2-11. Getting Closer.

THE PLOT

With the L. A. Dollhouse's conspiracy against Rossum now fully assembled, they decide it is time to reintegrate Caroline with Echo, to find out exactly what secret it was that she learned. There's only one hitch: When Ivy goes into the vault to recover Caroline's wedge, she discovers that it's gone!

There is one, fragile hope to recover Caroline. The wedge that Alpha smashed during his infiltration of Rossum still exists, and Topher believes that Bennett (Summer Glau) is skilled enough to reassemble it. Ballard and Victor make a quick raid on the Washington, D. C. Dollhouse and abduct Bennett. But the real challenge is getting her to agree to effectively resurrect Caroline, the friend who so badly betrayed her!


CHARACTERS

Echo: In flashback, the show fills in the backstory between Caroline and Bennett. We discover that, in between her first escape from Rossum and her imprinting, Caroline successfully infiltrated Rossum's L. A. office. She discovered a file on Bennett, whose brilliance attracted Rossum's attention even as she pursued her neuroscience degree. She befriended the girl, then used her to get inside Rossum's labs to blow them up - the action that led to Bennett's maiming and to Caroline's final capture. In the present, Echo dreads the idea of Caroline's return, fearing that she will cease to exist when the original personality is returned. She confesses to Adelle and to Bennett that she considered taking the wedge and considered letting Bennett go - but she knows after what she witnessed in The Attic that the stakes are just too high.

The Ice Queen: Remains very icy, even though she's now revealed to be on the "right" side. Her responses to Bennett's outrage at being abducted are highly amusing, as Bennett attempts to lodge a complaint against Topher for punching her in the face and Adelle responds by gently reminding her that she has been abducted. She is particularly cool after Langton dispatches the Rossum assassins in her office, taking in the scene calmly and then pronouncing that this finishes off her carpet.

The Security Chief: We discover the nature of the "personal business" that had caused Langton to miss work. He's been housing and protecting Claire (Amy Acker), who has returned to L. A. Langton and Claire are now firmly a couple, as Epitaph One indicated they would be. And by developing Langton's "personal" absences in other episodes, it doesn't even feel too forced. We saw the beginnings of Langton's interest in her, and now we bring her back with the relationship having developed over time, just offscreen. It's not ideal, but given Acker's limited availability for Season Two, it does work.

We also get a reminder of Langton's somewhat disturbing skills. When three Rossum officials come to the Dollhouse to "debrief" Adelle (Rossum-speak for "take a ride"), Langton deals with them ruthlessly and efficiently, and his facial expression barely registers a twitch. Harry Lennix is outstanding throughout, in an episode that finally brings his often nebulously-defined character into sharp focus.

The Genius: Receives a shock that precipitates a brief break from reality - reflecting the behavior of the crazed Topher of Epitaph One. He recovers, probably thanks to having a task to focus on, but the joviality is kicked right out of him. Gets a semi-heroic moment, as he urges Ivy not to linger to help him, but instead to escape. "Don't become me," he hisses to her.

The (Ex-) FBI Agent: We learn what was taken from Paul: His deep connection with Echo. Topher acknowledges this to Echo, telling her that he needed to use the most active parts of Ballard's brain for his rewiring, and that those parts were Echo. She seems to forgive him - and honestly, unless she's massively selfish, surely a Ballard who no longer loves her is at least better than a Ballard who is brain dead - but she is clearly hurt at the change.


THOUGHTS

Tim Minear, a veteran of several Joss Whedon shows and particularly noteworthy as the writer of the best episodes of Firefly and Angel, pens this action-heavy installment. Getting Closer crams probably about three episodes' worth of material into 45 minutes: The return of Claire, the "outing" of the L. A. dollhouse's conspiracy, the kidnapping of Bennett, the unmasking of the Rossum head. There's a lot going on. Fortunately, Minear is a good enough writer to take all these threads and deliver an episode that's fast, lean, and intense without making it feel rushed. He juggles all the balls he's been given, and he doesn't drop any of them.

But with so many balls in the air, he can be forgiven one or two slight wobbles. Laurence Dominic (Reed Diamond) is featured again, and this time we get to see both the "new" Dominic and, in flashback, the slickly hateable Dominic of Season One. I particularly enjoyed seeing that version of the character again. However, there's no time to deal with the "new" Dominic, so Minear cuts that plot thread off as cleanly as he can... which unfortunately leaves the arc of one of the series' best recurring characters cut short. Still, it's fun to see the sneering Laurence of the series' beginning again, a reminder that however commendable his actions in The Attic may have been, Laurence Dominic is Not a Nice Man.

Minear does better with the return of Claire. Anyone reading these reviews knows that Claire won me over quickly, and that I found her character arc the most interesting of those on display at the end of Season One/beginning of Season Two. Acker's departure from the bulk of this season meant that Claire's dilemma was never able to receive the attention it was due. But Acker remains splendid, and the way in which she is brought back is effective in keeping the plot consistent with Epitaph One.

The mixing of the present day story with the flashbacks pays off handsomely. We discover the rest of the story of Caroline's harsh abandonment of Bennett, and it casts that scene in a very different light. We also close the episode on a particularly chilling twist - one which makes me re-evaluate some bits from earlier episodes, and also one which makes me wonder exactly what sort of long and twisted game the Rossum heads are playing.

Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: The Attic
Next Episode: The Hollow Men


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2-10. The Attic.

THE PLOT


Echo is in The Attic. This means that she is living a nightmare, repeating a hopeless scenario over and over again. But after a couple of loops, her composite mind notices the pattern, allowing her to break free. She discovers Laurence Dominic (Reed Diamond), her old nemesis who was sent to the Attic a year earlier. Dominic has also gained awareness of his situation - probably thanks to some NSA training - and has been fighting off a malevolent shadow that calls itself "Arcane," and which stalks and kills newcomers to The Attic.

