Whedon Alumni Among the Busiest

Recently a familiar face just joined Mad Men.
A guy named Danny was just hired by Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, even though all he had was one concept for several products..and he's a cousin of Roger's wife, Jane.
If he looked familiar, he's actually Danny Strong, who was Johnathan on Buffy and also a very good TV screenwriter. He was the guy who wrote Recount, about the 2000 presidential election.

Then I was thinking a lot of the old cast members of the Whedonverse are still quite busy. Look at the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sarah Michelle Gellar is currently enjoying motherhood, as shown in this picture....



Fans, though, hope she will be back soon.
Many cast members are enjoying TV success. Alyson Hannigan is on How I Met Your Mother, David Boreanaz with Bones, Nicholas Brendon makes occasional appearances on Criminal Minds, and James Marsters is poised to be back on Smallville and Caprica (if that gets more episodes. He'll also play a big role in the premiere of Hawaii Five-0, and maybe more after that. Charisma Carpenter has recently been spotted in The Expendables, and has a couple of movies in the works. Amber Benson is a successful author, and co-directed the office/alien invasion movie Drones. Michelle Trachtenberg was a regular on Mercy, but has also been wreaking havoc on Gossip Girl, and will do even more havoc soon.

The crew of Firefly has also done pretty well in the biz. Nathan Fillion, of course, is set to solve crimes and flirt at a cop (even if she has a gun) on Castle for another year. Adam Baldwin is also back as Casey on Chuck, and Morena Baccarin will be back as a very scary alien queen on V. Alan Tudyk has been in movies, including 3:10 to Yuma, but made a heck of an impression as Alpha on Dollhouse (which is one good reason why you should get the season 2 DVD next month). Jewel Staite and Sean Maher recently guest starred on Warehouse 13. She was also on Stargate Atlantis, and I have an action figure of her from that show. Maher just landed a gig on ABC Family's gymnastics show Make It or Break It.
Ron Glass, who played Book, was recently in the U-S version of Death at a Funeral. That's ironic, since Tudyk was in the original as the guy who took one wild drug accidentally. We'll hear more from him when we read The Shepherd's Tale from Dark Horse this fall.
Gina Torres, who played Zoe, is part of the cast of ABC Family's Huge, where she's a counselor at a weight-reduction camp.
Summer Glau has been seen as a Terminator and a wounded computer genius on Dollhouse. Now, she'll be a two-fisted muckraking blogger on The Cape.

As for Angel, Christian Kane is still a big part of the caper drama Leverage. Amy Acker was a regular on Dollhouse and Happy Town. She'll be seen in Cabin in the Woods once MGM fixes its financial problems. Vincent Kartheizer, of course, is enjoying success as Pete Campbell in Mad Men. J. August Richards has been on the TNT show Raising the Bar, and was recently seen on Grey's Anatomy.

The cast of Dollhouse also has a lot of talent, and may are hoping to see more of them soon. Eliza Dushku has been a major part of the Buffyverse as Faith, and Echo in Dollhouse. She's now developing a movie on Robert Mapplethorpe. Olivia Williams was recently seen in The Ghost Writer. Who wouldn't want to see her as a female Giles in a possible Slayer spinoff?
Harry Lennix has an interesting resume. Not only was he Boyd on the show, he was also in State of Play, and even Little Britain USA is the US President. He'll soon be in Mr. Sophistication and McBett, which is Macbeth in the Caribbean.
Enver Gjokaj, if I had my way, would be the new Rollin Hand in Mission Impossible 4. He's been seen recently in Fox's Lie to Me.
Miracle Laurie, who played Maddie/Mellie/November, is part of a ukelele band, but will soon be in a sci-fi drama set in San Francisco about 160 years from now.
Fran Kranz was supposed to be in an NBC romantic comedy, but will also be part of Cabin in the Woods.
Tahmoh Penikett, already a big fan favorite in Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse, will soon be seen in The Hostage.

The Whedonverse is filled with very talented people and actors that we're certain to see again and again.

Coming This Fall..A Lot Of Whedonverse Alumni

Now that the TV season is over, and we say goodbye to three TV stales, it's time to look at the future.
Last year at this time, fans of the Whedonverse were happy a lot of the old gang were still on TV from Eliza Dushku on Dollhouse to Julie Benz in Dexter, from Alyson Hannigan in How I Met Your Mother, to Nathan Fillon on Castle. There was also the return of Morena Baccarin as the now very angry Visitor leader in V.

As for next season, many Whedonverse favorites will still be with us, and even a few coming back on movies or TV. Many of them will be coming from Firefly. Fillion and Baccarin will be back in their shows. Summer Glau is poised to return as a crusading blogger helping a vigilante known as The Cape, Sean Maher and Jewel Staite will make an appearance on Warehouse 13, Alan Tudyk will be part of Transformers 3 (but Megan Fox won't be), Adam Baldwin will be a reluctant mentor to a spy-in-training on Chuck. Even Ron Glass, aka Book, will return when we finally learn "The Shepherd's Tale" in a new book from Dark Horse.
We shouldn't forget Gina Torres, who will be a counselor in Huge, about teens at a camp for heavy teens, especially one who refuses to believe being big is bad. That will be on ABC Family later this month.

Alyson Hannigan, of course, is still with How I Met Your Mother (which hopefully will return to getting us closer to that), and David Boreanaz will be back in Bones. James Marsters, who's becoming more well-known for Caprica than he was in Buffy and Angel, may be well-known in a new version of Hawaii Five-0 as the nemesis of McGarrett. Benz, meanwhile, will soon become part of No Ordinary Family, as the mom who suddenly becomes faster than her mini-van...although the rest of the family have new skills, too.

Of course, things may change between now and the fall. Fran Kranz was supposed to be part of a new NBC sitcom but was recast after the pilot. Rest assured, though, these and other actors in the Whedonverse will make their way to our TV and movie screens soon enough.

