Just so y’all know I’m still watching – yeah, this is still earning its way with me as a first act. There was some fun stuff here, and for once the A-plot about the engagement was closely tied into the B-plot about activity at and around the Dollhouse itself. This episode’s instalment of the investigating-cop subplot was a big waste of time though; they’re really struggling to find excuses to put him in the episodes at present. Guys, just leave him out until a proper storyline comes along for him.
All over the net there’s backlash about how “wait for episode 6” is part of the mantra around this show. Sure, there’s some merit to being cynical about aspects of that message, but I don’t see that I’ve got much to lose by finding out if it’s right.
Either way, Dollhouse is going down in history as one of the most unusual show concepts ever. No sympathetic characters and your lead keeps getting her memory wiped? Weirdness. How this thing got greenlit I’ll never know.
4 thoughts on “Dollhouse Ep 4 (no spoilers)”
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“How this thing got greenlit I’ll never know”
Too true. I mean I basically heard the concept and was completely underwhelmed. They obviously gave the execs a really good idea of where they were going to go with it.
Though episode 4 was a much stronger episode. Scenes between Boyd and Topher continue to be strong, and we might have got our first real Wheddon one-liner in there.
Boyd: “They’re not bison you know”
Topher: thinks
Topher: “They’re a little bit bison.”
Classic.
I had hoped that the outcome of the show at the end for our heroine would have been a bit different just to move the story forward, but alas. Wait until episode 6.
I actually think a better description is Joss saying that they were finding their feet in the first 5 episodes. I can totally see that. Especially with the Ballard storyline, but also in characters like Reed Diamond’s security chief. I though the way he played it in episode 4 was way more low key and in control. It worked better for me. His scene with Echo at the end of episode 2 still really grates.
Still not great, but better. This show might pan out yet. Or not, who knows?
But you know, I’m totally gripped! Every episode causes a sub-plot in my head which is “OMG this is going to end and my heart will break.”
I didn’t have a problem with FBIGuy turning up in this episode, I think it was contributing to the long term plot arc and what his character is about, and it’ll pay off later.
I think I’m revising my opinion of the Alpha plotline a bit. At first glance, it struck me as an external threat to give relief from the exremely problematical internal situation, now it just feels like a tack-on. “Ooh look! There’s a boogie man! Let’s all look worried and play some menacing music!” It’s like the character of Pierre Le Pieu in _Ever After_. He was just some external decoration when all the interesting stuff in the movie was about the familial interrelationships. In _Dollhouse_, the interesting stuff is about an extraordinary individual progessing through different difficult situations, and the protagonist has a wide range of skills to draw on, but always within the limits of humanly possible – people keep referencing _Joe 90_, but to me, the key sources are _Quantum Leap_ and _The Pretender_. Except there’s this superhuman Alpha guy that they’re using as a plugin to trigger story events that they can’t justify out of the main plot (the remote wipe) and be scary. Heck, even if Echo manages to break the wiping and get her personality back, and get physically out of the Dollhouse, that feat becomes diminished because some magic guy went ahead and did it before her.