Episode discussion - The Train Job S01E02

[Washburne]

Original air date: 9/20/02 

Written by: Joss Whedon 
& Tim Minear
Directed by: Joss Whedon


Source

"The Train Job" is the second episode of the American science-fiction western television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon, although it was the first to be shown. (The pilot, "Serenity," was not shown until nine other episodes had been aired.) According to the DVD commentary, Whedon and Tim Minear had only two days to write the script.

Source

Serenity continues to travel through space conducting illegal runs across the star system, which is under the control of The Alliance. A powerful and fearsome mobster named Adelei Niska demands*that the crew of Serenity pull a train robbery. The train is carrying medical supplies for a community, and Reynolds and Zoe get held on suspicion. They get free with Inara's help but realize they were tricked and try to return Niska's money. His henchman isn't too happy, but Mal "persuades" the next guy to take the money back. Meanwhile, two blue-handed, black-suited operatives close in on River.

Source

The first time I watched the show I watched it in the airing order so this was my introduction to the show.

They're playing chinese checkers. Another hint to the influence of China or am I grasping for straws?

You got to love how Mal tricks the guy to turn around so Zoà« can sneak up on him.

Jayne doesn't care about anyone but himself. "Hey, I didn't fight no war. Best of luck though." 😀

Mal gets thrown out the window, fights cheap while Zoe is the "real" fighter. Another strong female character. As in "Not needing to be saved". Jayne joins in after all. Because he got attacked, did he want to help his "friends" or just felt like fighting? Not easy to know with him.

"Because it's the right thing to do." Doing crime but trying to do what's right. Or simply doing anything the Alliance won't like?

I love Kaylee and Inara together. They get so girly and flirty with each other. This time girly in Serenity flirty.

Mal goes from rude and cold to funny. At this time I can't decide what I think about him. Well the first time around that is.

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

Whoops. Lots and lots of alliance soldiers. Stay cool...

Inara's explaining to Book as well as the viewers why the crew do illegal things. Not because they want to but because they need to.

"Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." Judging by the pilot and what we've seen this far Zoà« is the grounded/practical one. Still she lets Mal do things his way. I'm with Wash (shocker), sometimes it feels like she following orders no matter what. A "good" soldier if you will. Not my definition but you know. "Be a good soldier and do as you're told."

Oh oh. Trouble times two. 1. They didn't get off the train. 2. The stole the medicine. Stealing from the alliance is one thing. Taking from the needy? Niska has shown what he does to people that don't do as they should.

"Two by two... hands of blue." Way more classic than you realise at this point but I'm counting that if you read this you've watched the whole episode.. To tribute it Nathan wore blue glows of an episode of Castle. They've had a few of those. Always fun to notice.

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with till you understand who's in command." Oh Jane. Always so aggressive.

Drugged Jayne. Serves him right. You should always listen to your doctor. "I told him to sit down."

He he! 😀 Inara to the rescue. By slapping and insulting Mal. Must have felt good.

"Nice shot.
I was aiming for his head." Also used on Castle but with the actual qoute.

"... then he has a choice
I don't believe he does."
Mal has his morals for sure. Now the question is, did he keep Simon and River around because he needed a doctor, he had no choice considering his morals or is it like Jayne thinks that he has a plan for them.

Anyone think that Niska will forget about them since he got his money back? Will the one accepting the deal get away with it when he returns to Niska. Will he even go back or will he be running too?

86 million miles. Yes, space is huge. Two men wearing blue gloves, looking for River. Doesn't sound promising does it?

So this was the pilot on tv and for me. Is it a better pilot than Serenity? I can't decide but now that I've watched the show a few times I like Serenity better. A first impression on just this episode or an impression having watched this as the second episode could probably make a difference.

Lastly. It's a western. Doesn't matter that it's a space western. Of course there has to be a train robbery at some point.

 

[Robb Stark]

-Jane not knowing the day, or even the month, was pretty funny. Then how he won't stand up for Mal: "Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck though." Great opening scene.

-I liked the drunk Alliance guy in the bar. "You know, your coat is kind of a brownish color."

-Mal faking the punches and then kicking the guy in the knee in the bar brawl. Great move. Especially how Zoe just works about four guys.

-No sound in space. Awesome. Now when I watch space shows and there is sound, it bugs me.

-"You're welcome on my boat. God ain't." "“Mal. LOVE that line.

-I like how petty Mal gets about Inara being a companion. Always so funny.

-Krol was a cool bad guy, and that knife was pretty intimidating. Oh, and now I know where Mike Tyson got that stupid tattoo.

