Dollhouse season 1 eps 8-12

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Guess you can tell when I get serious about something, when I go to the trouble of uploading an icon? I've now watched eps 8-12 of Dollhouse season 1, and have to admit, I loved them, so it's probably just as well I booked my seat on the hell bus many years ago.

Before watching the eps, I'd spent the afternoon wrestling with my Darla fic. Have now finished the third draft and the situation is as follows:

* I think the POV character is now unpleasant enough, or almost
* The end is still so c**p I am still very reluctant to subject my beta to it
* I'm still not sure what I'm trying to say about Darla in this story, and until I work it out, the end is likely to remain c**p. Aargh!

Spoilers for Dollhouse eps 8-12 behind cut, and please don't spoiler me for ep 13 or season 2.



Bit of a mixed bag, but an awful lot more good than bad, and even the least good of the 4 episodes - Haunted - had the brilliant Topher/Sierra geek buddies scenes. Probably not a coincidence that the weakest of the final episodes was the one that required Eliza to be least Faith-like. I didn't think she was terribly good (though not awful, I've seen worse) but she was way better in the other three episodes. Having said which, the Echo segment of ep 8 (the one with the Dolls Are Revolting training exercise) was the least interesting story of the four (except - predictably - when Echo got into a fight with the female handler. A way, way more realistic looking fight, I might add, than any she's had with male characters). I love Victor and Sierra together, though am not clear if the fact they reached a 'resolution' means that Victor is no longer in love with Sierra.

Ep 9 (A Spy in the House of Love) was probably the best of the four. In fact, I thought it was brilliant - probably the best of the season - from the way it was structured, to what it revealed about the characters, especially Ms DeWitt - to Sierra's turn as a super spy to the twist reveal of the mole in the Dollhouse, to the horror of what happened to him. I'm getting really nervous about when we finally see the Attic, because it's bound to happen, isn't it? In fact, the only thing wrong with this episode was Victor's Brit accent, which was so nearly right but not quite and instead kept tipping over into unconscious parody. Pity.

The last two episodes were terrific too, though 11 was better than 12, I thought - both for Enver Gjokai's star turn as Mr Dominic, the reveal about 'Dr Saunders' and pretty much every scene that Alan Tudyk was in. Have to agree with 2maggie2, though, it's a pity that in the end Alpha turned out to be just a boring serial killer.

Unless of course that was another imprint and not the real Alpha. Which is rather what I'm hoping will turn out to be the case with Caroline, because Echo-without-Caroline is actually more interesting than what we've seen of the original. Plus, of course, there was all that deep stuff about slavery and free will and identity etc, which I'm too tired to think about properly now.

Shall watch Epitaph One tomorrow and cross my fingers that we'll get the 13 commissioned episodes of season 2 even if that's it.

Before I go, a couple of Jossverse firsts for me in this series.

1) I ended up liking Topher (I think it was the geek bonding scenes with Sierra that did it), which surprised me, because I don't usually like the characters I suspect Joss of semi-identifying with (and you could make an obvious argument that he, as a writer, has the same control over his characters' lives and personalities as Topher does over the dolls', but with the same restrictions of the PTBs - in Joss's case Fox - being able to step in whenever they want and tell him to do it their way).
2) There were scenes in the last two episodes I couldn't even watch, due to face slashing and eye gouging. That never happened to me in Joss's work before.

But Eliza beating up men? That'll never get old. Also, have just realised, we still don't know who was sending Agent Ballard the mysterious messages via doll, do we? Or did they say and I missed it?

Comments

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

we still don't know who was sending Agent Ballard the mysterious messages

Hmmm. I think the written messages were from Alpha. I'm not sure they explictly said, but there was one early ep where Alpha is watching a video of Caroline, surrounded by the bodies of her parents (presumably). Wasn't he writing on an envelope or the back of a photo, or something? Perhaps it was all part of his extraordinarily complex plan to get Ballard to sneak him into the building. Overkill, I'd say.