Echo and Dominic team up to locate Victor and Sierra, to save them before Arcane can find them. But when they come face to face with Arcane, they learn more than they could have expected: About Rossum, and about the true nature of The Attic. This leads Echo to a desperate gamble, one which may enable her to take down Rossum - if it doesn't kill her first!


CHARACTERS

Echo: At this point, she seems to actively reject "Caroline" as her true identity. When a Rossum security man tells her that all Actives go by their "real names" in the Attic, she snaps back that her real name is Echo. She doesn't trust Dominic, recognizing him as she did even in her pre-aware state of early Season One: The enemy who was constantly trying to destroy her. But her mind is fully formed now, and she can recognize Dominic as something other than just being "bad." They make a good team, and Reed Diamond's performance brings out the best in Eliza Dushku's acting as well.

The Ice Queen: In the space of just a handful of episodes, Adelle has gone from being the person Topher most trusted to being "Darth Vader." Adelle's de-volution from icily pragmatic idealist to being simply cold and hard seems to be complete in this episode. As she wields the power of Rossum - quite literally the power of life and death - over Topher, Ivy, Langton, and finally Ballard, she seems truly, irredeemably cast in the role of "villain." A genuinely surprising end twist puts the new path of her character into a fuller context, while providing a hint of where both she and the show are going from here.

The Security Chief: Langton is as protective of Echo as a father of a daughter. With Echo taken away from him, he begins to skip work, arriving late, drinking. When Adelle confronts him about his feelings for Echo, he snaps at her that she "took her away from (him)!" He seems more inclined to confide in Topher now, less mocking of the idea of Topher as a man with a conscience, even as his trust in Adelle has been shattered.

The (Ex-) FBI Agent: Topher is able to revive Ballard, but only by taking something away from him so that other parts of his brain can fill in for those destroyed by Alpha. I doubt the science of "the wildcat play" would bear close scrutiny - but the idea that Ballard has been restored, but only by taking something unspecified away from him, is an interesting notion. And the warning that "sooner or later, he's going to figure out what's been taken away," is both intriguing and unsettling.


THOUGHTS

A funny thing happened with this particular Joss Whedon show. Joss Whedon ended up being only about an average (possibly even slightly below-par) writer for his own show. Meanwhile, the writing team of Maurissa Tanchauroen and Jed Whedon - his brother and his sister-in-law - announced themselves as the series' very best writers. They rounded off Season One with the magnificent Epitaph One. They wrote Belonging, the second season's only previous great episode. And they possibly top both of those previous achievements with The Attic, an episode which starts off good and then gets better and better and better as it goes.

The Attic is the strangest episode of Dollhouse yet. With most of the episode set inside Rossum's personal "Matrix," we get an episode rife with the logic of dreams and nightmares. A ladder to a roof leads Echo out of a fairy tale tree, which grows out of the Dollhouse's hardwood floor. A malevolent shadows seeks to assassinate dreamers, stalking them from the familiar confines of the Dollhouse to a paper-walled Japanese restaurant, to an Afghani war zone, to a post-apocalyptic hell. The imagery is vivid, sometimes stunning, and the script keeps all of the surreal nightmare tripping within a solid story structure, with the set pieces never getting away from a tightly controlled story. It works, the eerie nightmare aura bringing resonance to revelations about Rossum and the plot arc in such a way that it doesn't just feel like an episode there to "advance the plot" and nothing else (which I found to be the case with Stop-Loss).

The episode also features the welcome return of Reed Diamond's Laurence Dominic. Diamond's performance was a frequent highlight in the first season, and he and Amy Acker have both been sorely missed in Season Two. Here, Dominic is reinvented as a more heroic figure, though he retains enough of an edge not to feel like a completely different character. Diamond continues to exhibit a flair for deadpan comedy, with his reaction to a particularly gruesome discovery in the Japanese nightmare adding a darkly hilarious button to a particularly grisly moment.

The Dollhouse scenes work well, too, with just enough information withheld to make the ending a surprise without it coming completely out of left field. By showing us just a piece of Adelle's frosty interactions with her underlings, we are led to draw one conclusion... but when the truth is unveiled, we saw enough for the pieces to snap into place. Which is the way a twist should work, when it's executed right.


Rating: 10/10.  My favorite episode since Epitaph One.

Previous Episode: Stop-Loss
Next Episode: Getting Closer


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0-0. Echo.

Joss Whedon's original vision for the Dollhouse pilot, before FOX intervened. So is this a second case for Whedon of a brilliant pilot being replaced with something watered-down, ala Firefly? Or did the network actually have it right?


THE PLOT

Agent Paul Ballard is investigating the Dollhouse, but he has few leads. His colleagues consider the case a joke. His informant, Victor, tells him that he is certain the Dollhouse does not exist, and urges him to forget it. Then he receives a package in the mail. A photo of a girl, with a name written on the back: Caroline.

When Ballard has one of his few friends run the photo, it immediately raises flags with Adelle DeWitt. Her security chief, Laurence Dominic, urges her to simply dispose of Ballard, but Adelle considers killing him to be a "last resort." She has Echo imprinted, in order to find out what Ballard knows. But when Echo's behavior proves to be less than perfectly predictable, Adelle wonders if the FBI agent is the only person she needs to watch...


CHARACTERS

Echo: We see substantial evidence of Echo retaining things from previous imprints. She clearly recognizes the girl from her "pro bono" job when she goes into the hospital, and she reacts strongly to the name "Caroline." Though imprinted as an assassin, she is a shockingly ineffective one, likely because Caroline's basic makeup is not that of a killer.

