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Firefly, Ep. 1.12, “The Message”

How much does it take for a friendship forged in the savagery of war to fritter away into nothing? Or even worse, until it gets to a point of betrayal and double crossing that somebody gets shot for the safety of everyone else? What boundaries have to be crossed before self destruction and selfishness override a fraternal sense of commitment to war buddies who say death and destruction together on a daily basis? And even further, at what point is loyalty nothing more than a nice idea that people hold on to in order to maintain ties to fond memories? “The Message” tries to answer all of this and more when an old war compatriot of ZoĆ« and Mal’s shows up in the mail with a request to ferry him home to his family and loved ones for burial. At times, it falls short of being able to fully explore how the toils of battle mentally affect those that survive the trenches and make it home, but the episode also smartly avoids PTSD as a main story drive and instead focuses on hopes, dreams, failure, and disappointment.

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Firefly, Ep. 1.08, “Out of Gas”

Given that at this point it was pretty obvious that Firefly would not last more than one season, and may indeed have already been canceled, it seems the perfect time for the show to try for a truly inventive installment. Written by MVP of the writing staff Tim Minear, “Out of Gas” succeeds in spades and even manages to give some members of the crew something of substance to do that hadn’t had the opportunity to this point.

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