Writers: Joss Whedon
Grade: A-
This was definitely the first truly solid, engaging episode so far. Had this not been a Whedon show, I may have given up weeks ago, but I know what this man is capable of in terms of character relationships, so I stuck around this long…
Sierra’s rape was genuinely nauseating. I’m glad that Victor didn’t do it, and also that Dr. Saunders didn’t just accept that Victor did it because some evidence pointed in that direction. It was also cool to see Boyd put it together from Victor’s handler’s words—almost every inch of the place is monitored, but the Dolls don’t know that. So if there’s nothing on the tapes, then Sierra wasn’t raped by a Doll, but rather by someone who would know he had to find the surveillance blind spot.
I was actually feeling bad for Miner until Ballard pointed out that as sad as his story is, he’s still raping a brainwashed zombie. (And since I’m behind with this blog and I know what happens between Paul and Mellie, it’s a little bit of a gut punch in retrospect.) I really wasn’t sure what Whedon intended with Echo’s “It isn’t finished,” followed by Joel Miner showing “Rebecca” the house (and we know from his story to Ballard that the scenario ends with sex). Am I supposed to be touched? Or am I supposed to agree with Ballard that Miner is a predator? Because those two options are pretty mutually exclusive in this case.
Miracle Laurie and Tahmoh Penikett had pretty decent chemistry, but it was already obvious things were not going to go well for their characters. I was almost right about what would happen between them, too! They get close, we find out she’s a Doll, and it’s only a matter of time until Paul finds out himself. Your doomed love affairs are becoming a little predictable, Mr. Whedon…
The first time I watched this episode, I wondered who could have messed with Echo’s imprint since we saw Topher create the whole thing, but a second viewing revealed that Topher left the room to talk to Boyd for a couple of minutes before he uploaded the imprint. The only person they have around that we know might be able to pull it off is Topher’s assistant Ivy…
Minor Stuff
-Rebecca glancing into the bedroom and yelping “Porn!” was classic Joss. Also a bit tonally out of place, but it was probably Eliza Dushku’s best line delivery in the entire episode and it got a giggle out of me.
-Nice to see someone look like he really knows what he’s doing in a fight scene! Penikett kicks ASS at the hand-to-hand (I think I remember reading that he used to compete in martial arts), and I was glad that Ballard didn’t hold back because it was his precious “Caroline.” (Of course, he kind of couldn’t hold back, because she sure as hell wasn’t. He thought he was fighting for his life.)
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