However, they never revealed the source of the programmed messages. It wasn't Dominic, because he really didn't seem to know about the tech that Topher found. Right? Hmm. Oh, who cares? Just bring it on!

I could watch Man on the Street and Spy in the House of Love on endless loop at this point. Also: Season 2. Win!

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but there was one early ep where Alpha is watching a video of Caroline, surrounded by the bodies of her parents (presumably).

There was? I'd completely forgotten that. I'd even forgotten that Ballard received written messages. Aargh! Shouldn't have dragged it out for so long.

As for the messages delivered via doll, I think quinara below is possibly right - that those were Ms DeWitt messing with Ballard. Maybe not, though?

I could watch Man on the Street and Spy in the House of Love on endless loop at this point.

Ooh, yes! They hold up with the best of Joss's work, I think. And so glad you're enjoying season 2. :crosses fingers for 13 episodes minimum:

[snickfic]

Right with you on just about all of this.

I have strong reservations about the series in general - particularly about Dushku as the lead - but regardless of how long it lasts or doesn't last and what does or doesn't do, I'll still have my love of "Spy in the House of Love." It ranks up there with Joss's best, IMO. Fascinating character explorations, intriguing structure... the whole thing is just amazing.

Also agree that "Alpha" was better than "Omega," and I, too, was disappointed in Alpha himself. He was much more fun being carrot-man than he was as just wacko serial killer.

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but regardless of how long it lasts or doesn't last and what does or doesn't do, I'll still have my love of "Spy in the House of Love." It ranks up there with Joss's best, IMO.

Yes, I completely agree with you, likewise Man in the Street. Haven't got such a buzz out of anything Jossian since AtS ended.

He was much more fun being carrot-man than he was as just wacko serial killer.

Yes, totally. Re: Eliza, I do think there's something to be said for having a central character the others revolve around who is herself fairly immutable (though I know she's not supposed to be). In a way, it gives the other, more interesting characters something steady to bounce off. And as long as she goes on having enormous fights with nasty men and pounding the crap out of them on a regular basis, I'm prepared to forgive Eliza quite a lot.

Yep. Going to hell, that's for sure.

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

I love Victor and Sierra together, though am not clear if the fact they reached a 'resolution' means that Victor is no longer in love with Sierra.

no, I believe the 'resolution' Victor needed was to save Sierra. he wasn't able to save her from being raped even though he waited up for her every night, but he *was* able to 'save her' from her ex. not sure what the payoff is for Sierra but maybe...knowing that she's loved by a man who wants to protect her, finally? receiving that kind of respect and comfort, given how many ways she's been used?

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That could be it. I feel there's still an awful lot we don't know about Sierra. I hope we find out more in season 2.

I love seeing Dichen Lachman beating up men too, btw

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

yeah, totally. actually I'm really hoping to get more backstory on several of the dolls. that glimpse wasn't nearly enough.

and hee! yeah, he's a total doll. he's probably my favorite thing on that show so far, he has a nice range with all his characters. plus, he's really really ridiculously good-looking. :)

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actually I'm really hoping to get more backstory on several of the dolls. that glimpse wasn't nearly enough

No, I agree, and as far as I can see, Eliza has been quite generous with letting other characters get front and centre (I say that because this is her vehicle and she's an exec producer, so I suppose she has a lot of power for an actor) so hopefully that will happen.

Victor is an utter cutey pie and I do like that he doesn't have conventional Hollywood good looks (though he is good looking). :needs a Victor icon:

[angearia.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adored A Spy in the House of Love so it fills me with glee to hear it's one of your favorites. I have a question for you - did you sense any type of connection between Adelle and Mr. Dominic? I felt that her affection towards Victor and her escapist Lonely Hearts games were perhaps partially a sublimation of this connection she felt with him at work. Because they very much clicked, I think. And the way she emotionally shuts down at the end of that ep - she's turned to stone, even bullets can't harm her.

