Our Mrs. Reynolds
Encyclopedia
"Our Mrs. Reynolds" is the sixth episode of the science fiction
television series
Firefly
created by Joss Whedon
.
As an unexpected reward for an unpaid job, Mal finds himself married to a naïve, subservient young woman named Saffron (Christina Hendricks
). Saffron is all too willing to play the role of housewife, which leads to an argument between Wash and Zoe and lectures from Shepherd Book. But the young woman is not what she appears to be.
makes its way through a shallow river. When a band of men on horseback stops it to demand its cargo, the driver Jayne and his "wife" Mal
pull their weapons on the bandits and quickly defeat them with the help of Zoe. At a celebration party that night, Mal dances with a beautiful young woman, who gives him a wreath and wine, as an old man gives Jayne a rain stick made from wood.
After Serenity
is underway again, Mal encounters the young woman in the cargo bay. She informs him that she is now his wife. Zoe calls the entire crew down to enjoy the moment. Shepherd Book
reads up on the local customs and informs Mal that he had taken part in a marriage ritual by accepting a wreath of flowers, drinking of her wine, and dancing together. It's "the marriage ceremony of the Triumph settlers."
Mal has a heart-to-heart talk with the woman, who identifies herself as Saffron. Despite Mal's encouragement to be her own woman, Saffron cooks him a meal as Zoe looks on in mocking disbelief. After eating, Mal escapes an offer to have his feet washed and visits Inara, who also shows contempt for Mal's treatment of the situation. Jayne attempts to trade his favorite gun, named Vera, for Saffron, but Mal turns him down.
Zoe and Wash continue to argue about Saffron. When Mal enters his quarters later, he is seduced by Saffron, whose lipstick contains a narcotic
. As Mal succumbs to unconsciousness, Saffron tries her wiles on Wash, who is in the cockpit. After trying unsuccessfully to seduce Wash, Saffron knocks him out with a kick to the back of his head. She subsequently takes control of the ship, welding the door shut behind her as she leaves. Running to a shuttle to escape, she meets Inara and tries to seduce her too. Inara plays along with her to try to get her to her shuttle, but the alarm goes off and Inara remarks how skillful Saffron is at lying. After dodging a kick from Saffron, Inara rushes to Mal after Saffron says she is Malcolm Reynolds' widow. After Inara finds him alive, but unconscious, she kisses him, then collapses soon after calling for help, sharing Mal's moment of 'weakness.'
After breaking into the bridge, Kaylee and Wash find that the ship is headed straight for an electric net. Book explains, with a mysterious knowledge of criminal activity, that the net will restrain the craft but kill everyone inside. Jayne shoots the structure with his favorite gun, shorting it out, and Serenity passes through the net unharmed. After disabling the net, Jayne fires at the window of the net's crew compartment, causing it to rupture and killing the net's two operators.
Later, on a snowy world, Mal bursts into Saffron's cabin and, after an unsuccessful attempt to get some answers, knocks her unconscious. Back on Serenity, Mal presses Inara for an explanation of her supposed dizziness. Inara thinks Mal knows about the kiss and agrees to "not play" with him, but Mal expresses the belief that she's admitting to kissing Saffron.
Joss Whedon said on the DVD commentary that this was one of his, the cast's and the crew's favorite scenes, but they had to edit it out due to time constraints. Because this scene was cut, River has no lines in this episode.
Vera herself is a rather extensively modified Saiga-12
semi-automatic shotgun.
The episode's title, "Our Mrs. Reynolds," is a play on the 1952 radio show, Our Miss Brooks
.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Firefly
Firefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
created by Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
.
As an unexpected reward for an unpaid job, Mal finds himself married to a naïve, subservient young woman named Saffron (Christina Hendricks
Christina Hendricks
Christina Rene Hendricks is an actress known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.-Personal...
). Saffron is all too willing to play the role of housewife, which leads to an argument between Wash and Zoe and lectures from Shepherd Book. But the young woman is not what she appears to be.
Plot
A covered wagonCovered wagon
The covered wagon, also known as a Prairie schooner, is an icon of the American Old West.Although covered wagons were commonly used for shorter moves within the United States, in the mid-nineteenth century thousands of Americans took them across the Great Plains to Oregon and California...
makes its way through a shallow river. When a band of men on horseback stops it to demand its cargo, the driver Jayne and his "wife" Mal
Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character and main protagonist in the Firefly franchise. Reynolds is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity. In the series, Reynolds is the captain of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity...
pull their weapons on the bandits and quickly defeat them with the help of Zoe. At a celebration party that night, Mal dances with a beautiful young woman, who gives him a wreath and wine, as an old man gives Jayne a rain stick made from wood.
