Dollhouse: Target
by Sonia Aurora
Most pilots are a good jumping off point for shows but oftentimes are made long before the show gets picked up. Ideas change, original cast members get replaced, and things get re-shot and the pilot is rarely the most accurate representation of the show, more like a good composite springboard. The best a show creator can hope for is that the pilot is strong enough to allow to develop further the vision they have, and the best stories have at least a season’s worth of vision, that shapes and evolves over time.
I was wary of Dollhouse’s first episode because it felt clunky, and while I didn’t expect seamless I did want something more refined than the final product was. I held hope, though, that things would begin to streamline and improve over the course of the season.
I just didn’t expect it to start from Episode 2…and I say this with the utmost respect and glee (insert smiley face here).
Now we’re getting to the meat of things, courtesy to some flashbacks and the current story line. While we went through the song and dance (again) of what the Dollhouse offers (blank slates, truth, yadda yadda), we definitely getting deeper in. The actors are better defining their roles within the show (with the exception, I think, of Olivia Williams, still sexy, stern and aloof, spouting company rhetoric without much dimension). I am absolutely loving Echo’s handler Boyd Langdon (erroneously called Harry Lennix in my first review – although his real name sounds like a character, no?). Detective Helo, um, Ballard even looked slightly hotter (even without a shirtless scene!). I’m liking the potential slime of Company Man Laurence Dominic. And, while at first annoying, he’s become the character I will wait with bated breath to hear what gems he tosses out, Whedonesque to the max (and I can assure you I will be quoting him often).
So this week we get 2 lines of story: Story 1 is Alpha’s escape, meticulously killing Actives save Echo (left naked and unscathed), which also leads to introducing how Langdon replaced Samuelson (a sliced and diced victim) as Echo’s handler.
Story 2 is Echo’s new assignment – Richard Connell is looking for the “perfect date,” because he’s tired of being with women who “weren’t who they said they were”. His request has a moderate risk attached, and he has to pay an extra fee, and potential more seeing as in what condition Echo comes back. There’s a vague creepiness about him. I harken back to my initial question about this show – are we gonna get some crazed client who is itching to torture and using an Active to live out a twisted fantasy that can eventually be erased?
So Echo is now Jenny, with hiking, outdoorsy and *sigh* sex skills who grew up with 4 brothers that were “not Republican” and is definitely living up to the expectations, on their little woodsy, rafting and climbing excursion.
Meanwhile, back at the Lair, um Dollhouse, Topher is chatting up with Langdon who’s on location monitoring Echo’s vitals. Langdon’s concerned, because everything’s elevated, but Topher assures him its not off the charts for the Engagement, and he can “discern between excitement and oh-God-I’m-gonna-die” squigglies. Langdon’s also not happy his signals in the van aren’t working great, but what can he expect? He’s “in the middle of why would anyone wanna be there?”
Meanwhile, Ballard is at the hideout house of the kidnappers in Episode 1 where other FBI guys are processing it. He’s asking questions, his colleagues are teasing him that he wants to connect everything to the Dollhouse case, and in a later scene he receives Alpha’s envelope with Echo’s (as Caroline) picture. It validates his insistence of his investigation, even if he’s wasting his time harassing the young Russian mobster (I’m assuming it’s a waste of time, yes, but I really believe it. I’d actually like to call him “Red Herring”, but I feel that might be politically incorrect with the whole red-communist connection).
Back in the woods, Richard and Echo are bonding, which includes shooting at a deer with a compound bow, and also introduces Richard crossing his arm across his chest to smack his shoulder, a display of the life’s lesson his father imparted on him – putting your shoulder to the wheel. Richard explains that people need to show they deserve to live. He further explains that in killling game, if you bring it down, it deserved to die; if not, it deserved to live. He sets up Echo to shoot the arrow and bring down the deer, and it cuts to them post coitus, his exclaiming she’s the perfect woman, and then going on about time and that he’s gonna give her a 5 minute head start and then he’s coming after her. There! A psychopath, looking for a new type of game – to hunt a human. And so the chance begins.
Flashing back to the post Alpha massacre, we learn Dr. Saunders’ fresh face cuts are from a run in with Alpha, so it seems not everyone died at his hand. Which also means Dr. Saunders is someone of value as much as the very alive Echo. Apparently Alpha was outfitted with some characteristics that made him a Jack the Ripper type, since he cut his victims in a way to ensure the maximum amount of suffering. So, as I suspected, the possibility of the brain going haywire after programming and erasing so much is bound to happen, and that leaves a very dangerous man, whose not his own person, loose and unpredictable. And where there is an unforeseen but important connection to Echo.
