River Tam

A gifted girl whose brain the Alliance experimented on. She often seems confused and speaks in riddles, yet senses things nobody else could know. Why the Alliance wants her back so badly is only revealed in the film “Serenity”.

River Tam was an exceptionally gifted child. At an Alliance academy her brain was operated on until she felt the emotions and thoughts of others without being able to shield herself. Her brother Simon got her out and smuggled her aboard Serenity in a crate.

She often seems confused, speaks in riddles and fears the men with blue gloves who are hunting her. Yet she senses what others cannot know, and “War Stories” and “Objects in Space” show what she is capable of. Why the Alliance wants her back so badly is only revealed in the film “Serenity”.

Summer Glau went on to play the Terminator Cameron in “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”.

Summer Glau dances as a ballerina in the Angel episode “Waiting in the Wings” (3x13).