An experimental drug that works on memories and inhibitions disappears from a Rossum lab located on a college campus. One vial breaks open, and is released into the campus community. The second vial has vanished entirely. A high-ranking Rossum official enlists the Dollhouse to provide him all available Actives, imprinted as NSA and CDC agents in order to contain the affected students and search for the missing vial. After all, the dolls have no memories, and are therefore theoretically immune to the drug's effects.
Echo is not among the dolls called to the site. She is on a more typical and danger-free engagement. But when she glances at a television and sees a news report with the Rossum building front-and-center, something deep inside her mind is triggered. Without understanding why, she goes to the college, where flashes of her past life as Caroline lead her to the source of the present crisis.
CHARACTERS
"Echo": The teaser returns us to that very opening scene with Caroline and Adelle, and gives us just a bit more information. In Ghost, I assumed Caroline was in a prison, with Adelle offering her one way out. Here, we discover that Caroline is in the Rossum Corporation when they have this discussion. She knows Adelle, and she knows what the Rossum Corporation is.
Doll of the Week: Alice is a nice, normal girl, Echo's second engagement with Mr. Motorcycle. Apparently, his fantasy this time is to get a basically innocent girl to "party" with him. When she sees the Rossum building from Caroline's old college on the television, old memories bubble through - just enough to lead her there and guide her to the Rossum lab. The flashes of "Caroline" cause enough disruption that she ignores Langton's trigger phrase when he first attempts to apply it.
The Ice Queen: In flashback, we see the moment at which Adelle truly became interested in Caroline. When the Rossum guard brought Adelle to Caroline's infirmary bed, confirming that the girl "fits the profile perfectly," Adelle was all business... until she saw that Caroline had managed to escape. Then Adelle gave a smile, as if thinking, "Isn't this interesting?" Her concern for Echo may be as strong in its way as Langton's. Even in her drugged state, she is able to focus when she hears that Echo is on the campus, and is able to gather enough strength to force the equally-addled Topher to focus as well.
THOUGHTS
It's the obligatory episode in which an outside force makes everyone act wacky! Some of the wacky behavior is quite funny. From pantsless Topher and Adelle giggling on the floor like a pair of potheads, obsessing over the sound of the "hard R" and Adelle's inability to comprehend lentils, to my personal favorite, Laurence Dominic petting his tailored suit and cooing that it's "soft, like a kitty," there is quite a bit of fun to be had.
Echoes uses its thin story as more than an excuse for wackiness. The plot and concept are essentially a clothesline, on which the story of how Echo came to the Rossum Corporation is hung. Throughout the episode, we get flashbacks to the decision that led to that opening image, of the frightened girl with only a name, which would all too soon be taken from her. We don't quite track Caroline's story all the way to that moment. But even if there is no flashback follow-up (and I rather expect there will be), we are given enough to connect the dots.
Of course, Adelle always insists that "nothing is as it seems," and I have a feeling there will be another twist regarding that story. I don't know exactly what. But if this much backstory is given to us in Episode 7, then it must mean that something more will be revealed, probably by the season's end.
Though a good episode, I don't think this is nearly as good as Man on the Street. The standalone plot with the drug is quite thin. It's too clear for my liking that the drug plot is there solely to support the flashbacks. Still, it's entertaining, and we learn far more about the characters than we knew before.
Rating: 7/10.
Previous Episode: Man on the Street
Next Episode: Needs
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