Firefly Study Series – Episode 05 – Safe
Saturday, July 5th, 2008
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
“Sometimes people think (that) to see that we are family is to be sentimental. But one has to say: This is one of the most radical things, actually. When we do what we think is charitable, it isn’t anything more than our obligation as family members.” - Desmond Tutu
Episode Guide
The episode starts with a flashback to when Simon and River were younger, they play a game of pretend, we realise just how intelligent River and Simon were in their younger years. The flashback ends and we’re transported back onto the ship where River’s lost her temper because of her constant tests, Mal and Simon have a conversation about River’s behaviour and the experiments that were performed on her by the Alliance.
As the ship lands onto a planet to sell the cattle that they had picked up in the previous episode a group of men see Serenity and suggest that they should take the ship and it’s cargo.
After landing Simon, River, Kaylee and Inara venture into town to get out of Mal’s hair. During the trip Kaylee and Simon have a bit of a fight over his arrogance and her feelings for the ship and crew, during which River disappears and Simon goes to search for her.
During his search both Simon finds River dancing with a number of locals with a big smile on her face, for a brief moment we see Simon watching his sister as if nothing has ever happened, she seems joyous and “normal”. During this scene both Simon and River are kidnapped by settlers in the hills who regularly snatch trades people that might be able to help them. The settlers are very excited to see that they’d managed to kidnap a doctor to help them.
Meanwhile at the ship Mal, Jayne and Book make a deal with people to purchase the cattle, as the deal goes down the local law enforcement arrive on scene and a shoot up begins, during which Book is shot and critically injured.
Another flashback takes us back to when Simon became aware that something that was happening to River and starts an argument with their parents over their need to rescue her.
Back on the ship the crew decide that since Simon cannot be found they will need to leave the planet in order to find facilities to help Book, Inara convinces Mal to head to an Alliance facility in order to save the Shepherd. The crew reluctantly board the alliance ship and, just as it seems that the Alliance will refuse treatment Book pulls out his Identity Card which causes the Alliance to act quickly and operate on the Shepherd, the crew wonder why the Alliance changed their mind, what is the connection between the Alliance and Book?
On the planet River and Simon have a conversation about how she realises that Simon’s given up a lot for her, and that soon they’ll be rescued and she’ll get better. Simon enjoys a conversation with his sister that seems normal and joyous, she had brought him berries from outside. River reveals some of the story of a young mute girl in the community that leads the nurse to become afraid and begins to call her a witch.
Yet another flashback happens in which we see Simon and River’s father argue with Simon and disown his son. The argument is over how Simon is trying to find ways that he can help River, including talking with rebels.
As the flashback ends the settlers are gathered as a lynch mob and decide to burn River as a witch. Simon begs the people to burn him in her place, they refuse and he yells at them because of their lunacy and ignorance, and as he does he turns around and holds onto his sister who has been tied to a pole above the wood to be burnt. As he holds onto her he tells the people to light the fire.
And this is where the rest of the crew arrive and save the Doctor and his sister.
Back on the ship Simon asks Mal why he came back to save them, as not having the fugitives on board might make their life easier for them and, after all Mal doesn’t even like Simon. Mal answers Simon with the words “You’re on my crew” and, when Simon asks again, Mal says “You’re on my crew, I don’t even know why we’re even having this conversation.” And the crew gather together over a meal at the table with a lot of conversation, laughter and food.
Scenes of Note:
a) One of the scenes that possibly could be overlooked in this episode is the argument between Simon and Kaylee in the shop over his mean comments about the ship, the crew and their life. One of the fantastic things about this television program is the way in which the characters are built up, grow, develop and relate to one another. The relationship between Kaylee and Simon is a relationship that we can explore over and over again in order to watch how they learn to relate, how she teaches him more than he teaches her, and how while she longs for him he is still learning about how he feels for her.
b) A number of scenes in this episode show just how deep the relationship is between Simon and River, we also see a number of scenes in which we learn just how much Simon had sacrificed for River. In particular the scene between Simon and his parents arguing over River’s need to be rescued, the scene where River shares that she understands what he’d given up, and the final scene when Simon holds onto River before the lynch mob light the fire that would kill her. This is a fantastic scene to use in discussions around the nature of sacrifice and love.
c) We could be forgiven for thinking that Simon’s personality is fairly uncaring, except for where his sister is concerned, but in this episode we’re reminded that being a Doctor is a part of the way that he expresses his compassion towards others. In a scene in the settlement Simon and River on arriving look around at the injured and sick in the community and, as he does we see a glimpse of compassion in his eyes for those people around him that are in need of assistance. His questions go from “why have you abducted us?” to “get me some equipment.”
