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Firefly/Serenity
Episode Studies
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This is PopApostle's home for studies of the TV episodes, videos, movie and licensed tie-ins to Firefly and Serenity. I will be presenting my studies relating to each, such as commentary on the science described, sound bits of memorable dialog, screen grabs and my own musings. I'll be presenting them in my estimation of the chronological order each story takes place.

Firefly/Serenity Chronology Part 1

Also see
Firefly/Serenity Chronology Part 2


Brand New 'Verse Chronology

Firefly: Malcolm Reynolds - Year One Firefly: River Run
"Fun With Dick and Jayne" "Malcolm Reynolds - Year One" "The R. Tam Sessions" "River Run" "Serenity"
Firefly: Still Flying Firefly: Malcolm Reynolds - Year One #1 Online webisodes Firefly: River Run
(BOOM! Studios)
Episode 1a
A piece of Jayne Cobb's boyhood is revealed in a vignette. The year Malcolm Reynolds went to war. The strengths and weaknesses of a young girl are revealed in a series of counseling sessions at an Alliance facility. Simon Tam is determined to rescue his little sister from the depredations of the Alliance Academy. The crew of the smuggling ship Serenity take on some passengers, not knowing the people may be even more hazardous to carry than their standard cargo.
         
"Government Goods" "The Train Job" "Bushwhacked" "Shindig" "Safe"
Episode 1b Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5
Mal must make a decision about what to do with his fugitive passengers. Mal and his crew are hired to hijack a shipment from an Alliance train. Serenity encounters a shipwreck left booby-trapped after a horrific Reaver attack. In order to secure a job transporting cargo off-planet for a client, Mal attends a social event that leads to him being challenged to a swordfight in defense of Inara’s honor. When Simon is kidnapped by a village in need of a doctor, Serenity is forced to dock with an Alliance ship to seek medical help for a critically wounded Shepherd Book.
         
Firefly: Bad Company
"Our Mrs. Reynolds" "Bad Company" "Jaynestown" "Out of Gas" "Ariel"
Episode 6 Firefly: Bad Company
BOOM! Studios
Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9
Mal inadvertently marries a young village girl. The secret origin of Saffron. Serenity visits a world where Jayne is considered a hero of mythic proportions. After an explosion leaves Serenity crippled, Mal orders the crew to abandon ship. Simon hires the crew to pull a heist—one that will help him diagnose and treat River.
Firefly: Aim to Misbehave
"War Stories" "What Holds Us Down" "Downtime" Aim to Misbehave "Trash"
Episode 10 Firefly: Still Flying Webcomic Novel Episode 11
Tension surfaces with Wash over his wife’s relationship with Mal; Niska seeks revenge on Mal for his earlier refusal to deliver the goods hijacked from the Alliance train. A junkyard heist goes wrong, leaving Kaylee to play the hero to get herself and the injured Wash out alive. Serenity spends some downtime snowed-in after a planetary rendezvous. Stiffed for payment on their latest delivery, the Serenity is stuck without money and fuel on the world of Brome, but a questionable deal to assist an old friend from Shepherd Book's darker past may help them out. Mal is shocked to discover that an old friend’s new bride is Saffron under a new name.
         
Firefly: Big Damn Hero Firefly: Carnival Firefly: What Makes Us Mighty
"The Message" Big Damn Hero "Crystal" Carnival What Makes Us Mighty
Episode 12 Novel Firefly: Still Flying Novel Novel
Mal and Zoe receive a large package that they find contains the body of an old war buddy. Browncoat vigilantes accuse Mal of being a traitor to the Independent cause during the war. River has visions of the fates of Serenity's crewmembers. The Serenity crew takes on the sinners of a gambling mecca on the Rim world of Bethel. The Serenity crew takes a simple job that turns into a potential war crime.
         
Firefly: The Sting (Part 1) Firefly: The Sting (Part 2) Firefly: The Sting (Part 3) Firefly: The Sting (Part 4)
"Heart of Gold" "The Sting"
Part 1
"The Sting"
Part 2
"The Sting"
Part 3
"The Sting"
Part 4
Episode 13 Graphic Novel Graphic Novel Graphic Novel Graphic Novel
A bordello, whose madam is an old friend of Inara’s, hires the crew to protect them from a gunslinger and his gang. Saffron approaches the women of Serenity with a proposition. Saffron takes the girls to the site of their upcoming theft. Saffron's anticipated double-cross begins. Saffron's diamond heist is made, but what will be the aftermath?
         
Firefly: The Sting (Part 5) Firefly: The Magnificent Nine Firefly: Coup de Grace
"The Sting"
Part 5
"Objects in Space" The Magnificent Nine Coup de Grâce "Better Days" Part 1
Graphic Novel Episode 14 Novel Novel Serenity: Better Days #1
(Dark Horse Comics)
Never leave a woman behind. A bounty hunter secretly boards Serenity and methodically disables the crew one-by-one to claim the enormous reward on River’s head. The crew of Serenity meet Jayne's long lost love, Temperance, and his previously unknown daughter, Jane. The Serenity crew takes on a bounty hunting job from a vengeance-driven teenage girl. The crew pulls an art heist, but something is watching them.
         
Firefly: Clipped Wings Firefly: War Criminals Firefly: The Spilling of Blood
"Better Days" Part 2 "Better Days" Part 3 "Clipped Wings" "War Criminals" "The Spilling of Blood"
Serenity: Better Days #2
(Dark Horse Comics)
Serenity: Better Days #3
(Dark Horse Comics)
Firefly #1
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #2
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #3
(BOOM! Studios)
The crew heads to the resort world of Pelorum to enjoy some of their new-found wealth. After Mal is kidnapped by Ephraim, Zoe makes a revelation to the crew. Losing her starboard engine and chased by Alliance deputies known as the Unificators, Serenity is forced to land on an outer world moon to hide and seek repairs. The Unificators come after Mal and Zoe as wanted war criminals. Mal and Zoe face the Unificators; the Pilgrims of Moriah arrive at the Sacred Spires and begin a ritual.
         
