This story is focused on Jayne and it’s a great story that delve more deeply into Jayne’s character. He’s usually a selfish brute that only cares about money and himself, but in this story he ends up being worshipped as a hero, and he’s changed by it.
At first he’s enjoying the worship, he also feels guilty about taking advantage of these people in order to complete the job. When he’s cheered by the people of Canton to make a speech, he actually says something poignant that makes sense, to the surprise of Serenity’s crew.
I also loved the scene where they first see the Jayne statue. Their faces were so shocked and surprised, they (and I) were very amused by all this.
All the other characters get their developing scenes as well, as usual. Book and River have some “bonding time”, with River “fixing” the Bible, and being scared by Book’s untied hair. Hilarious.
Kaylee and Simon almost make it official, but Simon always manages to screw it up. But that’s just his way of being proper and show his respect for Kaylee. At least that’s his explanation.
While the majority of the episode is light, complete with a song about Jaybe the hero of Canton, the end is more dramatic and messes with Jayne’s head. He tells the people of Canton that he’s an impostor, he’s not a hero, but despite that a young kid takes a bullet for him, sacrificing himself for Jayne. “It don’t make sense” Jayne says.
Whedon is a master when it comes to giving a lot of drama and deep meaning to a story that seems light-hearted on the surface. This was a great episode for Jayne’s development, he too is a human being with feelings. It’s just that they’re hidden most of the time.
Rating: 3 Stars