Dollhouse: A Different Kind Of Toy Story

As some of you know, Smart Pop Books had a contest recently asking fans to write an essay on the late great Fox show, Dollhouse. The top 15 winners would have their entries published and put in a book that will be released this fall.
About a hundred people submitted entries, including me. The results were finally revealed....and I didn't make it.
Maybe my entry was terrible, or too profound or too weird, or the competition was really that tight. I'm guessing it was one close contest.
All I know is that they got Jane Espenson as a judge. If there's anyone who knows good writing, it is her.

Therefore, here is my entry. Judge for yourself.

Question: what do Dollhouse and Toy Story have in common?

To the hard core Joss Whedon fan, the answer is obvious. Just two years before he turned a little teen horror comedy called Buffy the Vampire Slayer into a classic TV cult hit, he was involved in the screenplay of Toy Story, which revolutionized animated films. It also led to getting an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Last fall, Toy Story and its sequel were both re-released as a 3-D movie double feature as a prelude to the next movie, also in 3-D, next summer. It turned out to be a big hit, and the planned two-week engagement wound up being extended. A recent article in Entertainment Weekly* revealed that Whedon wanted to use Barbie to help rescue Woody and Buzz Lightyear in the first movie's final act, where they were in danger of benig abandoned by Andy's family. It makes sense for a man who believes in girl power, or in this case doll power. Whedon said in the article he wanted Barbie as "Sarah Connor in a pink convertible." It would have been worth it to hear her say "come with me if you want to live" more than a decade before Summer Glau does on a TV version of the Terminator franchise. Producer Matt Guggenheim said in the article Mattel objected to using Barbie because they thought girls project their own ideas of what Barbie should be. Giving Barbie her own voice, Mattel allegedly thought, wouldn't become a girl's ideal. After Toy Story became successful, Mattel allowed Barbie to be part of Toy Story 2. That led to several Barbie CGI movies which are mostly fairy tales. Maybe it didn't think little girls would be ready for Barbie the Vampire Slayer, although they thought Barbie and Ken could fill Mulder and Scully's shoes in a special X-Files edition of the two dolls.

Mattel's alleged objection, however, stuck with me because it could be the same attitude Rossum has towards its Actives in all its Dollhouses. An Active is there to fulfill a client's fantasy or need. If you give an Active its own voice, it may not become a person's ideal. It would become, well, too human to do the job it's supposed to do. At least too human for Rossum's comfort.

So, could Dollhouse be the dark side of Toy Story, where clients could be like fair and loving like Andy, or evil like Sid, or somewhere in between?
That's not too far out, really, although there are other ways to connect the movie with the TV show.

Let's start with the idea that both Toy Story and Dollhouse involve people treating people like toys. A child defines what a toy should be, just as a client decides what an Active should be. Through the short history of Dollhouse, consider some of the "roles" that Actives have played: a geisha, midwife, backup singer, nerdy fan, birthday party guest, a Topher clone, blind girl, safecracker, wife, mother, solider, lover, doctor...and a few others Barbie never had the chance to do. However, the Actives are treated like what toys are supposed to be: living yet blank objects until someone wants to play with them. They are not supposed to form attachments with each other, like Echo does with Sierra and Victor. They are not supposed to share affection, or have "man reactions" on their own. A Doll is just there to fulfill a fantasy. It's not supposed to have one of its own. That's only allowed in Pixar movies.

Usually, the Dollhouses cater to clients who have a lot of money, and are just like Andy, a person who treats his toys fairly. When the first Toy Story movie starts, he's using his toys to play out a bank robbery, with Woody as the hero who saves the day. Compare that to a client asking to have an Active to play more mature roles, like a romantic date, a mercenary rescuing a kidnapped child or a safecracker. After the client is finished "playing" with his Active, it gets "put back on the shelf" after its imprint is wiped clean. In the Toy Story world, the toys know full well what they are, and just enjoy life being part of a child's world. The Actives just wander around, paint or practice yoga. As far as the Dollhouse is concerned, Actives are toys with no thoughts in their heads. Having thoughts would make them more complicated than a Mr. Potato Head, whether he's a toy or the Pixar version with Don Rickles' voice.

There are clients who are like Sid, the evil kid who likes to break toys, or make them even worse. Remember the Erector set spider with the bald baby doll head? The best example of a "Sid" is Nolan Kinnard, a major player inside Rossum. One day, he meets a girl named Priya at a party, and decides he must possess her, literally. Using a mental health clinic that he owns, he drives Priya insane through the use of drugs. Then he sends her to the Dollhouse, where she is turned into Sierra, an Active who is his own personal plaything. Calling her his girlfriend would be too charitable. In "Needs", Sierra becomes aware of her past as Priya, and confronts Nolan about it. Not only does he admit it, he says she is going to return to him anytime he wants. He's right, because Sierra's sudden self-awareness was really part of a plan by Dr. Claire Saunders to have the Actives resolve unresolved issues, and become obedient again. This didn't quite work with all of them. It's also ironic, since the one who came up with the plan is later revealed to be an Active, too. More on that later.
Then when Nolan demands that he keep Sierra permanently, he uses his position in Rossum, and pressure from fellow company bigwig Matthew Harding, to get what he wants. However, what he winds up getting is Sierra as Priya, her former self. She tells Nolan she never loved him, but loves someone else whose name she can't explain. When Nolan start abusing what was supposed to be his personal toy, she winds up stabbing him to death. Sid should be glad his mutant toys never struck back like that, or that Woody just warned him to take care of his toys.

Another example is Hearn, who was Sierra's handler. Adelle DeWitt figures out that he has been raping Sierra, but he also admits it readily. He says when you see women who are willing to do anything for you, you're bound to take advantage. She gives him a way out by sending him to kill Mellie, who's been helping FBI agent Paul Ballard expose the Dollhouse. When Hearn does attack her, she gets a call from Dewitt, telling her there are three flowers in a vase. The phrase turns Mellie from victim to Hearn's assassin, but it also shows she is a sleeper Active. She takes care of Hearn just as Sierra took care of Nolan. It's quite a lesson to both Nolan and Hearn not to abuse toys, whether they own one or not.