-I like all the Simon/Kaylee stuff. One great aspect of the early seasons of shows I like (or well, for Firefly the only season, but the point still works) is the innocence of a lot of the relationships before mountains of storytelling have come. And the first line is great: Simon: "What are we doing?" Kaylee: "Crime." Simon: "Crime? Good"¦okay. Crime."

-A doped and hallucinating Jane=Hilarious "What? What do you mean back? We waited for you guys!"

-"We're not thieves. But we are thieves." "“Mal, classic Joss line.

-The ending was cool, in a creepy way. The government guys hunting down River. Those blue gloves were actually kind of chilling.

-The last Krol scene was gold. Absolute gold. That was actually the moment that hooked me on the entire show. I liked the pilot but it didn't blow me away. That scene, where he boots Krol into the engine propeller, was awesomeness personified.

-On the whole I liked the episode. Train heists are always fun, and there was something really cool about a show centered around space pirates pulling a train job on what is essentially a cowboy planet. There wasn't as much Wash as I would have liked, but Jane more than made up for it.

 

[Vamp Jenny]

That's why I don't like Jayne much. Never helping Mal but when he has to...

Nice western style battle though 🙂

I just love the opening credits song 😀

Awww, Mal and Inara... My favorite undevelopped relationship.

"Makes it [the situation] more fun!" XD

"Can I have your share?"
"No."
"If you die can I have your share?"
"Yes."
Favorite lines from this episode!!

The alliance ship looks like a Star Wars one 🙂 No news, I know, but it's cool.

Jayne, shut the hell up and sit on your ass.
Good job, Doc 😉

Drugged Jayne, I prefer him to the Regular Jayne.

 

[PassionBecoming]

S1 Ep 2 - The Train Job

-Aw, so the Alliance is kind of a dictatorship. Jerks. 😛

-Chinese checkers! Awesome!

-Uh-oh, Mal, just sit back down!!!! EEP! "Your coat is kind of a brownish color." "It was on sale."

-Love me a good bar brawl! Like to see Whedon's theme of women kicking butt going on again.

-They have no guns on Serenity?? That seems like a bad idea.

-Ugh, poor River. That has to be so awful to have all those flashbacks. 🙁 Especially in an unknown environment.

-I like Mal and Shepherd's conversation.

-Interesting hearing Inara talking about how a Companion works her trade. Not just a prostitute, I guess.

-Yup, definitely feel like Mal and Inara have some sort of history. Curiouser and curiouser.

-I kind of like the little bad old man with the accent. He's so cute! And love that his wife nags him about killing people. Heh.

-Hmm, so Inara has only known him 8 months. I am always entertained when her and Shepherd have talks. Good stuff.

-"Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." Love Zoe!!

-Simon: "So, what are we doing?" Kaylee: "Oh. Crime!" Love Kaylee, too!

-Jayne is such a buttfaced miscreant!!

-Wow, those Alliance guys are sure trigger-happy! These heist scenes make me so nervous on this show!

-Ut-oh, Mal. Those goods weren't good ones to steal. 🙁 And the Alliance is obviously doesn't give a care about its citizens. Nice people.

-A mining disease. Interesting.

-Jayne all drugged. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

-Mal is an "indentured man". Heehee

-Kaylee really needs to learn to get out of the way when there's gun fire.

-"I was aiming for his head". Oh, Jayne.

-He wasn't in the ep much, but I really like the sheriff!

-Nice to see Mal treating Simon like a fellow human being. He's just all over the place.

This ep kept me on the edge of my seat for sure. Definitely a classic plot of "evil government with all the power vs. bandits with a conscience" but so far I'm liking it!

 

[Jodast]

It's a western, it's a bar...it's only a matter of time...

Mal's still fighting the war in his own way. Nice to see the good captain isn't above a good old fashioned cheap shot. Nice put down, too 🙂

BAR FIGHT!!! I love the holographic windows. A nice twist on the breaking glass cliche.

Jayne's still an ass. On that note, Adam Baldwin may be the worst actor I have ever seen do stage fights. Not to give too many spoiler away, but there are other scenes in the series where the crew get into physical altercations (sounds so much classier than 'fights' don't you think? 🙂 ) and he never, ever comes close to making it look realistic. More on his acting later.

Kaylee, oh Kaylee :heart: :heart: :heart:

Disturbing stuff for River. I like how the bckground is completely black so all we see is the experiment, very menacing.

The Shepherd tells Mal he's found his mission. Mal is still vehemently opposed to God and religion. Still intrigued by this, especially after the symbol around his neck at the beginning of the pilot. Clearly believing that he was forsaken in the Battle of Serenity Valley. Will he get his faith back?

