Shindig

Inara attends a high-society ball with a client. Mal crashes it, insults the host and ends up facing a sword duel.

On Persephone, Inara accompanies the wealthy Atherton Wing to a high-society ball. Mal sneaks in too: through Badger he is to transport a herd of cattle for one of the guests, Sir Warwick Harrow.

Kaylee comes along in a pink ruffled dress she saw in a shop window and soon holds court among a group of older gentlemen. Mal, on the other hand, punches Atherton when he speaks disparagingly of Inara – which, by the rules of this society, means accepting a duel. With swords, which he can barely hold.

Inara teaches him the basics overnight, and Atherton intends to kill him in front of everyone. Mal is already down in the duel but wins with a trick, spares Atherton and humiliates him publicly. Meanwhile Badger holds the rest of the crew on Serenity until the cattle are loaded.

Written by Jane Espenson, who had previously written many Buffy episodes. Kaylee in her pink ruffled dress became one of the show’s best-known images.