There's also a list of clients who are somewhere between Andy and Sid. That is, they may seem to have the best of intentions at first, but their needs may become too dark or uncomfortable. Richard Connell, the client in "The Target", wanted a companion on a whitewater rafting trip. What he really wanted was a companion for a hunting trip, with Echo as his prey. She's barely able to escape, but the Dollhouse is stunned about how they were fooled by this man, and whether rouge Active Alpha is responsible.

Joel Mynor, internet whiz, is the only client on the show who is able to justify why he needs an Active. In "Man on the Street", he explains that he wanted to capture a moment that never was: surprising his wife with a new house that he bought through his internet creation, "Bouncy the Rat". That moment never happened because she died in a car crash just before she got to the house. Paul still thinks Joel's fantasy is bad because he's using a person who is fulfilling his fantasy because she lost her free will. However, Joel turns it around on Paul, asking him whether his fantasy is saving Echo from her life as an Active, and what he hopes to get out of it. In a way, Paul hopes to find redemption through a toy, in this case Echo.

Later, Paul discovers that he's no better than Mynor or any other Dollhouse client. This happens when he learns that Mellie is a sleeper Active. It's a fact that surprises her because his relationship with Mellie had become intimate. He wonders if her affections towards him are real or programmed. It gets to the point that he doesn't care, and still has sex with her. Afterwards, when she asks when they're going to find Dollhouse clients, Paul finds one...in his own mirror.

He would be surprised if he learned that Adelle DeWitt, who manages the Los Angeles Dollhouse, had been posing as "Miss Lonelyhearts" so she could enjoy her own toy...Victor, or Roger as she calls him. Some may wonder how this is different than what Nolan or Hearn did to Sierra. While these two men abused Sierra to get what they want, all Adelle had to do was have Victor imprinted. She didn't force him to have sex with her. He was just programmed to do that. He is her toy, and he is there to be her ideal. Victor/Roger is a life-sized version of Ken, only better...or at least that's what she tells herself. It's still abuse because she's taking advantage of a man who has no free will. Rather than take her chances at parties or even singles bars, she finds a quick yet empty solution with an Active. It's not as violent as what Nolan and Hearn did, but it's still abuse. She even tries to enjoy one last night of passion with Victor/Roger before his term as an Active ends. He is reluctant because, as Sierra told Nolan, he says there's someone else he loves, but can't explain who she is.
Why did she did she think she could get away with it? Maybe she thinks she's entitled to borrowing a "toy" because she thinks the Dollhouse is her own toy store, if she doesn't get caught. That's what being head of a Dollhouse means, until Matthew Harding tells her she is seen as a toy to those who are really in charge, including himself and Clive Ambrose. That may have been the moment she started having doubts about what the Dollhouse is really doing, well before Ballard did.

The connections between Toy Story and Dollhouse don't stop there. While all the toys in Toy Story are aware of who they are, the exception is Buzz Lightyear, who is convinced he's a real Space Ranger who can fly. This puts him in a rivalry with Woody, who had enjoyed his status as Andy's favorite toy. He finds out the truth by seeing a commercial about himself, and finds out the hard way he can't go to infinity, but can go straight down. Through friendship from Woody and the other toys, he gets over this problem.
In the Dollhouse, there is no rivalry among the Actives. They just know one thing: "I try to do my best". For a while the number one Active was Whiskey, who would later become Dr. Claire Saunders. Whiskey would be the most popular Active, until Alpha decides to make Echo the top Active. He does that by scarring Whisky and killing some Actives. He did this because it was love at first sight for him, He did this to earn her love, but would not get it. Love was not important to her. She didn't get "girl reactions" when she was with Alpha. It was more like fear when she saw what he did. Still, her fear was gone when she was wiped, and prepared for her next role that a person bought her to fulfill.

Dr. Saunders could be considered the Dollhouse version of Buzz. As he always thought he was a real crime-fighting hero, Claire thought she's always been the physician of the Dollhouse because she was programmed that way. When Dr. Saunders discovers her Active past, she isn't interesting in learning who she was. She just knows who she is now.
That would have been the end, until "Vows", when Dr. Saunders is busy taunting Topher. She is still dealing with the fact that her past and present is all a lie, and that Topher made her. She later seduces him, claiming that Topher made her to hate him so that he would eventuallty win her love. He disagrees, because he wanted her to hate him to remind him that it's partially his fault Alpha went mad, which led to Saunders, as Whisky being scarred. He's not the client here. Dr. Saunders' process of discovering her true self is much more complicated that what Buzz had to accept.
It would have been interesting to see how Claire would decide that, even if she was an Active, she can be a real person by just saying that she was. However, that would never happen, as her body would be taken over by Clyde Randolph, one of the co-founders of Rossum, in "The Hollow Men."

However, one Doll did manage to say he was real by saying so. It was none other than Paul Ballard. Throughout the series, he considered Dolls as people who may as well be murdered, even though they didn't know it. He considered those who used them, even for the best of intentions, to be cruel. He had to be turned into a Doll to be saved after Alpha severely damaged his brain in "A Love Supreme". At least he has Mellie, who is also a Doll again when her retirement ended in "The Left Hand." When they infiltrate Rossum headquarters in Tucson in "The Hollow Men", she asks him why is she there with him. She keeps reminding him that they're not real, and their love for each other is a program. In fact, it was just a few days before when he looked at Mellie again, and wondered if she was really all right now that she will never be free from being an Active. Now, he accepts the fact that he is a Doll, but also declares he is still as real as anyone. That includes their love for each other. He may have gotten the inspiration from how Sierra and Victor fell for each other, even as Dolls. It's just as important as Buzz sees that he may be a toy, but can be something special because of what he can do to save his friends.

