Episode Discussion - Shindig S01E04

Robb Stark

King in the North
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Sineya
Original air date: November 1, 2002
Written by: Joss Whedon, Jane Espenson
Directed by: Vern Gillum

Quote:
While pursuing a smuggling job, Mal and Kaylee go undercover at an upper class fancy dress ball. Inara is attending the same ball with her wealthy client, Atherton Wing. In an attempt to defend Inara's honor after Atheron makes an offensive comment, Mal punches Atherton in the face. Outraged, Atherton challenges Mal to an old-fashioned duel using swords. Meanwhile, Badger returns and under Atherton's payroll, holds the Serenity crew hostage, while River begins showing some more of her sane side in a verbal confrontation.

Quote:
As the crew begin to wander through the streets of Persephone, a ship with an oval front section followed by two square sections lands in the background. This ship is the Starlight Intruder from the Star Wars graphic novel series "Dark Empire".

The final scene revealing the cargo as cattle was created digitally because, among other reasons, cattle do not walk on grating, of which the cargo bay floor is made.

The part of recurring character Badger, was originally written to be played by creator and executive producer Joss Whedon himself (according to Joss's DVD commentary for the Firefly: Serenity. In the end, actor Mark Sheppard was cast in the part instead.

The covered bridge seen in the background during the Duel is the same covered bridge seen early on in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Emissary.

Kaylee's full name is announced at the ball as Kaywinnit Lee Frye.

The dress that Inara wears to the ball was a (heavily) remade version of costume designer Shawna Trpcic's actual wedding dress.

--All plot snyopsis and quotes come from imdb.com


My take:
-It's kind of funny how many bar fights Mal and Jane get into. And Mal does have some good moves in those situations. The back head butt to the other guy's face was awesome.
-The pool ball scene was funny. I love the bar sign: "Management not responsible for ball failure".
-Wash landing the ship was great. Just about every time he's on camera I laugh.
-"The honor you do me honors my"¦my"¦honor." **smacks forehead
-And we've met the bad guy. "Atherton". The foreign badiness continues!
-I liked Mal being jealous of the guys Inara is with (as he always seems to be). Shame it got taken out on Kaylee though (although Jane makes it funnier: "She mad or something?").
-More foreign badiness!
-I love the strawberry gorge
-Another River freakout. I'm curious about her still (and Jane swiping Shephard's cards is pure Jane).
-"We gonna play cards or screw around?" Hmm"¦A Joss scene change perhaps?
-Man, Atherton just screams "bad guy". Such a dick. SO much glaring. It was nice to see Mal just deck him though. And the insta-duel was a little silly, but pretty funny.
-Kaylee holding court over engine types was perfect
-The Mal/Inara scenes are always sweet, especially when Mal's gotten himself into mortal danger. Not really sure how Inara knows so much about sword fighting, but still, sweet.
-Jane's planning = awful
-River just completely blowing Badger away was gold. And I loved Jane's line: "That there, that's the kind of diversion we could have used."
-The duel scene was alright; more funny than actually riveting.
-The last couple scenes were really funny, and another great Wash line: "I was gonna watch. It was very exciting". The last scene with Mal and Inara was a ten.
-On the whole I liked the episode (as I like almost all of them), but it wasn't one of my favorites. There were a lot of great Mal/Inara moments, but it didn't blow me away or anything. It was more funny than anything.
 
Foreign badiness. Hehe. 😀

I quite like this episode, though it's not my favourite. I like River's little freakout thing and the Mal/Inara-ness of the episode. Kayless in that dress is absolutely adorable. I want to punch Mal when he makes that comment about Kaylee and the dress.

I think I like this episode because it's mainly funny. 😀 My favourite episodes are Safe, Ariel and War Stories, though not necessarily in that order.
 
