All 9 Main Characters from 'Firefly,' Ranked (original) (raw)
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
Published Jan 13, 2024, 8:30 PM EST
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Firefly was arguably up there as one of the very best shows of all time, but was frustratingly cut down before it could go on to become even better than great. Having just 14 episodes produced (not even a full season, by 2002 standards), as well as a 2005 feature film finale, Serenity, it’s certainly easy to get bogged down by wondering what could’ve been for this sci-fi/Western series, but at least what fans got was still great, albeit short-lived.
It takes place some 500 years in the future, with the main characters all defined by their travels on a spacecraft known as the Serenity, for various reasons, with multiple adventures and misadventures depicted throughout the show’s first (and only) season. Picking a favorite among these nine is akin to picking a favorite child, but the potential futility of such an endeavor aside, that’s what the following ranking aims to do. The ranking below begins with the great and ends with the greatest, when it comes to Firefly’s main characters (remember, there are no bad ones!).
Firefly
Release Date
2002 - 2003-00-00
Cast
Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, David Reynolds, Dwier Brown, Fredric Lehne, Lancer Dean Shull, Lyle Kanouse, Melinda Clarke, Richard Burgi, Valerie Red-Horse, Tracy Ryan, Jonathan M. Woodward, Angie Hart, Stephen Silberkraus, Melody White, Michael Fairman, Gregory Itzin, Isabella Hofmann
Seasons
1
9 Simon Tam
Played by Sean Maher
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
It’s hopefully not too controversial or incendiary a pick to select Simon Tam as the “worst” main character on Firefly. It does have to be stressed outright that this isn’t like another Joss Whedon show, Angel, where the least lovable character is a blight on a season or so of the entire show. Simon’s still a worthy member of the ragtag team in Firefly, and serves a necessary function as a sibling/carer of the (admittedly more interesting and mysterious) River.
The worst thing that can be said about Simon is that he can be slightly bland, and perhaps it’s also his reserved nature that makes him feel like he slinks into the background at times. Still, his loyalty to his sister is admirable, and he’s a necessary passenger on board the Serenity, owing to his status as team doctor/medic. This could be said about multiple characters, too, but it’s possible that Firefly’s brevity meant that interesting potential Simon-centric episodes never came to fruition.
8 Jayne Cobb
Played by Adam Baldwin
Jayne crouches down and holds a weapon in Firefly.
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
Remember, there are no bad main characters in Firefly. The main cast is great. Jayne’s a great character. Adam Baldwin (most well-known outside this show for portraying Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick’s iconic war film Full Metal Jacket) is great in the role. But this is all about comparing obscenely tasty apples to first-class oranges, and Jayne sort of slips closer to the bottom when the competition is this fierce.
Jayne’s the team muscle, essentially, being a mercenary who doesn’t often open up about his past or his emotions, though he is an undeniable asset, owing to his ability to help the Serenity crew blast their way out of any number of tough scenarios. His loyalty does sometimes feel shaky, with Jayne defined by his potential willingness to side with whoever has the most to offer, but that’s arguably just the mercenary way of life. The fact he provides a surprising amount of comic relief – and hints that he might have a softer side beneath his blunt exterior – certainly sweetens things, character-wise.
7 Inara Serra
Played by Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin as Inara in 'Firefly'
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
Inara is a character who provides insight into the Companion's Guild, which is an organization within the futuristic world of Firefly made up of high-class and well-respected courtesans. There are a handful of other characters associated with this Guild, but Inara’s the only main character directly tied to it, with her profession making her occasionally clash with other passengers on the ship.
There would’ve been plenty of ways for the writing of a character like Inara to go wrong, but her role in the show and the background of her character is rather tastefully done, and she’s also shown to be independent and have a satisfying degree of agency. Morena Baccarin’s also great in the role, particularly shining during the odd episode that gives her a more central role (again, it would’ve been nice to have more, playing out over any number of years/seasons).
6 Derrial Book
Played by Ron Glass
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
Standing as the oldest main character in Firefly by a good many years, Shepherd Book (“Derrial” is rarely used in dialogue) is also perhaps the most enigmatic of the main crew, and therefore one character where it feels particularly frustrating that further development couldn’t happen. He essentially exits the series as a whole in 2005’s Serenity, and even if Firefly were to be miraculously revived (with episodes taking place before Serenity), Book’s actor, Ron Glass, sadly passed away in 2016.