Echo’s running for her life anyway, with psycho hunter Richard on her heels. He manages to graze her leg with one of his arrows, another lands in a near miss.
Local law enforcement come upon Langdon and his driver, and they explain their a lost TV crew trying to film b-roll for an upcoming story. Langdon’s smooth as silk, everything looks in order even after the cop looking over their credentials, and suddenly the cop shoots the driver and holds the gun to Langdon! Holy crap! Is it Alpha?? And from here the present day storylines parallel as they both struggle to survive. Langdon’s pretty good though, and he incapacitates the cop as Topher is trying to reach him and alert him to the not so good squillies Turns out the cop’s not Alpha, just some guy that got paid off anonymously to stall the response team, but obviously killing them off was part of the mix too.
Back in time, when Langdon is sizing Echo up, he tells Topher she’s not even a girl: “She’s not even a person. She’s an empty hat until you stuff a rabbit in it.” Ouch. It’s obvious at first he could care less about what or who she is or was – its a job. But it’s also obvious from their interactions in the here and now he cares for her. So what changed? Hmmm…
Echo finds their rafts, but they’re cut, she keeps running ad sees a lodge, and she she gets to it she drinks heavily from a canteen and then waders trying to find someone…and as it happens there is a dead “Ranger Bob” stuffed in the closet. Walkie talkie statics to life and Richard asks if she deserves the right to live. He wants her to “prove you’re not just an Echo”and then she finds out he drugged the canteen water, and now the room is spinning and she stumbles out and away.
In the past, Langdon is preparing to do the handler imprint, in order for her to never question their trust, no matter who she is imprinted as. He holds her hand and reads from his script: “Everything is going to be alright/Now that you’re here; Do you trust me?/With my Life.” Their neural lock and key is set.
Echo’s in the woods hallucinating from whatever was in the canteen water, and she runs into a pre-Dollhouse version of herself, as well as seeing the Active’s dead around her with Alpha standing over, bloodied knife in hand. She’s trying to shake that stuff off, runs into Langdon. Thankfully before she can hit or kill him, and assures her everything is going to be alright, and she trusts him…just as he gets shot with an arrow in the stomach.
After another cute beginning of Echo and Langdon scene where she hugs him, we’re back to them trying to survive. The roles reverse when she asks if he trusts her, and now she has Langdon’s gun. Richard gets close but Langdon’s been moved, and Echo walkie talkie’s Richard that they are playing her game now. She grazes his arm with a bullet, and they both run. Echo runs into another illusion of her past self before she comes to a face-off with Richard, gun to bow.
After some exposition they agree to count to three and back off but they both shoot at the same time, causing superficial damage but Echo’s so angry she lunges at him, knocking him down and punching him. He punches her back, they tussle and now he’s on top choking her. He’s loving it as he is clearly a sick bastard getting his rocks off on this and now her hallucinations still present she has three Echo’s surrounding her and she catches a glimpse of the shot arrow, grabs it and stabs Richard in the neck. He clearly gets his rocks off on it sick bastard and she sees 3 versions of herself surrounding them and also the arrow he shot and stabs him in the neck. He tells her that he did say she was special, her confused as to who he’s talking about, Richard dies and the helicopters lead by Dominic come and swoop to save Echo and Langdon. Echo’s erased, and she’s assured she slept, for a little while.
Ms. Dewitt is pissed that Richard was nutso, but turns out his whole background was a fake. They decide to interrogate the fake cop, but he’s dead, not at Langdon’s hand, but by someone who meticulously sliced him dead. It’s Alpha’s handiwork, so the question is, did Alpha set the whole thing up to prove something about Echo? To kill her? Or is he shadowing her, to protect her somehow? Or is he so screwed up he’s trying to kill and save her at the same time?
Regardless, it all leads back to Echo, and the final scene shows Echo bump into Dominic and she apologizes. He doubts she’s really sorry, and he’s being really snarky with her, saying she belongs in the attic, or in the ground. He mumbles as he walks away that what’s the use of talking to her since there’s nobody in there, and she she watches him, she crosses her arm across her chest and clamps her shoulder. Shoulder to the wheel, baby.