Doll of the Week: When her sister disappeared without a trace, "Shauna" came to Los Angeles to search for her. The police had no answers for her, and as far as she could determine weren't even trying to follow up on any leads. Her search for her missing sister brought her into contact with unsavory types, mentions of the "Dollhouse," and finally brought her face-to-face with Paul Ballard... putting her in a perfect position to find out what Ballard knows.

The Handler: Langton displays no real emotional attachment to Echo in this pilot. If anything, he has more of a bond with Topher in this variant, as most of his scenes are opposite Topher. Langton also appears further removed from the loop here. Adelle passes on orders to Topher and Langton, but they are clearly underlings. There is no discussion, no sense that Langton and Topher even could discuss anything with her.

The Ice Queen: Adelle is much harder-edged here than in the broadcast pilot and series. She has no particular bond with or interest in Echo. As far as we can see, Echo is simply another doll to her. Laurence Dominic's harsh pragmatism about both Ballard and Echo? That was apparently given to Dominic in order to soften Adelle. In this pilot, Adelle is quite willing to kill Ballard, and it's indicated that she's willing to do the same to Echo if necessary.  I prefer the series' Adelle, whose idealism is far more interesting, when contrasted against what she actually is involved in, than this more cold-blooded version. But it is interesting to see how just a slight change made such a big difference to the character. Olivia Williams is a splendid actress, of course, and remains outstanding here.

The Genius: Topher, Version 1... is annoying. From his pet names for Langton ("Man-Friend") and Claire ("The Phantom") to his self-consciously Whedonesque style of speaking ("Rules make me feel oogy"), this Topher just makes me want to reach into the screen and punch him in his chirpy little face. That said, Topher's sheer amorality in this pilot is effective. Confronted with the potential wrongness of what they're doing, Topher's response is an emphatic, "I don't care." Unlike in the broadcast pilot, there is no sign that this is anything other than the truth - a character approach that would have made his guilt in Omega and his breakdown in Epitaph One even more powerful than they ultimately proved to be.

The FBI Agent: It explains a lot that Ballard's first really good scene in the series, his thoughtful moment with Victor in which he talks about splitting the atom and making a bomb, was actually scripted and filmed as his introduction. The one-note Ballard of the first two broadcast episodes was filling time until his plot could reach the point at which Whedon had envisioned it beginning. It doesn't make it any less of a shame that Ballard spent two episodes as a painfully hackneyed cliche before finally becoming a character, but at least it explains it.


THOUGHTS

Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day (or once a day, if you're going by military time). While there are elements of Echo that would have been interesting to start with, on the whole I think this is one of those rare cases in which the network got it right. 

In his commentary for Ghost, Whedon admitted one area in which the broadcast pilot was superior to the original. It was stronger, more powerful, to begin the series with Caroline. Just that glimpse of the real Caroline, smart and scared and defiant, made Echo into somebody real. Echo begins with the doll, its lengthy teaser just laying out the series' basic setup, complete with an expository monologue by Adelle. The teaser feels overpacked, with too much cutting between too many elements, and it's there only to lay out the concept.

Ghost managed to convey the same basic information, more tightly and less frenetically, and then even set up its standalone plot as an episode. The teaser for Ghost had my attention from that opening scene, with Caroline and Adelle. The teaser for Echo had me checking my watch - and probably would have done, even if it had been my introduction to the series.

It is interesting to see all the scenes of this pilot that were used, mostly to better effect, throughout the season. The Victor/Ballard scene, and the revelation about Victor, meant more coming a few episodes into the season, because it was one of the first things telling us that "nothing is as it appears." Here, the entire mini-arc of Victor acting as Ballard's informant is squeezed into less than ten minutes' total screentime. It's the same basic subplot, even with the same basic ending, but it doesn't work as well as those scenes being spread out over a longer period.

Lest I sound too negative, I should say that the episode's "plot," with Echo spying on Ballard, largely works. There are some good scenes between Ballard and "Shauna," and an effective twist late in the episode. But too much of this pilot is pure exposition, and there are several scenes that run far too long. Ghost captured my attention instantly. Had Echo remained the pilot, I would have been far less certain about remaining with the series.

An interesting look at what might have been.  But I think Echo is best regarded as a curiosity piece,  a rough draft of a concept that would be more effectively played in Whedon's second try.

Rating: 5/10.


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1-13. Epitaph One.

THE PLOT

Los Angeles, 2019. Mag (Felicia Day) is among a group of "actuals," humans not imprinted. They need to get underground, "the deeper the better," before another mass-imprint occurs. In the midst of the apocalyptic wreckage of what was once the Rossum building, they find the opening that was once used by Alpha and Ballard, and make their way into the Dollhouse.

At first, they aren't sure what structure it is they've wandered into. Then they discover Topher's chair. Since they conveniently happen to have a wiped person in tow, they begin uploading memories to him. Those memories tell them where they are, and they are flabbergasted that "the tech that kicked the butt of humanity" began life as, essentially, an upscale brothel.

As they explore the house, another disturbing fact becomes clear. They are not alone...


CHARACTERS

Echo: Apparently retains her composite persona, even after Topher's wipe. This is something she keeps secret from everyone except Ballard. The composite does have side effects, though. She complains of headaches that are getting steadily worse.

The Handler: Langton will evidently break with the Dollhouse, with violent consequences. He and Claire will develop a relationship.  Claire will be his one ally when he leaves, promising that he will come back for her.

The Ice Queen: Adelle, the Dollhouse's best saleswoman, will become appalled when the Rossum Corporation takes their technology too far. No longer will Actives simply be leased to clients. They will now be sold, so that clients can achieve immortality by using the bodies of people who, in their view, "don't matter." Adelle will be told that it's time to choose a side. We do not see what choice Adelle ends up making, though we do see her ultimately attempting to manage the Apocalypse with the same iron she has used to manage everything else - only this time, it looks as if the job is beyond her.