There could also be a link between Woody in Toy Story 2 and Senator Daniel Perrin, Rossum's man in the U.S. Senate, and how an Active can be considered a commodity rather than a fantasy. In the movie, toy store owner Al McWhiggin finds Woody because he wants to sell him to a museum in Japan. To sweeten the deal, he gets someone to "spruce up" Woody so that he looks like he's in mint condition. That's not too far off from that Rossum did to one Daniel Perrin. He had the pedigree to be someone important in Washington, but not the desire. That changed when Rossum used its Dollhouse in Washington D.C. to "improve" his brain. It had hoped he would give them some clout in Washington, and pass regulations that would favor Rossum. It would lead to him marrying his handler, and starting a campaign to "expose" Rossum's unethical medical experiments, which would eventually exonerate them. The plan almost works, but Rossum winds up changing Perrin again, with more ambition towards a new goal: the White House. Somehow, Rossum is determined to turn the nation, and eventually the world, into its own Dollhouse. They would create toys that are no longer playthings anyone can control. but wind up controlling us.

It's interesting that Joss Whedon would be involved in two projects that would look at humanity and identity. One would be Toy Story, which looks at toys when they're not at play, and how they can be as human as we are. The other would be Dollhouse, which looks at life-sized toys made of flesh and blood, and how they can be used and abused just like any toy. The movie would make millions of dollars for Disney, while the TV show would face a premature end.

The final results are also very different. In a Pixar world, the toys sing and dance, and are happy that they're together. In a Dollhouse world, the world is not so cheery. In about ten years, it becomes a mess filled with Dumbshows and Tech Heads, Butchers attacking Actuals, while the most powerful change bodies as often as they change suits, or exist in multiple bodies. It's the fulfillment of the professor's prediction from "Man on the Street", when he says Mankind will cease to matter if technology robs it of its true self. The only hope for a happy ending arrives when those who invented the tech that ruined the world use it again to fix their mistake, and sacrifice themselves as penance.

While a scene that was never part of Toy Story inspired this comparison with Dollhouse, there's another scene that was almost part of the Dollhouse pilot that's also important. It's where Topher told Boyd in the unaired pilot, "Echo" that everyone who lives in the Dollhouse, even the staff, are toys, and those who play with the Actives little children. That statement becomes very ironic, since it's eventually revealed Boyd was the toymaker all along.
Maybe the lesson here is that we should not treat others like mindless toys. It's a lesson that hopefully corporations, and people of major influence, should learn....or they will find out the average person isn't the same as that old Barbie they used to have.

*http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,299897_3,00.html

I Wish We Had More Time

The first anniversary of the first episode of Dollhouse is just a few days away. It was only last week the last episode aired, with the world apparently about to recover after most of humanity was reduced to toys.

Fans and actors alike were convinced the show would have lasted for years if Fox gave it more time to find an audience. Of course, it would have also helped it the network gave it as much attention as 24, House, The Simpsons or American Idol. Remember the "Friday Night Fights" ad?
Given that, there's a lot of questions that have been left unanswered because the show lasted only 26 episodes.

What convinced Caroline to take on Rossum?

From what we can gather from her first meeting with Adelle DeWitt, and that video form college, Caroline must have been inspired from a professor to make her mark on the world as a protester. It did cost her friendships, and maybe love as well, but what made her determined to be a pesky problem for Rossum?

Why was Paul Ballard so obsessed with the Dollhouse?

We now from the first episode, "Echo" that he was assigned to investigate the Dollhouse even if his bosses are convinced it doesn't exist. There was mention of Paul having a confrontation with a senator over the Dollhouse, and how sometimes he doesn't close cases.
My guess was that Paul had a witness that would have sent a very powerful person to prison. Then, the witness denied what he said before, or that he met Paul. Why? Because his memories were removed by the Dollhouse, what else?

What was Adelle's "worst indiscretion"?

Adelle DeWitt enjoys a lot of perks being the head of the Los Angeles Dollhouse. It even includes "borrowing" an Active to fulfill her needs. Of course, that's when she poses as "Miss Lonelyhearts" to have the company of a handsome man...namely Victor, who is called Roger. She eventually breaks it off when it interferes with her job. When she tells Matthew Harding, one of the major bigwigs, she can't let Nolan Kinnard own Sierra (considering he's the one that turned her into an Active after driving her insane with drugs), he tells her he knows about "Miss Lonelyhearts", but that was not her worst sin. It makes you wonder what could be worse than using an Active as, to quote a song from the Dresden Dolls, her "coin-operated boy".
She did work as a scientist in a division that made replacement body parts out of stem cells. Could she have tried to recreate a whole human being that way?

Who was sending those messages to Paul through Echo and November?

Remember the shocking moment in "Man on the Street" when Echo told Paul Ballard the Dollhouse was real? She went on to say he has to find out Rossum's real purpose of providing Actives, and it's not just granting fantasies. Then, in "Spy In The House of Love", Mellie gives Paul another message, revealing the Dollhouse has spied on him, and that she's an Active.
Once Paul joins the Dollhouse as Echo's handler, the question of who is giving Paul these messages through the Actives is dropped. It would have been fun to figure out who it was. It may have been Dominic, who was a mole for the government, or Dr. Saunders, or maybe someone we never met

Whatever happened to Senator Daniel Perrin?

This is also an interesting question since you can still find him at Twitter. One of his more recent tweets talks about how Rossum's headquarters was blown up at the end of "The Hollow Men." It would be interesting to see if he ever reached the White House as Rossum's man, but that his administration didn't turn out as well as it hoped. He would have been the perfect bridge between what happened in the Dollhouse now, and ten years from now.

What happened to Claire Saunders/Whisky?

The last time we saw her was at Rossum, and that Clyde Randolph had taken over her body. Then, she was knocked out just before Echo turned co-founder Boyd Langton into the bomb that would blow up corporate headquarters. However, she was seen at the L.A. Dollhouse a few years later, regaining her identity as Saunders. So, how did she get out, and turned back to normal?

How did the tech wind up destroying the world?

