Firefly

Our Mrs. Reynolds

Season 1, Episode 4, Aired 10/4/02

Episode Summary

While completing a job on a backwater world, Mal is married to a village girl without his knowledge. The girl, Saffron, gets onboard and the crew does not find her until they're already in the air. Mal is not sure what to do with her, but let her come along.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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Nathan Fillion

Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds
Sean Maher

Dr. Simon Tam
Ron Glass

The Shepherd Book

Fan Episode Reviews (20)

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Our Mrs Reynolds

8.0

"Great"

By joxerlives, Dec 31, 2011 Report Abuse

Our Mrs Reynolds

The good; The Mal/Jayne exchange on the wagon cracks me up every time. Some great acting by Christina Hendricks and the scene where everyone stands around judging Mal upon meeting his bride is hilarious. Some nice tension too as they ingeniously slip the net.

The bad; ?

Best line; Mal; "How drunk was I last night?" Jayne; "I don't know I passed out" plus Mal; "You've the same right as anyone to live and kill people"

Kinky dinky; Mal cross dresses. The bandit leader demands 'one on one time' with Jayne's missus. Zoe refers to Saffron as Mal's 'nubile slave girl'. When Mal finds a naked Saffron in his bed she declares she's 'made herself ready for him', she started without him? She 'swells to think of you in me' as indeed does he. It's been a 'long while' for Mal. Wash likes forward women. Jayne never kisses his women on the mouth. Another thank you kiss from Mal to Kaylee.

Capt subtext; Obvious jealousy from Inara, the only other member of the crew who's not laughing at all this. Also jealousy from Zoe, maybe over Mal but also over Wash seeming to like Saffron. Note her pride later when she learns that Wash resisted and stayed true to her. Kaylees's the only one who doesn't feel jealous, she feels for a crying Saffron describing Mal as a monster for upsetting her. Huge battle of seduction between Inara and Saffron but who's conning who? Like all straight men Mal loves the idea of two women together, thinking that Inara kissed Saffron rather than him.

Women good/men bad; If Saffron is to be believed girls on the backward planet are kept in a 'maiden's home' and given away in arranged marriages. Mal decades Saffron 'No one's property'. Zoe takes exception to the idea that she might cook for Wash.

Happy high-class hookers in Space; Saffron refuses to be a 'doxy' and expresses contempt for them. Mal never beats around the bush and refers to it as 'whoring'. Inara actually thinks the arranged marriage is degrading. Also she reveals her speciality is washing her client's feet.

Fanfic; Plenty where Saffron seduces Mal, Inara and any and all of the entire crew. The adventures of Mr and Mrs Reynolds also popular.

Questions and observations; The opening dirge is very Xena. We see the friendship between Mal and Jayne developing to a great degree, they seem more like buddies in this ep than before. Is Bau a real dish? We learn a little more about Mal, he's from the planet Shadow. The way the wreckers refer to the Firefly she sounds like the Volkswagon Beetle of spaceships. Note Saffron seduces Mal not with her body so much as flattering him for his morality. Inara pretty handy in a fight, maybe they teach more than footwashing at the academy. Why don't they all just pile into Inara's shuttle when they're being lured into the net? Or if they depressurise the cargo bay wouldn't it alter their course? Presumably the suit keeps pumping oxygen in when the visor is shattered allowing Vera to still function in a vaccum. Very little River in this ep, does she even have any lines? . Marks out of 10; 8 bordering on a 9, really good, up there with Serenity as the best ep so far, funny, thrilling and some great character moments, really like Saffron and I hope we might see her again, I hope the rest of the series is this good.moreless

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*laughing* this I've given a 10/10. Some of the acting is a little skewy, some of the lines are a little hinky, but oh the humour in it! Well done to both writers & cast.moreless

10

"Perfect"

By mistresswitch, Jun 07, 2009 Report Abuse

Christina Hendricks (Saffron) is a gues star in this episode and whilst I'm not a fan of her (I find her a little stilted in her acting) she is good entertainment. Good to see an antagonist that's not a scummy unwashed male. We love to hate her and for that I give her credit.

Again we're teased with Shepherd. Still knowing more than a "preacher should". :-)

All in all this was a very funny episode, how can it not be with Mal at the start in a dress and a very floral bonnet. The line though that really steals the show is right here in this scene.
Mal: "....but if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty flowered bonnet, I will end you."

With that one line there we know we're off to a good start.

What I also liked was how Inara really came out of her shell, to herself, but no less out of her shell. She allowed herself to feel her feelings, not just lock them away.

Mal though, as normal, tends to put his foot in things.

The rest of the time on the ship dealing with Saffron is actually quite funny, the crews reaction for a start and Shepherd guiding Mal along. All in all it was a terrific episode.moreless

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Things not going as planned..

