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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2-9. Stop-Loss.

THE PLOT

Victor's contract has reached its end date. His original personality is restored, and he is sent back to his life as an ex-soldier, supposedly cured of his PTSD. He doesn't stay free for long, though. His first night in the city, his apartment is attacked by a team of soldiers. He fights back, but is quickly subdued... and awakens to find himself face-to-face with an old combat buddy, who tells him that he's being recruited to be a soldier again. Without even thinking about it, Victor asks, "Where do I sign up?"

It turns out to be another Rossum program, one which has recruited several "retired" Actives. It's an experimental military program, one that uses Rossum technology to create a group that thinks as a single unit. The individual is totally absorbed by the group mind. Topher explains that if Victor is not retrieved soon, then he will be lost forever - prompting Echo, Langton, and Sierra to undertake a desperate rescue mission!

CHARACTERS

Echo: Has fully mastered the range of personalities in her head, to the point at which she can simply slip between them without even having to think about it. She makes the mistake of believing that this puts her on an equal (or better) footing to Adelle, and lays down an ultimatum to choose which side she's on. When she describes herself as "scarier" than Adelle, you just know this is a moment of hubris - No matter how many serial killers may float around in her brain, Eliza Dushku will never be able to be scary in the cold, quiet way that Olivia Williams can do, and a part of me was just as happy to see Echo's arrogance in this scene end up blowing up in her face.

The Ice Queen: "Pain reveals who we really are," Adelle snits. If so, it's saying very bad things about who she is right now. Any question as to why Adelle believed Echo was there to kill her in the Epitaph One future is pretty well answered here. She spends the bulk of the episode in a drunken stupor. When Langton tries to shock her back to her old self - much as he attempted to do in Meet Jane Doe - it backfires spectacularly, as what he succeeds in doing is pushing her self-preservation instinct into overdrive. Olivia Williams is splendid, but this Adelle is jarring given the Adelle DeWitt that we saw in the bulk of the series - as recently as four episodes ago! The lack of transition does hurt a character turn that might have been amazingly compelling, had it been allowed to occur over the length of a season rather than a couple of episodes.

The Security Chief: With Adelle no longer in full control, Langton steps up to act as leader. He fills the leadership role very effectively, using Echo's skills to trace Victor and then coordinating the escape. He is quite strong facing down Adelle. His one weakness is that he still has faith in the Adelle that he knew, and can't quite accept that she's changed so much in so short a time.


THOUGHTS

Topher tells us that Victor has been cured of his PTSD. As with November's trauma, I can't help but wonder: How? The five years passes like it's five seconds. Shouldn't they awaken in more or less exactly the same emotional state as before? I suppose it could be argued that Topher meddles with the original personalities somehow - We know that he promised Priya that she would not remember one horrible day. But it still seems a bit sketchy to me, and it's not made any less sketchy when the reawakened Victor shows signs of PTSD on his first night out.

Stop-Loss is an eventful episode, but I can't help but feel that it doesn't quite work as well it should. It may be slightly too eventful, as there is a sense that the pace is more rushed than would be ideal. Certainly, some of the climax with Echo vs. the Super Soldiers, plays out a little too easily. One soldier is even awakened from the group mind, even though he's evidently been part of it for some time. This seems to break the rules of the episode set forth by Topher, for a bit of "effect" that doesn't honestly add much.

There are still some excellent scenes. Anything involving Adelle is good, particularly her scenes opposite Echo and Langton. The ending is outstanding, with a final visual that leaves me wanting to move to the next episode right now. Really, the entire last ten minutes is superb. It's just a shame so much of the pacing feels "off," leaving Stop-Loss as the weakest of an admittedly very strong run of episodes.


Rating: 6/10.

Previous Episode: A Love Supreme
Next Episode: The Attic


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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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2-4. Belonging.