-I really like Mal's intro to the eps. Short but thorough background about what's going on with the ship and crew and how they got to where they are.
-Inara wears red a lot.
-Virtual pool. Interesting. The noises are funny.
-"How much money? Lots?" Fighting breaks out. I'm confused...
-"Shiny." Wash is my kind of guy!
-Love Inara's high-tech "dating" profile selection process. Heehee.
-Mal is soooooo jealous! Hilarious. "A few days. Must have stamina." "He does." Love it!
-The slinky dress for Zoe conversation. Hahaha.
-Aw, poor Kaylee. Wants to be a girlie girl. 🙁 Stoopid jealous Mal. Glad to see he is a little chagrined for once.
-Love the "ball". Seems so old-fashioned for the future. Inara is so gorgeous!! I find it interesting how being a call girl has become a position of prestige in the future, where now it's mostly frowned upon.
-Kaylee got the dress! (I shudder at the thought of wearing it, but glad she's happy.) Super funny seeing her and Mal at a ball!
-Ooo, I want that chandelier!! And Kaylee after the buffet table. I think she is me in the future. 😀
-The guys playing poker with chores. Excellent.
-What on earth is River doing?! Tiem to hire a psychotherapist for the ship as well. And Jayne. What a guy.
-"I like our party better." Wash is awesome!!! "Do you know what happens if you fall asleep now?" "Jayne slits my throat and takes over." <3 these two.
-Ergh, mean girls. They have those in the future, too. :/ Love the old dude!! "I cannot abide useless people."
-Mal and Inara's date. It's like Spike v. Angel. Hahahaha.
-Mal thinks Kaylee looks adorable. *warm fuzzies* Love her talking mechanic with the fellas.
-"Turns out this IS my kind of party!" Mal reminds me of someone, but can't put my finger on it yet. Loved him punching that guy out. He just had a bad attitude.
-Oh, Mal, you sure stepped in it again. Love he and Inara's argument about him backing out. Heh.
-River is a good distraction, that's for sure. "Call me if anyone interesting shows up." Heh.
-Mal respects Inara but not her job. Hmm. Interesting revelations in that scene there.
-Morning fog and a sword fight. It's like jolly ol' England!
-Ooo, Inara is going to be in trouble for that distraction. :/
-Mal poking him. Hahahahaha.
-"You'll have to rely on your winning personality to get women. God help you." Heehee. That guy won't be getting laid anytime soon.
-Inara and Mal drinkin' wine, chattin', and watchin' the cows. They looooooove each other. 😛

I really, really liked this ep. I've been intrigued by Mal and Inara's relationship, so it was nice to see where that was going. Lots of fun quips in this one, too. Very Buffy-esque. 😀
 
Another bar fight. Don't spare the clichés.

Mal's being jealous. How long before they get it on? Obviously I know since I've watched the whole show but the feeling never stops. The chemistry is strong from the beginning.

"You want a slinky dress?
I can buy you a slinky dress.
Captain, can I have money for a slinky dress?"
Jayne: "I'll chip in."

Mal hates the Inara talks and is rude to Kaylee. You idiot! Be nice. :cussing: Jayne being clueless as he often is.

The return of Mark Sheppard.

Miss Kaywinnit Lee Frye. Also known as Kaylee. Nice to get their real names. Look at her shine. So happy.

Captain tight pants. For those not knowing, fans love calling him that.

River freaking out, Jayne cheating. None is a big surprise.

So... Who is the best poet, Spike or Wash?

"It's not as good as last years.
What did they have last year?
Standards."
Ouch. Poor Kaylee.
But fear not, old man to the rescue. She's popular with the men at least.

Mal's being jealous again ending with him trying to defend her honour. Duel, sword duel!

"What we need is a diversion. I say Zoe gets naked.
Nope.
I can get naked.
No!"

River takes on a different personality with the added bonus of an accent. Didn't see that coming did you? "Call me if something's interesting shows up." 😀

"That there, exactly the kind of diversion we could've used."

Here we go again. Stupid people why can't you just admit how you feel?

Confidence of a captain. "He thinks he's doing well doesn't he?"

Nice diversion Inara. Finally a real sign of how much she cares about Mal. Worked out well.

