Firefly 1.14: "Objects in Space"

Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon

In which a bounty hunter infiltrates Serenity with the intention of taking charge of River and Simon, but even as the rest of the crew falls, River has other plans…


Status Report

And so it ends.

Just as the season was about to take its first strong turn towards the finale, the story was cut short by the unbelievable cowardice of the FOX Network. There is, of course, a bittersweet second chapter to the story. Thanks to the strength of the DVD set and the support of fandom across the world, Universal Pictures saw fit to give Joss Whedon a modest budget for “Serenity”. Already, the buzz is strongly positive.

While spoilers have been avoided to this point, it’s hard not to notice from the trailer that there are similarities between this final episode and the film. At least, there are on the surface. This is an episode about a bounty hunter, operating in the name of the Alliance, running down the Tams, using whatever tactics are necessary. It stands to reason that this is only the first attempt, and that things would escalate over time.

More than just a simple story of dealing with an interloper with a great deal of skill, this is an episode about something. Joss was trying to communicate on several levels in this episode, and it works beautifully. River’s point of view is finally given screen time, and it helps to break down the “Firefly” universe in a rather unique fashion. All throughout, there’s the philosophical vision that lies beneath the action.

At this point in the season, everyone on board Serenity has been trying to work out their relationships, for good or ill, after everything that has happened since “Out of Gas” onward. Central to that idea is River’s place on the ship. Everyone else has cemented their value within the crew; River is still on the outside looking in. Even worse, her perception makes it hard for her to miss that fact.

Whatever difficulties Simon and Kaylee might have been having in “The Message” or “Heart of Gold” have certainly been resolved by this point. That’s more of an issue with the two previous episodes than an abrupt development in this installment, since that direction had already been established. But underneath it all is the underlying truth, which River detects without effort or ability to prevent it: Simon still wishes he could be in his old world.

River gets nothing hidden from Kaylee, but then, that’s expected. Kaylee has depths, to be sure, but she’s not one for hiding her emotional state from anyone. She wears her heart (and just about everything else) on her sleeve, right down to a frankness in her sexuality that is innocent yet very self-aware. Thus River doesn’t detect anything under Kaylee’s surface, because Kaylee doesn’t hide her true intentions.

Jayne, of course, is still dealing with his guilt over the incident in “Ariel”. Or is he? That’s actually not as clear as it might seem. After all, Simon and River confronted Jayne over that incident in “Trash”. So while it would be easy to assume that Jayne is still kicking himself for his earlier decision, it’s equally possible that he has since repeated his mistake. There’s still that little threat of Mal’s to consider, and how often does Joss put something like that on the shelf, if he doesn’t intend to use it?

Book’s hidden side is a lot more interesting. All the hints about his past point to something like black ops Alliance military intelligence. So his words may be reflective of his past, and the fact that he continually struggles to leave that kind of amoral psychology behind. Like Jayne, however, there’s the possibility of something far more sinister. That’s one of the best things about the series and its characters: one can never be sure if the characters will succeed in their search for redemption.

Wash and Zoe, of course, aren’t hard to read, but it gives insight into the kind of naked emotional communication that River is receiving. Simon feels regret and perhaps bitterness, Jayne feels guilt, and Book gives off a disturbing self-serving menace. But River’s “interaction” with Mal and Inara could be even more informative. Inara seems to be dealing with her present emotional state (her desire for Mal to tell her what he’s feeling, one would suspect). Mal, on the other hand, is looking away, as if living a past emotional state (his loss of faith in humanity).

So if all those scenes have a certain common rationale, then it would seem that Mal and Book are dwelling on the emotions of the past, the ones that brought them to this time and place. On the other hand, Simon, Jayne, and Inara (as well as Wash and Zoe) are feeling those emotions in River’s “present”. It’s no wonder that River deals with the world in a swirl of confusion, if she can’t help but experience words and underlying thought in the same instance.

That doesn’t make it any easier on the crew, especially when she’s playing with guns while living in her own world of altered perception. But the incident forces many of the crew to think about whether or not River should be on Serenity at all, and she can’t help but pick up on it all. And it doesn’t help that Kaylee reveals just how good she was with a firearm in “War Stories”. River the Loony Psychic Assassin doesn’t seem to rank high on anyone’s “preferred passenger” list. (Especially when it’s hinted that she “read” Jayne’s combination and took the gun without even realizing it.)

