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Below are reviews written by members
of FIREFLYFANS.NET.
If you would like to submit your own review for this episode, you
can click on
SUBMIT REVIEW. Note: click on the quotes to read the full review. |
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RATING: 9.00 READ: 9655 COMMENTS: 3542
'And I thought the first episode was great, this one is even more impressive.'
- Rozier | RATING: 10.00 READ: 7488 COMMENTS: 664
'Surprise, reflection, terror...for the future.'
- Ringwraith | RATING: 9.00 READ: 11282 COMMENTS: 8079
'Well, Tim Minear's episode shed's the awkwardness that came from having to cram all that backstory into "The Train Job". This time, we focus on being creepy, and we do it well.'
- Jerry | RATING: 8.00 READ: 6940 COMMENTS: 3038
'Here, we begin to see how Firefly at certain times can be as frightening as Buffy or Angel. We see the nightmares that humans create, and humans can be more frightening than any monster.'
- GThing | RATING: 7.00 READ: 9983 COMMENTS: 2501
'A bit of creep. A bit of the Alliance. A bit of River. Overall not too bad.'
- FastAl | RATING: 7.00 READ: 10063 COMMENTS: 2909
'Overall, not a bad episode, but it lacks the spark the two previous eps had. Something of a disappointment. '
- Raz | RATING: 10.00 READ: 31624 COMMENTS: 784
'This show is great
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- Poutine | RATING: 3.00 READ: 8941 COMMENTS: 1460
'Tired episode with no suspense or little entertainment value. Bland dialog. Distractingly bad science.'
- Lamar | RATING: 7.00 READ: 10097 COMMENTS: 12080
'Not a wonderful episode, but not a bad one either. Overall, pretty good.'
- Turtle | RATING: 7.00 READ: 107991 COMMENTS: 2014
'Improving steadily!'
- Scifispace | RATING: 8.00 READ: 5007 COMMENTS: 1117
'After starting the show with the western oriented "The Train Job", "Bushwhacked" explores Firefly's other part, a futuristic sci-fi adventure, with truly satisfying results.'
- Captain | RATING: 7.00 READ: 40773 COMMENTS: 6648
'This was the first episode of Firefly I had seen, and after being so excited for so long, I felt like it fizzled a little - perhaps I was expecting too much.'
- Tabitha | RATING: 6.00 READ: 12051 COMMENTS: 547
'Now we know what Joss meant when he said there would be no need for aliens on his show, because he could create humans scarier than anything you can put in latex.'
- WrongArturo | RATING: 10.00 READ: 9018 COMMENTS: 450
'I honestly think that a few bad reviews have brought down the rating for this episode. I've come to help change that.'
- dyairvatree | RATING: 9.00 READ: 18798 COMMENTS: 1428
'character study '
- MalsDoxie | RATING: 10.00 READ: 16674 COMMENTS: 506
'creepy...yet satisfying'
- howdyrockerbaby1 | RATING: 8.00 READ: 41400 COMMENTS: 5456
'BOO! this one was definitley one of the best with action, horror, crime, and clever all put in a melting pot.'
- TheMessage1117 | RATING: 10.00 READ: 18172 COMMENTS: 5122
'A great episode showing the versatility in Firefly. A thriller episode with a good plot, and a good, scary, thought-provoking plot.'
- JAA | RATING: 8.00 READ: 17180 COMMENTS: 748
'A dark episode, right off the bat!'
- chewablesarcasm | RATING: 6.00 READ: 10479 COMMENTS: 864
'An interesting look at reavers, but that's it.'
- morrighansfire | RATING: 9.00 READ: 12289 COMMENTS: 280
'This episode subtly fills in a little of the characters personalities.
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- niskanyet | RATING: 10.00 READ: 9376 COMMENTS: 1664
'We discovered in "Train Job" that River knows who's hunting for her... It's in "Bushwhacked" that it becomes clear as to HOW she knew.'
- TDBrown | RATING: 6.00 READ: 2497 COMMENTS: 2
'Close but not quite'
- audacitymedia | |
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Below are point of analysis for the
episode. These analysis should be objective and based on facts
within this episode or other episodes of the series. |
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- GThing |
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- Zicsoft |
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- Zicsoft |
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Below are unanswered questions from
the episode. |
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Who are the Reavers? Why do they do what they do?
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Why does Mal know so much about the Reavers and the things they do to people? He claims he's never seen a Reaver. I'm guessing he knew somebody who had seen them.
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How do insane reavers maintain their ships? For that matter, why don't they eat each other?
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When Serenity detaches from the other ship, Kaylee has diabled the trap so they can safely leave. Does she disarm the thing completely or just from her end? Later the Alliance goes over to the ship, so if Kaylee does not completely diable the trap, wouldn't the Alliance ship have the same problem?
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Why do Mal and Zoe not smell the dead bodies? Now I'm not an expert on this, but I imagine it takes within a few days for decaying bodies to start to emit an odor, and according to the Alliance crewmember, that ship was scheduled to set down three weeks ago, but they were still on their journey, so let's say they were sittin there for about a month. A whole month for those bodies, skinned and decaying, hanging in that cargo bay, not only should the smell have filled that room, but seeped into the rest of the ship. Then, only a few hours later, when Jayne, Book and Simon are cutting them down, they're wearing masks, the smell of the bodies evidently was getting to them. To quote my favorite bounty hunter: "Does that seem right to you?"
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Below are speculations about events or
items in the episode. These speculations are subjective. |
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By the end of the episode, Mal has saved the life of a senior Alliance officer, and also given the man an object lesson in how little he knows about the frontier worlds. Perhaps this is a setup for a later encounter between the two men.