As I mentioned, I am now loving the show. What was only potential a week ago is full fledged intriguing now, a solid platform from which to continue to build. I’m still mildly annoyed by Echo as Blank Slate, the dead doll eyes all the Active’s seem to have, fitting, but also frustrating. I’m just thrilled that things are meshing, that there are complicated villains, that we still don’t know enough about the Dollhouse, who runs it, why, etc. There is much to explore, but now I’m completely in for the expedition.
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About Sonia Aurora: Aspiring screenwriter and seamstress, Sonia’s dream is to write life-changing films while product-placing her own line of handbags. In 1999, she wrote, co-directed and co-starred in the short film Dr. Lovestrange, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bug, a satirical homage to Stanley Kubrick set amidst the panic of Y2K (Featured on ifilm.com & Coming Soon to YouTube!). While Sonia waits patiently for the Studios to call, she continues her selfless, humanitarian efforts (think Mother Teresa) through her scripts, short stories and sewing (a true triple-threat!), knowing all the while that someday her efforts will indeed save (or at least mildly tweak) the world. She still struggles with which picture to kiss before bedtime: her boyfriend’s or Bruce Campbell’s. And, in the interest of time, she’d like to start thanking the Academy now.
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omg, i was so happy with this 2nd episode of dollhouse, especially considering i didn't love the pilot. harry lennix is amazing as boyd langdon; when he tells echo that he trusts her "with his life," it was definitely an incredibly moving moment. the tricky part of the show is that with echo's memory wiped clean with each episode, the development of her relationships is limited to the episode itself.
man and at the very end, when she smacks her shoulder and says "shoulder to the wheel"? i got shivers! was not expecting this episode to be so good, but now i'm so psyched to see what else joss has in store for us.
It's already getting into some interesting territory with regards to what makes a person a person. Is it the body? Is it the personality? It's implied that Caroline has been deleted, which as Ballard pointed out, means that person is basically dead. But, her body is still physically alive. When Echo is imprinted, she's totally that person, right down to the nearsightedness and the asthma. As far as we can see so far, the feelings she has when imprinted are genuine, so I'd venture to say that, unless the client is paying for a rape fantasy, it's not rape.
I exclaimed, "Holy crap!" at just about every commercial break! This was a huge improvement over the first ep, and not just because The Middleman ran around the woods looking hot (although that helped – BTW, one demerit for keeping Helo's clothes on).
I LOOOOVE the relationship between Langdon and Echo. I love the continuing threat of Alpha. I'm loving everything!
Also, I love Ballard's adorable neighbor who's crushing on him and making him "leftover" lasagne.
That was cute!
I enjoyed the episode a lot, but there was also a lot I didn't like. It seems the show will not be what I was hoping to be, but it might still be great storytelling. So I'm holding on. It's just the ickiness of it all will probably not be explored all that much. I mean basically, Echo must have been raped dozens, maybe hundreds of times.
Also, what really bugged me was the stupid thing about the fee. If the contractor has to pay an extra fee because of the risk involved, then that's insurance against something happening to Echo. If something then happens, you can't call for another extra fee. That's like saying, "You pay another 200 dollars rent because you want to drive off-road, and that might damage the car, and if you damage the car, you pay for the repairs:" Either/or. I also wonder how you can really argue for an extra fee due to risk. I mean, I don't think Dolls are contracted for a desk job, are they?
"I mean, I don't think Dolls are contracted for a desk job, are they?"
That depends. I mean, if someone wanted to hire an active to be their temp receptionist so that they wouldn't have to deal with the bullshit of the hiring process, they could certainly do that. This was very definitely a high-risk job. Certainly moreso that most of the jobs they probably get hired for. Most jobs are probably run-of-the-mill sex fantasies, or escort type things, or sending someone to deal with someone you don't want to deal with in your stead type stuff.
"Also, what really bugged me was the stupid thing about the fee."
This guy walked in and said "I want to hire an active so I can chase a human target through the woods." The risk wasn't rock climbing or hunting or white water rafting. He might not have been so honest as far as how far he was willing to go in hunting Echo, but they definitely knew that that was part of the deal. And I can see them charging a fee, and then additional money for replacement of the Active. If you rent an apartment, and you DESTROY the apartment, they're coming after you for more money than just your security deposit. There's a difference between putting a hole in the wall and burning the place down.
