Firefly (TV Series) Bushwhacked (2002) User Reviews

Enter: The Alliance

[Fluke_Skywalker · 7/10 · 9 March 2018]

Plot; While trying to scavenge a derelict ship, the crew of the Serenity attract the unwanted attention of the Alliance.

Another solid episode sees us get our first extended look at the Alliance. What I really like about their portrayal thus far is that they're not just a bunch of two dimensional fascists for us to boo and hiss at when they appear, but more like arrogant bureaucrats. The big boogie man would seem to be the Reavers. I also like how they've been kept off screen, allowing for the dread and unease to build as we see their aftermath and the kind of horror they're capable of. The crew are still finding their way together, which is to be expected, but I find myself liking all of them, even if they don't (yet) like each other.

The Reavers' Effect

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 17 October 2016]

The Serenity hits a wrecked transport vessel that was transporting settler's families and Mal decides to check whether there are survivors or goods. He goes on board with Zoe and they find a survivor completely mad and bring him to the Serenity. They also find some valuable goods and the fate of the crew that was attacked by the Reavers. When they are ready to go, they are intercepted by an Alliance's spacecraft and their Commander Harken brings them on board for investigation. Soon Mal realizes that they are in danger and tries to convince Harken to check the survivor.

"Bushwhacked" is an entertaining episode of Firefly showing the Reavers' effect in a man forced to see their torture. But the question is: Are the Reavers cannibals or sadistic? If they are cannibals, why they left the tortured bodies behind? My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Aftermath of a Reaver attack

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 5 February 2010]

When the crew of Serenity come across a derelict ship and nobody replies to their calls it looks like it will be a simple salvage operation at least it did until they find the remains of the passengers and crew, they also find a sole survivor who has clearly been effected by what he saw. Realising that they were a victim of the Reavers Mal decides to grab what they can and get out as quickly as possible, of course that isn't as simple as it should be as first they must deal with a Reaver booby trap and then they bump into an Alliance cruiser which forces them to stop so they can search the ship for River and Simon.

Like all episodes of Firefly the story is gripping and well written and the acting is great, I particularly liked how Jayne teased the doctor early in the episode. It was also fun to see the difference between River and Simon's reaction to being outside the ship in space suits.

Excellent As Always

[MajorMovieBuff · 10/10 · 25 July 2006]

****************|MAJOR | SPOILERS|***************** Joss Whedon is a genius. The Firefly series he has created is chock full of laughs, suspense, horror, drama, and action. This episode is no different from the others.

Bushwhacked has two different sides. The horror of finding a ship that Reavers have attacked, and the Alliance. Personally, I don't know which one would be worse.

It starts out with a friendly game of "get-the-ball-through-the-loop" in the bridge of the Serenity. This is one of the small treasures that makes Firefly so wonderful. The dynamics of the characters and just seeing them have fun interacting is wonderful.

Then Wash, the pilot, goes to the cockpit to find a derelict spaceship that is floating in outer space for no reason. The crew boards the ship, hoping to find something to salvage, but instead learns more then they want to know. They find the sole survivor of a Reaver attack, who is going insane, and take him onto Serenity. Big mistake. As much as Capt. Mal wants to be kind, he knows that something is wrong with the man.

Suddenly! Alliance show up. They board the ship and question each crew member. The Alliance Commander is determined to find Simon and River Tam, the two fugitives, and searches Serenity from top to bottom, only to come up empty handed, as Simon and River were hiding on the outside of Serenity. :) When an emergency in the medical facility on the Alliance cruiser is discovered by Mal, he insists that he knows where the Reaver victim will go. He takes the Commander aboard Serenity and battles with the Reaver victim, saving the Commander's life.

The episode ends with the crew getting back on Serenity and leaving the Alliance cruiser, Scott free.

The reason I liked this episode was because, a) It was the first episode I saw from the series and fell in love immediately. b) It's characters are so diverse in nature and have different opinions on everything, that it's a pleasure to watch. c) It had two different story lines and there was humor instilled in both of them.

Bushwhacked is rated on the top of my list from Joss Whedon. His imaginative nature of directing and writing gets kudos from me and, I'm sure, many other fans of his work.

The Creeps

[piratecat-2 · 10/10 · 30 December 2006]

This episode is our first introduction to the REAVERS. We never see them in Bushwacked or nor through the whole firefly episodes. Even though the pilot Serenity is the introduction of REAVERS it is aired out of sequence. The Big Damn Movie by the name of SERENITY shows us Reavers and their grotesque fowl look for the first time we just imagine them as the horrid creepy cannibals that they are. Look this episode has the feeling of alien in it. Your waiting for something to jump out at you. AND IT DOES. When Big Bad Jayne the Merck is scared its time to lock and load. Captain Reynolds only priority is to protect the women. War veterans can not deal with the lack of humanity that Reavers reap upon their victims. When you sniff REAVER country its time to hit the black and get back into the verse with Alliance cruiser near by.