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On Reavers : My theory is that it's an alien parasite that takes over human victims. The first thing that gave me that idea was the "bomb" that attached to Serenity when she attached to that dead ship. The arms that reached out and attached looked very alive... maybe a growth of the parasite? The parasite might alter its human hosts to become the canabalistic "inhuman" beasts that can further spread the parasite. Lots of existing viruses have similar strategies, only the propegate themselves without altering their host's behavior. Maybe it's an intelligent parasite?
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On Reavers: I think the intelligent virus theory is more a Star Trek plot than a Firefly one. A more likely scenario maybe that the Reavers are a breakaway parasitic culture. Canabalism was not uncommon amongst early isolated cultures, especially where there were no large domestic animals to eat. It is not hard to imagine early terraformed moons with small isolated communities, poor food ecologies and mindblistering environmental conditions (eg very short day lengths, massive weather fluctuations, strange radiation) where canabalism could become part of a cultural norm. Once desensitised to the concept canabalism can be an effective strategy for aquiring territory, resources (such as spaceships) and food all at the same time. Fear is also an effective combat strategy. I doubt the Reavers are really mad at all, they just have radically different social and moral norms. Still I wouldn't invite them over for dinnner... :biggrin:
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My thought: Reavers were created by the Alliance ("the blue gloves") to terrify the "Independent"-minded outer worlds and convince them of their need for Alliance "protection".
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On Reavers: Seems that they resemble zombies or undead in both appearance and practices. Fits right in with what we've seen on Buffy. Mal says they are men who lost their minds out in the deep void. He also seems to think there is some real evil involved. As for their technology, the Reaver ship in the pilot dod not appear to be in the best condition.
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Reaverism may be a "memetic virus" - as Mal says, once you've seen the Reavers at work, your mind is traumatized in such a fashion that you become one yourself.
I imagine many forms of trauma were inflicted by many people for many reasons before one was tried that worked upon people in this way: once it had happened, however, it would begin to spread...
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I wouldn't say there was much evidence that the Reavers "recruit" at all (if they'd meant to turn that guy into a Reaver, why did they leave him on the ship? Maybe they meant to come back for him?). Different people will react to different trauma in different ways - I tend to think Mal's analysis of what's going on is a bit simplistic, although it does work for the one case he has in front of him. Then again, he's a soldier not a psychologist! I like the idea that they're a completely bizarre cannibalistic culture, rather than just insane. (No evidence or even suggestion that they *don't* eat each other, by the way!)
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speculation on reavers seems to be that they are either "crazy insane monsters that were once human" or "perfectly normal when viewed as a seperate and distinct species"
lets face it folks, we arent going to find out any time soon. the referance to the deep void could quite possibly be an extreem version of sensory deprivation (used by the nazis in ww2)it could also be a sly aside to the psychological breakdown when the human brain is starfed of oxygen, seretonin or one of the other hormones linked with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. (and i dont mean multiple personality disorder.)
it may also be that they are culturally tuned to cannibalism, or have a physical requirement for certain nutrients found in the human body. eg there is a genetic condition that forces the 'victim' to consume excessive ammounts of haem type iron. this is found in abundance in the human liver, spleen, heart and blood. it is also easier to absorb than many of the manufactured iron suppliments (it pays to watch CSI) :biggrin:
as to the skin sewing... we have endangered more species of wildlife in the persuit of 'fasion'
perhaps the reavers dont see human skin the same way many of todays conservationalists see tiger and ermine. to a reaver, 'fur ain't murder'
many cultures also do not discard any part of an animal that can be put to use. be it as food, clothing, adornment and jewelery, husing and shelter, or as a way of demonstrating their social status.
the picts and early gauls used to put enemies severed heads on pikes around the dun (or fort) not only as a deterent to invaders but as a sign of wealth (to have enough to support an army) and social status.(gotta respect a guy who has 100 heads on pikes around his dun, when your dun just has a few)
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This isn't directly, I'm going off memory:
In Serenity, it was said that Reavers were humans who were aggressive, caused by a chemical, I'd imagine a chemical inbalance causing aggressive behaviour. I can't be specific, I forgot most of it, perhaps someone can finish what I posted.(Watch the movie, don't want to give off much spoilers.)
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when kaylee cuts the wire blood seeps out. perhaps the reavers are like genetic mutations or somesuch
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Fliko: I believe you may have stumbled upon a little inconsistency. Then again, maybe not. I love this episode. However, the film indicates that Reavers were created from PAX on the planet Miranda. In "Bushwacked," Mal suggests that a person, merely observing the horrors Reavers inflict, will eventually self-mutilate, etc., becoming a Reaver. Maybe this is a contradiction. Maybe both processes have happened, and still are happening. Wierd. I still say this episode is higher than an 8.
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Below are notes about events or
items in the episode. |
Hook: I wouldn't say that they're plot "holes" but plot "devices." The Reavers don't follow logic, they're human but basically inhuman; heck, inhumane. They are absolutely crazy and don't follow any rational or logical thought process. As for setting the bomb to explode when you leave, that's on purpose. These guys are crazy but they're also not stupid. It seems like their whole point is to strike people with terror so that if you came upon a ship like that you'd want to leave quickly. Maybe you don't know about the bomb and you blow up. Maybe you do but now you can't leave. Are you stuck here forever? Will the Reavers come back?
As for why people (or maybe some) go insane, we don't know what happens to the survivors, what they go through; we only know what Mal has told us. It could be so incredibly traumatic that your brain basically snaps. It's "shell shock." Maybe they're also drugged or put through some other kind of torture. That could explain why the survivors act the way they do. I'm sure what the Reavers do is absolutely horrifying and terrifying and no one should go through what their victims are put through.
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