Firefly-"Trash"

Saffron makes her grand reappearance on "Firefly"
Credit: FOX

I continue my look back at the series Firefly with the episode "Trash" after the jump.

I could sum up my thoughts on this episode in one brief sentence: That was fun. I watched this episode and that was my only thought, I didn't necessarily But that's probably because we're following up on three of the best episodes of the series that Alan Sepinwall called "the peak of the show's run". I haven't watched the final three episodes yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if the three that proceeded this one are the best of the series. I guess I'm going off on this tangent because I really don't have a huge amount to say on "Trash". Every series has their episodes where all I really have to say is that was a good episode of that show. This was a very good episode of Firefly, it was just a throwaway on many levels. Its main function was to bring Saffron back and have her cause more trouble for the group. It did this very well but it didn't do very much else.

Like I said, the main function of the episode was to tell a caper storyline with Saffron. They did this very well and told a fun story with many twists and turns. The idea with Saffron going to steal a weapon from her husband and the implications of the plan were ingenious and very well executed. It was a lot of fun to watch, but that was mostly because of Christina Hendricks and Nathan Fillion. Those two play off each other so well and that's what made me enjoy the episode as much as I did. The almost constant back and forth between them was very entertaining. They have a chemistry that works very well and makes for very entertaining television. The many scenes between them were great because of the chemistry. My favorite of the scenes was the scene in the shuttle with Saffron "opening up" to Mal and the making him strip down. It was a brilliantly written scene and the actors were clearly having fun. Christina Hendricks is amazing as this character. Like Niska, this character could have been a great recurring guest star who returned to cause some trouble for the Serenity crew.

Some other thoughts:

• This episode also had Simon confront Jayne about Jayne turning them in to the Alliance. This payed off in a brilliant scene at the end of the episode. It was very well performed by Sean Maher and Adam Baldwin and got the point across very well. I also loved River's line: "I can kill you with my mind".
• Inara got to be the one to save the day this week. She got to confront Saffron and recover the weapon. Morena Baccarin seemed to have a lot of fun with that scene. Inara also got a really good scene with Mal at the beginning of the episode.
• Nathan Fillion seemed to be having fun being naked on screen.

This episode was very good, it just was very self-contained and didn't leave me with very much to say. I loved Christina Hendrick's return but the episode was a simple caper episode.

What did everyone else think?

Next Up: Mal and Zoe are reminded of their war days in "The Message"

For more information about the Old TV Watch Project and an archive of reviews of previous Firefly episodes please go to the home of the project right here.

I announce my summer plans for the Old TV Watch Project tomorrow afternoon, stay tuned!