I look forward to reading your insights on the show!

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I absolutely adored A Spy in the House of Love so it fills me with glee to hear it's one of your favorites

It's just a brilliant, brilliant episode. The first Jossian product I've enjoyed 100% since AtS ended.

In answer to your question, yes I did sense a connection between Adelle and Mr Dominic. I thought he had genuine feelings for her, and I think so did she, which, as you say, explains why she shut down so hard. I certainly didn't see that same connection in their brief scene in Epitaph One which I've now watched, though the their exchanges were as sharp as ever.

But yes, there was something there, definitely.

[2maggie2.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about Victor-as-Roger's accent... not something I'd ever pick up on. He's still great, though.

I don't think we know who programmed Echo and November to contact Paul.

After Echoes I told myself that we'd have this fantastic reveal where we learn that Caroline is just an imprint and there's a deeper story about her character. I found that harder to sustain after Omega -- though I suppose you are right that a Caroline imprint could have included an identification with Echo's body, and thus we don't have to see Omega as ruling it out.

Spy in the House of Love did rock. I love that they let an olderish woman be sexy and naked in bed with a sexy guy. Adelle was my favorite character, though Topher is giving her a run for her money. The scene of Dominic being wiped is one of the most chilling things ever, and I think it disturbed me more than the eye gouging. Am pretty sure we have been promised a visit to the attic. Shudders.

I was disappointed by Epitaph and will be interested to hear what you think of it.

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Sorry to hear about Victor-as-Roger's accent... not something I'd ever pick up on. He's still great, though.

Oh yes, he is. And he so nearly got it right, just not quite. He's a great find, that boy.

I don't think we know who programmed Echo and November to contact Paul.

stormwreath thinks it was Mr Dominic, which I don't believe - not off his own bat. quinara thinks it was Ms DeWitt messing with Ballard's head. I think that's more likely, but I'm not entirely convinced. It's possible Joss hasn't worked it out yet either. I hope he gets the chance to do so.

I found that harder to sustain after Omega -- though I suppose you are right that a Caroline imprint could have included an identification with Echo's body, and thus we don't have to see Omega as ruling it out.

Have to say, after watching Epitaph One, which I'll do a post about in a bit, I suspect we're stuck with Caroline. Pity.

I love that they let an olderish woman be sexy and naked in bed with a sexy guy. Adelle was my favorite character, though Topher is giving her a run for her money.

Oh boy, yes. I loved the fencing scene too and have been looking for an icon of it. No luck so far, though I did see someone with one. The wipe scene is pretty horrific. I think seeing Mr Dominic return from the Attic in Epitaph One was probably my favourite scene, along with the Adelle/Topher one.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

I always assumed that it was Dominic who was programming Echo to send the messages to Ballard. He was the mole, he had access to the imprinting equipment, and presumably he already knew what the Dollhouse did but not who was behind them and what their secret plan was. ("That is their business, but it is not their purpose.", or whatever the line was from 'Man on the Street').

Alpha turned out to be just a boring serial killer.

I look at it this way: Alpha started out as a "boring" serial killer, just as Echo started out as a "boring" animal rights activist. But all that playing with their brains is turning both of them into something different and new. Seems to me that expecting them to have a really twisty and deep backstory is looking at it in the wrong direction: Dollhouse is about screwing up and complicating things that were once simple and straightforward.

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I always assumed that it was Dominic who was programming Echo to send the messages to Ballard

Hmm, I'm not convinced by that. For one thing, I'm not sure he would have had the know how to do it. I think quinara's idea below, about it being part of Ms DeWitt's plan to mess with Ballard's head, is more likely, but even so I'm not wholly convinced we know the answer yet. It's possible Joss is still working it out himself.

Dollhouse is about screwing up and complicating things that were once simple and straightforward.

Well, that might be one of the things it's about, but certainly not all. I dunno. It's like Caroline is the person with least depth that Echo has ever been.

