Firefly - Episode 5: 'Safe'
Recap: Completing the cattle run results in some damage - the Shepherd takes a bullet, while locals kidnap Simon (and by extension, River). Mal skips town with the bleeding Shepherd but without the Tams, and he manages to find medical care on an Alliance ship using the Shepherd's's mysterious credentials. He returns and rescues River the much-desired doctor, who's about to go down for witchcraft. Flashbacks show Simon leaving home. The first shot of the episode promises excitement. Instead of the desolate, Wild West that we're used to seeing, we find lush greens. Simon's family is well off and unconcerned with the Alliance - and incidentally, it appears that they never wind up feeling like they've lost everything in the War. Unfortunately, the episode itself feels... bad. Simon's flashback is almost entirely wasted. We learn virtually nothing that Simon doesn't directly tell us. I guess it's cool that Pop was a good dude when Simon was a kid? But...