Dollhouse, 2x10, “The Attic”

Episode Title: The Attic
Writers: Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen

Director: John Cassaday

Originally Aired: 12/18/2009
Grade: A

I spent much of the last few episodes feeling sad that Adelle had reverted back to being a cold, pathetic bitch, and I’d only briefly considered that her fall from grace might be a ruse, so I was pretty pleasantly surprised that Echo’s trip to the Dollhouse was part of her plan. I’m also pretty sure that the cold, pathetic bitch act wasn’t actually an act until she stepped into that shower in the previous episode, but either way, glad she got her shit together.

I’ve long since given up on trying to make sense of the big Rossum plot. I’m not opposed to doing a little extra mental work to connect the dots, and I’ve seen every episode more than once, but the overall plot still makes little sense to me. Clyde 2.0? Human processors? I thought this was a solid episode based on atmosphere alone, but I refuse to sit around spinning theories to try and make sense of this mess.

And speaking of messes, considering the later reveal that Boyd is not only a lunatic, but also co-founder of Rossum, what was the point of him questioning Topher about what happens in the Attic when he already knew the answer? He was playing along for the sake of playing? (This is why I hate the Boyd reveal—rather than providing a lot of retrospective “Ah ha, so that’s why he did that!” moments, the reveals makes his behavior stop making sense on repeat viewings. His morally questionable romantic pursuit of Claire Saunders and his lack of back story seem like big flashing clues now, but that’s about it.)

As convoluted as I found the plotting to be, I’ll admit I was terrified that Victor or Sierra wouldn’t survive the attempt to escape the Attic, so I was immensely relieved to see them both alive at Adelle’s meeting. Well-played, show.

Other Stuff

-I’m not sure I understand why Adelle preparing Ivy for the possibility of taking over Topher’s position made Ivy so angry at Topher. Maybe because Topher’s treatment of her didn’t exactly reflect the fact that she was even capable of doing his job? Treating her like his personal snack machine doesn’t exactly scream “You are my protégé and could someday be my equal.” That’s all I’ve got…

Quotes

Echo: “This is my mind.”

Laurence: “Are we really arguing about this? I’ve accepted it. I chase Arcane, and I try to stop him from killing. The reality changes, but the enemy stays the same. I’ll never rest, and I’ll never catch him.”
Echo: “That’s pretty cool and all, and I don’t want to ruin your whole Highlander vibe, but I’m pretty positive that this is my mind.”