The Message (28 Jul. 2003)

A dying request from an old army buddy turns treacherous for Mal, Zoë, and the rest of the crew.

Director:

Tim Minear

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), Joss Whedon,

Stars:

Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Nathan Fillion	...	Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds
Gina Torres	...	Zoë Washburne
Alan Tudyk	...	Hoban 'Wash' Washburne
Morena Baccarin	...	Inara Serra
Adam Baldwin	...	Jayne Cobb
Jewel Staite	...	Kaylee Frye
Sean Maher	...	Dr. Simon Tam
Summer Glau	...	River Tam
Ron Glass	...	Shepherd Book
Jonathan M. Woodward	...	Tracey
Richard Burgi	...	Lieutenant Womack
Al Pugliese	...	Amnon Duul
Tod Nakamura	...	Fendris
Craig Vincent	...	Skunk
Morgan Rusler	...	Barker

Storyline

A pleasant day out at a space station turns sour when Mal and Zoe receive the dead body of one of their old army buddy's in the post office. Their old friend is named Tracey who fought with them during the Battle of Du-Khang during the Alliance-Independence Civil War six years earlier. Along with Tracey's body is an audio message, asking them to take him to his home planet to be buried by his parents. However, Mal begins to suspect something might be wrong when Alliance agents, led by the relentless Lt. Womack, start chasing Serenity, demanding return of their property: the body. It soon turns out that Tracey is actually alive and reveals the real reason why he faked his death, and why he's going to die soon.

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Plot Keywords:

old friend | death | hat | tape recording | back from the dead | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

28 July 2003 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The hat Jayne's mother made for her son became a fan favorite, with people creating their own knit and crochet versions and one fan even writing a song about it ("Jayne's Hat" by Stan Peal).

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Goofs

When the coffin is opened aboard Serenity, Jayne takes off his "silly hat" in respect. In the very next shot, he has the hat back on his head. Also, the hat appears in Jayne's hand in the space station before he has even taken it out of the box.

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Quotes

Jayne: [about his mother's homemade hat] How's it sit? Pretty cunning, don't you think?

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

User Reviews

Heartfelt and poignant

I couldn't disagree with the previous disappointed critic more. Continuity errors aside, I felt the story was perfectly balanced between humor, suspense and pathos, especially in its final moments. Yes, Jayne is funny throughout, but he perfectly counterbalances the more serious moments - particularly the betrayal by Mal and Zoe's friend - in the latter half. And for once, it's nice to see someone other than River and Simon bear the brunt of Jayne and Mal's hostility.

Plus, for those blessed enough to catch this one on DVD, Alan Tudyk and Jewel Staite provide a humorous running commentary on the story and all the behind-the-scenes happenings during while this episode was shot. The final sequence is made more touching considering this is everyone's "goodbye" to the series.