d) One of the themes on the episode has me asking questions about the way that people move from “thanks” to “fear,” in particular, how quickly a community’s fear can soon cloud their love and compassion for one another. The scene of the two arriving at the settlement and the words of faith “Thanks be to God” could be linked with the final scenes of the community calling out for the Witch to be burnt to death as a judgement from God.
e) The scenes of the ship arriving at the Alliance ship and Shepherd Book being accepted in for medical help could be linked with the scene where Mal asks Book why he was accepted and treated so well by the Alliance, Book tells him that as a Shepherd he’s treated well and Mal responds with “No they don’t, men of God cause people to feel guilty and judged”
f) The final conversation in the ship between Mal and Simon “You’re on my crew”
Questions for Discussion:
Take that foot out of your mouth…
I really do appreciate the scene in which Simon accidentally insults Kaylee in the store, as someone who has his foot so firmly planted in his mouth regularly I can relate to Simon. I feel for Simon, he’s in a different world to the one he grew up in, and he’s not really prepared for it. He’s also pretty hopeless when it comes to connecting with the opposite sex, and can’t we all relate to that?
In this scene Simon does something which is not all that abnormal for the men on Serenity, he opens his mouth and stuff comes out that hurts others, especially to his friends.
- How many times do you think you have made statements that have been hurtful to others?
- How often do you think about what you say before saying them?
- How often have people you love and care for hurt you in words they have used? How did that feel?
- Have you been forgiven for something stupid you’ve said?
- Have you forgiven others for things they might have said about or to you? How do you do this? How hard is it to forgive?
We’re also reminded of the cultural differences that face Simon on the ship, he did grow up in a different world, he rarely needed or wanted for anything, and now he’s experiencing life in different places and in different ways. He’s going through a bit of a culture shock, even though the might not name it as such.
- How would you describe the culture that you grew up in?
- Have you ever had to experience life in a different culture, or in a different way, how would you describe your experience? (you might have gone overseas, interstate, moved home from one place to a different place, changed schools, can you recall times where you had to learn a different way of doing things, different foods you might have had to eat, different lifestyles you had to get used to)
- How do you cope when you’re faced with people who have a very different view on life than you?
I’m reminded of a few times where the disciples of Jesus were confronted with these types of experiences (Matt 16:21-27 or Luke 22:24), I can even remember a time or two when Jesus needed to take the foot out of his mouth (Mark 7:24-37). It’s kind of nice to know that everyone has foot in mouth disease, it makes me feel so not alone, and reminds me that there’s still a chance for people like me.
I’m also reminded that each of the disciples shared different experiences when they grew up, and that many had to overcome their own cultural hang-ups, much like the crew on Serenity. Fishermen, Prostitutes, Taxmen, Religious leaders, Sons, Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Widows… They all were a part of a community that followed Jesus around, I wonder how well they got along, or if they had similar issues to the crew of Serenity. What do you think?
Just how much would you sacrifice?
Simon gives up a lot for his sister, in this episode we’re shown a glimpse of what he has sacrificed, his wealth, his family, his work and education. The rest of the crew had to face a possible sacrifice as well when they decided to approach the Alliance for medical support for Shepherd Book.
Raise the questions:
- How much would you sacrifice for the people that you love?
- What sacrifices are you willing to make?
- How far would you go for your sister and brother?
Then I’m reminded of people like Mother Teresa who sacrificed much for people that she did not know, of people like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela who sacrificed much more than Simon ever could have, I’m reminded of many today who still sacrifice much for those who they do not know, and for those who might at times be their enemy. I’m reminded of all of these people and wonder if I could do the same, if we could do the same…
- How far you would go, how much would you sacrifice for those you do not know?
- How much would you sacrifice for people that you do not like or those who are your enemies?
- What makes a sacrifice a “sacrifice?
When fear turns into anger
I’m always amazed at how quickly a community of people can move from celebration to fear and from fear to anger. Our history is littered with times where communities became fearful of “the other” some people were once hunted and killed as witches, natives of countries were killed, crusades were held and, even now people fear people who are different. And this fear can quickly move to violence, around the world we see this in racial conflicts, religious conflicts, political conflicts….
- What makes you fear someone?
- Do you fear anyone? Why?
- Why do you think people fear others?
- How can we face our fears without them turning violent?
- How can we help others face their fears?
More….
I do want to explore the final two scenes I mentioned, but I think they might be a longer post, so I’ll continue the thinking and add them later…
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