Writer: Andrew Chambliss
Grade: A
For me, this episode really showcased the difference between reactionary, activist Caroline, who threatened Topher and wanted to free everyone from the Dollhouse no matter what the consequences, and Echo, who volunteered to help Topher and the Dollhouse. It’s true that Adelle and Topher came to the conclusion that Echo took action to protect herself from Dominic, and that may very well have been the case, but I also saw real empathy for Topher there, whereas Caroline had none.
I’m not sure if the distinction is intentional on Whedon’s part, but I have to say that I like Echo, zombie though she may be, much more than I like Caroline. Caroline is simplistic and obnoxious. Echo is, for me, a much more complicated and intriguing person, and bizarrely enough, also seems to have little in common with Caroline other than a desire to help people (and frankly, Echo is better at that than Caroline…). This could be an odd case of Dushku adding an unintentional facet to her characterization, and if that is the case, I really hope Whedon and co. notice and go with it. If they can come up with a fascinating Caroline vs. Echo character arc, it might help make up for Dushku’s overall lack of range.
I liked the separate-but-interwoven stories in this episode—I thought the structure worked much better here than in the Sarah Connor Chronicles episode that used a similar structure—but I’m extremely confused about the timeline and the events overall. How was November implanted with a secret message when it seemed like Topher found the chip in the chair before she was imprinted? And how did Laurence have anything to do with it, since a) he seemed preoccupied with Toper having found the chip, and b) there’s no indication that Laurence is some kind of Doll-programming genius? Does this mean there are actually two spies, one of which is a Topher-like genius?
I was certainly shocked that Adelle is sleeping with an imprinted Victor, but at least all those “Miss Lonely Hearts” references meant something! Enver was once again the MVP for pulling off yet another completely different character, and with a passable English accent, to boot. When Adelle said, “And I want the real you,” I took that to mean that Victor’s imprint “Roger” is/was a real person from Adelle’s past, or at least contained parts of such a person, but I guess that would have been too hard for Adelle to get past Topher without him catching on. I couldn’t even figure out how they got away with Victor’s handler not knowing where he is when he’s with Adelle. I thought the Actives were always tagged and monitored, so how is it a secret that “Roger” is dropped off in one location, then gets into a car and drives somewhere else? Whatever, show! Adelle is naughty and lonely and tortured. I get it.
Echo’s “She made a mistake, and now she’s sad” takes on a whole new meaning by the end of the episode. At first it seems to indicate that something horrible is being done to a woman in the lab, but after Dom tells her “One day, you’ll be erasing them,” she begins to feel like she may have made a mistake. Her statement actually refers to her own feelings. Even if Adelle was right about Echo acting in self-defense, Echo came to regret her action later.
Other Stuff
- Erm, did Topher program Echo’s spy-hunter imprint to know she was a Doll? Because she wasn’t at all shocked when Dom called her “a broken Doll who's gone off mission before.”
-I was pretty close to on-the-money with my spec about Paul and Mellie, right?
-Dichen looked amazing in that wig, but I can’t imagine it was much fun running—literally, running—in those heels. I know she probably only weighs about ninety pounds, but my own feet were still throbbing in sympathy.
-I take it from the ending that bonding Echo to another handler didn’t go so well?
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