Like with much of Firefly, it’s easy to get caught up on what could’ve been, but the mystique and shadowy past of Book – who’s essentially an enigmatic space preacher – is still enough to make him incredibly compelling. He carries himself with a quiet dignity that never seems overly pompous, and his vastly different age/background to much of the rest of the crew helps him stand out, and ultimately stand as another great character among many.
5 Zoë Alleyne Washburne
Played by Gina Torres
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
An essential ally to Firefly’s protagonist, Mal, and a super cool and no-nonsense character in her own right, Zoë’s a difficult character not to respect and/or admire. She’s someone who fought on the side of the Serenity’s captain, Malcolm Reynolds, during the Unification War that precedes the main series, and continues to stand with him as first mate on board the ship, also being the wife of the ship’s pilot, Wash.
Even if Jayne’s technically larger, physically, Zoë gives him a run for his money as the potential deadliest member of the team (at least until the film, Serenity, when the true powers of another character are revealed), always serving the Serenity crew well in combat. She’s far from just a killing machine, though, being stern and dependable to her fellow crew members and also showing how a genuinely happy relationship can exist within such a dangerous lifestyle, owing to her marriage with Wash.
4 Malcolm Reynolds
Played by Nathan Fillion
Malcolm Reynolds at a crowded event looks scared in a scene from Firefly.
Image via Fox
The closest thing to a main character on Firefly, Mal is the captain of the Serenity, and an excellent anti-hero in a show filled with characters who are often as lovable as they are flawed. He’s wise-cracking even in the most dangerous of times, and often seems to scrape by through undeniably trying circumstances, serving the show well as a central underdog of sorts.
Mal’s also shown to be a capable leader at times, not merely defined by being a bit of a buffoon (though those buffoonish moments do help make him more endearing, more often than not). He’s close to the best of the best, when it comes to main characters on Firefly, but his status as the central character means he can’t quite be as much of a goofball or as charmingly odd as some of the even more lovable side characters in the main cast end up being.
3 River Tam
Played by Summer Glau
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
Fictional characters don’t get much more intriguing than River Tam, brother of the aforementioned Simon. She’s someone who’s shown to have a surprising and tragic past, being experimented on by forces who drastically changed her personality and gave her various remarkable physical powers, many of which didn’t get entirely shown until 2005’s Serenity (it’s very much possible this reveal was being built up to for a future season of the show, had it lasted longer).
She’s undeniably sympathetic because of her past, and she drives a good deal of compelling conflict in the show because of the various forces who want to get their hands on her, following her brother rescuing her. She’s odd, sometimes scary, sometimes funny, and physically powerful, owing to her status as a living weapon of sorts. She’s an incredibly interesting character, and was well-explored given the story told throughout Firefly and Serenity only lasted as long as it did.
2 Hoban Washburne
Played by Alan Tudyk
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
Hoban Washburne, known throughout the show mostly as “Wash,” is sort of like Star Wars’ Han Solo if Han Solo was more of a weirdly lovable nerd. He’s the team pilot (much like Han), and therefore the character in the show most capable of controlling the Serenity, helping bring all the characters to interesting locales, and also being key to getting everyone out of situations that almost always turn sticky.
Wash is a dork, but a supremely endearing one, and perhaps the most consistently funny character in Firefly, rivaling Mal for the number of wisecracks delivered throughout the show and its 2005 finale movie. He’s also married to the aforementioned Zoë, with their bond being a strong and clearly loving one, both serving to give Firefly, as a show, an extra dose of heart.
1 Kaylee Frye
Played by Jewel Staite
Image via 20th Century Fox Television
To compare Kaylee to a character from another show created by Joss Whedon, she’s sort of Firefly’s equivalent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Willow Rosenberg, and is also perhaps comparable to Fred from Angel. That’s to say that Kaylee’s a lovable and capable character who’s defined by being incredibly smart and sometimes adorably awkward, while also serving as the Serenity’s primary engineer/mechanic.
Kaylee emerges as the most lovable character in Firefly, perhaps because the writers never got the chance to take her in any sort of dark or morally ambiguous direction (even Willow got an infamously dark storyline in season 6 of Buffy, which was admittedly perhaps over-hated). For the show and the movie in their current state, Kaylee feels like she’s the heart of the show, and is its most kind and compassionate main character, which makes her impossible to dislike and easy to label as the character most likely to be a fan favorite.
Firefly can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.
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