In “Safe,” some hill folk on Jiangyin abduct Simon and River Tam just when the crew desperately need a medic. Mal abandons the Tams to seek out medical assistance off-world, despite strong dissent from the crew. Even worse, Mal’s decision forces them to beg for assistance from an Alliance cruiser.
This seems foolishly out of character for Mal, who is normally very loyal to his crew and loath to deal with the Alliance. While he was right that it might be too risky to attempt a rescue of the Tams in the middle of the ongoing crisis, the alternative didn't make any more sense, and it rightfully upset most of the crew.
Did Mal intend to return for the Tams once the crisis had passed? If so, why didn’t he just tell the crew, to address their criticism? If not, what changed his mind later? Both decisions seemed forced and arbitrary to me, basically plot devices to drive an artificial conflict and deus ex machina ending.
Did I miss something subtle? Did Mal actually have good reasons for his decisions that I overlooked? Or have I missed some aspect of his character that better explains why he would behave this way?
Answer
Because at this point the Tams are only barely crew and Book is about to die
At this point in the show, Simon is moderately useful as a doctor and Mal sees River has a huge liability to the crew. Mal makes this clear in the opening sequence:
MAL So, she's added cussing and hurling about of things to her repertoire. She really is a prodigy.
SIMON It's just a bad day.
MAL No, a bad day is when someone's yellin' spooks the cattle. Understand? (beat) You ever see cattle stampede when they got no place to run? It's kind of like a... a meat grinder. And it'll lose us half the herd.
SIMON She hasn't gone anywhere near the cattle.
MAL No, but in case you hadn't noticed, her voice kinda carries. We're two miles above ground and they can probably hear her down there. Soon as we unload, she can holler until our ears bleed. (to River) Although I would take it as a kindness if she didn't.
(as a matter of reference, all quotes are from the same source)
Mal later basically warns Simon that he is willing to leave the Tams. Remember Mal is actually not known as a "nice guy" and loves to make subtle threats.
MAL Closest Alliance is the Cruiser Magellan. Hours out from here. And I promise you, they ain't coming to a backwater like Jiang.
SIMON Still, I'm not sure it's such a wise suggestion.
MAL Might not wanna mistake it for a suggestion. (beat) Don't worry, we won't leave without ya.
Once Simon is kidnapped, Mal is left with a decision: a) Make the best bet on saving Book or b) risk Book's life and go try to rescue the Tams. As captain he calculates (reasonably) that he can find another doctor but that Shepard, quite like a companion, is a resource unlikely to ever fly with him ever again. He chooses Book.
MAL And now they got themselves a doctor. And we don't. (beat) We're goin'.
Mal moves to the cargo bay controls, begins shutting the bay door.
KAYLEE Wh-what are you doing? What about Simon and River?
MAL Forget them. We already lost two people today. If I can help it, we won't lose a third. (to Wash) Wash, get us in the air.
The end dialogue might make it seem as though Mal had a different opinion all along:
SIMON Captain... why did you come back for us?
MAL You're on my crew.
SIMON Yeah, but you don't even like me. (beat) Why'd you come back?
MAL You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this? (walks off, over his shoulder) Chow's in ten. No need to dress.
But it is very important to remember that this comes after the conversation with both Jayne and Zoe ... two people who don't typically agree on the finer points:
JAYNE That'd be a hell of a lot easier to do without the two most wanted on board. Life would look to be simpler us not carrying fugies.
ZOE (to Mal) He is right, you know.
MAL Yeah. Simpler.
In other words, the conversation at the end with Simon is confirmation that Mal has decided after the events of Safe that they are worth at least some risk. He might not entirely trust them, but he does accept them as crew. This episode is basically a transition for the Tams from being maybe crew to probably crew (sorry, Mal lives in a world of grey).
TLDR Until the events of Ariel, the Tams exist as somewhere between a commodity and a risk for Serenity and Mal knows that. Simon is clearly a commodity, but when you add River - who might ruin Mal's plans at any moment - and the risk of legal pursuit, they're pretty net neutral in terms of helping Serenity keep flying until Mal learns to trust them better.
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