429 – Firefly – Safe

Shepard Book gets shot, Simon and River get kidnapped and Mal has choices to make. Simon and Eugene discuss Safe. Episode Synopsis:  Mal and the gang have arrived on the planet Jiangyin to unload the cattle they smuggled in the previous episode.  River has been having unusually fits and Mal order Simon and River to go away during the cattle transaction.  They wander into town, as does Kaylee and Inara.  There’s not much to the town, but River comes across a group of Irish Folkdancers and joins in with wild abandon.  Simon is pleased to see his sister having a good time. [expand title=”See more…” tag=”strong” swaptitle=”See less”] The cattle deal, as completed, goes south, with lawmen showing up to arrest the buyers on an unrelated charge.  A shoot out occurs and Shepard Book is critically wounded.  Meanwhile, Simon and later River are kidnapped.  With no medical help available on the planet and Simon missing, Mal takes Shepard Book and leaves the planet to find medical attention.  Simon and River watch as the Serenity takes off and flies away. Simon and River find themselves amongst the hill people.  A group who kidnap offworlders with skills they need.  Simon, as a doctor, is badly needed indeed, and despite his protestations about the ethics of kidnapping him, he does what he can to help the sick. The only viable place to take Book is the Alliance cruiser Magellan, to which he reluctantly goes.  Initially, they refuse to help – they’re not a public hospital, but when Book shoes them his identicard, they immediately path him up without questions and let the Serenity leave unmolested. River exhibits signs of telepathy, with is too much for the simple hill people, who accuse her of being a witch.  They sentence her to be burned at the stake.  Simon protests and ultimately chooses to be burned in the fire with his sister, but just in time Mal and the gang arrive just in time to be the Big Damn Heroes and save the day. [/expand]