Dollhouse

TV Review: DOLLHOUSE - SEASON 1 - ’Echoes’

Thank goodness last week’s unofficial reboot of the Joss Whedon series wasn’t a fluke as a contagion on a college campus reveals more about all the characters on the show

The biggest relief of this week’s episode of DOLLHOUSE, appropriately dubbed “Echoes,” is that last week’s unofficial reboot of the series wasn’t a fluke.

Joss Whedon single-handedly got the series back on its feet and in the right direction with “Man on the Street” and this week, the continual evolution of the mythology continues to broaden and expand – finally giving viewers a reason to want to tune in for the rest of Season 1.

Whether the network is happy with the mythology driven storytelling that’s now happening with the show (and the possibility that the entire series is going to evolve into something completely different if all the changes and modifications stick) is a whole other question. But let’s hope they leave well enough alone and see where it’s all going.

“Echoes” finally taps into the nagging question of the series of how do people get sucked into the “Dollhouse” organization and why would anyone allow their minds to be wiped clean.

So yes, answers to questions are finally offered. We see Caroline aka Echo (Eliza Dushku) in the past being interrogated by Adelle (Olivia Williams) and setting up why she would join. Then we see in flashbacks and “glitches” how she ended up there. Apparently Caroline was an animal rights activist and she had some issues with a corporation called Rossum (which apparently is one of the investors in the Dollhouse itself). She felt there were bad things going on in a lab at the college campus funded by them, so she went to and decided to take matters into her own hands with her boyfriend. Well, she got caught, her boyfriend died (or did he — could he be Alpha) and the Dollhouse offered her a choice: her life or join up for the Dollhouse for five years to work things off.

The entry point into this story, is a bio-chemical compound is inadvertently released on a college campus lab which takes away all inhibitions. It’s up to the Dollhouse to send in actives who won’t be affected by the contagion while also trying to find an antidote.

Echo isn’t initially is on a different assignment and not called into action, but because she is having memory glitches, she sees the Rossum Building on the news and goes there.

One thing leads to another, and every character on the show from Adelle, Topher and handler Boyd (and even the actives) start acting goofy and break totally out of character.

There’s even a menacing moment with Mellie (Miracle Laurie), who is used as a test subject with the contagion, starts having a major glitch. Damn, I love this character.

We even learn that Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) is still going to pursue the Dollhouse, despite being suspended from the F.B.I.

All in all — a pretty solid episode. It’s refreshing to see the lighter side of Adelle and her moments with Topher are quite good. It’s those moments that also display some of that old Whedon character magic that’s slowly starting to come out now that the characters are actually developing somewhat.

In a weird way, now that we’ve learned more about Echo, I’m sad to stay I’m not 100% bowled over by the revelation. It works, but after all this build-up, you almost felt like there needed to be more bad girl than good girl in the incident that landed her at the Dollhouse. That said, her memories could have been a plant by Topher too – so you never know.

As for the characters – many of them are actually growing on me more. This is the first episode I’ve actually liked Adelle and had a chance to see beyond her usually stuffy veneer. Head of Security Laurence Dominic (Reed Diamond) continues to be an intriguing character and one of continual mystery to his motivations. Topher is likable for the second week in a row. Plus, I’m really digging Mellie – want to see more of her. She seems more dangerous than Echo and the other dolls combined. And Enver Gjokaj as Victor also had a great chance to show off his acting chops as a faux F.B.I. agent.

DOLLHOUSE has thankfully found its way. Let’s hope it wasn’t too late. The ratings have been pretty good and creatively it’s hitting its stride, so let’s hope by finally getting invested in the show, Fox doesn’t pull the plug just as its getting pretty damn good. Boy would that make so many of us REALLY angry!