Some of you (well, one in particular!) have been questioning how this can fit into canon, because of the implication in Out of Gas that Mal and Wash didn’t know each other before Mal hired him.

With close watching of that flashback, however, my story starts to make sense. The flashback makes it very clear that Zoe and Wash have never met; not so with Mal. In fact, there are a few things that indicate it’s very possible for them to have known each other.

When Zoe and Mal are talking, Mal says “great, ain’t he?” and seems surprised that Zoe doesn’t like him. This could be taken as discussing someone he knows and has told Zoe good things about, and she’s just meeting him for the first time.

Also, one thing has never made sense to me, and that is the fact that Wash, this incredibly acclaimed, in-demand pilot would agree to fly for Mal. The choice between a reputable employer or a dangerous job with low pay that involves dodging the law on a regular basis isn’t a hard one, especially since Wash isn’t the wild risk-taking type……so why fly for Mal?

I know the common theory is Zoe, and I would agree that she’s what keeps Wash on the ship long-term. But I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say he’d take the job instantly just because he saw Zoe and liked her. I think my interpretation that they knew each other and Wash not only felt some sense of loyalty to Mal but had heard enough about Zoe to interest him works pretty well.

As far as the fact that it was implied, sort of, that this was Mal’s first meeting with Wash doesn’t bother me too much because Firefly as a series has been well know to imply something that didn’t turn out to be the case; they implied that Kaylee died when she hadn’t, implied that Mal and Inara were fighting and blind to Saffron’s intentions in Trash, when they were setting her up the whole time, etc.

I hope this helps settle some of the qualms about this story line; I would be interested in hearing any comments.