Dollhouse "Briar Rose"

[orangerful]

Quick thoughts on last week's episode of "Dollhouse"



faeriesfolly, don't worry, I managed to un-spoil myself because after the first introduction of Alan Tudyk, I got all confused and somehow convinced myself that he wasn't Alpha. haha.

On the other hand, HOLY CRAP I don't think I realized how scary Alan Tudyk can be if he wants to. That loveable Wash grin can turn into the sneer of a mass murderer with just the right head-tilt. Yikes!

I really liked the whole "princess in the castle" parallel story going on there (much love for Jane Espenson), gave the show an extra layer it had been missing. Also nice to see the Dollhouse being used for good. I think we needed more of that fuzzy-gray-area stuff earlier in the series. I was a bit confused over how the job was taken...Topher appears to be claiming the whole thing as his idea but did he pay for it? Was it charity work that DeWitt wanted done? Was it all just an experiment to see if Topher could pull the brain-aging-process off?

More and more I feel like Boyd is in the Dollhouse to bring it down. Maybe he was Paul in another life, but he realized before getting in as deep as Paul, that storming the castle (so to speak) would not solve anything. I think Echo's transformation will hit him the hardest since he has grown attached for her (very Giles & Buffy) and his feelings for her are more than that of a caretaker. He might be the one that has to take Alpha out (or Alpha is going to get him immediately)

Poor Victor. I guess that is the end of him. No one will want a scarred up Doll. also, I wonder what the whole "did you always want to be a doctor" question was about? I have a bad feeling that next week's episode will open with a very dead Claire. :(

Next week looks very Bonnie & Clyde. Sort of wished I hadn't watched the preview because I feel like I saw a LOT of next week's show in there...blah, need to practice more self restraint!

Speaking of, I feel like this is what the entire season has been leading up to and that has been the problem with Dollhouse. FOX says they will take 13 episodes. Joss & Co. figure out how they want to season to start and what will go down in the finale, but I think it was episodes 2-9 that through them for a loop. Perhaps they had other things they wanted to do and the rumored "dumb-it-down-love-FOX" notes caused us to tread water with Echo-of-the-week stories. Or maybe we hadn't experienced a "Season 1" of Whedon in awhile. I mean, if you go back and rewatch Buffy (and somehow wipe your brain of the rest of the series) Season 1 is a pretty slow starter too - the first episode is great, and the finale is OMG, but there are a lot of in-betweeners that are just okay. It was more solid than Dollhouse, but it wasn't golden from day 1. Firefly might have been the most fully formed show that Joss has ever done, maybe because he was immersed in Buffy and Angel and already had his head in series that were running at full speed and didn't feel like slowing down so he starts Firefly off that way too...

but I digress. I would really like to see Dollhouse get a second season because that is where these shows usually shine. We're finally getting into the meat of the show, of where it is all going. Everything they set up has been turned on its head, so far as Boyd being Echo's handler forever, Paul searching for the Dollhouse etc.. - those things are over. Whatever the writers had in mind for season 2, it is very different from season 1.

Comments

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I unspoiled myself for Alpha too! Like, "oh, he's just a guest star--probably not *really* Alpha..."

More and more I feel like Boyd is in the Dollhouse to bring it down. Maybe he was Paul in another life, but he realized before getting in as deep as Paul, that storming the castle (so to speak) would not solve anything.
I am pinning a lot of my hopes on Boyd. I think he and Paul are a lot alike, and so much of Boyd's motivations remain fuzzy. Ex-cop who wants to protect the dolls but must work within the system in order to do so... Then again, I'm also hoping the princess in the tower will save herself this time around.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

During the entire battle in Dollhouse, it was so funny that they were both trying to "save" Echo the whole time, leading to the "run echo!/run caroline!" moments.

I hope the princess saves herself too.

[girly-scribbles.livejournal.com]

I agree with what you say about Buffy season 1... if you look at it episode by episode, yes there was some gems but there were also quite a few stand alone duds!

I hope for a second season, however I don't think that we will get another, which is a real shame :-(

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it would be nice if someone else swooped in and saved the day (come on, SyFy, what the hell else do you have now that BSG is gone?) but this will probably be it for Dollhouse. But I'm not going to give up until they officially say no.

[demonqueen666.livejournal.com]

HOLY CRAP I don't think I realized how scary Alan Tudyk can be if he wants to.

Inorite? What. The hell. That was amazing and TERRIFYING.

also, I wonder what the whole "did you always want to be a doctor" question was about?

A lot of people have been theorizing that Alpha was taunting/testing her because she's actually a Doll. In the scene with Imprinted Dominic (speaking of amazing acting performances, way to go guy who plays Victor, with the jaw-droppingly perfect impression) he said to her/called her(?) "Whiskey" - and everyone else in the room brushed it off completely, despite them all being surrounded by phoentically named Actives 24/7. (Also, if you think about it: she was never shown in the episode where everyone got high...because as a Doll, she wouldn't react to it the way the human staff does?)

Poor Victor. I guess that is the end of him. No one will want a scarred up Doll.

Nooo, dun get rid of Victor! He's awesome and we luffs him! D: I'm hoping they'll find an excuse to keep him around...maybe they can fic his face somehow? Though if the above theory is true, not so much...

I really hope they give it another season too, because pretty much everything from episode 6 has been amazing and I can only imagine how much better it could get with time. I feel weird saying it, but morally grayness and unfortunate implications aside I am really loving the whole cast of characters as well as the Dolls, and I want to see where their stories go. Also, keeping with true drawn-to-trainwreck tradition, I've somehow become a DeWitt/Dominic shipper and I'd really like to see where their interaction could go now because...yeeeeah. Man, say what you will, spying and attempts to kill Echo aside, even still: Poor Dominic.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that Claire might be a doll too, especially since we found out she never leaves the Dollhouse in that one episode.

And yes, the guy playing Victor totally NAILED all of Dominic's mannerisms, even tied to a chair. Very well done.

Well, considering how nuckin' futz everything has gone, Victor could continue on in the series, scars and all. I think, if the show survives, s2 will bear little resemblance to s1. Too much has changed.

[faeriesfolly.livejournal.com]

http://faeriesfolly.livejournal.com/305164.html

I think they should either go back to that Echo of the Week or royally piss me off. They really kind of left that hanging with the little girl, but at least it seemed more....hopeful.... Meh.

See my post for my thoughts on Victor, and I don't think Claire will be dead. She was alive when Alpha/Echo left her.

The one thing that I love/hate about watching it on hulu is the lack of the preview for the following episode.

*adds to voices calling for second season*

[faeriesfolly.livejournal.com]

And also? *perfect icon is perfect*