Dollhouse and the ‘Drawer of Inappropriate Starches’

That seems an appropriate title, as one of the early complaints about the show was that it lacked the Whedon funny. That was remedied this week as the various members of Dollhouse HQ suffered the effects of a designer drug. The funny was just a small slice of what we saw on the screen though. Picking up where “Man On The Street” left off, “Echoes” paints a much better picture of what the show can be. And, again, calls into question the decision to do the ‘five pilots.’ Someone is still owed a kick to the crotch for that idea.

Update: Ratings are in. 3.87 million viewers with a 1.3 in the demo. Yikes.

Because really, after seeing the last two episodes, those first five pale in comparison. They had their moments, some more than others, but when compared to all the progress made on the story in these last two episodes, they end up in the marking time category. There are probably four hours of those first five that could be completely thrown out without missing a beat. That’s unfortunate, for two reasons. Selfishly, we could have another four hours on the back end of what we’re watching now. And pragmatically, those five episodes didn’t do the show any favors where the ratings are concerned.

All that aside, what a week, huh? We finally started getting a little more back story on the actives. And I stress the ‘little’ when talking about Sierra and Victor. On the other hand, there was quite a bit to learn about Echo/Caroline. When we got that first peek at Caroline being brought in to the Dollhouse in the pilot, I never would have guessed that she was a member of the Coalition for the Liberation of Itinerant Tree-Dwellers (NSFW), or something like that. It works for the character, but leaves me thinking that we’re still not seeing part of the recruitment process.

It made more sense with Sam. Clearly, outside of the Dollhouse, he’s facing a laundry list of charges that ends with murder. Not a lot of options. But based on what we saw in Caroline’s flashback, what is she looking at? Trespassing? Breaking and entering? In the pilot, Caroline says that she doesn’t really have a choice. So, there must be more to it. Trumped up charges? Given what we know about the connections the Dollhouse has, that’s not a big stretch. Or maybe a simple ‘do it or else’ threat. Also, perfectly reasonable considering the information we have. Whatever it is, there is more to that story, to be sure.

Of course, looking at the recruitment process again also raises the question, “Does anyone actually believe that actives actually complete their contract and get out?” My best guess is that it’s both too big a security risk, and much more profitable to blow right past the expiration date, because who is going to protest? Although, wouldn’t it be a fun twist to learn that Ballard’s obsession with the Dollhouse is a product of his subconscious remembering being an active?

Ballard’s refusal to actually drop the case after being suspended wasn’t a surprise, but did lead to some interesting revelations for Mellie, who is now confirmed as November. I suppose the fact that she is an active means we have to assume that all of her actions are being pre-determined by the Dollhouse. Not a hard leap to make as she tries to convince Ballard that dropping the case is the right thing to do. Her exit at the end of the episode seems an odd choice though.  She had the perfect cover, so why is she being recalled? They can’t think that Ballard is no longer a threat. Mellie may have offered a clue in that last scene by mentioning her friend Debbie. What do you suppose the chances are that Debbie shows, and looks a whole lot like Sierra?

The Rossum Corporation sheds a little light on the the corporate structure surrounding the Dollhouse. The fact that Adelle admits to aspiring to Clive’s job tells us that he is above her. So, does that make Rossum the ‘Senior Partners,’ or just another cog in a much bigger machine? Rossum also reaffirms just how heinous these people are. Just in case assassinations and prostitution hadn’t driven the point home, now they experiment on babies. Damn. It’s also a clever reference. R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) is a Czech play that “begins in a factory that makes ‘artificial people’.”

All things considered, a very good episode. The funny stuff was welcome, and well done. My favorite bits came from Adelle — “Sarcastic? Unfeeling? British?” — and Dominic — “Again, so sorry for trying to burn you alive.” More importantly, this is the show that everyone thought Dollhouse could be. And, based on the previews for next week, it appears we have more of that to come.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Mar 28, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT