2-12. The Hollow Men.

THE PLOT

After saving Topher's life, Langton reaches the rendezvous point with both the computer genius and Echo in tow. Then all the Los Angeles "conspirators" head off to Tucson, for the final confrontation with the Rossum Corporation and its mysterious leader.  But there's one final twist in store for all of them... a little something to remind them all that no one can truly be trusted!


CHARACTERS

Echo: Caroline is finally made part of Echo's composite, after two years of episodes, and... It's a non-event. Caroline does not appear to become in any way a dominant personality. Echo is exactly who she already was, just with a bit of new information. This is one of several frustrations about an episode that doesn't have time to do character when there's so much plot to get through.

The Security Chief: Langton insists that, even with Echo's mind scrambled, they still need to follow through with the plan to infiltrate Rossum's Tucson headquarters. He uses his knowledge to break himself, Topher, Ballard, and November out of the Rossum cell, allowing them to strike at the corporation from inside the belly of the beast. In private, he admits to Adelle that while he considers the Dollhouse staff as "family," he has never really liked nor respected Ballard and doesn't understand what Adelle saw in him.

The Genius: Topher really can't help himself when it comes to playing with gadgets, can he? In the middle of Rossum's lab, seeing his Apocalypse Weapon being mass produced, he knows with every fiber of his being that the right thing to do is to destroy it. But he also sees that the gadget doesn't work, and he recognizes why. He can fix it in ten minutes and, with no more than a few encouraging words to provide a rationalization for doing so, he honestly can't help himself. He just has to make the toy work, no matter how bad an idea he knows it is.

THOUGHTS

The Hollow Men is to Season Two what Omega was to Season One: The not-quite finale, which nevertheless wraps up most of the arc of this season. The war against Rossum builds to its climax here, as Echo, Adelle, and their group face off against the mysterious Rossum founders. It's all paced at lightning speed, with terrific performances. Harry Lennix, Amy Acker, and Miracle Laurie get the best moments, but everyone gets something to do. We even get a brief return of Enver Gjokaj's Topher impression, which injects a bit of humor into an otherwise all-out suspense episode.

While the pace and performances make this highly watchable, however, The Hollow Men is a disappointment.  In fact, this episode gets worse in my mind the more time I have to think about it. One issue is inevitable: Getting Closer delivered the series' single biggest twist. This episode sees that twist play out, but there simply aren't any surprises on the same level as the one that closed out the previous episode.

I also think it's a bit of a cheat. From the ending of Getting Closer, there were many possible paths to follow. Maybe the Rossum head had lost control of his company (to, say... Harding? Who, after much build-up this season, has barely even been mentioned the past few episodes), and was using Echo to bring things back under control? Maybe the Rossum head actually isn't the villain? Maybe there's some big plan in play?

Well, no. The Rossum head's just crazy. Nothing more to it than that. And as that character is revealed to be a lunatic, this episode becomes vastly less interesting. I know it's hard to wrap all of this plot up in 45 minutes. But there were a lot of pieces on the board that might have been used. Many of those pieces go unused and unmentioned, while the writers - and by the credits, I'd say this one was pretty much written by committee - don't even get the best use out of the pieces they bother to play with.

The Hollow Men is all plot, and I don't mean that in a good way. There's no time for characterization, or to linger on interesting little moments. The long-awaited scene in which Caroline is integrated into Echo comes to pass... and it's meaningless, as Echo remains indistinguishable from who she has been. Why would a moment that the series has been building toward since its first episode get such an absolute lack of acknowledgement? Because there's plot to get through, and no time to do anything save to get through it all.

I'll be interested to see how Epitaph Two ties it all together (if it does). But while The Hollow Men entertains, it leaves the viewer feeling hollow afterward.  Much like a fast food meal, it's reasonably fun to consume - but it suplies virtually no real nourishment.


Rating: 5/10.

Previous Episode: Getting Closer
Next Episode: Epitaph Two - The Return


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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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2-6. The Left Hand.

THE PLOT

Echo is held captive in a Rossum lab, presided over by Bennett (Summer Glau), a brilliant but unstable scientist.  Bennett has a personal grudge against Echo - or rather, against Caroline - and tortures her mercilessly before imprinting her with a particularly vicious memory. But Adelle has no intention of letting Rossum claim Echo. She has set up a meeting with a Rossum executive (Ray Wise), while directing Topher to meet with Bennett. Adelle uses her particular blend of directness and feminine wiles to get Echo released, while Topher uses his own technical wizardry to figure out what Bennett's been up to.

But Bennett's grudge leads to an unpredictable turn. Soon, Echo and Senator Perrin (Alexis Denisof) are on the run, with Rossum's finest in pursuit. And there's one final twist to Bennett's revenge, one which could turn everyone's plans upside-down!


CHARACTERS

Echo: Before she became an Active, Caroline apparently got into this Rossum lab, sometime after her first foray into Rossum. She was friends with Bennett, whom she probably used to get into the lab. Something Bad happened, resulting in Bennett's arm getting pinned, and Caroline was rather callous about leaving the other girl to her fate rather than trying to help her. In the present, Echo has pretty much become fully aware, as she pushes Perrin to use his position to expose Rossum while at the same time making her own escape. The episode ends with Echo on the loose, with no way for the Dollhouse to track her - a situation that presents a lot of interesting possibilities...

The Ice Queen: Adelle may have been out-manipulated by Harding and Rossum, but she's still a formidable woman. With manipulation no longer an option, when presented with a weak-willed Rossum executive (Ray Wise), she opts for brute force. She's quite skillful at it, and the only reason she doesn't get everything she wants out of the exchange is Bennett's personal baggage taking her off-script.

The Genius: This episode gives us a double-dose of Topher. There's Fran Kranz's usual, entertaining performance, as Topher goes out into the field. His nervous fidgeting in Adelle's limousine is quite funny, as he alternates between behaving like a small child with ADD and admitting, with nice vulnerability, that he is "outside (his) comfort zone" when out of his lab. His attraction to Bennett (Summer Glau) is convincing, and I enjoyed every moment Kranz and Glau shared on-screen. We also get Victor-as-Topher, Topher having duplicated himself in order to work on the problem both in his lab and in person. Scenes in which Topher literally talks to himself are hilarious, as Enver Gjokaj does a fantastic job of imitating Kranz's mannerisms.

THOUGHTS

As a resolution to the cliffhanger posed by The Public Eye, The Left Hand does its job well. It's entertaining, particularly when Topher is center-stage (in either guise), and it moves the plot that little bit closer to the future we saw in Epitaph One.

Really, that's becoming one of the great strenghts of Season Two, now that the season's properly underway. Having seen the future, there is a sense of steadily approaching doom over all of the proceedings. With each new step, from Topher's well-intentioned inventions to Rossum's manipulations, the possible paths for the characters to turn away from disaster are steadily closing down. Now each episode closes off another opportunity to prevent the future, turning a maze of possibilities steadily into a one-way tunnel... one that's heading for a collision with an oncoming train.

The Left Hand is not as strong an episode as The Public Eye, however. It's less compelling, with less of the sense of a thriller hanging over it. It gets where it needs to go, and it's a fun journey to take. But even the ominous note struck by the ending doesn't have the same gut punch to it as the revealtions in the previous episode did. It's a good episode, make no mistake, and yet another episode that leaves me anticipating what's going to come next.  But it just lacks that certain extra "something" that the strongest episodes have, limiting my score to a solid and enjoyable:

Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: The Public Eye
Next Episode: Meet Jane Doe


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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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1-8. 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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