Video mismatch

[silvrhairdevil-79247 · 9/10 · 17 August 2021]

The video trailer is for a different episode - The Train Job. There seems to be no way to edit videos so I'm posting it here and hoping somebody will fix that.

Bushwhacked

[skullfire-96621 · 10/10 · 23 December 2022]

Bushwhacked takes a deeper dive into the underlying stories in the Firefly/Serenity universe.

We start to learn more about the Alliance, and each characters experience with the political structure around its procedures.

We also get a stronger inclination as to what a Reaver is, and the amount of devastation and havoc that they bring to the storyline.

Bushwhacked is an appropriate term for how both the Alliance and Reavers can such dismay in their wake, though they do so in very different ways.

We also given more character development with members of the crew, the personalities truly start coming to the forefront.

Interesting

[Joxerlives · 7/10 · 28 December 2011]

The good; Clever of Mal when he's asked about the brother and sister he replies 'There are no children on this boat', exactly what you'd immediately think if someone referred to siblings. Good interrogation scenes, especially Jayne's and some tense stuff with the bomb defusal, very Juggernaut. Love River's delighted reaction to seeing the stars.

The bad; Zoe comments that there were no signs of a struggle but surely the crew would have fought to the death against the Reavers? Why didn't the Reavers eat the bodies if they're cannibals?

Best line; Commander; "You fought with the Captain during the war?" Zoe; "I fought with a lot of people" Commander; "What about your husband?" Zoe; "I fight with him too"

Kinky dinky; Sweaty cast playing a variation of basketball, Zoe's top especially revealing. Wash goes enthusiastically into detail about Zoe's amazing legs and 'what's above them'.

Capt subtext; Inarra comments 'We're all running away from something'. She calls River 'sweetie' much as Kaylee does. Kaylee is very defensive of the Serenity, perhaps she identifies with the ship as herself.

Whedon clichés; (see I spelt it right!); Devoted siblings, haunted charismatic leading man. Teenage girls with superpowers. Hookers. Babbling insane girls with truth in their madness.

Bondage; Mal placed in handcuffs by Alliance Mal; 1

Knocked out; Book; 1 Simon; 1 Kaylee; 1 Jayne;1

Know the face? Doug Savant of course is Tom Scavo in Desperate Housewives, a show Nathon Fillon, Julie Benz and many other Whedon alumni guest star on. I keep expecting Lynette to show up and remind him to pick up the kids. He's also one of the soldiers in Godzilla.

Alliance good or bad?; Mal mocks the idea of the Alliance turning up to rescue their taxpayers whereupon they do exactly that. The Commander has seen torture during the war, by the Alliance to the Browncoats or vice versa? He comments that 'For some the war will never be over', does he mean for him or for Mal? He shows genuine concern for the dead passengers and when the pseudo-Reaver breaks free his first act is for a guard to be placed on the ships nursery. He leads the Alliance team onto the Serenity himself. In the end he lets them all go.

Western clichés; The term bushwhacked and bushwhacker comes from the US Civil War where both sides sponsored bands of guerillas to operate behind their opponent's lines. In reality these were little more than state sponsored brigands, the movies 'Ride with the Devil' and 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' giving a good idea of their actions. The most famous of all was Jesse James, a former bushwhacker who became a robber and outlaw because he couldn't accept the war was over, just as the Alliance Commander accuses Mal of doing here.

Reminds me off; The ghost ship is very Marie Celeste with hints of Alien and 2010 (especially the way it spins). How they find the survivor is very similar to the marines discovering Newt in Aliens. Jayne's description of his unseen attacker as 'big, strong' recalls the commandos describing Buffy after she rescues Willow in the s4 ep 'The Initiative'. Mal's talk of the darkness is similar to Nietschze's observation that if you stare into the abyss for long enough it stares back into you. The booby trap reminds me of an effect from Babylon 5, something the Drakh would use.

Questions and observations; I somehow feel the red balloon they find on the ship has some significance but I just can't think what? According to the Commander there are 40,000 Firefly type craft in the galaxy, it's the Ford Transit of the Future. It's been 4 months since The Train Job as Inarra says she's now been with the crew nearly a year. Exactly why does the Commander want to know the details of Zoe and Wash's marriage? Three eps in we have yet to see a real Reaver although here we get a glimpse of a pseudo one. How intelligent are they? They can operate spaceships and leave a boobytrap so they must have some sentience?

Marks out of 10; 7/10, interesting

Nothing special in this episode

[nicofreezer · 7/10 · 19 July 2022]

Decent plot, but really nothing special or nothing very interesting. A good first scene with crew playing their basketball version , then The episode became suite boring for like 20 minutes. And eventualy when the alliance came in we got something to keep us awake.

The ending is so rush, i was sure there was going to be a part 2, but no, everything end in less than a minute.

Decent but ahhh not so good 6.75/10.