The Reason Episode Sequence Was Rearranged by JEWELSTAITEFAN

FIREFLY EPISODE DISCUSSIONS

The Reason Episode Sequence Was Rearranged

POSTED BY: JEWELSTAITEFAN
UPDATED: Sunday, October 19, 2025 01:19
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Sunday, October 19, 2025 1:19 AM

I finally realized this, it dawned on me at last, earlier this year, after a friend was violently attacked by his son again, another fugue State resulting from SSRI psychotropic break.

That subject is generally discussed in this thread:

http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=62257

As we know, the originally scripted, filmed, sequence of episodes following War Stories was Heart of Gold, Objects In Space, Trash, and finally The Message, which was the last full episode filmed. After Objects In Space aired, one new replacement scene was filmed for HoG, which was the Final Wrap scene for our BDH on 20 Dec 2002.
This is discussed in this thread:

http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=33969

I am not talking about the Network mis-sequencing episodes from Pilot Serenity thru War Stories.
But after WS, Network balked at the western themes and image of HoG, and not only refused to air it, but also abruptly cancelled the entire show. Network did skip past it, airing OiS, and then no others except Pilot Serenity.

Then Joss decided to claim that the proper order of episodes was WS, Trash, Message, Heart of Gold, and Objects In Space.
This has always irked me, for several reasons. Message was the best and most fitting final episode. Some folk really liked OiS, but it was always one of my least favorite. This annoyance likely partially blocked my realization of why Joss did this. The fact that OiS was broadcast and the other 3 were not was not adequate reason for me.

But I did not see Firefly before I saw Serenity.
As we now know, Firefly was the story of River Tam. At the point of cancellation, Joss still knew how this multiple-season arc would culminate, but he was not allowed to put it on screen. He still wanted to continue to tell the story, but he didn't know when or if he would be able to. So he needed to maintain the focus, like a cliffhanger, where he thought it would do the most good. It would be 3 years before fans would be able to see the answers, even if they filled in some gaps with the 3 unaired episodes via DVD.
The entire story arc was about River, and the Pax which caused deaths and Reavers, because the government wanted to control the populations. This failure was why Alliance started The War For Alliance Domination, as a Clinton-like distraction or cover-up. The psychotropic drug problem creating homicidal ideation with SSRIs was becoming more obvious by 2002.

OiS was about River's mental state, how she experienced things. Numerous scenes showed her fugue states (like holding the branch/gun in her hand). This episode and these scenes most intently focused upon the details which would lead to the ultimate conclusion of River's story.

Joss and the fans would have to wait 3 years to see the next installment, and he must have felt OiS was the best point to leap from.

I hope I explained that well enough. It still annoys me that he rearranged the proper order of story, the episodes. But at least I can understand why he did it, even tho I don't agree with it. But I was not one of those who needed to wait 3 years between end of Firefly and release of Serenity.

Some time ago, finally understanding that River's fugue states were what OiS was about, did help me appreciate that episode and the scenes in it better.

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USER	POST DATE
JEWELSTAITEFAN	10.19 01:19