Firefly: Ranking Episodes From Worst To Best

1. Episode 14: Objects In Space

Wash: "Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction."

Zoe: "You live in a spaceship, dear."

Wash: "So?"

All great shows have an episode where they reach the pinnacle of their brilliance and thus create something truly remarkable. Doctor Who (at least, the show from 2005 onwards) has "Blink"; Sherlock has "A Scandal in Belgravia"; and Firefly has "Objects in Space."

The opening sequence is particularly memorable for its unique use of visuals and audio in showing how River perceives the world. She listens to the crew's conversations, but her mind substitutes the words they say for things they have said in the past or will say in the future. She sees the floor of the ship scattered with twigs and bright autumn leaves; she picks up a branch and smiles. It's only then, when we switch from River's perspective to the crew's, that we see River is actually holding a loaded gun and pointing it at them. This disorienting opening brings a surreal quality to the rest of the episode that makes it impossible to look away from the screen.

We're also introduced to a truly fascinating villain, Jubal Early, a bounty hunter who is after River. A bizarre yet oddly hypnotizing character, Early epitomizes a living contradiction as he waxes philosophical about life and nature, asking various characters, "Does that seem right to you?" about existential questions even as he threatens to rape Kaylee and kill Simon. The situation gets even crazier when River tries to convince Early, through talking to him over the intercom system, that she has become part of the ship. The wonderfully ridiculous thing is, at this point we as the audience aren't even certain if that's entirely out of the realm of possibility.

From dialogue to acting to visuals to plot, this episode is flawless. With such an astoundingly awesome season finale, Firefly as a TV series is able to go out with a bang with a shot of Early floating through the black, an object in space, accompanied by his now infamous line: "Well...here I am."

And here we are, with all fourteen episodes of Firefly ranked and reviewed.

The story goes that, when Firefly was officially cancelled, actor Alan Tudyk presented Joss Whedon with the red recall button from "Out of Gas" and told him that, if he ever managed to get the series renewed, he could use it to call back the cast. With the events of Serenity and the time lapse between the film and now, it seems unlikely that that will happen. But, we can make sure that Firefly stays a beloved part of the Whedonverse by treasuring what we have: fourteen amazing episodes.

Why do you love Firefly? Would you have ranked the episodes differently, and how so? Do you have a favorite episode or a favorite line from the show? Let me know in the comments below!