"I mean basically, Echo must have been raped dozens, maybe hundreds of times. "
Well, that's an interesting question, isn't it. I mean, is it rape? If she signed up to participate in this, KNOWING that sex would be part of the equation, is it rape, or is she simply a prostitute? Yes, prostitutes can be raped. But there's a difference between going in knowing you're not going to remember what happened, and say, a prostitute thinking she's going to have sex on her own terms only to be drugged and have something entirely different happen. It's certainly not clear-cut (which is why I'm loving this show), but that's on either side of the "ickiness" scale. You can't assume it's rape, nor can you assume it's not. I expect that the "ickiness" WILL be explored. That seems to be the point of the show – to touch on those hard questions. It's not going to happen in the first two episodes, but it will happen over the course of the series, and I can't wait!
I suppose part of the difference is that a person isn't a car. Although Echo is an empty shell when she's not imprinted, this is still a human life at stake. One that takes incredible cost to maintain, at that. A rental can be easily replaced. An Active, not so much. I imagine Ms. Dewitt has to not only find a, disease-free, attractive person, but one whom no one cares about. It can't be as easy as hitting the street and finding a good looking runaway.
I hadn't yet thought about what the recruitment process would be. I hope they get into that, too. I wonder if they set up tables at career fairs like the military.
Oh, I would have been fine if she'd said there would be an additional fee in case of Echo's death. I assuma that's standard, anyway. But the way she said it made it sound as if any kind of damage might cause an extra fee. Also, I'm pretty sure the guy only hired Echo to go rafting and rock climbing.
And of course it is rape, because she is made to do things that Caroline would not enjoy. I mean, isn't that the point of the "ironic" fat guy moment last episode, that Echo could have sex with a guy someone like Caroline would never have sex with? A prostitute (ideally) gets to have a say in what she will and will not do. Echo gets no such say, she is simply shipped out to whomever's paying. They probably have a policy of "no scars", but other than that, this is the perfect consensual non-consensuality. You can force Echo to do whatever you want, and you can force her to like it.
That's also why Echo will play a Dominatrix in some upcoming episode, but certainly not a slave, because the dominatrix is a safe fantasy where Echo has control. Note who got out the ropes in episode 1. If it's the guys who get cuffed and roped, then it's fun. If it's the girls, it's dangerous perversion or even a serial killer.
My problem with the Dollhouse is that it's evil. It's one of the most evil things I have seen on TV. And that means that ideally, this show will end after one season with its destruction. However, for a TV series to explore identity issues, the Dollhouse must remain active – it's the point of the show. And thus, it will most assuredly not be rape, it will be morally grey, but not black, we will have some shows where they only do good, they take care of the dolls, etc. Also, the FBI agent will probably join the Dollhouse at some point because he can't go on chasing them for seven seasons, so it can't be *that* bad. That is the part that I will have to simply accept and ignore to get the good personal stories, and I will at least try to do so.
"And of course it is rape, because she is made to do things that Caroline would not enjoy."
And yet Caroline signed a contract saying that, for the next five years, her body would belong to this organization, and she would have no memory of anything that happened. She went into this knowing what would or might happen to her. So this is where I have trouble calling it out and out rape. She willingly (though we're going to probably see why she felt like she had no choice in the matter, as far as choosing to do this) gave up the right to her body for a set period of time. So anything that happens during that 5 year contract is with her signed consent, even if she'll never remember it. In fact, she probably agreed to it in part because she WOULDN'T remember it. Much easier to do that if you think you're never going to have to think about it. But again, it was a willing choice. So, anything that happens to her in those five years happens because she agreed to it. She doesn't have to agree to it every time, because she made a blanket agreement covering a set time period.
"That's also why Echo will play a Dominatrix in some upcoming episode, but certainly not a slave, because the dominatrix is a safe fantasy where Echo has control."
I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of BDSM with you here – unless you want me to – but I have to say two things in response to this:
1) being a slave in an S&M scenario isn't unsafe in most cases. Yes, a slave gives up control, but a dominant doesn't just start whipping willy-nilly. Arrangements are made, boundaries are set, and safewords are come up with based on the individual person. I actually hope that we get to see Echo be a submissive at some point, if only to show that being a slave or a bottom or whatever doesn't mean you're giving up your power. (Rent the movie "Secretary" if you don't believe me!)
Sorry, I think I didn't make myself clear. I was thinking from the pov of TV producers. I know about SSC and RACK et al, but if Eliza became a slave on the show, she would be put literally into a position of weakness and decidedly not in control, which would spell out in big letters what otherwise is just implied, i.e. that control is taken from Echo by imprinting her, not putting her in chains.