9.0

"Superb"

By Parricida, Jan 11, 2009 Report Abuse

After successful job on a planet, villagers are very thankful for the crew of "Serenity" but when they have to leave, they find a girl aboard their ship and she says she is married to captain.. it comes out that might really been happening but not everyone is ok with it - Wash seems to like her but when he has opportunity, his mind is clear.. Cobb wants to trade her.. but in the end, it comes out that she is over it all - she has been playing with everyone from the moment she got on board and managed to take down captain, Wash and even Inara..

Some great action, some little human side of captain and funny episode.moreless

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Everyone Loves a Wedding...don't they?

10

"Perfect"

By Taynna, Feb 19, 2008 Report Abuse

Christina Hendricks deserves major kudos for her work in this episode. She takes on the role of Saffron - a stowaway who claims to be Mal's bride (and a gift to thank him for his services) but who actually turns out to be a gifted con. She plays both the helpless, lost, innocent girl and the shameless, angry, mercenary woman and manages to make both completely believable. The regular cast is also perfect - Mal is bewildered, uncomfortable, and a little attracted. Book's disapproval is palpable - and hilarious ("the hell"). Jayne steals the show (in my opinion) with his offer to trade his favorite gun (which he has ) for Mal's unwanted bride. His delivery of his line "It is my very favorite gun." never fails to completely crack me up - he says it so seriously and earnestly... Even Inarra has a moment of hilarity in this episode as she rushes to Mal's side and falls prey to the same trap he did (by kissing him, wouldn't Mal be upset if he knew he missed that!) - though she works hard to cover it.

The crew escapes certain death following her betrayal and even recover the shuttle she used to escape, but Saffron lives to return another day. Thank goodness. Some bad guys (and girls) are just too funny to let go so soon.moreless

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Let's talk about S-E-X, baby???? Sorry, what?! Wedding bells are certainly not ringing in this very funny episode that offers a great change of pace to what we have seen so far.moreless

9.0

"Superb"

By la_survive, Feb 13, 2008 Report Abuse

Our Mrs Reynolds is a very funny, very clever episode which has you hanging for most of the 40 minutes of the episode. From start to finish you are never quite sure where this one is going.. and in the end you are still not quite sure where you have ended up!

What I really liked about this episode was the change of pace that it provided. It is nice, every now and then, to have an episode that serves no other real purpose other than to fill a gap, build a little on our characters and simply entertain. This is such an episode. You also can't argue with all the S-E-X which is always going to get a few laughs, and our crew plays it up beautifully.

This type of episode is much better taken at face value, because once you start reading into it too much, it all seems overly silly and contrived. As it is, I really enjoyed the whole plot. I thought Saffron was an interesting character who was played very well. Even though you know there is something not quite right about her, you are stumped as to what it is. I thought her playing off Mal, Wash and attempting to dupe Inara was all very effective and very amusing. The dialog, as always, was exceptional and the script provides some very clever moments, as well as some moments that had me laughing out loud.

With my growing crush on Mal, I like the Mal-heavy episodes because he is so watchable and entertaining. One thing I particularly like about this series is that it doesn't over-play story devices, such as the Mal-Inara subplot. There is a lot of opportunity to overdo these subplots to the point that they become predictable and cheesy, but Firefly is managing to restrain itself when it comes to the relationship side of things, and it makes for a much more interesting story line. I mean, who really cares if Mal and Inara get together, when Mal is really more interested to know if Inara kissed a girl or not!

The other characters tend to fade in and out of episodes as they are needed. Unfortunately, this is one of the downfalls of having a larger ensemble cast, and it does take a long time to develop a strong profile of each character, but it does make you appreciate the air-time that each of them gets when their episode comes around again.

This is just a really fun episode, with some great moments, and enough of an intriguing plot line to keep you on edge. This series just gets better and better!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- In the UK DVD boxset release, according to the booklet, this episode was written by Joss Wheldon; not Joss Whedon. Edit
- The town seems to be a closely-knit kinda community. And yet no one there seems to take it amiss when Saffron, a stranger, wanders up and "proposes" to Mal. If she had stayed in town for a while to establish her credentials, how long was she there in town while waiting for a ship to come by she could set up for a hijack? Edit
- Previously we were told that River escaped from the Academy. This episode Inara says that Saffron must have received companion training at "the Academy." The way everyone talks about it in capital letters, "The Academy" seems to be a single well-known place...that trains both psychics and companions? Otherwise referring to both training organizations as "The Academy" seems unnecessarily confusing. Edit
Notes
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Quotes
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- Zoe: (learning that Mal's married to Saffron) Everyone should have a chance to congratulate you on your day of bliss. Mal: Bliss?!? There's no bliss, I don't know this girl! Jayne: Then can I know her? Edit
- Inara: Maybe you should think twice about letting go of Saffron, you two sound like quite a match. Mal: Maybe you're right, maybe we're soulmates. Inara: Yes, Great, I wish you hundreds of fat children. Edit
- Mal: Jayne, go play with your rainstick. Edit
Allusions
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- Title "Our Mrs. Reynolds" is a play on the 1952 TV show, Our Miss Brooks. Edit