When the crew of the Serenity finally arrive at the enigmatic planet Miranda, they find a dead world littered with bodies, and the only power source belonging to an automated beacon. Once they find the beacon, the crew also find a 12 year old recording from a Dr. Caron, a woman who was part of a scientific expedition. Caron relates the story of how the Alliance tried to better control its people through an experiment on Miranda that eliminated the aggressive nature within humans. It worked--too well, for the people, some 30 million of them, simply laid down and died. And for ten percent of the population, the experiment had the opposite effect: it made them super aggressive, turning them into raging monsters that killed everything in sight. In short, Dr. Caron and her comrades inadvertantly created the Reavers. Caron just barely had time to tell this tale before she is overcome by attacking Reavers.

This was a stunning little scene, with a startling revelation, that was well-played by a wonderful actress named Sarah Paulson. But as I kept watching her, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen Paulson somewhere before. When I looked her up on the IMDB, it confirmed that I have indeed seen her before. She played Miss Isringhausen, the private tutor to little Sophia on Deadwood during its second season. Imagine dealing with Al Swearengen as well as the Reavers all within the same year? Sarah is obviously tougher than she looks!