THE PLOT

Noticing that Sierra is troubled, Echo takes a picture Sierra drew in art class to Topher. She tells Topher that Sierra is bothered by "the bad man." Topher's first impulse is to ignore the silly wiped girl. But he's sufficiently intrigued to talk to Langton, and then to look into Dr. Saunders' files. When he discovers that Sierra has drawn similar pictures after each engagement with Nolan Kinnard (Vincent Ventresca), her recurring client. Topher investigates further - and is shocked to discover that Sierra is not a willing Active, but instead was drugged by her "suitor" to be made into a fantasy object after she refused his advances.

Adelle tries to cut Nolan off. But the client goes over her head, and Rossum orders Adelle to imprint Sierra and deliver her to Nolan - permanently. When Adelle conveys the order to Topher, he balks, leading to consequences no one is expecting!


CHARACTERS

Echo: Continues to be protective of Sierra. She is the one who notices that something is bothering her, and she brings that to Topher's attention. She is keeping herself "awake," writing reminders for herself on the inside of her glass "coffin lid" (a good bit to freeze frame, by the way). When Langton confronts her, she tells him that "something bad" is coming, and that "everyone has to wake up."

The Ice Queen: I had wondered, when I watched Needs, if Adelle already knew about Sierra's situation. It seemed to fly in the face of her idealism regarding her work.  Still, Adelle is also a ruthless pragmatist, and might accept such a thing as "a necessary evil." Which seems to be what she resigns herself to, when her superior (Keith Carradine, in what I'm guessing will be the first of multiple appearances) puts her options into stark relief.

The Genius: As much as this is Sierra's episode, it is also Topher's. He's always been fairly blase about the Actives' situation, but that was based on the presumption that they were all volunteers. We have seen hints that he has a moral line before. As far back as Ghost, we saw the sarcasm fade into something human when confronted with some of the more terrible things people can do. Sierra's situation clearly crosses Topher's moral line. Even when Adelle orders him to go through with the procedure, Topher does not do so blindly. That said, his plan is poorly thought through, and heaps yet more guilt onto a man who is unaccustomed to even feeling remorse and yet now is carrying far too much of it.

The Security Chief: I've been lamenting the lack of material for Langton this season. In fact, it has seemed very much that after the first handful of episodes of the series, Langton has receded further and further into the background while Ballard got all the good character material. This episode brings him back into focus. We already knew he had a law enforcement background. Now it seems that this background is probably a bit less than spotless. He certainly knows a lot about covering up a crime, and is very cold-blooded about doing so. He is also aware of Echo's evolution, though he's keeping it to himself... for now.

THOUGHTS

Season One's Needs introduced something in Sierra's backstory that demanded being revisited. Sierra represented the lie in Rossum's sales pitch, an example of someone who did not willingly become an Active but was forced into it by a man with too much money and power and too few moral scruples. I would have been very annoyed if that never was touched on again.

This episode returns to Sierra's situation, and expands upon it. The teaser shows us a lot more detail of the events leading up to Sierra's wipe. These scenes manage the impossible feat of making Nolan even more disturbing and despicable than he was already. Vincent Ventresca does an excellent job at creating the kind of person the audience is guaranteed to hate, without actually going over-the-top into pantomime villainy. Keith Carradine gives us another, colder villain, one who seems likely to be more formidable.  If nothing else, he's the first person to actually leave Adelle cowed after a confrontation.  Usually, it's the other way around.
The episode is well-directed by Jonathan Frakes, and has a very well-structured, well-paced script by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon - who actually seem to be the writers with the strongest overall feel for this show, even more (far more, in fact) than Joss Whedon himself! The script does a good job with the Claire issue, as well.  In her absence, the spectre of Claire seems to almost be acting as Topher's conscience. When Topher finds his moral sense outraged, his first response isn't that this is wrong, but rather that "Dr. Saunders never would have" sanctioned such a thing. She's also still needling him from afar, as her notes associate Sierra's "bad man" not with Nolan, but with Topher himself.

An excellent episode, one which delivers on the seeds planted in Needs, while at the same time layering in elements for the future.


Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Belle Chose
Next Episode: The Public Eye


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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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1-11. 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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1-6. 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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