Dollhouse: Alpha and Omega

[shah_of_blah]

Yes I know that's not the episode title.  I don't care.

Random things that stood out:
-Alpha said something about pre-hellenic Minoans, I'm pretty sure.  Something about them understanding his whole blood sacrifice thing?  Which had me all conflicted, because I felt like I should know what he was talking about but I didn't.  
-"Three names--always ominous" (Paul).  Yes, Assassins! 
Booth: Why do these rednecks always have three names?  James Earl Ray, John Wilkes Booth--
Oswald: Lee Harvey Oswald!
-OBAMA SHOUT-OUT!  I'm wearing an Obama shirt right now.  And I also referenced his election in this paper that I'm writing.
-I love Alan Tudyk. Just in general. 

Echo keeps saying she gets it.  Thing is, I don't.  Not really.  I don't get who she is and why she can handle this.  So she's not Ted Bunday--great for her.  But even though Alpha 'snapped' before the imprinting (and that was really interesting--I liked those scenes a lot), I still pretty much believe that having 38 personalities downloaded into you at once, and realizing that you've been used and abused for years...well, that would fuck a person up. 

"You walked away from me.  You left me alone in that place" (Echo).  So this is like Revenge of the Body now, and I'm wondering what my body would say to my brain.  Probably, like, "You sat around all day and stuffed me full of junk.  Thanks a lot..."

"Every one of them will be a Caroline. And every one of them will get carved up..." (Alpha).  Ah, so with life after death also comes death after death.  This is more interesting than all that 'Haunted' stuff, if you ask me (what does that say about me?).

"To ascend to anything, you don't cut up women" (Echo).  Yes, that.

Central problem: I'm way more interested in Alpha than in Echo.  Although I am infinitely relieved to see Echo saving her own ass.  Yeah, I knew Joss Whedon wouldn't let that Prince Charming/Briar Rose nonsense be so...blah.  Sorry Paul, you don't get to be her savior.  Although you can catch her computer wedge imprint thingy.  Anyway, this is good--I was so annoyed at the gender stuff in Lost.  A little Joss is what I needed.  It ain't perfect--far from it--but it's pretty good.

"I know who I am" (Whiskey).  See, I am *really* interested now in Whiskey.  "Why was it so important for me to hate you?  I think that's strange."  Amy Acker, you are wonderful.

Oh, he got November free!  Yay!

Ok, so...I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I've seen a number of people on my flist expressing disappointment.  Honestly, I liked it a lot.  I'm just...why did Paul and Echo allow her to be sent back to the Dollhouse?  Even Boyd--I thought her pretty zen composite self might have swayed him to letting her go free and just chill.  I don't know.  Instead he decided to just keep watching over her until she fulfills her contract...but this is like tacit approval for human trafficking.  

I really liked Paul and Boyd teaming up though.  They are so similar.  I really want to know the answer to Paul's question--why is Boyd here?  "There's always a girl," he said.  But since he (probably) didn't know Echo before he joined up, who was the girl that got him involved?

All in all, it's a helluva lot more thought-provoking than anything else I've seen in TV since BSG ended (Lost, though it tries, is mainly just snark-provoking rather than thought-provoking).  I think I'd give Dollhouse an A. 

Conclusion: I would really like a second season.  Even though I don't care much for Echo, I think the ensemble would be well worth it.  Boyd, Victor, Sierra, Topher, Claire Saunders...they're fascinating.

Comments

[rayruz.livejournal.com]

I really did like it for the most part... except Echo getting wiped at the end just didn't sit right with me. But you're right, the ensemble is the best part. Season 2 please

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I just don't understand why she got wiped. We needed to see how they got to that point. Because I don't believe that either Paul or Echo would want that to happen.

[cliosmuse.livejournal.com]

Funny that you say you don't really care for Echo. I don't either. She's more or less the least interesting character to me. And I think that's a big problem for the show. I also dislike intensely/am disturbed by Paul Ballard.

Who AM I interested in? Victor, Claire/Whiskey, Adelle, Dominic, Topher, same as you. Alpha was much more interesting to me before tonight, because I'd been hoping he was something more than just a psychopath. Finding out that he's really just a Ted Bundy on speed was a letdown.

All in all, I'd be pleased to have the show to watch next season, but, in the end, that's about it. When it was at its best (to me, Man on the Street and Needs), it was extraordinary. But aside from that....

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I want to like Paul. I liked him before, and now am rather disturbed by him. But I still find him to be an engaging character, unlike Echo. I also really dislike Adelle and I don't know why--just can't stand her for some reason.

