Firefly - "Jaynestown" (TV Episode Review #21)

A few years back, Jayne Cobb broke into the home of Higgins, the oppressive feudal magistrate of his own entire moon, and stole a huge sum of his money.  But while escaping, Jayne was forced to dump the money out into one of Higgins’s mud-making factory towns, Canton.  Now, he’s going back to Canton with Serenity while the crew is on a smuggling operation.  He fears he would be recognized by the town and seized as a fugitive, and he does get recognized, alright... as a Robin Hood-style folk hero!

Jayne’s return as the Hero of Canton is the heart of this episode.  In fact, Mal’s smuggling operation becomes a sideshow to what happens to Jayne while this poor town (literally) puts him on a pedestal for “giving” them the money.  The complete 180-subversion of what Jayne expected lends toward a hilarious scenario.  It’s really funny to watch him get caught up in his own fame and bathe in the excesses of being the town’s pop star.  The amount of fan worship he receives comes off as funny on the surface, but also has some unnerving classist implications that come full swing in the climax.  Interestingly, the main plot of “Jaynestown” is first set up to follow the familiar “Liar Revealed” plot format, but does a unique spin with it.  In this regard, it helps the episode break formula in a way that makes it stand out without getting too predictable, with a downturn that is rather tragic.

To add to all of this, the factory town of Canton, which literally farms mud and sells it to traders, feels like a real place.  The townsfolk, called “mudders,” really look like dirty indentured workers who have been literally beaten into the mud by their backbreaking jobs, with their dirty makeup, disheveled hair, and raggedy clothes.  Excellent usage of the filming location, too; the set designs resemble a true camp where down-on-their-luck workers live, and the locale befits a hot and dry environment where work is difficult.  Like Stargate SG-1, which often had to make effective use of the British Columbia Cascades as a filming location, so does Firefly with its American desert locales.

In the meantime, the B-plot is actually Inara going to Higgins’s mansion to distract him from the smuggling operation.  Luckily for Higgins himself, Inara is a companion and he wants her to hook up with his 26-year-old virgin of a son, Fess.  Conversations between Inara and Fess really delve into themes of independence and self-worth, and both of these themes play into Fess’s character arc in this episode.  Fess is well-written enough for a one-off character, even if his actor, Zachary Kranzler, comes off as a bit wooden at times.  There is some personality that is written into Fess, but not much of it is acted onscreen (it’s a bit too underplayed).  Granted, Morena Baccarin holds her own in maintaining Inara’s personality.  In addition, both Inara and Fess have funny moments of their own; for example, when Fess tells Inara about the news of the “hero of Canton,” just watch her reaction.  It’s priceless.

On a side note, “Jaynestown” is filled to the brim with really funny moments with the other characters.  River and Book stay on the ship and while their scenes don’t add much to the narrative and feel a bit like filler, they add for a couple of really funny moments.  Also, one little moment during the welcome party in Canton plays off of the growing chemistry—and sexual tension—between Simon and Kaylee.  None of these episodes are very plot relevant, but they keep the general comedic tone of this episode comedic before the serious turn it takes in the last 15 minutes.

“Jaynestown” is both successfully hilarious and heartfelt at times.  It’s a standalone episode that shows an isolated part of the Firefly universe that enriches recurring thematic elements that are to be found inside it.  After all, Jayne’s character arc, the center of the episode’s story, takes a familiar plot formula and subverts it successfully to make it feel fresh.  Standalone episodes may not contribute much to the central story, but if done right, they can make the universe feel wider and more alive.