The penultimate Dollhouse episode attempted to offer almost everything viewers have ever wanted out of this show while promising that, truly, everything else we ever wanted was coming up next week. What wonders await!
We finally get to see the much-talked-about Alpha and witness his legendary genius and cruelty. We finally get to see Paul locate and infiltrate the Dollhouse. And we finally get to see Echo do something we’ve been wanting to see her do since this all started: tell Paul to GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!
Okay, maybe I’m the only one gratified by this. But Paul’s creepy obsession with Caroline/Echo eroded away any sympathy or affection I had for him in the beginning. Early on, it seemed that Paul was very zealous about the Dollhouse itself and that finding the name and picture of one of the victims merely gave the quest a human face. Instead we were treated to wet dream sex fantasies and constant, boorish exclamations of how He Was Going To Save Her.
I had also thought that by giving him a relationship with Mellie (before it was revealed to be a big, crazy lie) he was going to realize that he didn’t need to fantasize about some pretty victim but instead focus on the sad (yet very attractive) woman who so desperately wanted his attention. But all of that was for naught. And when Paul states before going in that he is specifically NOT going to save Mellie and then, when inside, again specifically refuses to save her in favor of Caroline, I felt at that moment that I wanted to shoot him with a very large gun, but not before stabbing him in the eye.
Is there anyone in this show who I can feel good about?
The show’s answer seems to be: no.
I used to think that I could feel good about Boyd, but the instant it became clear that he knew the Dollhouse had kidnapped and en-dolled Sierra without her consent, and then seemed to have no problem with it, I was done with him.
It was very sweet to see him protecting Echo against Paul’s attempted abduction and all, but still.
Also: I know Echo is supposed to be childlike when she is not imprinted, but even children know to run when someone screams at them to RUN!
Other than Paul’s botched “rescue”, the other exciting thing about this episode was the appearance of Alpha. We weren’t supposed to know that’s who he was when he showed up — we thought he was just the guy who designed the environmental systems for the Dollhouse, right? Right?
Right.
Even if I had not been tipped off by a spoiler long ago, the appearance of a Whedon alum (Alan Tudyk, the pilot from Firefly, for those of you not in the know) in a guest starring gig and knowing without trying that OMG ALPHA IS COMING would have tipped me off from the start. I doubt that the show really meant us to be surprised by this. And Alan seemed to have a lot of fun playing an agoraphobe with a massive pot habit. I guess it’s okay to let the boys have their fun.
I wasn’t all that scared/impressed by Alpha, though I know many were. I’ll chalk this up to my general unimpressedness with Dollhouse. Alan certainly turned in a better performance than Eliza Dushku ever has; but then, so do the actors playing Victor, November, and, to a lesser degree, Sierra.
Anyway, Alpha brings the Hanibal Lector down on the poor doctor then implants Echo with the Bonnie to his Clyde — can’t wait to suffer through her backstory next week. It was anti-climatic, in the end. Especially once the couple stopped to have a bit of a snog before sauntering out,
Where have I seen that scene before…?
I find myself even more unimpressed than previously. Next week better deliver something ultra-spectacular, or, so help me, I will write a nasty comment on the Hulu page!
Clint – Indeed. And really, I can’t even imagine what...
1 • Nina said:
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 pm, permalink
I am so over Paul Ballard and his bullshit. But, to be honest, so many straight guys think that way — Take advantage of the dumpy girl who’s devoted to you, and treat her as cruelly as you like to get your rocks off, but save all your love and admiration for the girl who wears six tons of makeup and has a six-inch-round stomach.
Anyway.
The Sierra rape plotline has been botched from beginning to end (although I suppose we might not have seen the end yet). I try to ignore that when thinking about Boyd.
2 • Foxessa said:
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm, permalink
Maia, over on Alas A Blog, has also shared her thoughts on each episode and the characters. She has links to each entry she’s written about Dollhouse at the end of one.
This is the latest installment.
Thank you for posting yours!
Love, C.
3 • Foxessa said:
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:19 pm, permalink
BTW, you might find some interest in an assessment of Dollhouse by someone who isn’t involved with television or Whedonverse either as professional or fan, whose usual beat is much something else, namely politics, economics and so on. It’s on The Daily Kos blog, here.
A quote:
“Meanwhile Topher serves as Whedon’s own analog in the Dollhouse universe, using the machine as a toy and “spicing up” characters to his own amusement. He even creates his own special birthday present in the form of a girl who wants to play all the games he wants to play, and who matches him line for line on the knowledge of all his favorite films.
What Dollhouse tells us is that, like the customers of the titular facility, both television producers and television viewers are generally ready to settle for shallow self-gratification. They want characters that mirror their own desires.”
I gather that the writer of this believes he’s come up with an unique insight.
Love, C.
4 • Astraea said:
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:31 pm, permalink
Well, they were apparently deliberately trying to point out the huge fail of straight guys like Ballard, but I think it’s not really done very well when his story is shown from his POV. That’s been the biggest failure of this show, IMO, that the POV is all screwy.
I am all for complexity, and for shows that don’t insult the audience’s intelligent. I don’t have to be presented the Characters to Like and Characters to Not Like in a clear, obvious way. But there are a lot of shows that deal with moral ambiguity a hell of a lot better than this. Lost does a good job of keeping the audience guessing and second-guessing about the characters and it does so in a way that is entertaining and enjoyable.
5 • K. Tempest Bradford said:
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm, permalink
I am so over Paul Ballard and his bullshit.
Knowing you as I do, this line made me laugh so hard.
And though I am sure many guys would consider Mellie not very attractive, can I confess how HAWT I consider her? Ever since she first showed up I have been on Mellie watch.
6 • Nina said:
May 4th, 2009 at 2:37 am, permalink
DUDE MELLIE IS TOTALLY HAWT. And I have another friend who is allllllll over her, too. Clearly we will have to fight to the death.
I live to make you laugh.
Astraea: The POV is screwy! I totally agree with you. I have another friend who had this to say about it — “I think Dollhouse is trying to be noirish … with no one to really like or root for–which is ambitious, but I don’t think they’re really succeeding–instead, they’re creating lukewarm characters who people like anyway and then get upset when they behave unlikeably.”
7 • Astraea said:
May 4th, 2009 at 7:21 am, permalink
I have another friend who had this to say about it — “I think Dollhouse is trying to be noirish … with no one to really like or root for–which is ambitious, but I don’t think they’re really succeeding–instead, they’re creating lukewarm characters who people like anyway and then get upset when they behave unlikeably.”
haha! That’s very true. The only character I find vaguely interesting is DeWitt, but I think that’s mostly due to the actress. I think they also wasted Dominic, who could have been a really interesting character if we found out he was NSA before the Dollhouse. (He also makes Ballard look like a tool.)
oh, and can at least a few people please stop with the “Dollhouse uses metaphor and symbolism so subtly you just aren’t seeing it” after Briar Rose? I mean, come on.