"Having to lie there while the better man refuses to spill your blood.
Mercy is the mark of a great man.
*pokes him with the sword* Guess I'm just a good man.
pokes him again Well, I'm alright." 😀

Atherton being a total ass to Inara. Or if you will, showing his real self.
"See how I'm not punching him?
I think I've grown."

"We were just about to spring into action, captain.
Complicated escape and rescue op."

"I was gonna watch.
It was very exciting." Oh Wash, how I love you so.

Kaylee and her dress.

Nice moment between Inara and Mal but not much progress.

Well behaved cows. Not a sound until they're done talking.
 
The show is slowly growing on me. 🙂

Here are my thoughts/questions about this episode:

Mal's favorite hobby: getting in bar fights.

It was great getting to see Mal, Kaylee and Inara socializing off the ship.

Kaylee was so cute looking around wide-eyed and genuinely enjoying the whole affair.

Uh-Ohh looks like the future still has mean girls! 😱😡🙄 I loved when the older gentleman stood up for her and put those girls in their place. 🙂

Zoe's comment about Jayne while in bed with Wash was interesting. I know she said it in a joking manner but I wonder if on some level the crew knows that Jayne could be trouble for them.

How does Mal not know what he is getting himself into by punching Atherton in the face? You'd think that would be fairly common knowledge, especially for someone who tends to get into lots of scuffles.

Why is Mal so bad with a sword? So he hasn't used one much, but he fights all the time...for some reason their concern over his lack of ability seemed over the top. Also, the actual duel was a bit silly. It isn't believable that Mal would fall for the trick Atherton pulled, it was like Mal had suddenly never been in a fight before.


-River just completely blowing Badger away was gold. And I loved Jane's line: "That there, that's the kind of diversion we could have used."

Yes, I loved that! Made me much more curious about River. I'm looking forward to her opening up more.

-I really like Mal's intro to the eps. Short but thorough background about what's going on with the ship and crew and how they got to where they are.

I really enjoy those too. Puts everything into context.

-Mal respects Inara but not her job. Hmm. Interesting revelations in that scene there.

Yeah, weird. I was glad that Inara called him out on it though, he really was being just as rude as Atherton.
 
I went from not liking Zoe in this last episode to loving her in this episode for how she was protective over Kaylee. I thought that Inara would be the one to come over and 'rescue' Kaylee from those catty girls so I was surprised when it turned out to be some random gentleman. I loved how she ended up with all those guys around her and she still prefered to talk about engines rather than be courted 🙂

I like Mal's twisted sence of honor. He has no respect for Inara's job but he has respect for her. I really like Inara, I think she's a kind hearted, honest person and I love the tension between the two. I also like that Mal's kind enough to know when he's hurt someone and to make it right, first with Kaylee and the dress and then with calling Inara a whore.

I really want to see more River, she goes from being a complete basic case to being able to see through and gather all the information about Badger just from one meeting. I really wished this show had got more than just one season.
 
- Digital pool
- Inara taking the money from Mal and hiding it
- Seeing how Inara chooses her clients
- Aww, Kaylee being all excited over seeing a dress
- Zoe wanting a slinky dress, I can't see her in one though!
- "got my hands on a few" hahaha oh dear Badger
- Inara all dressed up at the ball
- Atherton is trying to tempt Inara away from Serenity
- Kaywinnit Lee Fry in the ruffle dress
- "Yes sir, Captain Tightpants!"
- and the rest are playing for chores!
- River taking the labels off the food, and mystery meals
- Wash's poetry!
- Aww Kaylee does love her strawberries
- Old fashioned dancing
- Honest work!
- And Kaylee's found herself surrounded by guys!
- Mal hitting Atherton in defence of Inara!
- Deal?
- With swords?
- Badger is on board ship
- and has Kaylee as hostage 🙁
- Inara trying to help Mal, looks like he needs it!
- People getting naked?!
- River talking down to Badger, love it
- Whore Academy
- Sword fight!!
- "Well, I'm alright!"
- Kaylee's room is all girlie, cute
- Cows! but not furry puppy cows!
 
VisionGirl
VisionGirl
Haha, furry puppy cows! Merrick rules!! :D
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