426 – Firefly – Shindig

Mal and Kaylee are heading to the big society ball.  What could possibly go wrong? Simon and Eugene discuss the Shindig. Episode Synopsis:  Another bar, another bar fight, it’s just another day for the Captain of the Serenity. [expand title=”Click to see the rest of post”] Heading in from the wildest frontier, the Serenity is making a stop on Persephone and pretty much everyone except Mal is looking forward to some time on the ground Inara is lining up customers – or at least one customer for the entire stay – and she’ll be attending the biggest social shindig of the day while she’s there.  Mal just doesn’t like the way she conducts business and not only is he unable to not show that to Inara, later he also takes it out on poor, innocent Kaylee when she remarks how beautiful a dress is she sees in a shop window and compares it to how beautiful Inara’s clothes are. Mal is captured by Badger, a local crime boss he’s had prior dealings with. (Or has he? See Firefly: Heading: Episode Order: Sub-heading: controversy.) Badger wants Mal to do a smuggling job, which, since Mal is a smuggler, seems quite a fitting relationship.  It seems, however, that Badger has a problem, he’s a bit of a lower-class citizen and cannot make the connection with the prospective client.  Mal, being a stuck-up arrogant fellow, should fit right in.  Mal agrees, he is to meet the prospective client at the very same ball that Inara is attending. He’ll need a date, though, and so, despite his absolutely horrid comments to Kaylee about her and the dress she fell in love with, Mal buys it for her and takes her to the ball. At the ball, Kaylee experiences what it’s like to be the new girl at a posh high school in a 1980’s teen comedy movie.  The bitches are bitches to her, until she’s rescued by a kindly old man.  Soon Kaylee is the hit of the space-ship nerds guys who just really love a girl who knows her way around an engine. Meanwhile, Mal isn’t doing so well.  The contact isn’t that interested in doing business with him until Mal gets annoyed with Inara’s paying customer, Atherton, and hits him.  Silly old Mal doesn’t realize he’s just metaphorically backhanded him with a white glove and agreed to sabers at sunrise where honor will be served. One positive, the prospective business contact hates Atherton, too, and, should Mal prevail, he’ll let Mal be his smuggler.  He’s quick to point out that he won’t prevail.  Atherton is the finest swordsman in all the land because of course he is. Mal knows nothing about sword fighting, although Inara tries to help him, he just can’t help being an ass to her repeatedly. The next morning, Mal gets his butt handed to him on a plate.  Inara pleads for his life, offering herself permanently to Atherton, but Mal uses the distraction to beat Atherton… although, I’m thinking that’s probably cheating. Mal doesn’t kill him, leaving him disgraced forever, and he gets the smuggling job – taking cows to market. [/expand]