Firefly: The Deal of Your Life Firelfy: Birth of a Unificator Firefly: Kaylee and the Bandit Firefly: A Stand Up Fight Firefly: Changing the Game
"The Deal of Your Life" "Birth of a Unificator" "Kaylee and the Bandit" "A Stand Up Fight" "Changing the Game"
Firefly #4
(BOOM! Studios)
BOOM! Studios Free Comic Book Day 2019 #1
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #5
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #6
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #7
(BOOM! Studios)
Mal strikes a deal with Boss Moon. A brief, semi-origin of Boss Moon. Zoe resolves to track down and rescue Mal from Boss Moon. Zoe abandons Serenity to lead a new crew. Wash, Book, and Inara set out to catch up with Zoe in her mission to rescue Mal.
         
Firefly: Welcome to the Club Firefly: War! Firefly: Serenity Valley Firefly: Big as Life Firefly: War Crimes
"Welcome to the Club" "War!" "Serenity Valley" "Big as Life" "War Crimes"
Firefly #8
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #9
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #10
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #11
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #12
(BOOM! Studios)
Our splintered damn heroes all get in deeper than they thought. A new Unification War begins. Mal tries to put a stop to the building war...until his mother steps in. The war Mal is trying to stop is instead escalated by Ma Reynolds. The "war" comes to an end, but at what cost to Mal?
         
Firefly: The Outlaw Ma Reynolds Firefly: New Sheriff in the 'Verse (Part 1) Firefly: New Sheriff in the 'Verse (Part 2) Firefly: Into the Fire Firefly: The Target is Your Heart
"The Outlaw Ma Reynolds" "New Sheriff in the 'Verse" "Duty Calls" "Into the Fire" "The Target is Your Heart"
Firefly: The Outlaw Ma Reynolds
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #13
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #14
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #15
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #16
(BOOM! Studios)
As Mal pursues his outlaw mother, each muses on their past history together in their own way. Mal begins his stint as an Alliance sheriff. While Mal takes his new job as sheriff seriously, Zoe also has a mission of her own. Mal finds himself aligned with Blue Sun agents to solve a series of murders of innocent settlers. Mal's friends begin to be targeted by the mysterious assailant.
         
Firefly: Small 'Verse Firefly: Cops and Robbers Firefly: Who Wears the Crown Firefly: Blue Sun Rising (Part 1) Firefly: Blue Sun Rising (Part 2)
"Small 'Verse" "Cops and Robbers" "Who Wears the Crown" "Blue Sun Rising"
Part 1
"Blue Sun Rising"
Part 2
Firefly #17
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #18
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #19
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #20
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #0
(BOOM! Studios)
Mal and Boss Moon track down the mystery killer. Serenity runs into some big trouble against Blue Sun. The Chang-Benitez gang falls under the wing of the Bandit King. Zoe's crew continues the search for a new home. Sheriff Mal is sent a trio of robo-deputies to aid him in upholding corporate law.
         
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising (Part 3) Firefly: Blue Sun Rising (Part 4) Firefly: Blue Sun Rising (Part 5) Firefly: Blue Sun Rising (Part 6) Firefly: Blue Sun Rising (Part 7)
"Blue Sun Rising"
Part 3
"Blue Sun Rising"
Part 4
"Blue Sun Rising"
Part 5
"Blue Sun Rising"
Part 6
"Blue Sun Rising"
Part 7
Firefly #21
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #22
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #23
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly #24
(BOOM! Studios)
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #1
(BOOM! Studios)
Blue Sun introduces the future of law enforcement. Ma Reynolds lays down the law with Sheriff Mal. Mal puts a new plan into motion to stop the Robo-Mals. The crew launches its attack against the Blue Sun "remote deprecation" facility. The crew has their showdown with Blue Sun and Director Sang.
         
Firefly: Instrument of Peace Firefly: The Ghost Machine
"Instrument of Peace" "Those Left Behind" Part 1 Those Left Behind Part 2 "Those Left Behind" Part 3 The Ghost Machine
Firefly: 20th Anniversary Special Serenity: Those Left Behind #1
(Dark Horse Comics)
Serenity: Those Left Behind #2
(Dark Horse Comics)
Serenity: Those Left Behind #3
(Dark Horse Comics)
Novel
Shepherd Book acts as midwife to an artificial intelligence. A job goes wrong on a border world, forcing a hasty escape; Inara prepares to leave Serenity for good. On old foe reappears to aid the Blue Hands in setting a trap for Serenity. While the blue-gloved agents move on Serenity, Mal has his own showdown with Dobson. A prototype pacification device made by Blue Sun incapacitates the crew of Serenity, leaving each trapped in their own hallucinated fantasies of life that turn to nightmares.
         
Firefly: Haven and Hell Firefly: Generations Firefly: Life Signs  
"Haven and Hell" "The Other Half" Generations Life Signs  
Short Story Webcomic Novel Novel  
 Shepherd Book makes use of both his current and past occupations to help a member of his congregation on Haven. Mal accepts a job that sounds too good to be true. A tattered star map leads the crew to an ancient Earth-That-Was space ark, bringing River under the spell of another former Academy experiment. When the Serenity crew discover that the departed Inara is dying from a terminal illness, Mal decides they will stop at nothing to help her recover.  
         
 
 
 
 
Firefly/Serenity Chronology Part 2