It puts Simon in one hell of a position. As usual, when Simon thinks of how River’s life should have gone, he can’t help but think on everything he’s given up as well. For all that Kaylee wants him to make a declaration, he’s still not reconciled with how things have turned out. It’s like he knows what he should be able to say, but he can’t bring himself to admit it. At least part of it seems to be the connection between Kaylee and his “new life”; if he accepts one, he must accept the other.

Apart from all of this is the question of Jubal Early. He seems to be nothing more than a highly proficient bounty hunter. But he’s also a lot more proficient than one would expect. This begs the question: is Early in some way related to River? Was Early an “earlier” model of a modified human? That would seem to run counter to the idea that River is the test subject furthest along the path of experimentation, and the speculation that Simon’s attempt to heal River will actually result in the very thing that the Alliance wanted to create. But it does speak to Early’s odd sense of reality, which seems to resonate with River in an odd way.

Early is brutal in his tactics. He takes down Mal and Book through the element of surprise, but it’s implied that it should have been harder, under normal circumstances. It’s his manner with Kaylee that is most disturbing. It’s hard not to consider historically sensitive associations of a black man threatening to rape a defenseless young white woman; it’s actually surprising that fewer people took issue with it.

What sets Early apart is his departures into philosophical space. He wonders at the nature of things, what gives a thing or a place its meaning. Function and purpose are two very different things in the mind of Jubal Early. He seems to find pleasure in defining the purpose of a thing, being precise in it. His comment about surgeons being “cut on” is indicative of this: to understand the nature of healing, one must experience it, understand its purpose directly.

This is very similar to River’s condition, but she’s tapping into it far more directly. River gets caught between the distinctive states of understanding and comprehending. She understands what her perception registers, but she doesn’t make the same comprehensive conclusions with the information, because she’s operating within a different set of assumptions with completely different sensory input. Similarly, Early looks at the world and sees a specific object or space with absolute clarity; it’s defining the purpose that throws him off.

River’s solution to the problem of Early is rather novel. More importantly, by this point, Joss manages to make River’s claim convincing. River seems to understand Early well enough, through her perception or her realization of how similar they are, to know how to creep past his defenses. At the same time, she’s playing on the fear and awe held by the crew. In reality, of course, River’s true gambit is the only possible explanation. But for just a moment or so, it’s convincing enough to be very disturbing and heart-breaking.

Of course, underneath it all, River “reads” everyone on Serenity and positions them where they need to be. Some might wonder how someone like River, who “feels everything”, could possibly be a good assassin, but this is how. She can quickly figure out how to put all the pieces of her “dream” where they belong and account for their mental state, all in the process of completing an objective. With enough training, she could even accomplish such tasks without making a direct move herself.

Oddly, Simon seems to be able to act outside of her expectations. That seems to indicate a limit to her ability. River’s plan was going fine, so long as people were willing to follow her directions or work within their established patterns. Yet River should have known that Simon would risk everything to keep her out of Alliance hands. River is apparently still a work in progress.

Even so, River’s plan goes well enough, given it’s simplicity, and Simon just gets to fulfill Early’s wishes by getting to experience the removal of a bullet. For all that people are nervous around River, she seems to have proven her worth and her intentions. Instead of just being Simon’s wacky sister, she becomes the crew’s wacky younger cousin (in a manner of speaking). Sure, Jayne is probably still not sold on the idea, but that’s never likely to happen.

One could spend a great deal of time trying to explore the rich philosophical ground that Joss had in mind when he wrote and directed the episode, but it’s far better to listen to the DVD commentary and let him explain it on his own terms. In many respects, this episode is the culmination of everything Joss has done since “Buffy” began: the merging of genre elements with deep psychological and philosophical questions.

By the end of this episode, the integration of the crew has more or less been completed. The intention was surely to take that new status quo and mess with it mightily. Characters have desires and plans, and Joss loves to throw roadblocks in the middle of each and every path. It’s also likely that one or two crew members would end up dead along the way. How many of the established character intentions and hints for the future are realized in the film “Serenity” is still to be seen.

