Firefly · Episode 12 of 14
The Message
Never aired on Fox, first released on DVD
What it’s about
A cargo crate holds an apparently dead war buddy of Mal and Zoe. With him come trouble and pursuers.
On a trading world Mal and Zoe pick up a package: a coffin. Inside lies Tracey, a young comrade from the war, apparently dead. A recording asks them to take him home to his family on St. Albans.
Soon a corrupt Alliance officer is chasing them. Tracey isn’t dead at all: he hired himself out as a courier for smuggled organs growing inside his body, and the buyers want their goods back.
Tracey flirts with Kaylee, panics and betrays the crew to save himself. When he takes Kaylee hostage, Mal has to shoot him. Serenity still takes him home: in the final scene Mal and Zoe stand with the coffin in the snow of St. Albans.
Behind the scenes
Written by Joss Whedon and Tim Minear. Tracey is played by Jonathan M. Woodward, who also appears in Buffy and Angel (as Holden and as Knox).
Trash
Heart of Gold