwall noted, in showing even straight-laced Alliance troops breaking from protocol, it also continues the work of establishing the show as a Space Western (I briefly touched on what this means to me in my old Cowboy Bebop post and may devote a brief entry specifically to this concept in the near future).

Honestly, in terms of raw production, Bushwhacked is a pretty great episode. Why don't I like it, then? Well, partially because I'm not a fan of gruesomeness. I dread Mal's discovery of the passengers on the ship and the survivor's breakout from the Alliance infirmary every time I watch this episode. Mostly, though, my complaints are a posteriori and result from a lack of satisfaction with the ultimate use of Reavers in Serenity, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, feel free to celebrate the fact that Bushwhacked is a pretty solid episode that normal people, free of my squeamishness an pickiness, probably like quite a bit.

Coming up next, possibly even starting tonight, is disc 2. Disc 2 of Firefly is about my favorite thing ever. After realizing that three of its four episodes are probably the best of the series' more light-hearted outings, it became a defining element of the Pity Party as a proper noun*. While the remaining episode, Safe, isn't particularly strong, it contains at least two Important Revelations. Thinking about Shindig right now, I'm already pretty stoked for everything coming up.



*The Pity Party is defined as a get together with friends, all or most of whom have been having a pretty crappy time of things. Its purpose is to help people feel less like shit by bitching about their current problems, eating chili, and watching the awesomeness that is Disc 2 of Firefly. So far, five out of five Pity Parties have been remarkably effective in improving outlook.