"Note who got out the ropes in episode 1. If it's the guys who get cuffed and roped, then it's fun. If it's the girls, it's dangerous perversion or even a serial killer."
2) There is a big difference between S&M play and really and truly holding someone hostage and trying to kill them. The reason why, so far, Echo messing with ropes has been seen as fun, is because you know the intention was not to harm. So far, Echo has been chased with an arrow in an attempt to kill her. That's not "kinky s&m" play. That's scary. It has nothing to do with it "being OK" for women but not for men. If suddenly Echo snaps like Alpha and goes on a rampage where she handcuffs men in her basement and tortures them, that would be wrong, too. But again, that's not kink. That's psychosis.
Again, I wasn't talking specifically about the show, but TV in general. Think of a mainstream show where such themes crop up; how often do you see beautiful women tying the stupid guy up to trick him? Very often, and almost always played humorously. Also, plush handcuffs are universal TV language for adventurous sex when the girl brings them out.
Now think of the opposite? Men into bondage? Serial killer, not adventurous lover. Can you think of the conman seducing a woman and tying her to the bed, then stealing her key card?
Aside from the fact, of course, that any hint of kinkyness leads to a quick and deserved death on CSI.
Caroline may not have enjoyed it, but the personality that is Caroline either no longer exists or is housed on a drive somewhere. Either way, it's not really a part of Echo.
"My problem with the Dollhouse is that it's evil. It's one of the most evil things I have seen on TV. "
And that's just it. It's evil….to YOU. Just like it's evil to some people (like Ballard) in the Dollhouse universe. And yet there are other people for whom it's not so bad. And that's where the debate lies. The biggest problem I have with the Dollhouse is that it erases who people are, messes with their brains, and just uses them as bodies. I'm sure they could have the same kind of business with willing participants that KEEP their brain function, as what would be offensive to one person would be just fine by someone else. But the basic principle of the Dollhouse? Hire this person to help you live your dream/fantasy? I don't have a problem with that. Just like I don't – off the bat – have a problem with sex work. It's the conditions under which the Dolls are kept that I'd change. It's dangerous, because it's not regulated.
I also love that this show, in its second episode, has already sparked such heated discussion!
"I just didn’t expect it to start from Episode 2…"
Well, to be fair, this was written and filmed as (I think) episode 8, but the network asked/insisted that it be moved up in the scheduling. By that point in the production process, the cast and crew had a pretty good rapport, so of course it was a better episode.
For me, there was a nice mix of action, mythology building, and difficult moral questions. I think that, because of the rearrangement of the running order, Echo's awareness of Caroline et al. came a little too early in the process, but I'm willing to overlook it in the grand scheme of things, especially in light of her being drugged and suffering blood loss.
The only thing that felt truly jarring was the "sheriff" who talked like a refugee from Firefly. Don't get me wrong. I'm a loyal Browncoat, but it felt extremely out of place in a present-day series. I'm fine with hardcore Whedon-speak coming from Topher, but not from random civilians.
You do a very thorough recap, Sonia, but it could do with a proofreading pass. There are an awful lot of typos and minor grammatical errors this week that make it kind of hard to read. It would be a shame if your solid critique got lost because of that.
Personally, I think the most evil show on television right now is the Magic Suitcase Hour with Howie Mandel, just because it's so frightfully stupid.
Which is exactly what makes them evil. Not the renting out part. I have not a lot of hiccups about sexuality or prostitution, but a lot of hiccups regarding nonconsensuality and abuse.
I also love the debate about this, though I suspect that we both aren't that far away from each others opinion. My problem with Dollhouse isn't the stuff we are debating, exactly. Challenge me! The only way I can ascertain whether my opinion holds water is by being challenged. No, my problem with Dollhouse is that Whedon is a very personal storyteller, and I am afraid that he will tell stories about Echo and the dollhouse without fully addressing these overarching issues, merely handwaving them.
I mean, you could also say the dollhouse is great because for their sexual urges, the clients could just as well pick up some poor girl off the street who would do the same, but truly unwillingly and without getting the extensive aftercare of the dollhouse. On the other hand, Echo has no way of renegotiating, of getting out early, simply because the offer sounded too good – when in fact she was probably conned, if not by framing her into agreeing, then at least by her ending up *caring* about what happened in those five years instead of not worrying about it.
Since we broached BDSM above, a 24/7 contract is, to me, similarly problematic if it does not contain an exit clause for the submitting part(s). The dollhouse has no exit clause. You can't change your mind.