History Recap / FireflyE09Ariel

* EmotionSuppression: Inverted: when Simon scans River's brain, he discovers that the damage the Academy did made it impossible for her to regulate or filter her emotions ''at all''.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: River is barefoot while being smuggled into the hospital.

* BondOneLiner: After Zoe zaps a Fed and knocks him out, she snarks, "Clear."

* EveryoneHasStandards: Jayne might be an opportunistic and brutal double-crosser, but when he hears from Simon what the Alliance scientists ''did'' to River, he has a disturbed and troubled expression on his face. He then seemingly changes his mind about selling them out and tries to get them out of the facility. He later seems genuinely remorseful for what he did and asks Mal to not tell the others what he really did.

* FacialDialogue: River gives a sweet grin to Jayne after Simon saves a patient as a by-the-way and then stops to give his DrillSergeantNasty. You can just hear her saying "''That's'' my big brother."

* JerkassHasAPoint: Jayne insists that River is dangerously insane, that she might come after anyone on the crew next, and that the most sensible course of action would be to dump her and Simon off on Ariel. This is scarcely nice, but it is also not incorrect; in fact, part of what Simon finds out once they smuggle her into the hospital is just how right Jayne is.

* KarmicDeath: The Fed would get his own thanks to the Hands of Blue. Shouldn't have ratted Jayne out...

* LetsGetDangerous: Simon throttles a guard with his knee while still wearing handcuffs.

* MagicalDefibrillator: Averted. Simon does not use the defibrillator to shock a patient and bring him back from flatlining. Instead, he injects adrenaline into his heart to get an erratic heartbeat, and then he shocks him to restore the proper cardiac rhythm.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Jayne has a subtle one as he realizes that River isn't just a kooky girl that tried to stab him and Simon a pretentious know-it-all that is in Mal's good graces; she was tortured into insanity and Simon has been trying to protect/cure her.

* OutOfGenreExperience: Switches to a MedicalDrama for about 1.25 minutes.

* RefugeInAudacity: The two most wanted fugitives in the Alliance going in the front door amid wanted posters for them and the possibility of meeting one of Simon's schoolmates. When he rescues the patient and then does his DrillSergeantNasty he is ''really'' pushing up the audacity. It works because no one dreams he would do so unless he belongs there.

* WouldHitAGirl: Jayne, although considering that she has just slashed his chest open, and his own scary-looking combat knife is right there and he conspicuously doesn't use it, one could argue that he actually shows surprising restraint.

* YouKnowTooMuch: Exaggerated by the Hands of Blue. Just finding out that Agent [=McGinnis=] ''spoke'' to the prisoners, not even trying to interrogate them, is enough for them to kill ''everyone'' in the building.

* WrittenInAbsence: Shepherd Book is meditating at a monastery for the duration of this episode.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Simon is correct that the amygdala is involved in emotional processing, like the fight-or-flight response. However, he describes its role almost entirely backward. Removal of the amygdala is occasionally done in real life, but it's to calm people with intractable hyper-aggression, and would be extremely unlikely to cause hyper-sensitivity.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Simon is correct that the amygdala is involved in emotional processing, like the fight-or-flight response. However, he describes its role almost entirely backward. Removal of the amygdala is occasionally done in real life, but it's to calm people with intractable hyper-aggression, and would be extremely unlikely to cause hyper-sensitivity to the environment and emotions.

* YouKnowTooMuch: Taken UpToEleven by the Hands of Blue. Just finding out that Agent [=McGinnis=] ''spoke'' to the prisoners, not even trying to interrogate them, is enough for them to kill ''everyone'' in the building.

'''Original airdate:''' November 15, 2002

!!![[AC:Recaps]]: [[{{Recap/Firefly}} Index]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE01Serenity}} 1]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE02TheTrainJob}} 2]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE03Bushwhacked}} 3]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE04Shindig}} 4]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE05Safe}} 5]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE06OurMrsReynolds}} 6]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE07Jaynestown}} 7]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE08OutOfGas}} 8]] | '''9''' | [[{{Recap/FireflyE10WarStories}} 10]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE11Trash}} 11]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE12TheMessage}} 12]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE13HeartOfGold}} 13]] | [[{{Recap/FireflyE14ObjectsInSpace}} 14]]

* OutOfGenreExperience: [[ImageSource Provides the page image]]. Switches to a MedicalDrama for about 1.25 minutes.

* BloodFromEveryOrifice: Provides the page image. The sonic weapon used by the Hands of Blue causes very painful death with bleeding from eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and nails, and is easily the main source of NightmareFuel in this particular episode.

* ImpossibleMissionCollapse: Features the instant success variety. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne spend a lot of time practicing medical jargon and a story for the hospital authorities. The nurse clears them to go ahead before they even get started. Jayne feels the need to recite the line he practiced so much anyway - [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments but he still screws it up]].

* LickingTheBlade: Jayne does this in the beginning of the episode... who knew something so unhygienic could look so damn sexy.

* RepeatedRehearsalFailure: The group slips into a hospital with [[TheCaptain Mal]], [[NumberTwo Zoe]], and [[LowerClassLout Jayne]] pretending to be paramedics. In order to make sure their cover is perfect, the three are shown practicing all the medical terminology they might be asked about [[OverlyLongGag over and over and over]], but even after all the practice Mal still seems a little shaky on things and Jayne is... [[DumbMuscle Jayne]]. Hilariously, during the heist they start to launch into all their lines and bits of terminology, but the nurse they're talking to cuts them off almost immediately and waves them through without a second thought. Jayne, who was practicing right up to the last minute, launches into his prepared lines anyway... and still gets them slightly wrong, earning him a [[WhatAnIdiot dismissive look]] from the nurse and a bit of a glare from Mal.

* TheStrategist: Simon plans the whole caper, coming near to being a MagnificentBastard in this one.

* BondOne-Liner: After Zoe zaps a Fed and knocks him out, she snarks, "Clear."

* Bond One-Liner: After Zoe zaps a Fed and knocks him out, she snarks, "Clear."