The Genius: In a wonderful early scene, we see Topher's first day in the Dollhouse. He's there for less than a minute before he beings his verbal sparring with Laurence Dominic (and it is nice to see Reed Diamond again, by the way). He takes one look at the current, very slow process of imprinting, and instantly sees that the time an imprint takes can be cut down by more than 80% by allowing the brain itself to fill in gaps. A special mention has to be given to Fran Kranz's performance, contrasting this early, blase Topher with the shattered Topher at the end.  Topher's future is heartbreaking, as the grown up little boy playing with his toys realizes the enormity of what he, more than any other single person, has made possible.


THOUGHTS

From what I can gather, Epitaph One was produced to fill out contractual obligations for international markets after the original pilot was scuttled. The DVD commentary indicates that it was made fast and cheap. It's an episode where the regular cast are, with one exception, seen only in flashbacks, while characters we have never seen before are left to carry the action.

It is also the best episode of the season, and I would not be at all surprised if it ended up being the best of the entire series.

I love the overall atmosphere. The "future" scenes, which makes up the bulk of the running time, have a dark texture that recalls a 1980's James Cameron film. I found myself sucked into the world of Mag and her companions very quickly. Their story is basic - a combination of survival, digging through the past, and a bit of slasher movie formula thrown in to generate tension - but it works.

Because it is such a basic main plot, the flashbacks are integrated very smoothly. Mostly, these scenes feel like a teaser for Season Two. It's a bit along the lines of The Deconstruction of Falling Stars in Babylon 5.  We see snippets of what will happen in the rest of the series, but we only receive tantalizing hints of their context. I think it's a shame the series only got one more season (though given the ratings, that second season was basically a gift), as the momentous events that are to come seem like quite a lot to cram into 13 episodes.

It says a lot about how good this show has become that it can offer two vastly different season finales in the space of two episodes, and leave me really wanting to see what happens next with boht strands.  Joss Whedon, director David Solomon, and writers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen are all to be commended for taking a contractually-obligated cheapie and turning it into the most memorable event in the series thus far.


Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Omega
Next Episode: Vows


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1-9. A Spy in the House of Love.

THE PLOT

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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1-8. Needs.

THE PLOT

The drug the Actives were exposed to has caused problems. They are having memory glitches, going off-mission, and showing signs of memory even in their wiped states. Adelle has decided drastic measures are needed to stop these problems from building into the creation of another Alpha, and she authorizes Topher to experiment with the drug treatment that keeps them without memory.

The next morning, the five Actives in Echo's sleeping hub wake up. They don't remember anything, but they are themselves again, personalities intact. When one of their number draws attention to himself and is taken away, the other four realize how important it is that they are not noticed. They need to escape. Now.

Up in the head office, Adelle DeWitt and Laurence Dominic watch and study their every move. "Like rats in a maze..."


CHARACTERS

"Echo": The series opened with the frightened but defiant Caroline talking about how she wanted to "make a difference." Even with no memory, once Caroline gets a look at what the Dollhouse is, she decides to head back in.  After she sees one of the blank young Actives taken out in a prostitute's getup, and another coming back as a soldier, she determines that the house is a "people factory," and decides that she can't just run away. She has to "try to make a difference."

Victor: The confident leadership skills his imprint displayed in the previous episode? Those appear to actually be part of Victor's own personality. He takes charge almost immediately. He also recognizes that the names the Actives are called by are codes. Given the brief flash of his memories we saw in Echoes, I'm guessing Victor comes from the military. As was the case in the previous episode, Enver Gjokaj seems to really enjoy getting this strong material.

The Genius: Topher is not someone who's generally out of control within his own office. This episode sees the experiment get out of control, allowing Fran Kranz to show a different side to Topher's character: fear. He is very good in the scene in which Echo holds him at gunpoint, demanding answers from him.

The Ice Queen: Topher still believes all of the Actives are volunteers. It's on that basis that Adelle defends the Dollhouse, that the Actives all volunteered to escape from memories too painful to continue carrying. We do know that Caroline had at least one horribly painful memory, and we learn this is the case for November, too. Adelle desperately wants to believe that she's doing something good. But is she aware of cases like Sierra's, where enough money or power was applied to take someone against her will? It seems inconceivable that she doesn't know, but even one case like that - and you'd have to assume that there would be more than just one - seems to break down her entire defense.

THOUGHTS

Needs isn't really a big plot episode, though I expect at least some of its revelations will be revisited. It is mainly a character episode, one that sheds some light on who the principle Actives were, before they became Actives. We get some key backstory about November and Sierra, we see Victor's true nature. And we get our first sustained, episode-long look at Caroline in action - not Echo, not some random imprint, but Caroline herself. The Actives have been more plot devices than people, with the strongest character material carried by either Ballard or the people running the Dollhouse. This episode allows the Actives to become characters.

Which isn't to say the Dollhouse staff are neglected. Laurence Dominic has recovered from his drug-induced remorse over trying to murder Echo, and he is back to being his usual, cold self, comparing the "dolls" to "pets." Topher and Adelle each get an outstanding scene opposite Caroline. This is also the strongest episode yet for Amy Acker's Claire, who has become probably my favorite secondary character. She is extremely compassionate, absolutely sincere... and yet at the end, it's clear that Langton doesn't trust her. Given the strength of Langton's instincts, and given how sympathetic Claire has been played, I can't help but wonder what twist is in store.

The episode is wonderfully directed by Felix Enriquez Alcala.  It features a strong score, and is closed out by a haunting, thematically-astute song about how they're all there because they "have nowhere else to go." The final image, of the pods closing up again, shutting the "pets" back in their cages, is beautifully timed and photographed. It's visually gorgeous, haunting, and chilling all at the same moment.


Rating: 10/10. My favorite episode to date.

Previous Episode: Echoes
Next Episode: A Spy in the House of Love


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1-7. Echoes.