It was thought that the prototype for Topher's Make Anyone An Active Ray was at Rossum's headquarters in Tucson. However, it's not hard to consider there had been extra prototypes safely hidden at other Dollhouses. If Harding and Clive Ambrose made extra versions of themselves by 2010, it makes sense.

Of course, there are lots of other mysteries that may remain unsolved within the 'verse of the Dollhouse, such as whether FBI agent Graham Tanaka, a guy who thinks Paul's insane for thinking the Dollhouse exists, may have been a mole for Rossum. What are the back stories for Dominic, Mag, Zone, and Tony and Priya's break-up?
Well, that's what fan fiction is for, but it shows the complete Dollhouse saga would have lasted a lot longer than 26 episodes.

Recap of Dollhouse "Epitaph Two: Return", or Sequel To A Lost Episode

Nearly a year, 26 episodes, 25 shown on TV.
Now, Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku's Dollhouse is closed.
The finale had a lot to offer, but some may think there was still something missing. If Epitaph One had aired, and there were more episodes to fill the gaps, it would have been perfect. As Dr. Saunders said, "I wish we had more time."

"Epitaph Two: Return" makes history as the first sequel to a lost episode. Of course, it's "Epitaph One", available only on DVD or iTunes. Fox decided to start the final episode with a quick review of what happened there. Still, some fans may wonder how Dr. Saunders wasn't Clyde Randolph anymore, and how she turned into Whisky...and who are Mag, Zone and a little girl who also calls herself Caroline. That may be the only problem with this episode. Even loyal fans may have missed E-1, and wished they had seen it before the "sequel".

The story starts somewhere in the Sierra Nevada in the year 2020. A man in a suit wanders around, looking lost. He's met by a pack of well-dressed Butchers out to clobber him. Someone wakes from a Jeep after hearing the commotion, It's cynical Zone, while his friends Mag and Ivy/MiniEcho are nearby looking for get water. When they see the Butchers, they leave quickly. Mag wonders if MiniEcho knows the way to SaveHaven. She says she does, and that it's possible to make a true world. Zone doesn't believe that, since half the world's been wiped, and MiniEcho isn't an Actual like he and Mag are. MiniEcho says "We are lost. We are not gone."
It looks like they could be gone. As soon as they return to camp, they are kidnapped and sent to Neuropolis, the City of Minds. It used to be called Tucson, Rossum's home base. It's also next to SaveHaven, but that was out of necessity.
We also see Rossum has turned from a company to a dictatorship, but it's also suffered. Matthew Harding is more interested in committing the Seven Deadly Sins, then change bodies after using it up. That's why people are called "suits", and that Harding looks like Oliver Platt, not Keith Carradine. His assistant is a slimy looking guy who used to be Clive Ambrose. FatHarding looks over several guys who could become him, but looks at a familiar-looking "DumbShow." It's Paul Ballard. As FatHarding leaves the room, SlimyClive wonders what's so special about Paul. One headbutt later, and he knows.
Meanwhile, Echo takes care of the guards, and shoots FatHarding dead. Sure, he says there are "backups" of him, but she'll deal with that. Echo is impressed meeting herself as a nine-year-old girl, while Paul finds a familiar face...Topher Brink.
The years have been tough on him. He's been forced by Rossum to make a pulse bomb that will wipe everyone, or as he says "erase" the world. If he doesn't, he sees someone get shot to death. He relives the nightmare of losing Bennett every day. However, he's also come up with a way to erase the Dolls, and make them people again. He can erase the world, but he can also bring it back.

Meanwhile, a woman and a young boy are admiring the strawberries growing on their farm. The woman is Adelle DeWitt, and the boy is called T. His mom used to be called Sierra. Call her Priya now. She's happy to be away from the tech and the Dollhouse, and prefers this oasis of peace in an insane world.
However, the insane world comes to the farm's doorstep. Echo explains that if they want to take down Rossum, they have to go back to the Dollhouse to find what Topher needs. This doesn't go over too well, but there's no choice. Paul also adds that if Topher is successful, those Actives who want to keep their memories will have to stay underground for more than a year. Since Priya doesn't want to forget her son, this is a choice she has to accept.
Then a nasty group of Tech Heads, or people who plug in abilities in their brains, arrives. They include a bald guy named Romeo, a weapons expert named Kilo (yes, that Kilo, also known as Maurissa Tanchareon), and a tough guy named Victor, also known as Tony. Yes, that Victor. When he adds English to his skill set, he explains he was asked to help in the road trip back to the Dollhouse.

The road trip features some revealing scenes. It starts with Zone getting to know Kilo, and how she has to switch imprints to stay sane. There's Priya and Tony, talking about how the tech pulled them apart. He accepted it to protect her and save the world. She rejected it because of the pain, and decided not to fight. They both have something they care about, and that is their son.
Then there's Paul and Echo. He wonders why she stays so guarded around him. There's a connection but she won't admit it. He thinks that she's scared what may happen when she has to stop fighting and stay in one place. It means having to reach out to someone. "I think you've got a hundred people living inside your head," he says, "and you're the loneliest person I know."

They get to L-A, but are met by the meanest Butchers around. One of them shoots Mag, and Paul chases him off. He tells Mag she'll be OK...just as he's shot to death. Echo sees this, but has no time to cry. She has to get everyone to the Dollhouse.
Paul Ballard's death is a shock, but not a surprise to those familiar with Joss' works. Tragedy is always the payment for triumph, from Wash dying in Firefly to Angel being sent to Hell in order to save the world in "Belonging".

Once they get inside the Dollhouse, they find several Actives wandering around, saying they're trying to do their best.
They also find Alpha....who's a good guy. He also decided to quit the fight to make the Dollhouse his own SafeHaven.
Romeo and Kilo have other ideas. They want to be Super Tech Heads, and will shoot Topher if they have to. Alpha interrupts them, while Tony tries to stop his double-crossing friends. He says that while getting skills as fast as he can download them are great, he wants to rebuild the world with his own two hands. Romeo's upset because it makes Tony a Luddite just like Alpha.
This is a mistake. Alpha says he's no Luddite, and clobbers Romeo. Echo also pins down Kilo, who is impressed by all this.