[tracyj23.livejournal.com]

What? There are more people out there that don't like Echo? I have DETESTED her since day one. I'm not sure Eliza can act worth beans but I thought I was the only one who thought that. The rest of my flisters who watch the show seem to adore her.

While I liked this episode (which is saying more than any other episode so far), I felt it was still too little too late. This should have been an episode much earlier on - one to open up more questions and make you wonder about more characters. I get that it makes a good season ender for that but the first 5 episode of the show were absolute and utter crap in my opinion and did nothing to make people curious and want to watch more. Even the so-called "good" episodes were only meh and didn't make me want to watch, I just kept up with it because it was Joss and I kept hoping it would get better and then eventually just wanted to see how badly it would end.

I'm kind of disappointed to be honest. I think a more true ending to the season (and the show should it not get a season 2) would have been for Paul to actually RESCUE Caroline instead of letting her go back into that hellhole. He had the opportunity when he first found her (and caught her wedge, oh so tacky!) to just take her and walk away but he didn't. Then he made the deal - himself for one of them and STILL he didn't save her. The show would be miles better without her so to write her out of it would have been excellent. But I guess they couldn't since it's the Eliza Show and she's the producer as well as an actor and Fox wants HER, not Joss.

I personally don't think it deserves a season 2 after such a rocky season 1, and given that we're nowhere further than we were at the beginning I feel like the show is just spinning its wheels. It should make room for something better.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

In the beginning of the show, I tried to tell myself that Echo would get more interesting as she became more self-aware. But she's been pretty generic all along and a couple weeks ago I realized that I just don't like her, and my favorite episodes have been the ones that weren't really about her.

You're definitely not the only one though! There was a post on dollhouse_tv about it the other day too.

He had the opportunity when he first found her (and caught her wedge, oh so tacky!) to just take her and walk away but he didn't. Then he made the deal - himself for one of them and STILL he didn't save her. The show would be miles better without her so to write her out of it would have been excellent.
While I like that Paul saved November (instead of just being totally heartless to her), the return to the dollhouse just doesn't make sense. It felt rushed and forced and I don't understand why it happened (other than that they can't let their lead escape).

I think that the show could be really good after this, although I don't think I'll ever count it as one of my favorites. So I would like a second season, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if we didn't get one (and I don't think we're going to).

P.S. Happy Mother's Day!

[stardust-20.livejournal.com]

P.S. Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you! :D

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

I did like this episode far more then some of the others. I feel absolutely nothing for Echo, I just can't find a way to feel any sort of emotions for that character.

I too really liked that in the end Paul saved Millie and not Caroline even though that's who he was after the whole season.

May be it was just me but was Topher really pondering the rightness of what they are doing to these people? He really seemed to for the first time expressed remorse or empathy for these dolls especially Whisky.

Also, Alpha is awesome, the show should be about him rather then Echo. To me it seems like the dolls may retain a very small part of their original personality.

I think the show would have been much better had they focused on other characters. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Was anyone else cracking up when Alpha kept saying Gods? Two BSG references back to back.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I too really liked that in the end Paul saved Millie and not Caroline even though that's who he was after the whole season.
Paul's fixation with Caroline has been so superficial all along--he sees a photo and a video and thinks he knows her--but he has a real emotional (if one-sided) connection with Mellie/November. So even though I don't understand why he allowed Echo to be wiped, I am definitely glad that he freed November.

May be it was just me but was Topher really pondering the rightness of what they are doing to these people? He really seemed to for the first time expressed remorse or empathy for these dolls especially Whisky.
Someone on my flist posited the theory that Topher knew Whiskey before she became a doll, and I think they're right. We've never seen him act remotely like that with any other doll.

To me it seems like the dolls may retain a very small part of their original personality.
Yeah, definitely. Alpha retained his penchant for violence/craziness as a doll--his psychosis was there before he downloaded all 48 personalities and went on a killing spree. And Echo seems to be, at her core, just someone who wants to help. As Paul said, you can erase someone's memories but you can't erase their soul.

Was anyone else cracking up when Alpha kept saying Gods? Two BSG references back to back.
Oh, I didn't catch that one!

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

It would make sense if Topher knew the real Whiskey before, may be he had a part in her recruitment. I can why he would make her hate him after what Alpha did to her.

I also question as to who else is a doll within that place, if the Doc is imprinted then why not Topher or any of the handlers. It just made me question that if they can do that with Doc Sanders then why not with anyone else. I could be way of base but that was my thinking once the whole Whiskey plot was revealed to us.