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San Francisco, 8:08 PM
Mon Nov 23
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/12/09
10/12/09
10/12/09
"Topher has ethical concerns. Topher!"
10/12/09
A couple of comments on your list of "flaws", though:
1." And then Echo gives a long speech in which she tries to convince the three captive women to kill her — why not just have them tie Echo up?"
As Echo repeats numerous times, Terry can't be stopped from coming back for them, even if they get away at the moment. Tying her up would only be a temporary reprieve from the fear.
and
2. Competence in top-secret organizations is nothing more than a TV trope... in real life, all of the most supposedly tech-savvy, powerful organizations are frequently caught displaying incredibly egregious incompetence (CIA, anyone?). I consider moments like Victor's escape to be nods to reality...
10/14/09
@drmaybe: Word. My dad accidentally drove onto the Nuclear Research facility at Los Alamos this summer, and they just waved him on through and didn't stop him for 45 minutes.
10/11/09
10/12/09
And, yes, there's a clear distinction between Caroline and Echo, and Ballard reflects this once he realized it during last season's fight scene with echo.
10/11/09
yet another malfunction? doll imprinted with a serial killer mind strolls out of dollhouse without gps ... really? and this is a super secret hi tech operation with elite clientele?
i read that the ratings for this episode is up. i wonder if it has anything to do with echo gyrating in a schoolgirl outfit. does this mean that her future assignments will tend towards the prostitute/sexual fantasy sort?
10/11/09
But on the other hand, I don't think we're paying nearly enough attention to why Ballard joined the Dollhouse in the first palce, something he hated doing with every fiber of his being.
All along, it seems clear to me that he never loved/wanted Echo/caroline. He loved and wanted Mellie. He gave up his own freedom and compromised himself willingly -- to buy the freedom of whoever Mellie really was. He gave her up twice, and it cost him both times. He wouldn't use her, and he gave her her freedom over herself. (Which, BTW, is the moral of the fairy tale that the Wife of Bath tells in Canterbuty Tales. Yes, lit prof here.)
That's why Ballard's been so hangdog and unhappy. And when he runs into Mellie/Madeline by accident, his tenderness is obvious. And yet once again, she mistakes his genuine even obsessive concern for Echo/Caroline (as someone who's freedom has been taken away) to be the central object of his passion as a man.... But she's not.
It's wonderfully ironic. Ballard's a guy who takes his sexual relationships seriously. Mellie/Madeleine wasn't just a fling with him. He's seriously hurting. And now he has to stay away from her to be honorable; what a Catch 22 he accepted when he bought her her freedom....
10/11/09
10/11/09
Sexual fantasies aren't always pretty.
Question: What if Terry had come to the Dollhouse and asked them to stage his little croquet party?
10/11/09
The important takeaway was he didn't just want a girl to play out his sexual fantasy, he wanted her to live it. That's where it's really sick here. It's not just someone playing it out, it's a living, breathing creation based on someone's sick idea of a thrill. It ups the creep-factor considerably.
10/11/09
10/11/09
Just one question: What was the deal with the "worm" mentioned in the scene where Topher and Ivy were fixing the computers? Does that mean the Dollhouse was hacked? Alpha? Senator Wesley's NSA friends? November?!
10/11/09
10/11/09
10/11/09
"Almost". It was totally played for laughs. Done well too.
BTW I'll chime in with the people who liked this one. Good pacing, interesting twists, nice "OMG this can be used for evil" hints.
10/12/09
I thought the resolution was a bit weak too. It would have been better if Echo had gone to the women all crazy but had gotten control of her bonus imprint by the time she was there and just rescued them.
10/11/09
10/11/09
10/12/09
10/11/09
I understand they brought up ethical issues, but it did not occur to a single cast member that the whole reason Alpha was an issue was that he had nearly the EXACT SAME BRAIN as our would be murderer? And wouldn't they be, oh, I don't know, a thousand times more concerned that they got stuck in the previously freaking COMPOSITED Echo?
Given recent events, you think the Dollhouse crew would do a little more than shrug and go "Well, the serial killer's out of Echo's BRAIN now. Back to business!"
Than again, as was pointed out? A little criminally incompetent.
Anyway, back to plus points: Again, I appreciate them making Topher's motives a little less clear, and again, a subtle nod to Epitah One: NOW Adelle's little mother-hen behavior towards Topher makes a certain sort of guilty sense--she was the one who basically forced him to make the breakthroughs that would pave the way for the series. Not so altruistic is she now, hmm? Again, I appreciate that Topher is starting to show that he *has* some morals and ideals, and we're all just starting to learn them.
