Today I watched the eight episode of Firefly, ‘Out of Gas’. At the beginning we see Mal stumbling through an empty ship, and he appears to be injured. This episode differs from the other episodes I have watched because the scenes are not sequential. The episode starts in the middle of the story, and the initial story is told through Mal’s flashbacks.
By watching the flashbacks, the story starts to form. The crew of Serenity is enjoying dinner when they surprise Simon with a birthday cake. As they about to dig into the cake, an explosion occurs. Zoe pushes Kaylee out of the way and gets hurt. They realize soon after that the ship cannot move without a certain part which has been damaged. To make matters worse, they are running out of oxygen.
Mal really impresses me in this episode. He tries to get the ship moving no matter what, even shoving Wash against the wall when Wash says he is not leaving Zoe’s side. In that situation, Mal realizes that if everyone were only concerned about Zoe, things could get worse. He is able to detach himself emotionally and assess the situation critically.
He once again shows he is a true leader when he tells the crew to leave in the shuttle. He feels responsible for putting them in that situation by bringing all of them onto the ship. As a result, he tries to make sure they survive. When they all leave and he gets hailed, by another ship, he shows his resolve once again. Although he is shot, he is able to take control of the situation and get the engine part he needs.
Even after he is shot, he does not give up, and tries to get the part in the engine. He keeps going when other men may have given up. And in the end, it is the bond that has grown between the members of Serenity that saves him. Once Zoe wakes up, she orders the ships back to ship. If they didn’t come back, all that Mal did would have been for nothing. But because the crew of Serenity cares and respects Mal, they come back even though they might die in the process. They come through for him, just as he did for them.
Help and support can be mutual just like what happened among Mal and his crew.
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