2-13. Epitaph Two - The Return.

Readers of my reviews will note the lengthy (4+ years) gap between my review of The Hollow Men and this one. There's a simple explanation: I did watch Epitaph Two at the time, and wrote a little over half of the review. I intended to complete that review within a few days... And somehow just never got up the interest to actually do so.

I'm revisiting it now, mainly because it bothers me to leave this review blog one post short of completion. Most of what follows is a polish of what I wrote at the time, but it's also supplemented by my thoughts on the series today.

Note that the "Characters" section has been left out of this review.  That was the one section in which I had written virtually nothing four years ago... And I suspect a lack of ideas as to what to write about the characters in this episode was a large part of why I found myself unable to finish the review.

So with no further ado, I present... The semi-reconstructed, vaguely abridged, mildly touched-up Special Edition of my lost and incomplete Dollhouse review... Epitaph Two - The Return!


THE PLOT

Picking up where Epitaph One left off, we find Mag (Felicia Day), and the young girl imprinted with Echo's personality (Adair Tishler) finally reach their goal, and are united with the surviving Dollhouse crew. But things are far from over. In a recent raid to the Rossum headquarters of Neuropolis (formerly Tucson), Echo has discovered that Rossum is forcing Topher to build a new technology, one which will wipe the entire world in one blow. But Topher is putting his own spin on the assignment: Rather than wipe everyone, he is planning to adjust the tech so that it resets the original personality and memory of everyone who was ever wiped, putting an end to Rossum's "dolls" forever!

To achieve this, Echo and Adelle will need the help of their new refugees to guide them back to the Dollhouse. There, they can get the tech Topher needs, and wait underground so that their personalities are not reset along with the rest of the world's. However, not everyone making the trip has the same agenda. Echo may just be able to save the world - but doing so will come at a cost...


THOUGHTS

As the title implies, writers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon return to the post-apocalyptic world of Epitaph One and, along with writer Andrew Chambliss, create an epilogue to the series. This might work better if they weren't burdened with having to salvage dropped threads from the somewhat botched finale that was The Hollow Men. Like too much of Season Two, it is so busy hitting obligatory plot notes that it never is able to match the haunting atmosphere of Epitaph One, which may well be my favorite Dollhouse episode.

With some distance from the series, I find myself wondering if it wasn't a bad creative decision to spend Season Two filling in the gaps between the "highlights" glimpsed in Epitaph One. Instead of chasing plot points, I think a Season Two that stuck with the post-apocalyptic world could have made for something atmospheric. It would have been a sharp break from what had been seen, but the gap between Season One and the apocalypse could have provided good opportunities for backstory as we revisited the characters now, without the obligation of connecting every single dot in 12 episodes.

Certainly, I found it interesting to revisit Harding and Ambrose, both of whom were largely forgotten by the last part of Season Two. These Rossum bigwigs have shuttered themselves up in one city, living a life of luxury among slaves. Even so, as Ambrose observes, they are themselves declining. They may be lords of a small section of the wasteland, but they actually had better lives before the fall... something Ambrose seems to be aware of, though Harding seems content enough with his lot.

The conclusion feels a touch overly-pat, but it does a better job of closing out the series than the rushed action movie heroics of The Hollow Men did. But revisiting it, I can't help but feel something more interesting lay in the shadows of the entire second season. I understand why many fans prefer Season Two, with its tightly-linked arc and twists and turns. But I preferred the atmosphere of the first season, which I felt all but vanished in the second. The need to cram too much story into too little time left it all feeling a bit rushed... Which is probably why, despite quite enjoying this episode, I just couldn't find the will to finish the review then.

So for the sake of completeness, here is my final Dollhouse review. It's a positive review, as it should be said was true of most of my reviews of the series... But that doesn't stop me from seeing the entire second season as a bit of a near-miss... Interesting, well-made and well-acted, but ultimately not as compelling as it feels like it should be.


Rating for Epitaph Two: 8/10.

Previous Episode: The Hollow Men


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2-8. A Love Supreme.

