Senator Perrin (Alexis Denisof) is proceeding with his investigation of Rossum and the Dollhouse. He has found a witness, someone who can testify to the existence of the Los Angeles Dollhouse: Madeline Costley (Miracle Laurie), the woman formerly known as November. After Perrin parades her in front of a press conference, Harding (Keith Carradine) comes to the Dollhouse to upbraid Adelle and to tell her to do nothing - Rossum has the situation in hand.
Neither Adelle nor Ballard much like the sound of that. When they do some research on Perrin, they uncover discrepancies in his wife (Stacey Scowley)'s background, leading them to conclude that she is an Active. A "sleeper," who will doubtless be used to permanently silence Madeline. Topher produces his latest gadget, a device that will take out any Active within a 50-foot radius. But when Ballard arrives on the scene to use the device to retrieve Madeline, he discovers that the situation is far more complex than they had realized...
CHARACTERS
Echo: Recognizes November on the news feed that Topher and Ballard are watching, and wants to help her. This causes her to initially resist when Langton offers her a treatment. Langton actually has to pause to explain that Topher will turn her into someone "who will help November" before she will consent to the treatment. We also discover a bit more about the gap between Carolyn's escape from the Rossum medical center and her enlistment in the Dollhouse. Somewhere in between those two points, she was taken deeper into Rossum, encountering at least one person who seems to be far higher up the Rossum chain than anyone at the L. A. Dollhouse.
Doll of the Week: Bree is an escort, an upscale prostitute who enjoys her job, but isn't particularly troubled at the thought of being used in the blackmail of a U. S. senator. She's not unsympathetic to Perrin when he realizes she is a Doll and expresses a desire to "save" her, seeming content to go along with a potential fantasy... but he does warn him that it may not be wise to introduce his "hooker mistress" to his wife.
The Ice Queen: When Adelle decides to stop Rossum from murdering Madeline, Ballard echoes Harding's words about her going soft. Adelle replies pragmatically, that she wants Madeline silenced just as much as Rossum does - just using less extreme methods. When she discovers enough to guess at Rossum's full game, she finds her interests in direct conflict with her employers' agenda, and coolly announces her intent to stop them.
The (Ex-) FBI Agent: Ballard continues to feel a strong connection with November, whom he can't help but think of as "Mellie." He has saved her once, and very much wants to do so again. When directly confronted with her, he is able to explain himself in a way that seems to satisfy her. However, she is also able to give him pause by pointing out that if she's free, then she's free to "make mistakes," prompting Ballard to let her go - which I suspect will prove to be a major tactical blunder on his part, though the scene works very well emotionally.
THOUGHTS
The Senator Perrin plot finally gets moving, with a few surprises along the way. I figured there would be a twist in the tale, but I genuinely did not see some of the plot turns coming. I was particularly surprised by the ending, which sees a major shift in the tone of the series. The situation in which the episode ends is not one that can be easily reset, and I suspect the show is now building momentum toward the series' final Act.
The episode itself is a good one. Eliza Dushku's performance, both as "Bree" and as the re-awakened Echo, is her best so far this season, and she is matched by a terrific performance by Alexis Denisof. The episode is well-paced, and I suspect this may have been the last real chance for new viewers to "jump aboard" and still follow the plot.
The direction is as polished as you would expect from David Solomon. There's a particularly interesting fight scene, with Echo flashing to fights from earlier in the series and matching shots from those fights in this episode's fight. It really conveys the sense that she's reliving those moments even as she replicates them. There's also a brief, but nicely creepy, performance by Summer Glau, as a character whose story I suspect will prove to be an interesting one.
Rating: 8/10.
Previous Episode: Belonging
Next Episode: The Left Hand
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