As for Topher, he suddenly has an idea...naptime! Actually, he heads back to his personal space and comes up with a way to make the pulse bomb they need.
Priya is busy breaking tech, in order to keep Tony away from it. Echo is upset, telling Priya Tony loves her and always did, despite being an Active for so long. Echo tells her Priya should break the tech, shut him out of her life, never tell him that she loves him.
But then, that doesn't describe Priya. It describes Echo. Paul's death finally hits her hard. She realizes she's now alone, and could have had more if she let Paul in.

Thanks to a video lecture from his lost love, Bennett Halverson, Topher has what he needs to make the pulse bomb, and make sure no one becomes a Doll again. Thing is, he has to detonate the bomb himself. It's a small price to pay, since he was one of the reason why the world became a Dollhouse. Adelle offers to help, but he won't hear of it. "I'll fix what they did to their heads," he says, "You fix what we did to the rest of the world. Your job is way harder." It may be, but at least Adelle DeWitt is the only Rossum employee willing to apologize and atone.
Zone decides to take up a tough job, too. He'll look after MiniEcho, when she becomes Ivy again after the blast. Mag will stay in the Dollhouse while she heals. We also find out Zone used to be a landscape architect. Who knew?
We also see Priya introduce T to his dad. We also see T is for Tony, just like his dad. The family is whole again, even in a place they'd rather not be.
So, Echo prepares to dismantle the tech while she guides the Actives out. "Funny that the last fantasy the Dollhouse should fulfill would be yours", Adelle tells Echo. Echo says she doesn't have any fantasies. Some may say she has at least one.

Topher builds the bomb. Just before the blast, he looks at the wall of photos of all the Actives in Adelle's old office. It's the last thing he sees.

After the blast, all the Actives fall asleep for a little while. Then they wake up, and look at the mess. It will be a tough job, considering there's still the chance extra Hardings and Clive Ambroses could be out there, maybe planning to revive Doll-making.

As Echo heads to the imprint chair, she sees an envelope that's addressed to her. She sees there's one more imprint to be done. She imprints Paul into herself. She has finally let him in.
The last shot is Echo preparing to lay in her pod. She's going to fall asleep, for a little while.
The show, meanwhile, will rest in peace.

Considering how quickly they had to wrap up the show, this was a good effort. There were wonderful performances by the Epitaph One Gang, led by Felicia Day, and from Eliza, Enver Gjokai, Dichen Lachman, Fran Kranz(who should be on 24 if Mary Lynn Rasjcub retires) and Olivia Williams.
Still, fans may get the feeling the story is ending too suddenly. We want to know why Alpha has evolved towards a more peaceful state, what other adventures Mag and Zone had, why Priya and Tony split because of the tech, and how Rossum ruined the world, and eventually itself. It really would have helped if Fox decided to show "Epitaph One" first followed by the sequel.
And..there's also the wish we'd see how the survivors rebuild the world, while keeping Dollmaking tech at bay.

Still, Joss Whedon had a lot to say about identity, reality, and relationships. He also had some things to say about how big bad corporations try to influence us for supposedly positive reasons, and how science can destroy as easily as it can improve our world. What Topher did, and how he atones, is proof of that.
It would have been just perfect if there were another 13 or so episodes to fill the gaps between "Hollow Men", "Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two". We would have had a classic 39-part sci-fi series.
That being said, we still had an impressive 26-episode body of work that will be remembered and discussed for some time to come.
This also means Fridays will be pretty dull again, unless you have cable.

Thanks, Joss, for being your best...again.

Recap of Dollhouse "The Hollow Men" of the Thoughtpocalypse

We always wondered what was Boyd Langdon's story, and why he wound up in the Dollhouse.
Now we know...he created it with a guy named Clyde Randolph. Now Caroline Farrell has seen them both.
This week, Boyd will call her a savior, and she proves him right in a very different way. However, there are casualties, and the apocalypse came anyway. People who bought the DVD already know that

Before the recap, check out this from Aint It Cool News. It explains why the evil corporation is called Rossum, and how it's linked to the original creation of the word "robot."

We go back two years, just before the story of Echo began. Boyd is talking to her old self, Caroline Farrell. He says Rossum knows all about her, even the fact she had her bone barrow tested to see if she can help her cousin who has leukemia. Rossum is a big company, and she can't escape from it. She has two choices: face life in prison for her terrorist acts, or become an Active. He's doing this because she's special, and he promises he will protect her. She tries to turn down this offer, but we know she can't. Adelle DeWitt waits for her, with her tea and "sympathy."

Advance to "present day", where Sierra and Victor, or actually Priya and Tony, decide to postpone their life together to help the rest of Team Echo in its battle against Rossum. They come back, and find the place a shambles. "Looks like the war started without us," Tony says.
Above ground, Paul breaks the cell phones to keep Rossum from finding them. Mellie complains about the bleeding on her neck, due to removing her GPS chip. Adelle is there, too. Mellie loves Paul, but she knows that's just software, not passion. Paul thinks their love is real to him, even if he's an Active, too.
Topher drives up, and Echo comes out. She says her body is on fire, and she has to be sedated. They suspect she's been imprinted one time too many, especially after they put Caroline in her so she could identify the men who run Rossum. However, Adelle points out they can just go to headquarters in Tucson, and walk right in. Just show them Echo.
At the Dollhouse, Priya sees the security tapes of what happened are gone. She also sees a note that says "press enter" on the imprint chair. She figures out one of them has to be imprinted again. They had sworn never to be imprinted again, but i nthis case, they have no choice. Tony volunteers, and he becomes VicTopher (Topher in Victor's body) again. He is surprised to see Sierra as Priya, and the Dollhouse in shambles.
That's nothing compared to what Team Echo finds in Tucson: Clyde Randolph, version 2010, in Whisky/Claire Saunders' body. She's the corporate version of Illyria, in a fine tailored suit and tie and twice as scary. She says she's looking for people who can evolve, specifically Echo.