Kaylee and Inara in Inara's quarters. If this keeps up, I will have my first 'ship ever 🙂

I like the consistency of the writing, Kaylee bringing up the failing compression coil from the pilot episode. It's the small things that make Joss and his writers so good.

More chemistry between Mal and Inara. He shows genuine caring for her.

Andrew Bryniarski is a big, buig dude. Loved him in 'The Program' and 'Any Given Sunday'.

Niska is creepy as hell. He's like the most fiendish Bond villain ever.

Is it wrong that I really like the Tiffany lamp on Niska's desk? 🙂

The CG work on the train and the railway is sublime. More evidence that the show getting cancelled wasn't because of poor ratings, rather because of high production costs. And Fox exec stupidity, of course 😛

I like the interaction between Inara and Book. They really aren't so different. Inara shows that she cares about Mal, which is soooo sweet. Inara looks absolutely stunning, even when she's just wandering around the ship. Kudos to the costume designer.

Why does no-one notice that there is a huge ship flying above the train?

Jayne is STILL an ass.

Mr Tudky has been to the gym, methinks. He's rocking some solid guns.

Nice twwist with the purpose of the cargo. I didn't see it coming. Puts the crew in an interesting position. Wonder what they'll do...

I am really liking the multi-cultural setting of the show and they way them employ the easthetics is a great job of production design. The constant use of Mandarin still bugs me, though. Not enough to ruin the show, but still...

How and why would a Sherherd know someone like Niska? Hmmm...

I love the small interaction between Mal and Zoe pretending to be married. Right, Sir. Honey" LOL

The sherriff smoking when he has a degenerative lung disease, which is being kept under control with medication....just seems a bit daft to me *shrug*

The drugs kicking in to Jayne's system is comic genius. Now seems like a good time to re-address Adam Baldwin's acting. Earlier I panned him, righly so, in my view, for his poor stage fighting. However, the rest of his repetoire seems to be really solid. When he's playing it menacing he is very believable and the comic work he does here is golden.

I like the Shephedr's bait and switch with the 'someone respectable' line.

Nice slap, Morena. How's about you give Adam some lessons 🙂

The second henchman looks like a fatter Joe Pantoliano (Cypher in 'The Matrix') 🙂

Ooooh you can't beat a good comedy kill!

Interesting scene between the sherriff and Mal. I like that they didn't make Mal convince the sherriff that he should be let go, but let him come to his own conclusion. Two men with the same intentions on opposite sides of the law on this occasion. Nice touch.

Mal's conscience being his guide rather than his faith in Giod. It's interesting to see that even though he has turned his back on God, his actions are still, by and large, very Christian. He's protective of his family and looks out for those in need. But he walks the line, with the whole killing people thing. No matter how justifid those killings may appear to be. This is something I'll be focusing on as the show continues...

Two by two, hands of blue. Creepy. Just creepy.

I wasn't a huge fan of this episode in terms of being a western train heist. I liked the moral twist in the plot, though and there were some brilliant character moments.

 

[PassionBecoming]

The Shepherd tells Mal he's found his mission. Mal is still vehemently opposed to God and religion. Still intrigued by this, especially after the symbol around his neck at the beginning of the pilot. Clearly believing that he was forsaken in the Battle of Serenity Valley. Will he get his faith back?

Why does no-one notice that there is a huge ship flying above the train?

Interesting scene between the sherriff and Mal. I like that they didn't make Mal convince the sherriff that he should be let go, but let him come to his own conclusion. Two men with the same intentions on opposite sides of the law on this occasion. Nice touch.

Mal's conscience being his guide rather than his faith in Giod. It's interesting to see that even though he has turned his back on God, his actions are still, by and large, very Christian. He's protective of his family and looks out for those in need. But he walks the line, with the whole killing people thing. No matter how justifid those killings may appear to be. This is something I'll be focusing on as the show continues...

Very similar thoughts I had while watching!

 

[brinkster130]

I enjoyed this episode more than the last. 🙂

I really liked the intro where they gave some backstory explaining how and why they it to where they were, as well as why they were fighting. Made things a lot less confusing, I can see why Fox aired this episode first.

Holy cow Mal has some serious mood swings when he's around Inara. Mean to funny to concerned back to mean...

Jayne is still a wild card and a bit of a jerk. I loved his line asking what month it is...so funny! I don't blame Simon for drugging him.

So far the characters I'm most interested in are Wash and Inara.