THE PLOT

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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1-6. Man on the Street.

THE PLOT

After casting a surreptitious eye over the money trail from the Crestejo kidnapping, Agent Ballard manages to get a solid lead: Joel Mynor (Patton Oswalt), a pudgy Internet billionaire who manages to turn up at social events with a different "glamorous nobody" on his arm every time. With another likely event coming up, Ballard breaks into Myner's home... and finds himself face-to-face with Echo, who believes herself to be her "client's" wife.

Meanwhile, after Sierra screams when Victor touches her, Dr. Saunders gives her a check-up. She finds evidence that Sierra has been raped. Given the attraction he's demonstrated toward Sierra, Victor is the immediate prime suspect. But Langton isn't sure it's as simple as that.


CHARACTERS

"Echo": Even in her "wiped" state, she seems to take on the leadership role among the trio of herself, Victor, and Sierra. Victor checks with her before acting on his assumption that "Sierra always eats with (them), right?" She is the one who is able to remember that Sierra has been crying at night, and is the one who reports that to Langton and Dr. Saunders. She may be a clean slate, but her reasoning skills are intact.

Doll of the Week: Two dolls. First is Rebecca Mynor, the Internet mogul's loving wife. Second is an apparent assassin. Neither role really has any depth, but I'll mention them for the sake of being complete.

The Ice Queen: An outstanding episode for Olivia Williams. I love the way Adelle reacts to situations without fully reacting. She always stays composed, she's always poised, always "on stage." But there's also just a hint behind the eyes, just a slight pull to her expressions, to let you know when something is seriously bothering her. When the rapist is identified, Adelle faces the man down in chilling form.

The FBI Agent: When Ballard confronts Mynor, you're expecting the upright, if unorthodox, FBI agent to batter the scuzzy client into telling him something. Chances are, you're not expecting the thoughtful conversation that ensues. Joel Mynor's observations indicate that Ballard may not be as purely upright as he thinks he is. This doesn't come across as Hannibal Lecter-style mind games. Mynor's words carry a ring of truth, and are likely to color my perceptions of Ballard from this point out.


THOUGHTS

"They're all broken," Langton says of the dolls. When Mynor tells his story to Ballard, it seems that the dolls aren't the only ones who are "broken" in this arrangement. Mynor has been broken by the tragedy in his past. Mynor sizes up Ballard as a man who's broken in his own way. The entire structure of the Dollhouse is broken by Sierra's rape, a violation that no one can explain... and yet, once Langton finds the explanation, it seems clear enough that in a place such as this, such a violation would inevitably happen, no matter how tight the security.

It was clear throughout Dollhouse's first five episodes that there was a much more interesting series waiting in the wings than the one those episodes represented. All of those episodes, even the weakest of them, provided postcard glimpses of that potential. The Man on the Street finally delivers on those promises.

The real heart of the episode comes early on, in the scene between Mynor and Ballard. It's not only the best scene of the episode, it's the best scene of the series so far. It's already hard to remember how one-dimensional and uninteresting Ballard was in the first couple of episodes. From Stage Fright on, Ballard has become a character with depth, and even a bit of darkness... all of which brings out the best in Tahmoh Penikett, who is finally delivering a performance of the same intensity he displayed in Battlestar Galactica.

The episode offers one ending twist that I saw coming a few episodes back. But that twist is folded within at least one inverted cliche and one new mystery. The Man on the Street is highly successful in that it stands alone as a piece of drama, but opens up avenues for future storylines.


Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: True Believer
Next Episode: Echoes


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1-5. True Believer.

THE PLOT

When the members of a religious cult run by ex-con Jonas Sparrow (Brian Bloom) make their montly trip to nearby Parker, Arizona to buy supplies, the shopkeeper finds a note scribbled on the back of the shopping list. Just two words: "Save Me."

Those two words are enough to buy ATF agents a narrow window in which to peek inside the compound. But they need some idea of what they are looking for, and where they might find it. An influential senator makes a call on Adelle... and soon the compound finds a new member joining them, a girl who is blind - but whose eyes have been surgically fixed to transmit images to the ATF.


CHARACTERS

"Echo": In addition to instinctively recognizing and "flocking" with her friends, she also seems to instinctively recognize her enemies. Notice her reaction to Sierra's handler in Stage Fright, or the final look she gives Dominic at the end of this episode. Dominic explicitly states that she is exhibiting some of the same behavior that preceded Alpha's breakdown. Since I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that we don't have a 2-season show centered around a character who goes crazy and kills lots of people, I suspect something different and probably more interesting will end up happening with Echo.

Doll of the Week: Esther Carpenter was struck blind when she was 9 years old. She is fervently religious, having determined her blindness to be "God's will." Parts of Echo's other personas survive here, particularly when faced with a situation where self-preservation becomes a priority.

The Handler: Langton remains a very good investigator. When frozen out of the ATF raid, he looks into the original tip and quickly determines the source. His protectiveness of Echo continues to be an overriding drive for him.

The Genius: Topher and Dr. Saunders have some amusing scenes off in "B" plot land. These two will either become a couple, or Dr. Saunders will get so fed up with Topher's extremely immature behavior that she will resort to violence. Right now, my vote is for violence. Fran Kranz is doing a good job of playing the role as written, but I'm finding Topher more annoying than amusing at this point. Meanwhile, I'm really liking Dr. Saunders. Could the consistently terrific Amy Acker be the regular, and Kranz the recurring guest star? Not that the billing seems to mean much, when Acker and fellow recurring guest star Reed Diamond appear to have far more central roles than at least three of the billed regulars.

The FBI Agent: Ballard's investigation is finally bringing him closer to the actual Dollhouse. Very little of this is due to any great investigative work on his part. But a combination of clues literally dropped into his lap (by Alpha, I assume) and the blind luck of staring at a television at the right time gives him his first genuine lead. He's now just one step behind Echo. Now past the 1/3 mark of the season, I suspect it won't be long before he catches up.


