"Dollhouse": Wholly mole-y!

"You need to investigate why it exists. The Dollhouse deals in fantasy but that is not their purpose. Investigate their purpose." So sayeth the mole inside the "Dollhouse," via Mellie (aka November) to a completely confused Agent Ballard in tonight's solid episode. It's the second time that the mole has delivered this message to Ballard so far, but it's unclear still what that purpose is. Maybe we should ask Adele. She's not unlike the former head of the Hair Club for Men: not only is she the president, but she's also a client!

OK, she's not the president. More like "middle management." But that doesn't stop her from dipping in the company ink a little bit, as Victor's anonymous Lonely Hearts client. In this episode, we watch her partake in her tenth date with "Roger," which according to my Dollhouse courtesy card means the next encounter is free! Yes, even the woman more keenly aware than any indulges in her own form of self-delusion, hiring her very own doll to beat back the stress of running a highly-dysfunctional, completely illegal, and overall morally bankrupt organization.

Now, last week many of you took the show to task for essentially trying to put a cheery face on a despicable group of individuals. I'm not sure that's quite the point. In fact, I'd argue that all employees of the "Dollhouse," even Boyd to some extent, represent the banality of evil. It's not that they are unaware of the nature of their work; they either justify it in some way to make it through everyday life or simply shrug off the intrinsic horror of the purpose of the Dollhouse.

In fact, the lack of specificity concerning the Dollhouse's purpose is likely intentional. It's quite likely that very few employees of the organization see past the sexcapades and occasional Double-O-Doll personas and see a bigger picture at large. But this week's central mystery, concerning a piece of NSA hardware left in the imprint chair, shows there are larger applications beyond leather dungeons and May-November romances. It's interesting that Adele reveals to "Roger" that she used to create organs from stem cells; in some ways, the work inside the Dollhouse is something of an extension of that pervious job. But instead of growing a kidney or a liver, she's growing the living embodiment of a specific social, psychological, or militaristic need.

That piece of NSA hardware was placed by Dominic, a three-year employee of the Dollhouse and three year spy for the NSA. His purpose? Not to undermine the Dollhouse, but instead protect it. Not convinced of Adele's competence, the NSA inserted him in there with the vested interest of keeping the technologies therein both safe and, more importantly, contained. While seeing potential value in the Dollhouse's work, they didn't want to see said technology appearing on the black market.

But why? There's a moral component that's odious, but is there actual harm in a technology that merely allows other companies to sell Love, Mistress of Pain, to the highest bidder? Probably not. But again, that's not the Dollhouse's purpose. And while Dominic is an NSA mole, he is NOT the one who subverted the programming of November this week any more than he subverted Echo in "Man on the Street." He might have suggested Lubov and Mellie as ways to distract Ballard from his investigation, but he would have no interest in planting subliminal messages to point Ballard to a worldwide network of Dollhouses.

So, clearly, at least one person sees a broader application behind the imprinting process beyond orgasms. Kudos to them. Now, it's a matter of figuring out whom that might be. My best guess now is a tandem of Alpha and Dr. Saunders. I think we're supposed to wonder what Saunders' answer to Sherlock Echo's question of "Do you have any friends outside of here?" would have been had Dominic not gotten Sierra Bristow's call at that moment. Previously, I would have thought Adele would have a stake in dismantling her own organization, but her overindulgence in all things "Roger" seems to eliminate her from the picture.

Other tidbits from tonight:

1. I enjoyed the slightly overlapping structure of the episode, coming full circle to the Frankenstein-like way in which Dominic was put into the Attic. Also, props to the show for explaining what the process does. Having literally every answer just beyond reach sounds like one hellacious form of torture.
2. Ballard's Wall of Weird evoked not only Chloe Sullivan's similar version in "Smallville" but also the timeline string concocted by Hiro in "Heroes."
3. I'm willing to wager the Chinese characters on Ballard's shirt mean something; can anyone help translate?
4. First John Connor watched Cameron undress in the season finale of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," and then we had Ballard realizing he was macking on a Doll. Was NOT a good night for overly earnest Caucasian males on the FOX network.
5. Loved Echo refusing to truly cede trust to her new handler. I still say Boyd's no knight in shining armor; simply by working for the Dollhouse he's lost that right. But tossing around lines like, "We're pimps and killers, but in a philanthropic way," makes it hard to truly hate him.

In summary: with Dominic gone, Echo's primary antagonist inside the Dollhouse is gone. Adele theorizes Echo is more of an asset to the company than ever, but this is the same woman that thought sleeping with one of her own dolls was a good idea. File under "self-delusion." Rather than merely glitch, a nominally "clean" Echo took initiative, understood her surroundings, and acted on instinct. That's a potentially more dangerous development for the Dollhouse's survival than any glitch ever could be.

Still queasy about the show's central conceit? Is Echo's evolution actually what Adele wants? And who do you think the remaining mole is? Take our poll below!

Ryan writes for all the Lonely Hearts Bloggers over at Boob Tube Dude.