THE PLOT

Adelle is certain that Echo is hiding something, and begins rigorously testing her.  But with every test coming back normal, and a repeat client requesting Echo's services, Adelle finally relents and allows her back into the field, even as Langton and Ballard bring Topher into their confidence regarding Echo's evolving nature.

What none of them are counting on is that the engagement is a set up. The client is dead, carefully posed in a chair for Echo, Ballard, and Langton to find. With the body is a note, addressed to Echo. Alpha has returned, and is leaving in his wake a trail of bodies - all of them repeat clients of Echo!


CHARACTERS

Echo: As we saw in the last episode, she can switch between her imprints at will. That doesn't stop her from fully being her imprints when they take control. When she assumes the role of Rebecca in her interactions with Joel (Patton Oswalt), she is Rebecca, and her love for Joel is quite genuine. When, in the guise of another imprint, she discovers the body Alpha left for her, she is inconsolable in her grief. It is only when Langton and Ballard begin picking apart the crime scene that "Echo" reasserts herself.

The Ice Queen: Has never been icier. The brutal coldness Adelle displayed at the end of Meet Jane Doe remains in place here. As she bluntly tells Alpha, she has "moved past chivalry," and is now solely concerned with self-preservation. I suspect this is going to be temporary, the character hitting her moral bottom after the demoralizing experience of being Harding's lackey for three long months. But in the meantime, she is unwittingly putting her best people in opposition to her. And despite Echo's actions aiding her in this episode, the final look she gives as the episode ends suggests that Adelle is far from done with doing damage.

The Security Chief: Langton hates seeing Echo so brutally tested every bit as much as Ballard does. As he sharply reminds Ballard, he was Echo's handler long before Echo ever met the former FBI agent. He has dedicated himself to protecting her throughout the series. What he recognizes, that Ballard does not, is that sometimes protection means staying still. He tells Ballard to "man up" and stop showing his agitation around Adelle. Langton almost acts as a mentor, or at least an older brother, figure to Ballard in this episode - a nice relationship to see between these two characters. A shame it's only evolved to that point this late in the series.

The Genius: Seeing what Echo has become, Topher reacts in a perfectly sensible and rational manner: He freaks out. He doesn't know what Echo's current state means, he doesn't know if she's going to lash out murderously the way Alpha did. He is keenly aware that at least one of Echo's imprints is a serial killer, and isn't reassured at the thought that she's "only a little bit" a serial killer. For all of that, Topher trusts Langton, and his previous trust in Adelle has been shattered. As little as one episode earlier, he would probably have gone to Adelle. Now, he keeps Echo's true state secret even before he talks to Langton.

The (Ex-) FBI Agent: Ballard's obsession with Echo is commented on by several people in the episode: Adelle, Langton, even Alpha. But he is also focused on stopping Alpha from killing any more clients. He deals very effectively with Joel, and he shows resolve in the face of Alpha's interrogation of him.


THOUGHTS

And yet another step toward Epitaph One, as we are introduced to the device that turns the wiped into violent zombies with ninja skills (which sounds like the setup for a pretty cool "B" movie, come to think of it). This leads to an action-heavy last Act of an already really good episode. A tightly-paced, fun-to-watch hour of television.

It almost goes without saying that the most noteworthy element of the episode is the return of Alpha. Alan Tudyk remains terrific, utterly chilling in his scenes opposite Ballard and Adelle. His character has also gained a new wrinkle since we saw him last. He's become a dandy, dressing himself in tailored suits, and preening at the effects of "a little splash of color." Oddly, this makes him even creepier. This is particularly true in the episode's best scene - a confrontation between Alpha and Adelle, which largely consists of Alpha mocking her as she tries to bargain for her life.

It's all extremely well-directed, with both the detective story that makes up the first two-thirds and the action climax effectively shot and edited. Performances are all at their usual level, with Olivia Williams perhaps even slightly above her usual (already excellent) average. All told, a terrifically watchable outing.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Meet Jane Doe
Next Episode: Stop-Loss


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1-12. Omega.