THOUGHTS

And it's back to canned storylines again, with the obligatory "religious cult" episode. The script, by Angel and Firefly veteran Tim Minear, is well-crafted, and the episode ends up being a great deal better than the cliche-ridden teaser indicates it will be. Brian Bloom is convincing as Jonas, and the actors playing the members of his cult are equally good, which goes a long toward selling a potentially hackneyed situation.

Still, while good performances and a well-judged storytelling pace keep True Believer watchable, I can't help but feel let down by it.  I can see the wisdom in using tried-and-true standalone plots to carry viewers along while the concept and characters are established, but True Believer is at least one too many of these "canned plots" for my tastes. Gray Hour hinted that this series was ready to move on to something more. True Believer ends up being a step back into safe territory, right at the time the show needs to be moving out of its safe zone.


Rating: 5/10.

Previous Episode: Gray Hour
Next Episode: Man on the Street


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1-4. Gray Hour.

THE PLOT

Echo is imprinted to act as a master criminal, leading three thieves into a vault of stolen art. They are there to recover a piece of the Greek Parthenon. But when one of the thieves double-crosses them, Echo is trapped in the vault with the other two crooks and a clock that's rapidly counting down to a security system reset that will reveal their presence.

None of this is actually a problem for Echo's imprint, who is confident that she can get them all out. She calls Langton to get him to deal with the double-crosser and to retrieve the Parthenon piece, with her next order of business escape. Then the unthinkable happens. At the end of her phone call, a mysterious signal breaks in... leaving Echo wiped, in a helpless, childlike state.


CHARACTERS

"Echo": Topher may well have put his finger on the moments in which Echo has been responding to something that isn't quite memory, but which is based on things that have happened to her in her various imprints. She is, in Topher's words, "flocking" with Sierra and Victor. Also, even in her childlike "wiped" state, she is naturally intelligent and observant. She knows she doesn't want to shoot the policemen and puts together the handful of pieces she's been given inside the vault to figure out how to stop the most ruthless of the criminals from killing either her or them.

Doll of the Week: Taffy is a master criminal. She's experienced, with several layers of "unflappable" built into her to keep her calm during any crisis. The twist on the "Doll of the Week" this time is that Taffy is imprinted on Sierra as well.  This allows Dichen Lachman to stretch her acting muscles by playing the same role in the last part of the episode that Dushku plays in the first part. Lachman's is actually the more entertaining take. Between her strong showing as the Australian fan in the previous episode and her work here, I'm looking forward to seeing more from her in future episodes.

The Ice Queen: Though Adelle assures her client that she knows nothing about the specific engagement, that risks are simply calculated by computer, the way the mask drops off her face once the client is out of the room indicates otherwise. Adelle definitely is not at the very top of this particular organization, and she is trying to "handle" her employer with regard to Paul Ballard's investigation. She is favoring granting Ballard closure, so that he'll stop pursuing the Dollhouse. Based on Adelle's side of the telephone conversation in the teaser, I'm guessing her employer is favoring more drastic measures - probably on the advice of Dominic.

The Genius: Is flabbergasted at the discovery that someone has been able to successfully "remote wipe" an operative. His first fear is for his job, as he tells anyone who will listen that he could not have foreseen this and that it was not his fault. He barely spares a thought for Echo until the very end when, to his credit, he does appear saddened by the apparent failure of her rescue. He isn't a genius for nothing, and it doesn't take long for him to figure out that only one person could have done this... and that this means that not all the information he's been given is accurate.


THOUGHTS

This one is a surprise, the first genuinely surprising episode of the series. It starts out looking very much like another standalone story, running through a stock plot. It's a heist plot, and I enjoy a good heist story, so I was already set to enjoy it. Then the plot takes an unexpected turn with the remote wipe, and it becomes something completely different and much more interesting.

I enjoyed seeing Echo thrust into her childlike state in an uncontrolled environment.  Particularly good are the scenes in which Walton (Toby Leonard Moore) discusses with Echo exactly why a Cubist painting is "broken," and Echo's final determination at the end that she isn't broken.


OVERALL

Gray Hour offers up a couple of surprising plot turns, which elevate it above the well-worn standalones that came before. Now that the concept and characters are pretty well established, it feels as if this show is getting ready to kick into gear. In any case, this was certainly the best episode yet.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Stage Fright
Next Episode: True Believer


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1-3. Stage Fright.

THE PLOT

Rayna (Jaime Lee Kirchner) is a superstar singer managed by a long-time client of Adelle's. She has gained a huge fan following... including one insane stalker. The sabotage of a recent performance seriously injured one of Rayna's back-up singers, leaving the star's manager concerned for her safety.
One visit to the Dollhouse later, and Echo emerges as Rayna's new backup singer. She has been programmed to stay close to the girl and to be instinctively protective of her. When she discovers the true nature of Rayna's relationship with her stalker, though, the parameters of the mission are changed, in a way that's a big worry to Laurence Dominic (Reed Diamond).


CHARACTERS

"Echo": She continues to retain something vague after her missions, and it doesn't seem that she's the only girl doing so. She may not recall specific things from engagements, but she has a sense of friendships, and she has a sense that it would be bad for her if those running the house knew that.

Doll of the Week: Jordan is a background singer who has had a reasonable amount of work, but no big break. She is thrilled to get a job on a major tour. She's observant and tough, and grounded enough to have no time for Rayna's self-destructive streak.

The Handler: Langton's protectiveness of Echo takes on a paternal tone. He is not just anxious for her welfare. When she is about to have her first performance, he is genuinely anxious about her doing well, his jitters reminding me (and Topher) of a nervous father. He also appears to have gained a confidante, in the pretty-but-damaged Dr. Saunders (Amy Acker). I haven't really touched on Acker's role in previous reviews, but she's been consistently excellent so far in a role that seems likely to grow more important later.