 

[Spikefan31]

I was wondering why no one noticed the massive ship above the train, too. 😀

Also, it just occurred to me how often the bad guy(s) in movies/tv shows is European. Usually German, Russian or British. 😀

I love Wash and how much he worries about Zoe. And claps for Simon for doping Jayne. 😀

Mal and Zoe really suck at playing husband and wife. 😀

Inara is awesome. 🙂

 

[Jodast]

Also, it just occurred to me how often the bad guy(s) in movies/tv shows is European. Usually German, Russian or British. 😀

It's because we are genetically pre-disposed to being able to grow a more strokable beard. Mwuahahahaha

 

[VisionGirl]

Also, it just occurred to me how often the bad guy(s) in movies/tv shows is European. Usually German, Russian or British. 😀

If a woman has a British accent, you KNOW she's going to be the bad guy (Adelle DeWitt anyone?).

Love the hologram window.
Zoe's got mad fighting skills
"I'm thinking we'll rise again"- Civil War reference, which makes sense considering:

Whedon developed the concept for the show after reading The Killer Angels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Shaara chronicling the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. He wanted to follow people who had fought on the losing side of a war and their experiences afterwards as pioneers and immigrants on the outskirts of civilization, much like the post-American Civil War era of Reconstruction and the American Old West culture.

Fav quote: "You know they tell you never hit a man with a closed fist but it is on occasion hilarious".

I love the exploration of Mal's character which started in the pilot when Kaylee tells him that he's a good man, & then he disagrees. Mal means bad in a lot of languages.

Book: *"Oh I got heathens aplenty right here"
Terrifying space monkeys LOL!

Niska has a Tiffany lamp...oookay.

This episode is funnier, much lighter than the pilot. That's what Fox wanted, but I still like Serenity better as a pilot.
Ooh a train car full of Alliance soldiers.
"Time for some thrilling heroics!"

 

[nightshade]

- Jayne "what month is it?"
- Mal "it was on sale" regarding his Browncoat
- wooo Zoe
- Jayne's sitting out of a fight? Or not!
- Ah they are on the edge now
- Serenity looks cute!
- Wash to the rescue
- Cute Kaylee
- Poor River, the look on her face though when Simon asks if she knows who he is
- Kaylee and Inara playing with hair, and Mal interupting
- Mal's concern for Inara
- Eww, locker guy, and reputation talk
- ah an Alliance compartment
- Kaylee and Simon, What are we doing? crime!
- Mal and Zoe still wearing browncoats
- Medicine?
- and the Alliance don't care
- River's gone weird
- Shepherd knows Niska?
- Mal and Zoe married!
- They just stole the cure 🙁
- Sheriff looks doubtful
- Cover's blown?
- Jayne trying to be in charge
- hahahaha Jayne's all drugged up!
- Well done Simon
- It's Inara to the rescue, slapping Mal too!
- Back onboard Serenity
- Mal wants to returns the meds, not sure if he can though
- Creepy Claw is back and on the ship too 🙁
- Fight! Jayne "I was aiming for his head"
- Bringing the meds back, but the Sheriff is there, oh he's letting them go
- woo bye Claw
- Simon and Mal talking and getting along
- Two by Two, hands of blue

 

[kittenpoker]

Ok!!!! I watched this last night and I freaking LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to admit to being confused by the first ep (serenity) but I feel like everything is starting to fall into place.... though I still don't know all the characters names....

But I ADORED the whole premise of them being "thieves" but not "bad guys".... kinda han solo-ish (sorta).... that they gave back the medicine....

OH! <3 <3 <3!!!!!!

And I'm very much enjoying the interaction between everyone!

The character I'm most confused about right now is the sheppard....I'm really wondering what his story is.

I am so looking forward to seeing more!!!!

 

[Jules]

I did enjoy this episode, but I dont think it's as good as Serenity as a pilot episode, as a normal episode its great.

I was surprised that that Inara and Mal have only known each other for 8 months, in Serenity they seemed to have a bond that had gone on longer than that. I do like the little hints of feeling between the two; Mal not wanting her to meet the dealer because he was dangerous and Inara praying for Mal when he's on his missions.

I'm with Jayne when he made the comment about Sheppard knowing how dangerous the dealer was. I think it was odd that no one on the ship followed that up. I really have trouble with Jayne, he's so easily in it for himself. I dont think that Mal is keeping River just so he can hand her over, I think that Jayne said that because its what Jayne wants to do. I loved the ''I was aiming for his head'' quote which was later used in Castle.

I'm getting a little impatient to see what River can do (I know its only been 2 episodes). I thought that Joss would leave the mystery of the ''Blue hands'' for a couple of episodes, so I was surprised that we saw what they meant at the end.

I'm going straight onto the next episode now 🙂