Fan favourite episode Out of Gas was written by Tim Minear and first debuted on 25 October, 2002.

Serenity’s life support fails. The whole ship is in need of repairs, something I’m sure Kaylee (Jewel Staite) would remind Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) every chance she gets.

Mal sends the entire crew away, with only him remaining aboard. As he slowly dies, struggling to get to the engine room to replace a lone part, we see the history of how Mal and Serenity came together, how they outfitted the ship with a crew, and how their relationships grew. And we also see how the family that is Serenity is now as the come together to celebrate Simon’s (Sean Maher) birthday, just before disaster strikes. The ship is crippled when a catalyzer blows, leaving her adrift, and life support

In the flashbacks, we see Zoe (Gina Torres) was there from the begining. She and Mal hung out after the war, travelling together, and we see her impressions of Wash (Alan Tudyk) when he first comes on board with a ridiculous moustache. And a mechanic who is not Kaylee… Bester (Dax Griffin), and how Kaylee and Jayne (Adam Baldwin) join the family.

Will Mal be able to get the part Serenity needs? Will he be able to get it installed before he dies?

The episode is smart, emotional, has incredibly high stakes, and is arguably the best episode of the entire series. In a series where all of the episodes are fantastic, that is truly saying something.

We see how much Serenity meeans to Mal, what it means to him, and what it has come to mean to the rest of the crew.

This is a beautiful episode.

Ariel aired on 15 November, 2002. It was written by Jose Molina.

Simon comes up with a heist plan, when Serenity gets near the Core Worlds, specifically Ariel. He orchrestrates a full on ripping off of medical supplies, which would be replenished immediately. And that will allow him time in one of the medical labs to run some tests on his sister, River (Summer Glau) who is becoming more and more unhinged. She actually attacks Jayne!

But we also see how Jayne can turn on a dime where money is concerned. When he learns of the boosted bounty on Simon and River, he’s quick to sell them out, and that invites a couple of sinister agents, two by two with hands of blue, into the fray. And we learn very quickly, how deadly they are.

Through the course of the episode we see how good a doctor Simon is. We also see how River is coming undone, and it’s starting to wear on the entire crew. We also get a hint at what may have been done to her, how she’s been changed, and augmented.

And what happens when Simon, River and Jayne get caught, and Jayne doesn’t get his reward?

It’s fun seeing the crew commit crime, and when the betrayal comes, which is set-up pretty early in the episode, it’s a hard reveal. But also so believable. It’s a solid episode, great moments, and bits, but coming on the heels of Out of Gas… well…

But it does build the series mythology arc around River.