Some things, though, will never be explored in the detail one would desire. Mal’s search for trust in humanity isn’t something that can be completed in a single film, especially since that search is tied directly to his relationships with several people, all of which have their own trials and tribulations. Book’s past may be revealed, but on the series, it would have played out over time, and it would have factored into his relationship and redemptive quality with Mal. Similarly, Inara’s exit, if ever depicted, won’t be as meaningful if it takes place off screen.

There’s the whole question of Zoe and Wash and their plans for parenthood, which is likely to be dropped completely (especially if one of them is killed, as the previous episode seemed to foreshadow). Simon and Kaylee’s relationship has been so on/off over the past several episodes that it’s quite impossible to predict if it would have worked. Since Simon’s relationship with Kaylee was a barometer for his acceptance of his new life, it’s unlikely that it will be a big part of the film.

River, on the other hand, was the beginning of the story, and so it makes sense that she would factor heavily into its end. Logically, as mentioned above, this episode should be the precursor to an even more determined search. River’s awareness of her function will probably be explored, since Simon will have had some time to further understand what the Alliance did to her.

Two major possibilities remain on the table. If the crew manages (probably off-screen at this point) to bring Mal further along the path of personal redemption, in terms of connecting more with humanity, then he could become involved in a more active role against the Alliance. River was ostensibly created to be a weapon for the Alliance; she could just as easily be a weapon against her creators. Mal might have to struggle with the notion of gaining the freedom he desires at the cost of River’s self-determination.

On the other hand, there’s the side of the story represented by Jayne. If Zoe, Kaylee, Book, and Inara all function to support certain aspects of Mal’s humanity, then Jayne is the opposite. As seen in earlier episodes, Jayne is on the edge of pure self-involvement. It’s more than a little obvious that he fears the idea that the Reavers are humans who have fallen, reverting to the cold-blooded reptile of instinct. But of all the crew, Jayne is the closest to the Reavers in terms of how he deals with others.

The series has been, in many respects, the question of how Mal, a man at a spiritual crossroads, deals with the dilemma of a dangerous young woman who needs his help. If “Serenity” focuses on River’s plight, then the story is equally about Mal and his own journey. His decisions in dealing with River would reflect the success or failure of his own redemption. If that is indeed the focus, then representative elements would have to be present in the story as well: the Alliance, the Reavers, and the underworld elements in between.

In terms of this episode, however, it provides a bittersweet but logical resting point for the story. If “Serenity” is a single film, with no future as a franchise, then it becomes the capstone to a series that never came to fruition. But if “Serenity” is the beginning of an eventual series of films, then “Firefly” becomes the prologue…the story of how the adventures in the films began. Either way, this episode ends the series, however prematurely, on the same high note at which it began.


Memorable Quotes

BOOK: “I don’t give half a hump if you’re innocent or not. So where does that put you?”

WASH: “Little River just gets more colorful by the moment. What’ll she do next?”
ZOE: “Either blow us up or rub soup in our hair. It’s a toss-up.”
WASH: “I hope she does the soup thing. It’s always a hoot, and we don’t all die from it.”

SIMON: “She probably didn’t even know what was going on. You know…thought it was a game.”
JAYNE: “Later on, you can explain to me how that’s a comfort.”

JAYNE: “What…are you saying she’s a witch?”
WASH: “Yes, Jayne. She’s a witch. She has had congress with the beast.”
JAYNE: “She’s in Congress?”

WASH: “Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction.”
ZOE: “We live in a space ship, dear.”

RIVER: “River’s gone.”
EARLY: “Then who exactly are we talking to?”
RIVER: “You’re talking to Serenity. And Early…Serenity is very unhappy…”

EARLY: “That’s somewhat unsettling…”

SIMON: “What? Am I your advocate?”
EARLY: “You are starting now.”
SIMON: “He’s really very…gentle…and fuzzy. We’re becoming fast friends.”
EARLY: “You folks are all insane.”
SIMON: “Well, my sister’s a ship. We had a complicated childhood.”

MAL: “You know…you ain’t quite right.”
RIVER: “It’s the popular theory.”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is a nearly perfect combination of genre elements and philosophy on the nature of things. Operating on several levels in terms of the storytelling, this is exactly what “Firefly” was meant to be. Fitting, then, that it serves as the premature end to the series. One would expect the film “Serenity” to follow in these footsteps.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 4/4

Original Rating: 9/10
Final DVD Rating: 10/10

Final Season 1 DVD Rating: 8.5