The FBI Agent: Ballard finally begins to emerge as his own character, rather than just a collection of recycled Bogie cliches. We learn some things about him that cast him in a new light. Chief among them is his track record at the FBI. He apparently doesn't have one. "You can't close," his source Victor (Enver Gjokaj) observes after doing some research on him.  Victor goes on to say that Balllard was assigned the Dollhouse case because he couldn't possibly screw up an investigation into something that doesn't exist. Ballard's reflective side is shown by his explanation of why he's so sure it does exist, musing about how when man split the atom, the first thing done with that breakthrough was to create a bomb. For the first time, Tahmoh Penikett actually reminds me of how good he was on Battlestar Galactica, and this episode gives me some hope that both actor and performance may eventually be that good here.


THOUGHTS

After the first two episodes, I'd have never thought that there would be an episode in which the Ballard story was the strongest element. Stage Fright will hopefully be a turning point for both Ballard and his subplot. Not only does he finally begin emerging as a real character, but a genuinely unexpected twist is thrown in regarding his story strand. It will be interesting to see where the show takes this new development.

As to the standalone plot this week, it's another very traditional one. The superstar with the crazed fan is one of those obligatory stories that every private detective or cop show that survives longer than one season will eventually feature. But it does manage to work a little bit better than last week's Most Dangerous Game riff.  This is partially because it doesn't have two or three other plots competing for the viewer's attention, and partially because writers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon throw in a couple of unexpected turns. I was genuinely surprised at Rayna's reaction to her murderous stalker, and that kicked the episode up a notch in the late going.


OVERALL

I feared the worst when I realized this was going to be yet another episode with a stock plot, but Stage Fright largely works, and even manages a couple of surprises along the way. The ongoing elements in the background seem ready to be brought forward anytime now, which is promising for the show's development. There's a sense of something simmering slowly to a boil. Stage Fright in itself is only slightly better than adequate television. But what's good here gives me hope that this show is going to get a lot better before too much longer.


Rating: 6/10.

Previous Episode: The Target
Next Episode: Gray Hour


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1-2. The Target.

THE PLOT

Echo's latest persona is designed to be the perfect date for Richard (Matt Keeslar), a wealthy outdoorsman in search of a genuinely adventurous woman with whom he can share a camping trip. A simple enough engagement, which Adelle readily agrees to with an extra fee to cover potential accidents. But once the trip is underway, Richard shows a more ruthless side.

Richard is actually a psychopath, who wants a worthy adversary to hunt. He gives Echo a 5-minute head start and then pursues her with a bow and arrow, determined to kill her. Of course, Echo has Langton watching over her. But Richard appears to have planned for that, too, leaving Echo all alone to face her pursuer.  And there's another player in the mix, one whose presence no one is expecting...


CHARACTERS

"Echo": We continue to see bits of her past coming through the conditioning under stress. This time, she is drugged by The Kinky White Hunter and sees flashes of herself as Caroline, and flashes of Alpha's massacre at the Dollhouse. The combination of drugs and stress breaks down the conditioning enough that she does not instinctively respond to Langton's "trust" phrase. It's fairly obvious that at some point, these flashes will become more lasting, and Caroline's words from the premiere about always being able to see what was on the slate before it was cleaned seem likely to be a signpost for the series' direction.

Doll of the Week: Jenny is a sporty girl. She's athletic and loves the outdoors. She has four brothers, "none of them Democrats," and has no problems with using firearms. Her characterization is slimmer overall than Ellie's was, but the character is adequate to the demands of the plot, and it's a character type that suits Eliza Dushku's acting strengths quite well.

The Handler: Langton was hired after one of the "dolls," a man known as Alpha, had a violent reaction to the treatment and slaughtered several people within the house. It was decided that a more serious security background would help to minimize future risks. Langton regarded his new charge with contempt early on, seeing her as an "empty hat until (the agency puts) a rabbit in it," but quickly connected with her.  Topher's trigger phrases, designed to build trust in Langton from Echo, appeared to also have an impact on Langton.

The FBI Agent: Unfortunately, Agent Ballard continues to seem like someone who's wandered in from another show - a much worse one. We see that he's apparently the only agent in the bureau capable of sharply observing a crime scene. When he goes back to his office, and is of course harassed by his every co-worker with a speaking part, I half-expect the rest of the agents to start eating donuts. The powdered kind. While sipping bad coffee.


THOUGHTS

The Target is much closer to the quality I expected of early Dollhouse than Ghost was. There are several problems, but the biggest one is the main plot. A mere two episodes in, and the show is already pulling out the time-honored Most Dangerous Game riff. Yes, it acknoweldges what it's doing by naming Richard after the original story's author.  But just because you're acknowledging unoriginality, that doesn't somehow absolve your story of unoriginality.  Many series get around to riffing on The Most Dangerous Game - but most of them at least wait a season or two before doing so.

More promising is the introduction of "Alpha." This subplot has potential to become something interesting.  The flashbacks setting up the incident with "Alpha" and Langton's hiring provide the episode's only genuinely good material. It's just a shame the scenes seem inserted into the episode at often random-seeming points. They are good scenes, and in an otherwise weak episode are extremely welcome. They just don't feel like they belong in the same show with the rest of it.

The subplot surrounding FBI Agent Ballard remains the series' worst single element. Ballard's every scene is characterized by endless cliches. This even extends to scenes where Ballard is only discussed. I actively felt sorry for Reed Diamond and Olivia Williams as they struggled gamefully with hoary catch-phrases about how many bones a blind dog might dig up if he keeps digging holes, and so on. The show needs to do something very interesting with Ballard, very fast. Right now, I'm finding myself in agreement with Reed Diamond's Dominic about neutralizing the threat... because while Ballard doesn't seem like much of a threat to the dollhouse thus far, he doe seem like a threat to this series' potential as good entertainment.


