More Dollhouse season 2

[shapinglight]

Okay, still creepy, but very interesting.

Spoilers within up to episode 4, and please no spoilers for later eps.



I'm still very creeped out by episode 1. Learning that I was wrong about who wrote it made it even more creepy somehow, seeing as Topher is sort of a stand-in for Joss in the story and Amy Acker is one of Joss's pets. It gives that Whiskey/Topher scene a whole new dimension of creepiness.

However, that aside - and bogwitch is right that there's nothing wrong with creepiness per se, as long as it's self-aware creepiness -I've enjoyed the episodes I've watched so far. Well, maybe not the one with the baby. That was just upsetting, and not really that good. In fact, there's a lot of upsetting stuff, but it's easier to take when there's a little less Echo and Ballard and more Adelle DeWitt, Topher, Victor and Sierra. All four are just such excellent characters, played by terrific actors.

I didn't read anything about these episodes when they aired (never thought it would take me this long to catch up), but vaguely recall people on Whedonesque squeeing about Tim Minear's episode, Belles Choses. It is very good - very unpleasant, but very good, chockful of the usual Whedon turn on a dime between genres, though there's a harder edge to it in Dollhouse than there ever was in BtVS or AtS (wouldn't know about Firefly) because of the material. Victor being Kiki in the club was just - well, hilarious doesn't describe it. It was one of those scenes where you can't quite watch, but you can't look away either. Echo's storyline was particularly icky, though. However, it paled into insignificance next to the ickiness of Sierra's storyline in the following episode.

I can see now why people who liked this show for the same reasons I liked it in season 1 (quinara, rebcake?) must have hoped at this stage of the season to get something wonderful out of it. It's all very intriguing. Sad to know it won't fulfil its promise.

And it is still creepy.

Comments

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Sad to know it won't fulfil its promise

I guess I never saw it as promising anything, so my disappointment was tempered. Everything we got after Season 1 was gravy, sort of, and the tastiest is yet to come, though I agree Belles Choses is a standout. Anything with Enver doing his thing is in this category.

I suppose it's true that after Epitaph One, there is a sense of "race to the bottom" through everything until Epitaph Two, and that is an uncomfortable feeling. MiAmor is having trouble with the start of Doctor Who this season, for the same reason: we know it's leading to a bad place. I'm more willing to just hitch along and marvel at how it unfolds. Even that isn't entirely satisfying in Dollhouse, but there is enough that makes sense and blows the mind that I can sort of look away from the bits that only do one of those things. I think that Joss definitely was on a track where he was willing to blow minds at the expense of the sense-making. Season 8 is exhibit A in this regard. An effective story really needs to do both. IMHO. Dollhouse has Season 8 beat on that point, anyway.

[shapinglight]

Anything with Enver doing his thing is in this category.

He is really, really good. What's he up to these days, do you know?

I suppose it's true that after Epitaph One, there is a sense of "race to the bottom" through everything until Epitaph Two, and that is an uncomfortable feeling

I expect Joss knew it was very unlikely he was going to get another season so he was trying to squeeze in every idea he'd ever thought of before the show ended. I watched the ep with the first appearance of Wosserface today - you know, the girl who played River -and I did start to feel like the pudding was being somewhat overegged. Nice to see Alexis on telly, however. I don't understand at all how he never seems to get any work.

IMHO. Dollhouse has Season 8 beat on that point, anyway

I agree with that, but then I now loathe season 8 so much I'd probably say that about anything.

No. My dislikes apart, Dollhouse is way classier product that season 8. Which reminds me, the season 2 DVD set came with a free DH Dollhouse comic. I think I probably won't bother reading it.

[quinara]

Oh, Belle Chose! That scene with Victor!Kiki is up there with one of the most brilliant scenes Dollhouse produced, in my opinion. Yeah, I think I definitely still had high hopes at that point. It was magnificently creepy.

[shapinglight]

It really was. And seems I got the title wrong. Oh well.

[yourlibrarian]

I agree that Echo and Ballard were the least interesting characters to me. In fact, Ballard's whole role could have been cut from the series and I wouldn't have missed it. I don't think this is necessarily because it was unnecessary but more because I get the sense that it didn't play out in the way it should have.

Whiskey's character ended up becoming somewhat incomprehensible to me but Acker really cemented what a good actress she is with the role.

And yes, I found Dollhouse ultimately disappointing and somewhat incoherent. Little surprise given the tampering at the beginning and the truncated storylines. It could be it still wouldn't have fulfilled itself even if it had gone as Joss wanted, but there's certainly enough there that the potential of the premise could be grasped. (To me, it's like the end of Caprica, where in the final episode I realized everything they had been going for and realized it could have been a much better series).

[shapinglight]

In fact, Ballard's whole role could have been cut from the series and I wouldn't have missed it

I quite liked the character in season 1 - well, not liked him. I always found him creepy. But I felt he fulfilled a role, and him going to work for the Dollhouse was something you could see coming.

In season 2, like you, I don't really see the point of him. Agree that Amy Acker is just wonderful.

I'm now about half way through the series and very much have the feeling that Joss is cramming everything including the kitchen sink into it in a bid to say everything he wants to say. I'm just not sure what that is yet.