***SPOILERS***Serenity Better Days 3

As this final installment in the Better Days series opens, Inara’s former client (an Alliance man) has taken Mal and plans to put him on trial for terrorism (if he doesn’t kill him first). Zoe, loyal to the end, confesses that she was the Dust Devil (not Mal), and she embarks on a suicidal mission to save the captain. 

The crew gets a little help from the mysterious techie guy from parts 1 and 2. He blows up the Alliance ship where Mal’s being held just in time. Mal escapes, but not before the techie guy’s missiles morph into gun-toting robots. Along the way, Jayne has some funny moments, and both River and Shepherd get a chance to show their scary side.

No surprises here: the crew gets away clean, but not without a hitch. Someone (I think the techie guys) steals their cash.

But if the ending doesn’t bring any surprises, one of Inara’s revelations does. In a conversation with Mal, she hints that she has a secret “relationship” with Simon. The exchange certainly leads readers to believe that Inara may have taken Simon as a client, but her words are ambiguous enough to keep everyone guessing.

Overall, an enjoyable, but lackluster conclusion to this three part series. The action sequences are confusing, and there just aren’t enough character moments. Still, whether or not there’s ever a second Serenity movie, I hope Whedon continues making the comics.

What can I say? I can’t get enough of the verse!

DweebMeter: 3.5/5

Links

Robert Moore’s Amazon Review

Pat Shand’s Amazon Review