[shylahmask.livejournal.com]

I was disappointed with Alpha, too. I think in part because I had this image that he'd intentionally downloaded those imprints into himself, and it turned out it was just an accident, which made him a lot less interesting to me. I'm not really interested in seeing him come back, unless he actually has some growth.

Alexis has made appearances in 2 of the 3 episodes that have aired over here. His accent is definitely better but he still... doesn't quite sound right.

And I love watching Enver Gjokaj act.

[next_to_normal]

Alexis has made appearances in 2 of the 3 episodes that have aired over here. His accent is definitely better but he still... doesn't quite sound right.

Alexis isn't doing an accent. That's how he naturally talks.

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Alexis isn't doing an accent. That's how he naturally talks.

Heh! Alexis's American accent is bizarre. It just doesn't sound right at all. Like he's putting it on.

When I saw him do a Q&A with Tony Head, he started off talking his weird sort-of American but gradually slipped over into a Wesley accent, and it sounded so much more natural.

Then, when he came over here to do All My Sons in Liverpool, I remember reading an article in the Liverpool Echo where he said that he'd had to have accent coachingto to do the play because after all those years of living in the UK and then playing British characters, his American accent had gone strange. So even he realises it.

[shylahmask.livejournal.com]

Yep! I was indeed talking about his own American accent.

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I think in part because I had this image that he'd intentionally downloaded those imprints into himself, and it turned out it was just an accident, which made him a lot less interesting to me.

Yes, plus I thought I remembered Topher saying Alpha was a genius. I thought he'd meant originally, not that he'd become one accidentally. Alan Tudyk was very good, though, and I hope if the character does come back, which he probably will, he won't be all about carving up Echo.

It was nice to see her face him down (Joss making a statement on so-called 'torture porn' I suppose), but once was probably enough.

And I love watching Enver Gjokaj act.

Me too, and that, though good looking, he isn't Hollywood conventionally good looking. He looks like, well an Albanian, which is what he is of course.

[shylahmask.livejournal.com]

Yes, thank goodness Alpha's character is at least in the hands of a good actor! I'll be glad to continue the not conventionally good looking men as dolls if they can act as well as he and Enver.

On a slightly related note, I very much liked the choice for November. Floral dresses aside, she was very attractive to me -- moreso than any of the other girls. I was disappointed she left the Dollhouse. I liked that bittersweet interchange between her and Paul at the end, though.

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I liked that bittersweet interchange between her and Paul at the end, though.

Yes, that was a nice moment -and it made me like him a little more that he was really into her, even though she was far from Hollywood perfect.

There need to be more male dolls, though.

[yourlibrarian]

Have to agree with [info]2maggie2, though, it's a pity that in the end Alpha turned out to be just a boring serial killer.

Yes, I thought he started out more interesting than he turned out. Still Tudyk did an amazing job with that character. It's interesting how regardless of what's on the page the stronger actors just make their characters more compelling (which I think is what happens with Whiskey/Saunders).

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It's interesting how regardless of what's on the page the stronger actors just make their characters more compelling (which I think is what happens with Whiskey/Saunders).

Oh yes, Amy Acker is wonderful. Is the character in season 2? I thought I heard somewhere she'd taken other work.

[yourlibrarian]

She appeared in the first episode, I don't know if she'll be back. But I heard a pilot she appeared in had been picked up so I don't know how that might impact the character.

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That's a shame. Well, not for Amy obviously.

I was thinking about Epitaph One again this morning and realised that of course when Whiskey releases the poison gas and then sits down draped over the railing to die, she looks exactly like what she is. A broken doll.

:shudder: and shades of Drusilla.

[next_to_normal]

She did get a role on another show, so she's only in 3 episodes this season. But if the other two are anything like the season premiere (which is chock full of Amy awesomeness), they're definitely getting the most bang for their buck where Amy is concerned.

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Ah, only three episodes. They'd better make the most of her.