As EVERYONE is saying, Victor's actor is clearly the killer of this show: Pretty much what everyone said, his depictions of Terry was nice, and his little 'outburst' as Kiki was seriously the one moment where things in the show just clicked, rare as they can be. Bonus points to Tamioh's Ballard in some points: Okay, the lovey-dovey Echo crap just doesn't feel right no matter HOW HARD you shoehorn it, but 'comforting' Kiki in Victor's body? I absolutely love the awkwardness, followed promptly by threatening the crowd.
If we can have more episodes that focus less on Echo and more on other members, I think we can salvage some really good episodes. I'm actually kind of looking forward to next week, if just to figure out what the hell Topher has to do with Sierra's origin.
10/11/09
"Alpha was an issue was that he had nearly the EXACT SAME BRAIN as our would be murderer?"
I don't remember that being mentioned in any of the eps from season 1... -_-
Re: Alpha-- Karl William Craft was a sociopath before he became Alpha. Caroline wasn't/isn't, and though Dominic had pointed that Echo has the potential to go all Alpha on them, it's been pointed out that it's not going to happen, as with the events in Omega.
As for Echo "remembering", the only person who knows that little fact is Ballard and nobody else. The mommy incident was blamed on Topher tinkering with Echo's glands and not as a composite event. As far as the Dollhouse peeps are concerned, the complete wipe was good because of the successful "self-guided journey" in s1.
But I agree. More of the supporting characters, less Echo. (Cho....ho...o-- sorry, I couldn't resist)
10/11/09
While I understand Alpha was a sociopath before (the brain issue was mentioned when Karl and Adelle were looking over Alpha's stuff), and this is slightly different, it really is demonstrating a lack of caution. It doesn't take a huge logical leap to think "playing with damaged brains is bad".
Furthermore, and perhaps more irritably, they don't understand composites. I get that nobody 'knows' Echo is still remembering, but they do know what happened. The fact they don't know is somehow more irritating because they should be watching her. It shows the Dollhouse as again, rather inept. A few months ago, they didn't think compositing could happen at all. You think they'd be a little more than "Wellp, that's over! anyone want a soda?"
Still, good episode... just, some of these issues are nagging at me.
10/10/09
And Adelle was all so HBIC. And she has so many big, tall men around her (lawlz). The Paul-Victor!Terry interrogation scene was also wonderful (and I loved how they intercut the scenes with Terry and then with Echo and the skeevy professor. I also liked Echo!Kiki, esp. after she was imprinted. Eliza can switch from ditzy to creepy to innocent, but she's not as good as Enver.
Lines that stuck:
"I'm Kiki. I don't know how I got here, I so don't care... am I drunk?"
"At some point, you decided, real people weren't worth it. You pushed them away. Alienated everyone in your life so you could surround yourself with the fakes. The copies. It made you feel like you had some control."
10/10/09
10/11/09
10/10/09
10/10/09
I hate that Echo is consistently turning me off this show. And it's not a good thing when Enver is "imprinted" with Terry and it's immediately obvious through every line of his body, but then the imprint's passed along to Eliza and... blah. She's just reading lines and being shouty, the restrained mannerisms are completely gone.
I wish this show was all Victor, Sierra and Whiskey. I really can't get past Eliza's acting.
10/10/09
This is what I love about Whedon, he has a great eye for casting 'unknowns' and giving talented people breaks.
I really am impressed with what Gjokaj has done so far in the series and the range he's displayed- since he had no credits prior to Dollhouse, I first thought he was just a generic pretty boy actor Whedon would have quickly killed off and replaced by the end of the 1st season.
Victor is actually a highlight of the show for me now and I really hope they expand his and Sierra's (I think Lachman is another great find) roles this season instead of having them do auxiliary bit's to Echo's storyline.
...oh dear.. I think I have a man-crush on him...
*fans self*
Goodness Gracious!
10/10/09
The guy is still breathing in the latter scene, so Paul didn't kill him or anything, but there seems to be an implication that something was done (maybe Topher gave the guy's gray matter a wash, fluff and fold?) to insure he was over, and Paul seemed to be plenty comfortable with the idea...
Just how far is he coming around to the Dollhouse way of doing things?
10/10/09
10/10/09
10/10/09