After Serenity
Serenity (Firefly vessel)
Serenity is a fictional Firefly class spaceship appearing in Joss Whedon's Firefly television series and related works. Set in the 26th century, the series revolves around nine characters, which form the crew of the small transport ship, as they try to make a living through various legal and...
is underway again, Mal encounters the young woman in the cargo bay. She informs him that she is now his wife. Zoe calls the entire crew down to enjoy the moment. Shepherd Book
Derrial Book
Derrial Book is a fictional character played by Ron Glass in the science-fiction/Western television series Firefly and its sequel movie, Serenity...
reads up on the local customs and informs Mal that he had taken part in a marriage ritual by accepting a wreath of flowers, drinking of her wine, and dancing together. It's "the marriage ceremony of the Triumph settlers."
Mal has a heart-to-heart talk with the woman, who identifies herself as Saffron. Despite Mal's encouragement to be her own woman, Saffron cooks him a meal as Zoe looks on in mocking disbelief. After eating, Mal escapes an offer to have his feet washed and visits Inara, who also shows contempt for Mal's treatment of the situation. Jayne attempts to trade his favorite gun, named Vera, for Saffron, but Mal turns him down.
Zoe and Wash continue to argue about Saffron. When Mal enters his quarters later, he is seduced by Saffron, whose lipstick contains a narcotic
Narcotic
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
. As Mal succumbs to unconsciousness, Saffron tries her wiles on Wash, who is in the cockpit. After trying unsuccessfully to seduce Wash, Saffron knocks him out with a kick to the back of his head. She subsequently takes control of the ship, welding the door shut behind her as she leaves. Running to a shuttle to escape, she meets Inara and tries to seduce her too. Inara plays along with her to try to get her to her shuttle, but the alarm goes off and Inara remarks how skillful Saffron is at lying. After dodging a kick from Saffron, Inara rushes to Mal after Saffron says she is Malcolm Reynolds' widow. After Inara finds him alive, but unconscious, she kisses him, then collapses soon after calling for help, sharing Mal's moment of 'weakness.'
After breaking into the bridge, Kaylee and Wash find that the ship is headed straight for an electric net. Book explains, with a mysterious knowledge of criminal activity, that the net will restrain the craft but kill everyone inside. Jayne shoots the structure with his favorite gun, shorting it out, and Serenity passes through the net unharmed. After disabling the net, Jayne fires at the window of the net's crew compartment, causing it to rupture and killing the net's two operators.
Later, on a snowy world, Mal bursts into Saffron's cabin and, after an unsuccessful attempt to get some answers, knocks her unconscious. Back on Serenity, Mal presses Inara for an explanation of her supposed dizziness. Inara thinks Mal knows about the kiss and agrees to "not play" with him, but Mal expresses the belief that she's admitting to kissing Saffron.
Deleted scene
River confounds the crew with one of her seeming whimsies, this time demanding that Book marry her and Simon. When Simon tries to explain that they can't get married because they are siblings, River gets very upset and questions his love for her. Mal and Saffron then come in and River accuses Saffron of being a thief, though River says she never saw Saffron stealing food. This indicates River's knowledge of Saffron's true nature, though at this point Saffron is still playing the subservient wife. After they leave, River takes a pillow from nearby and puts it in her dress at the stomach, stating that she and Simon have to get married now: "I'm in the family way."Joss Whedon said on the DVD commentary that this was one of his, the cast's and the crew's favorite scenes, but they had to edit it out due to time constraints. Because this scene was cut, River has no lines in this episode.
Production details
According to Jayne, "Vera" needs oxygen around her to fire; however, gunpowder incorporates both fuel and oxidizer and will combust regardless of the presence or absence of atmosphere. According to the DVD commentary, the episode's producers checked this with a gun expert, but were incorrectly informed.Vera herself is a rather extensively modified Saiga-12
Saiga-12
The Saiga-12 is a Kalashnikov-pattern 12 gauge combat shotgun available in a wide range of configurations. Like the Kalashnikov rifle variants, it is a rotating bolt, gas-operated gun that feeds from a box magazine...
semi-automatic shotgun.
The episode's title, "Our Mrs. Reynolds," is a play on the 1952 radio show, Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
.
Guest actors
- Christina HendricksChristina HendricksChristina Rene Hendricks is an actress known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.-Personal...
as Saffron, the newly Mrs Reynolds. - Benito MartinezBenito Martinez (actor)Benito Martinez is an American actor most known for his role as police captain David Aceveda in FX Networks' acclaimed crime drama The Shield...
and Erik Passoja as Boss and Bree, the operators of the "net" that Serenity is steered toward.
External links
- "Our Mrs. Reynolds" at Firefly Wiki