[quinara]

I ended up liking Topher too by the end of the series (the Sierra geek-buddies thing really did it for me too - my grand theory, which isn't spoilery because nothing more's been mentioned, is that the imprint was Whiskey's original personality). Though I'm not sure that it was Eliza's acting that weakened Ep. 9 - I think it just wasn't a particularly good episode.

The secretly imprinted messages are a mystery, though I tend to think they were intentional (on DeWitt/Topher's part) to mess with Ballard's head. They certainly seem to preoccupy him, in that they become part of his weird fantasy/dream/nightmare at the beginning of Ep. 8.

Yay, hell bus!!

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my grand theory, which isn't spoilery because nothing more's been mentioned, is that the imprint was Whiskey's original personality).

Well, it could have been, though it's hard to imagine someone that geeked out and happy volunteering to enter the Dollhouse. And 9 wasn't that good, though I think the actors playing Margaret's husband and children did a decent enough job.

I think your idea of the origin of the imprinted messages is more likely than that it was Mr Dominic, but I suspect even Joss hasn't decided who they were from yet.

Yay, hell bus!!

At least you get heated seats.

[quinara]

I wrote a fic back before I saw Epitaph One that's been Jossed in certain aspects, but generally sums up how I see her - I think she was happy around Topher, but generally deeply dissatisfied with being a hardcore scientist in a pretty/athletic body.

I suspect even Joss hasn't decided who they were from yet.

I think it's very much a Joyce-in-Buffy's-S7-dreams situation, but in my head DeWitt pwnz all... :D

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Yay! This reminds me, I can now read your Dollhouse reviews and meta. Plus that fic what was in plot_wout_porn. Was it any good?

[quinara]

:D

Plus that fic what was in [info]plot_wout_porn. Was it any good?

If I remember rightly, I liked it well enough and thought it was well-written, though it wasn't particularly my cup of tea (nor overly plotty). Having said that, I find I'm not that that into Dollhouse fic, so do take it with a pinch of salt.

(Sorry for the format failure... I can't even remember what I meant to write now, so this is me approximating. :/ )

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Format failure? I don't follow.

Can't say I'm terribly keen to read Dollhouse fic myself really, but it's nice to be able to read it if I want.

[quinara]

I meant in the comment I deleted, where everything ended up all squidged and weird.

And that's true!

[calturner.livejournal.com]

I loathed Topher when the series first started, but he ended up being one of my favourite characters by the time S1 came to an end, which I really didn't expect. He's so complex and multi-layered, and is exactly what I go for in a character.

I thought Alan Tudyk was fabulous as Alpha, and was taken by surprise by the Dr Saunders reveal. I love Victor and Sierra, am fascinated by Adelle, and I'm probably one of the only people on LJ who quite like Eliza as Echo. But then again I liked her on BtVS and Tru Calling too, so I'm obviously easily pleased where ED is concerned. :)

I'll be interested to see what you thought of Epitaph One. :)

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He's so complex and multi-layered, and is exactly what I go for in a character.

Yes, which is also why I loved Ms DeWitt so much. Strange woman. She's doing something absolutely horrible and unconscionable, and yet she really, genuinely cares about the people who've signed themselves over to her.

I really don't mind Eliza as Echo (though Caroline bores me). I think it helps to have a relatively static central character around which the other, more volatile ones revolve, and I do love her beating up blokes.

Shall be making a brief post about Epitaph One after this.

[next_to_normal]

Definitely agree with you and Maggie that Alpha was better than Omega. It really felt like Alpha had a lot of potential as a character, and Alpha seemed to be going there, but it kind of got squandered in Omega. At this point, I'm not even sure I care to see Alpha come back, though I'm sure he probably will.

Also like Maggie, I wasn't thrilled with Epitaph One, so I'm curious to hear what you think.

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Well, I wasn't thrilled either, though I can see why Joss made it. Will post about it in a minute. And agree with you that as it currently stands, the Alpha character does seem like squandered potential.

Alan Tudyk was very, very good, though.