THE PLOT

Alpha has escaped from the Dollhouse again, this time with Echo in tow. As Adelle pulls her staff together to figure out what has happened and how to deal with it, she learns that Alpha has removed the implants that allow them to track and monitor Echo. She enlists Ballard's aid in locating the madman, and the FBI agent plays a hunch that Alpha's "pre-Dollhouse" persona, may be the key to finding him.

Alpha took one more thing when he left. He took the original imprint of Caroline, Echo's true personality, and smashed Topher's backup copy. If Ballard and the resources of the Dollhouse cannot locate them before Alpha destroys the original imprint, then Caroline will be truly dead.


CHARACTERS

Echo: Before her wipe, Caroline was given a tour of the Dollhouse. She did not like what she saw, comparing the residents to "zombies," and commenting that her trip to Topher's chair felt like a walk to the gallows. Though we never see the final step connecting her flight from Rossum to her signing of the contract, we do get confirmation that she did indeed sign voluntarily.

Alpha: In flashbacks, we see some of the events leading up to Alpha's "composite event." His growing awareness does share similarities with Echo's, particularly his shifting between being a blank slate and suddenly looking up at the Dollhouse staff with a sharp awareness. But it's not quite the same. Alpha fixated on Echo, from the moment she first came into the house as Caroline. That fixation was what led to his violent outburst... and when we find out who Alpha was before, we realize that the core of who he was influenced his development, in exactly the way we've seen certain traits of Caroline through all of her personas.

The Ice Queen: Adelle quashes the squabbling among Ballard, Topher, and Langton, focusing all of them on the urgency of catching Alpha as soon as possible. She uses Ballard's instincts, trusting him not so much for himself, as she tells Langton, as she trusts that she knows what he wants. She does become impressed with Ballard as the episode progresses, which could lead to some interesting future developments.

The Genius: We've seen a lot of sides to Topher, many of them unpleasant. But this is the first episode where we see him feeling truly guilty. His scenes near the end of the episode, first opposite Claire, then opposite Echo, see Fran Kranz's best acting all season - and Kranz has been consistently strong in every episode, so that's saying something.

The FBI Agent: Ballard went into the Dollhouse in order to get himself and Caroline back out again. The last thing he expected was to work with them. But once he learns what has happened - what he's been duped into doing - he leads the investigation. It's his instincts that lead him to follow up on Alpha's original actions, and that ends up being the key to saving Echo.


THOUGHTS

Though there was actually one further episode produced for the season (not counting the unaired pilot), Omega was aired as the season finale, and functions as such. All the threads running through the season are touched on. Ballard gets to rescue the girl, if not quite in the way he had pictured. Alpha's plan comes to fruition, and we learn why Alpha went violently crazy. Echo's evolution intersects with Alpha's story, in a way that's dramatically satisfying. We even learn why Alpha carved up Claire's face but left her alive, when he killed almost every other Dollhouse person he came into contact with.

The episode is compelling throughout, with good moments for pretty much everyone. Amy Acker has been terrific throughout the season as Claire, and did some splendid acting last episode when confronted with Alpha. She is even better here, reeling from the shock of Alpha's attack on Victor and his confrontation with her. The fallout results in some compelling scenes, from her cold treatment of Victor as she treats his wounds to her final conversation with Topher. Given that her story is very much a subplot, making up less than 20 minutes of this 50 minute episode, it's almost surprising how much she does with every moment she has on camera.

I don't think Omega ends up being as strong as Briar Rose. The first half, following up on the previous episode's ending, is terrific. But the momentum comes to a screeching halt around the middle of the episode, as Alpha and Echo debate each other for far too long. Then Echo apparently has her brain fall out when she fails to at least restrain Alpha once he's down. Instead, she effectively forgets about him for several minutes while she (literally) talks to herself. "Gee, what could go wrong in this scenario?"

It all springs back to life for an effective climax, and the tag scenes involving Claire, Victor, Topher, and finally Echo are just splendid. Had the series been cancelled, the story would have felt reasonably complete here - though enough is left open-ended to allow for the series' continuation without it having to start over from zero.

