'Dollhouse' and the devil you know
It was the great philosopher Descartes that once said, "Tell me whatcha want, whatcha really really want." Least, I think it was him. Maybe I'm screwing that up. In any case, tonight's episode of "Dollhouse" centered around desire; namely, those yearnings that were causing recurring glitches in several of the dolls. Rather than repress those desires, one employee decided it was high time to unleash them.
That employee? Dr. Claire Saunders, of all people. Maybe you saw it coming, but I didn't. What first seemed like Adele's way of testing Dollhouse security in the wake of the campus-induced Glitch-a-Polooza was in fact Saunders' clever way of solving the consistent ways in which several models were acting in ways unbecoming a blank slate. By exploiting their weak time (during sleep), Saunders concocted a plan to enable Echo, Victor, Sierra, and November to come to grips with a deep-seeded yearning that no machine could fully wipe away.
Echo's desire: FREEDOM! Yup, our smaller, more female version of William Wallace forsook the way-too-easy exit and instead decided to save every last doll. The savior complex that once sought to liberate monkeys went back for a more docile, less feces-throwing pack of animals this time around. She even got a great vengeance and furious anger out upon Topher and Adele in the processing room to boot.
November's desire: MATERNITY! Looks like the Artist Sometimes Known as Mellie is a mother. Well, was a mother. After finding a baby carriage amongst her personal stash of clothes (inside the mother of all walk-in closets), November looked high and wide to find her daughter Katie. And find her she did.
Sierra's desire: EMPOWERMENT! With a scant memory of the man who put her into the Dollhouse, she heads for his apartment. Turns out Mr. Douchebag 2009 decided he wanted her as a play thing, and rather than read "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus," he pulled some strings to insert Sierra into the Dollhouse roster. You know, to take out occasionally for a ride. Like I said, he's the Duke of Douchington.
Victor's desire: SMOOCHIES! He's in lurve. Even as a doll, there's a part of his brain observing. He's unable to resist the programming, but he can still direct a minute bit of attention towards Sierra. Without the programming, he's reduced to reciting members of the 1986 New York Mets, which made this Red Sox loving recapping wicked happy. Sigh.
Saunders' masterstroke involved an implanted sedative activated when the doll achieved closure. Not everyone received a happy closure (especially November who found Katie six feet underground), but it was apparently enough to rewire those pesky synapses always messing with the Dollhouse's expensive mind-warping technologies. And yet, if you watched closely near the end, Sierra's hand print still remained on the wall of the room in which her handler once raped her. Looks like some things can never be removed, no matter how hard you try.
In the life and times of Paul Ballard, he had the strangest dream. No, he didn't sail away to China, in a little row boat to find ya. Instead, he dreamed a little dream of Echo coming in for little "you scratch my back, I'll knock boots with you on your couch" action. All while Mellie watched. Has the writing staff being reading fanfic? In any case, Ballard woke up and searched the house, based on his dream, and found a futuristic bug planted in his vent.
After obtaining the proper equipment to potentially triangulate the Dollhouse by using said bug, he gets a voicemail. Turns out Caroline called Ballard after finding information about him during her little liberation tour. Ballard had this look that said, "I wonder if she's wearing that black number from my dream."
A few more tidbits from tonight:
- Nice confirmation to what many thought: that inside the sleep pods is a wonderful mix of sedatives, anti-psychotic meds, and Febreze. You know, for the smell of spring.
- Absolutely LOVED the "real" Victor. Is it wrong I was rooting more for him than Caroline? I'm sensing that's kind of a huge problem as far as the show is concerned. Let's have a show based around him, with his catchphrase being, "Anyone else got anything better than aliens?" I would so watch that show.
- Loved the subtle but pointed interaction between Boyd and Claire at the end. His not-so-disguised disgust at her being the mastermind of the plan was palpable, as was his sadness of losing his only potential in-house ally.
- Having just seen "Watchmen," I couldn't help but compare Caroline's voicemail to Ballard as akin to Rorschach dropping off his journal to the New Frontiersman.
All in all, watching the four dolls helplessly and naïvely seek to escape was effective, but now it makes me want to see them succeed all the more. In addition, it establishes the Dollhouse as a much more powerful threat than in weeks past. Through Adele, the show directly addressed the Dollhouse's essential ineptitude recently, calling it "out of balance." Her duty is to protect the house. But as that hand print shows, the house doesn't always win.
What did you make of the cat-and-mouse game played between the Dollhouse and its troublesome inhabitants? And do you think the right character is the show's lead right now? Take the poll, and explain your choice in the comments below!
Ryan keeps his house in order over at Boob Tube Dude.
I can't believe how many people are skimming over the fact that the Dollhouse is flat-out sex trafficking. Sierra was kidnapped, sold to the Dollhouse, brainwashed, and now she gets rented back to her attacker (who Dollhouse'd her because she refused him). No contracts, no five years. The Dollhouse is sending Sierra to be raped by the one person she specifically DID NOT want to have sex with, and getting paid for it.
Joss may have spent some time trying to flesh out Topher, Adele, Saunders... but they know about Sierra, clearly. That makes them all complicit in her captivity and her (ongoing) rape, and I don't think that's redeemable.
This Dollhouse should be burnt to the ground, with everyone but Victor and Sierra in it.
Yeah, that is a big hurdle to get over, isn't Grace? Especially when they like to think they're "helping people" and "doing good."
But on a side note, I am so rooting for Victor and Sierra now! I really hope this closure bit doesn't take away that sense of connection they have--Victor didn't turn and look to Sierra when they went to bad after their return, and I don't want it to remain that way. :(
I was also very sad for November's former life; I wonder exactly how she ended up in the Dollhouse?
I have been a fan of Joss Whedon's work for many years. Loved his TV shows and films.
