Firefly: All The Hints That Inara Was Dying

Cult classic Firefly hinted multiple times throughout its short run that one of its main characters, Inara, was dying. The short-lived space Western created by Joss Whedon tells the story of a ragtag group of renegades who all, for one reason or another, find themselves aboard the Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship. Inara (Morena Baccarin), a member of the Companion’s Guild, a class of respected courtesans, was forced to leave home after becoming involved in the Firefly‘s Unification War and going against the guild’s sacred rule of confidentiality by alerting authorities of an impending attack using information she heard from one of her clients. Shortly before the events of the series, Inara contracts with the captain of the Serenity, Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), to rent one of its shuttles; this is how she enters the main cast.

Unfortunately, Firefly was canceled by Fox after only 11 of its 14 produced episodes were aired. This means that many of the show’s intended storylines were never given a proper conclusion or even proper exploration. In 2005, three years after Firefly‘s initial airing, Joss Whedon wrote and directed the Firefly sequel movie, Serenity, in order to wrap up the story. Since then, the Firefly franchise has grown to include comic books, novels, and games.

One character whose fate was left somewhat unclear due to the show’s premature cancelation was Inara. During the Browncoats Unite 10th anniversary panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012, it was revealed by cast members that Inara had, in fact, been dealing with a terminal illness. This is hinted at in multiple scenes throughout the series. In Firefly episode 1, “Serenity,” Inara glances over at a syringe during an encounter with the Reavers. This syringe supposedly contains poison. During a 2012 Science Channel Firefly reunion special, executive producer Tim Minnear explained that now-controversial writer-director, Joss Whedon, actually pitched the show to him based on a dark storyline involving Inara’s syringe, explaining that the syringe contains a magic poison that is to be used in the case a Companion’s client becomes violent. The violator would then “die a horrible death” after the sexual encounter. This plot point was to be used in a future episode where the Reavers kidnap Inara. Malcolm would arrive on the Reaver ship in order to save Inara, only to find all the Reavers dead–implying that the syringe had been used. Malcolm then “gets down on his knee, and he takes her hand. And he treats her like a lady.“

Another hint can be found in Firefly episode 8, “Out of Gas,” when Simon (Sean Maher) and Inara are talking about the ship. Simon says, “I just don’t want to die on it,” to which Inara responds, “I don’t want to die at all.” In retrospect, it seems clear that Inara’s imminent death was an integral part of her character and underpinned many of her decisions and behavior. Unfortunately, her dying was never made explicit and Firefly suffered for it. Had her illness been addressed openly in the series, it would have served to flesh out Inara’s character a little, as well as to clarify some of the nuances of her relationship with Malcolm and the rest of the crew. For example, just like fellow Firefly character, Shepherd Book, Inara is absent from the ship’s crew in the sequel, Serenity. This follows from episode 13, “Heart of Gold,” where Inara tells Mal that she has finally decided to leave the ship, but it still seemed an odd decision to leave her out of the movie.

While it may be too late for a Firefly reboot, many further entries in the franchise have taken up the task of developing certain loose ends from the original series. The novel Life Signs, for example, addresses Inara’s condition explicitly; in this version of the story, she is suffering from an incurable form of blood cancer. It’s safe to say, then, that given the multiple hints present throughout Firefly, as well as other reveals from cast members since the show’s cancelation, Inara’s illness likely would have been addressed explicitly had the show not been canceled so prematurely.

About The Author