VicTopher is still trying to get a handle on things, but remembers he had a hidden camera in the imprint room. He was hoping to catch a thief. What he finds is Boyd drugging Echo just as Caroline's memories were put into her.
Meanwhile, Clyde/Claire share whisky (of course) with Adelle, and compliments her on how she's helped Echo evolve. Clyde/Claire sees Echo as the savior of "the deserving few". If Adelle cooperates, she may be included. She says Echo may not be in any shape to help anyone, but Clyde/Claire says it's Echo's body that she wants.

This will be a pattern. As a few Twitter fans have pointed out, there's a lot of exposition by both sides in this episode. It's possible Joss Whedon and the Dollhouse staff had hoped to have 22 episodes to finish the second season. Once they knew it would be 13, they had to speed up the storyline. The episode, in fact, was made just as Fox decided to cancel the show.

Back to the recap: the rest of the team is locked away, but Boyd gets them out by pretending to rewire the lock. Actually, he has his all access card. He tells Paul and Mellie to find weapons, while Topher goes with him. He tells Boyd that he suspects someone in the Dollhouse may have drugged Echo, as Nolan drugged Priya before making her into Sierra. He also tells Boyd about his plan to get Tony re-imprinted so he could be VicTopher again. Too bad Topher told the wrong guy about this.
VicTopher, though, is upset his "man-friend" betrayed him. Still, he's not sure if he should kill Boyd or get his autograph. Priya wants to help Echo and the staff. So, she brings back Tony, with additional skills to make him SuperVictor. They leave for Tucson.

In Tucson, Echo's on a table. All the memories of what she has been though,and who she has been, come flooding back in. She wakes up and says "Boyd."
Meanwhile, Boyd and Topher see that Rossum has made several prototypes of the Imprint Gun that can turn anyone into a Doll. Topher breaks one of them, because he is sick that his technology is being made into weapons. He's also upset he invented them. Boyd argues they should have one working gun to protect themselves. Of course, there's a darker reason.
Paul and Mellie are able to find guns. She wonders why she's here, in this situation. Paul says he couldn't let her go. She reminds him that their love...and themselves...are all programmed. They're not even real anymore. Paul says what they are and what they feel are real...to him, at least.
Topher's able to make a working Imprint Gun. Boyd says he's very impressed. It's why he "chose" Topher. As he's asking for what, Echo enters the room and clobbers Boyd. However, Clyde/Claire is there, too, with a gun at Echo's head. Topher is stunned by this, even after Echo explains who Boyd really is. Boyd says he wasn't going to kill Topher because he's "family"..as are Echo, Clyde/Claire and Adelle.
He's also impressed how Topher has developed ethics while Adelle has developed conviction. Topher says it best: "I'm the Tin Man, she's the lion, and you're the head of the Lollipop Guild who's a traitor." He's also upset he got Claire to kill Bennett last week, but he says sacrifice is necessary. After all, he says it's all part of evolution. When new technology is made, it can be abused. So, once Topher's imprint gun is released upon the world, certain people have to protect themselves. It's a matter, he says, of being the destroyed or the destroyers.
Yet, it all comes back to Echo. Boyd tells her that her spinal fluid is very special. It can be used as a "vaccine" against being imprinted, and that she literally has to be harvested to protect the deserving few. She balks at this, but Boyd has an imprint gun that quickly disables her.

Paul and Mellie start destroying the mainframe, but Boyd knows about this. He forces Adelle to tell Mellie that there are three flowers in a vase. This, of course, is the code to turn her into a killer. While Adelle refuses, Mellie hears that phrase. Whether it's a recording or Adelle really doing it is unclear, but Mellie starts shooting at Paul and the mainframe. As he tries to get her to stop. she says she can't kill him, but has to stop herself. She shoots herself, and the blood falls on Paul's face. Another love story ends in tragedy.

Echo is laid out on a table, just as how Sierra was prepared to become a Doll. This time, she is not a Doll or a person. She is a vaccine. However, Tony and Priya arrive to get her out.
Topher is stunned over what has happened, and the fact he has created the "thoughtpocalypse". "I figure if I'm responsible for the end of the world," he says, " I get to name it." Priya and Tony pretend to be captured...until they set up a few bombs to get everyone out. As for Echo, she's confronted by Clyde/Claire, who is all Clyde. They get in a big fight, and it looks even.
Boyd is told of Echo's escape, then meets Paul, who tells him about Mellie. Boyd pretends it's really Adelle's fault, and they both confront her.
Echo says she may wind up killing Clyde/Claire and herself, but Clyde/Claire says he's got plenty of spare bodies to use. Come to think of it, who says this Clyde is the only one right now? Still, Echo is able to knock this Clyde/Claire out. She's about to blow up the mainframe. when Paul comes in with Boyd. Before she can explain, Boyd pulls a gun at a stunned Paul.

Paul tells Echo to shoot him, but Boyd thinks she won't because she loves Paul.
Finally, Boyd is wrong. Echo does shoot Paul as a distraction. They both try to overtake Boyd, but he pins Echo down, ready to kill her. After all, all they need is the spinal fluid. They don't need her alive.
Then a shot is fired...from Topher's Imprint Gun. Despite the fact that he said his invention would cause evil, Topher had to use it to save Echo. Boyd, the toymaker, the destroyer...is now a toy. He asks Echo, "did I fall asleep?"
She turns Boyd into a suicide bomber, and he destroys the Rossum mainframe. Everyone is able to get out alive.
Finally, Echo asks Paul is she really did save the world.
It looks that way, but anyone who has seen "Epitaph One" knows the mission didn't succeed after all. Imprinting the masses still happened. The world still spiralled into a thoughtpocalypse. The last thing we see is "ten years later", with Echo and Paul with guns, trying to keep moving.

