Firefly, Ep. 1.11, “Trash”
In this case, the strength of an episode like “Trash” lies not in its ingenuity, but in its parallel storytelling structure to that of “Ariel”. Whereas the latter episode dealt with heavy emotions and important character growth in the midst of its central heist, the former is much more comfortable leaving the heaviness of the last two episodes by the wayside and having a bit of fun. The audience has been here before with these characters though, organizing an important heist that carries a fair amount of danger, and as such the writing doesn’t have to put in as much legwork to make it work. Everyone is already familiar with Saffron, for better and for worse, and has experienced the set up and execution of a theft while the organizer recites the steps via voiceover.