I have watched each episode aired to date of Dollhouse, and I am just not a fan of this show.
JW has shown us in the past that he has a very clever mind, and what you see on the screen can be representative of something else entirely.
That was part of what made watching Buffy so much fun. All that teen angst and drama in the form of vamps etc.
If you stand back and look at the big picture, you see some of the same unfolding on Dollhouse. I won't speak for him, but I can see societal ills being portrayed any number of ways by what we see each week.
The problem I am having is stomaching the tawdry and the sleazy each week. The morally and ethically bankrupt people running the Dollhouse are unpleasant to watch.
The obvious abuse of power is depicted, but doesn't make it any easier to view.
Topher comes across as obnoxious to me not geeky and cute. Adelle is an iceburg one week, and then they go for comedy with her another week with her jumping on a trampoline.
I am sure the way women are objectified in our society is being illustrated in the story lines, but we often are just seeing Eliza in sexy attire being a plaything for males. She seems like a victim to me.
The show seems a bit preachy about abuses of power and objectifying women, but it comes across as exploitation itself.
I agree Victor is a better lead.
Grace, I completely agree with everything you just said. I was thinking the same thing. As a woman myself, it is just painful to watch.
And Serenity, I also agree with everything you just said. I love love love Buffy, Firfly, and Angel. But this show can be just painful to watch. I think that this was one of the better episodes so far (though that's not saying much). However, that being said, I expected more from this episode. I thought at least one active would succeed and get out into the real world and then the show would have a new direction. But instead everyone is back where they started. Yes, Agent Ballard did learn they are underground, but with my expectations for a new direction for the show so high, it was just not enough for me. I know eventually at least some of them will get out, but I think the show needs a new direction now not later.
After this episode, I watched Chimp Eden on Animal Planet which I had TIVOed, and it was much more action pact and exciting to me. I love Joss, and I wanted to love this show, but the show just isn't working for me. I have been faithful to the show thus far, but I have to be honest in that I just don't like it. So, I'm done with it, but for the rest of you, I hope it gets better for your sake. Sorry Joss.
I thought it was implied, by mentioning how much money he spent to "grease the wheels" and the effort it took him, that the guy whom Sierra confronted basically pulled a fast one on the Dollhouse.
I think that Adele and company believed that Sierra "volunteered" to become a doll. And by volunteered I'm thinking along the lines of was framed and was told "Dollhouse or big house". Adele et al may not even realize that they're sending Sierra to the guy responsible, although they have proven that money talks. Obviously, we'd need to see the back story to confirm it, but I think it's reasonable to infer that the Dollhouse is not complicit with that aspect of Sierra becoming a doll.
As far as the sex trading goes, the dolls signed contracts while they were still "themselves"; maybe we should ***ume that the contracts delineated what possible things the dolls might be required to do.
I suppose its academic (and let's not forget fictional) but if one was to ***ume that because of their programming, the dolls are WILLING participants, then it's consensual. Of course, I'm sure that some active aren't so lucky; perhaps the Dollhouse philosophy is "since they don't remember, it's not an issue."
yes there is prostitution going on. okay, so that is a premise. i think we can have a show with that as one of the premises and get over it. and if some ppl can't get over it, then they don't have to watch i guess. some segment of the viewing audience can deal with that as a premise. it's fiction for god's sake.
i've been loving Victor for the last few weeks now. ever since he had been "noticing" Sierra despite his wipes. ever since he said "better," he won me over right then and there. i am in love.
not sure how much of a problem this poses for the stated lead of the show (echo). i don't really care. at least something is holding my interest on the show! i'm also liking characters November (a lot) and Ballard too.
enjoyed the epi this week. it was stronger than their normal weekly tripe (imho).
and to recapper Ryan, thanks so much for pointing out Sierra's hand print on the wall (i missed it) as well as Adele's comment about the house being "out of balance" (which i heard but appreciate your observation about its probable deeper meaning). cool, this show is showing signs of life (kind of like the dolls themselves), i hope it keeps going.
These last few episodes really have been better. JW has said all along that this is a darker show than his previous efforts. And, it's true, I'm more interested in the Victor/Sierra storyline than in Echo's... although I do enjoy seeing Agent Ballard without his shirt :)
I was completely not expecting this whole "escape" thing to be the brainchild of Dr. Saunders. That was a little out of left field for me. It's nice to watch a show with surprises!
I wonder...just for arguements sake...Does Joss realize one of his weakest links in this show is Caroline as played by Echo and is deliberatley making sure the audience is more invested in Victor and Sierra? Becasue I find myself much more invested in both those characters and Mellie/November than am I Caroline/Echo. The most interesting thing about Caroline/Echo is her handler and Paul Ballard. So we have an ensemble cast of the 3 dolls and the handler and the agent we care about, and that leaves one character the lead as an also ran plot point?
The show has to wrap in what 4 episodes? Network upfronts are next month, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Fox meeting when they decide if they want to renew or p***.
Since the revelation that this is being funded by a corporation, has anyone thought that perhaps the larger purpose here is research ethics? Keep in mind, Echo discovered that the Rossum corp was testing on something larger? And considering that in today's society, humans are not to be hurt in ANY way during research, and research is only to be used to improve quality of life. It's human rights.
Obviously, there is the sex issue. And yes, it is an issue. But this show is about ethics, about choices, about free will and what happens when the lines blur. Think about what Adele said about believing in the Dollhouse. What did the Bush administration say about the war? Thye believe in what they are doing. Think about the SS officers,"We were doing as we were ordered."
I think Joss has a lot of work to do because last night's episode sucked @ss. My husband, who HATES anything Buffy/Angel, but LOVED Firefly (which I couldn't stand), has been giving Dollhouse a chance. And last night he said he was going to find something else to do between 8-9 on a Friday night.