OVERALL

As strong as Ghost was, that's about how weak The Target is. A hackneyed standalone story with a cartoon villain is given no real relief by cutaways to the even more hackneyed FBI plot. It's left to the flashbacks to try to salvage some interest out of this episode. Those flashbacks do promise better to come. But I hope there aren't too many more time-wasters on this episode's level before we get there.


Rating: 3/10.

Previous Episode: Ghost
Next Episode: Stage Fright


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1-1. Ghost.

We start with a girl and a name.  It will be interesting to see where we go from here.

THE PLOT

When an industrialist's daughter is kidnapped right out of his home, he is warned not to go the police. He does as told, dismissing the police as "useless anyway." But he does call on other connections. The "Dollhouse" is a part of an unspecified agency, which has procured several girls. This agency uses technology to wipe away their personalities and implant them with new personas - ones specifically tailored to a client's needs. They do the job, and then their persona is erased, wiped clean, "like a slate."

"Echo" (Eliza Dushku) is imprinted to act as an expert in hostage negotiations. When she arrives at the client's home, she lives up to that imprint. She is sharp, confident, and knows exactly how to deal with the missing girl's father, his security chief, and the kidnappers. Until something happens which no one could have been prepared for...


CHARACTERS

"Echo": We start with a girl and a name. Caroline. She's frightened, but trying not to show that too much. She's obviously smart, and equally obviously in over her head. We don't know what happened, we don't even know exactly what kind of trouble she's in other than that it's serious. We know just enough to see that something went wrong in a way she wasn't prepared for, and that her "actions have consequences."

Doll of the Week: Ellie Penn is an experienced hostage negotiator. She is crisp and as confident as she is competent. Her dealings with both the client and the kidnappers are expertly done, and she would be the perfect persona to deal with this situation - but for that one, unforeseen twist. Even then, she is able to play on what she knows of the case to gain a good result and has the chance to face down the ghosts of a past that she never knows isn't actually her own.

The Ice Queen: Probably the best performance in the episode comes from Olivia Williams. As Adelle DeWitt, the apparent head of this agency, she is not unlike a more jaded variation of the Ellie persona. She is very confident, and deals coolly with people ranging from Langton to the client. We are told that she likes to convince herself that her agency is doing good, but she probably doesn't entirely believe that. Williams dominates every scene she's in, even when opposite the excellent Harry Lennix. A particularly strong touch in her performance is the way in which her character smiles - a smile that never reaches her eyes.

The Handler: Harry Lennix is terrific, as always. We get some basics about Langton. He's an ex-cop, and hasn't been with the "Dollhouse" for as long as the more jaded employees. He seems to have a basic code of honor that doesn't necessarily apply to his employers, and which seems likely to end up putting him at odds with them.

The Genius: Topher (Fran Kranz) is the man responsible for wiping the girls and putting together their new personas. The first half of the episode sees him as an almost entirely despicable character. He talks to Echo as if speaking to a very slow child, and has no qualms about the painful treatment given to a new girl or about sending girls on operations that sometimes amount to glorified prostitution. His reaction when he learns something about the background of both this particular case and of the Ellie persona, however, indicates more layers than just "sleaze."

The FBI Agent: Tahmoh Penikett, who was very good in the new Battlestar Galactica, is Paul Ballard, an FBI agent assigned to investigate the "dollhouse." His superiors don't believe it even exists, but somehow his investigation has been shielded by people with influence. He is convinced of its existence, though we don't know what has him convinced since he appears to have no evidence whatsoever.


THOUGHTS

The amount I wrote under "Characters" should indicate that Ghost is a far denser premiere episode than it at first appears. The kidnapping provides a nice, traditional suspense story around which to structure these characters and concepts. But a lot gets packed into the hour. Major characters are established and each are given enough character beats to allow later episodes to flesh them out. A couple of likely ongoing threads are established. The episode even manages to tell a pretty decent standalone story, all without feeling desperately rushed.

The traditional kidnapping story is well-designed to provide a lot of exposition about the "dollhouse" that forms the series' centerpiece. Through the kidnapping plot alone, we learn several important things. We learn that the personas are modeled after real people, that they have pasts which they can remember and which can affect them. We learn that Echo's handlers can monitor her condition at all times. We even see hints of where her conditioning can break down under certain types of stress. It's a lot of information, and none of it feels force-fed, because it all occurs organically within the plot.

Equally interesting is how much information is withheld. We see the scene in which Caroline is presented with the choice to become "Echo." But we aren't told what happened to her, what she did, or how much she knows of what she's agreeing to. We are given a vague idea of what the dollhouse does. But we aren't told exactly what kind of corporation controls it, if it's part of something larger. We don't know if it has government connections, or if it's a purely private venture.

Even within the FBI story, we aren't told exactly why this FBI agent is so certain the dollhouse exists. He must have some kind of connection to it; otherwise, why not simply sit back and enjoy having an assignment to investigate something everyone is convinced doesn't exist? We're given hints and snapshots, and quite a bit of starting information. But a lot is withheld, creating questions, leaving the sense of staring at a puzzle with several pieces missing.


OVERALL

I had been warned that Dollhouse got off to a slow start, and I braced myself for a mediocre first episode. In Ghost, I was surprised to find a very well-crafted premiere. It's not perfect, with the FBI scenes barely feeling like part of the same show as the rest of it. But it's a visually stylish, well-paced hour that does a solid job of presenting the characters and concepts while telling a story in itself. On the whole, I'd say it was rather good. Certainly better than I was expecting.


Rating: 7/10.

Next Episode: The Target

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