They even say that the girl had to die for the sins of the group. Throughout the episode whenever they were accussing one of the group they were sure to show them wearing their crosses.
Sorry for the rant but it's just so noticeable I can't believe I never registered it before
Honestly, I suspect Firefly is never getting a revival now because of the message it ultimately held, which was largely anti-government, or at the very least anti-centralised government. It was popular back in the day for such a stance (look how close Ron Paul actually got to winning the primaries. That's the reason his face was a reaction image for quite some time). Could you imagine how quickly it would kill a career to make a project that's actually anti-big government anymore? One that's actually critical of the establishment as a whole? I don't see it happening anytime soon in the mainstream, but once upon a time, it was popular, and not just because people like rebels.
There's a reason that Alan Moore hates his work. Because it speaks far more to an anti-central power, and that's a right-wing ideal, even if he doesn't want to accept it. And Whedon's work with Firefly reflects that.
I always wondered if the anti-government themes in Jericho is part of why it got cancelled.
They probably realized that a USA with no blue cities would be a utopia, and didn't want to give anybody any ideas.
It was critical of a right wing government. Remember they had the Allied American State.