Topher is hard at work repairing the damage done to his chair during Claire's experiment. That is how he discovers the security breach. A device, very small, planted in the chair. It can be used to add an extra parameter to a doll - to send messages to an FBI agent, for example.
Adelle has been called away, leaving Laurence Dominic in charge. Dominic and Topher quickly identify the bug as NSA. Dominic orders Topher to program Sierra with "all (his) best spy parts," and dispatches her to the NSA to discover the identity of the spy. He also makes it clear that he holds Topher responsible for this breach.
That's when Echo wanders into Topher's lab, offering to help. "You make people different," she observes. "You can make me help."
CHARACTERS
"Echo": The teaser sees the wiped Echo observing the strained goings-on at the house. She sees both Sierra and November taken to Topher's lab, she sees one of them put into the chair, she sees both of them come out different. And she puts the pieces together. Her awareness is growing, and by the end of the episode Topher, Adelle, Dominic, and Langton are all fully aware that "she's evolving."
Doll of the Week: Echo's imprint is a counterintelligence operative, a sharp, cold-blooded investigator with "a little bit of Sherlock Holmes" programmed into the mix. She's an expert at reading body language, a skill which leads her straight to the identity of the spy.
The Genius: When Topher is interrogated over his reasons for joining the Dollhouse, he makes it clear that he is excited by the science. He's doing work here that would be beyond the imaginations of his old professors. Topher gets to spend virtually the entire episode in panic mode, which brings out the best in Franz Kranz's performance.
The Ice Queen: We get a glimpse at Adelle's feelings of isolation. While away from the Dollhouse, she talks about the work she used to do before - stem cell research - and indicates that she misses the days when she could actually tell people what she does for a living. When she returns to the house to discover that she has been betrayed, she is merciless in dealing with the spy, sending the infiltrator "to the attic" - from which that infiltrator can still be used any time the NSA needs to be told that everything is fine, before being "put back in (his/her) box."
The FBI Agent: Without his job, without support from Mellie, left entirely to himself... Agent Ballard degenerates into a paranoid shut-in, complete with a conspiracy wall chart. His job has already been taken away from him. Now he loses another anchor, as the agent inside the dollhouse sends him a message in the worst possible way.
THOUGHTS
No real points for guessing who the spy is, but the revelation is still well-done. Plus, we finally learn exactly what "The Attic" is, and why being sent there is such a horrific fate. The nature of "The Attic" also means that the guilty party probably isn't being permanently written out of the show. After all, a doll can be taken out for use at any time.
The structure of the episode nods to Crash, as we see the same period of time through multiple viewpoints. Through the first half, each viewpoint gives us a new snippet of information as we follow each of several imprints through the events of the teaser and just a bit beyond. We see two imprints that precede the discovery, November and Victor, both of whose engagements further running plots and characters. We see Sierra's imprint, ordered by Dominic to allow him to identify the spy. Finally, we see Echo's imprint, volunteered in order to help Topher catch the spy. The strands are brought together effectively, and by starting each strand from a common point (the teaser), we are able to keep track of where we are in the story at all times.
The episode also has one very well-executed action set piece, as Sierra infiltrates the NSA. It's a flashy, fast-paced scene that wouldn't be at all out-of-place in a Bourne/Bond-style action film. A strong centerpiece to yet another very strong episode.
Rating: 9/10.
Previous Episode: Needs
Next Episode: Haunted
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