Since I gather that Epitaph One is more of a sidestep, with any direct continuation waiting for next season, I will say that Omega is a terrific "end of chapter," for a season that has become steadily more and more gripping as it's gone. I look forward to the next couple of sidesteps - first with Epitaph One, then with the original, unaired pilot. But I also very much look forward to seeing where these characters will be taken next.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Briar Rose
Next Episode: Epitaph One


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1-11. Briar Rose.

THE PLOT

Echo is imprinted to act as a counselor to Susan, a troubled girl who has been returned to a state facility after being rejected by multiple foster families. Susan had a horrific past, prostituted as a child after the death of her drug addicted mother. By imprinting Echo to be an ideal version of Susan's future, Topher hopes to guide the girl away from her hostility toward a productive future.

While Echo engages in her mercy mission, Langton brings a package to Adelle - a USB drive, hand-delivered for Laurence Dominic. The drive is password protected, so the only way to retrieve the information is to retrieve Dominic. But this gift has come from a most unexpected source.

Paul Ballard gains a source of his own. He manages to identify the location of the Dollhouse, and finds Steven Kepler (Alan Tudyk), the man who designed the closed system to allow the house to operate off the grid. Ballard bullies, blackmails, and threatens Kepler until he agrees to take him into the Dollhouse. What Ballard doesn't know is that all of this is according to somebody else's well-laid plans...


CHARACTERS

Echo: When confronted by Langton and Ballard, each of whom tries to enlist her trust, she has flashes of past engagements involving both of them. She recalls Langton trying to save her even when wounded, and she recalls fighting Ballard. Her instinctive trust in Langton wins out and, as a doll who is "evolving," she is able to assist him at a critical moment.

Doll of the Week: "Susan" is a counselor for troubled youth. She is intelligent and very observant. She is able to connect with the troubled young Susan, in large part because her past so closely mirrors the girl's own.

The Handler: Ballard appeals to Langton, telling him that he knows the Dollhouse is "wrong." The words don't wash off Langton, but he retains loyalty to Adelle. However, it is clear there are lines he won't cross. He won't necessarily interfere with Adelle acting in ways that cross those lines, but he won't grant his personal sanction either.

The FBI Agent: Ballard may not actually be crazy, but his obsession with the Dollhouse does drive him to some disturbingly ruthless actions. His treatment of Mellie is painful to watch. She may not be "real," so to speak, but her feelings are real, including her pain as he calmly destroys her in minutes. It's all the more painful, recalling the pain of the real woman behind "Mellie." He is just as ruthless dealing with Kepler, though thanks to Alan Tudyk's performance, those scenes end up being more comical than disturbing.


THOUGHTS

Tudyk, so much fun to watch in Joss Whedon's earlier Firefly, returns to the Whedonverse as Kepler. His scenes with Ballard range from hilarious to merely highly amusing. I love his introductory scene.  As Ballard pushes him into the apartment and sees his prodigious personal supply, Kepler spouts every "the-pot's-not-mine" cliche in the book, not even noticing that each of them contradicts the other. With so many of the performance and writing beats for this character acting as direct callbacks to his Firefly role, Tudyk's casting proves to be superbly well-judged.

Briar Rose is a very busy episode, juggling three separate plot strands. It is also a very good one. You can see the show building toward its season finale, taking all the pieces that have been carefully laid on the board and putting them into play.  By the end, all of the plot strands have been expertly woven together. Two of the plots have converged on a story level. The third strand, the one that grants the episode its title, resonates thematically with the main plot.

"Susan" reads Susan the story of Briar Rose, a girl cursed to 100 years' sleep who is rescued by a prince. Ballard goes into the Dollhouse believing that Caroline is his Briar Rose, and that he is her prince. It's a given that Ballard's extremely simple and naive worldview is wrong. But the episode's final note, which again resonates with the Briar Rose story, is a genuine surprise.

That surprise is coupled with a truly gripping final Act.  The result is another terrific episode, one which more than makes up for the dreary installment that preceded it.

Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Haunted
Next Episode: Omega


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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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1-2. 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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