So, how did the thoughtpocalypse happen?
Well, in E-1, Clyde/Claire apparently was turned back into Whisky. This may mean Clyde/Claire got out, but was defeated later on. Also, Harding's still around. Maybe he made copies of Topher's plans, and that at least one other Dollhouse may have been working on the Imprint Gun. A lot can happen in ten years. Boyd was right, though, about how technology can change the world, and sometimes destroy it.

"The Hollow Men" is more like a bridge between the present day and the series finale, "Epitaph Two: Return", set in 2020. That's why the plot was a bit rushed, and there was a lot of backstory and exposition to be explained. It's to be expected, since this was filmed just after Fox decided to cancel the show after 13 episodes. Joss Whedon had a lot to say about technology and moral choices, but not enough time to say it.
The final episode on January 29th will see if the destroyed can defeat the destroyers, and if Echo winds up as a savior after all.

Recap of Dollhouse "Getting Closer", or Meet Caroline Farrell

Remember when this show was all about a girl who could be anyone but herself, and the FBI agent who's determined to save her and destroy the evil organization that has imprisoned her?
As Dollhouse prepares to be foreclosed by Fox, it has become a very different place. The girl has become more than just herself, or what she used to be. The agent is now a Doll, and the boss wants to destroy those she works for. That last fact would surprise even her.
This week's episode, "Getting Closer" looks at the connection between Bennett Halverston and Caroline, how the truth is a little different than what Bennett remembers, and the scariest secret about Rossum itself.

We start "three years ago" (let's say 2007), where Caroline has infiltrated an office by using her charms on a security agent. We find out it's Adelle DeWitt's office. While she handcuffs the guy to a pipe, she gets her own file, and that of a brainy girl who apparently could "kill me with your brain" (hello, Firefly fans). The girl, of course, is Bennett, and she seems to be very important to the company. She tells him she's no thief...but she is a terrorist who thinks Rossum is out of control.
Advance to now, or actually where we left off in "The Attic". Team Echo is there, including Paul, Adelle, Boyd, Sierra, Victor, Topher and Ivy. Echo recaps what they have to do: find Caroline's memory wedge, and put it in her. That way, they can find out what Caroline learned about who was the person who betrayed Clyde Randolph and advanced Rossum towards making the whole world a Dollhouse. Finding him or her is what counts. Ivy's not sure about putting a real person's memories into Echo, considering Echo doesn't want to be what she was. She could wind up confused, insane, or Alpha 2.0. Still, they have to do this.
Echo talks to Paul, saying they haven't talked since he was brain dead. He noted she's died in a way, too.
One problem: Caroline's wedge is missing. There's a backup, but it's damaged, thanks to Alpha. Want to bet he took the original, too?

Back to 2007, we see Bennett at Tuscon Tech, on a Rossum scholarship. She's looking for a place to have lunch, but Caroline chases away two obnoxious blonds at a table by pretending to vomit due to bad bisque. That's what those girls get for thinking Bennett was a waitress. Looks like Bennett and Caroline will be pals after this.
Then we see Echo look at Caroline's video yearbook, like the one in "Ghost". Adelle notes Caroline looks so innocent, but she's left a trail of unhappiness and a few bodies. She's worse than evil, Adelle says...Caroline is an idealist.
Interesting point, but what about your ideals, Adelle? Is your ideal being a model employee at Rossum, running a Dollhouse that fulfills the needs of the rich and powerful? Did you do this because Rossum is still doing good things thanks to what they learned about imprinting brains? Is that your ideal, or your excuse, or really your explanation? Caroline is a wrecking crew because she knows Rossum's dark side, which is making anyone a doll that the rich and powerful, or Rossum itself, can play with. Why else would they make a senator? Remember, the events involving Caroline and Bennett take place three years before, about the time Rossum "improved" Daniel Perrin to make him the senator of its dreams.

Well, Echo says she's glad the wedge is gone, and suspects people think she took it because she likes herself as she is now. As for now, Echo and Caroline may have the same body, but they are two distinct people.
At the imprint room, Topher tries to program an Active in the Washington D.C. office. Bennett, in D.C., catches them, but Topher succeeds. The Active grabs Bennett, while Paul arrives with Victor. One gingersnap (the word, that is, to disable the Active) later, they're on their way back to Los Angeles. They do stop to bring November/Mellie back, too. Bennett snipes at Adelle, even at how her Actives roam like free-range chickens. Hey, what's better than organic Actives?

When Topher meets Bennett, it's clear his crush for her is still strong, and it kind of hinders their goal to fix the backup wedge. She flatly refuses, despite Adelle's subtle threats. Once Topher praises her skills, and uses his own geeky charms, she starts to reconsider...for the challenge. Topher and Bennett make a cute romantic couple. They almost kiss, but then he implies the wedge Bennett has to fix has Caroline's personality. Apparently that led to her punching him in the face, because he said so in a later scene. Instead of seeing Bennett's anger, we go back to 2007, where Caroline gives Bennett a treatment, or rather a makeover. Bennett likes the attention, and even wishes she were more like Caroline. It would be a cool college friendship if not for the fact Bennett works for the enemy.
Later, we see Boyd coming home to....Dr. Saunders. Apparently she and Boyd are close, and she has the confidence to return as the doc. Not bad for someone who used to be the top Active.

Just as Dr. Saunders starts to mend Topher, it's back to 2007 when the then-security chief Laurence Dominic tells Adelle (in a hairstyle she should have kept) that some security footage was deleted three months ago, and that two files are missing. Basically, it was Caroline, and Adelle seems to be familiar with her. She also learns Caroline is rooming with Bennett, who seems to be pegged to be a major figure at Rossum. So, it's off to Tucson, where Rossum is headquartered.
Speaking of Bennett, she confronts Caroline with the fact she has her file. What makes Bennett mad is that Caroline wouldn't confide in her. What's more surprising is that Caroline admits she wants to bring Rossum down because they're out of control...and Bennett asks if she can help. This is a surprise because she doesn't ask Caroline for proof Rossum is evil. After all, Rossum's the reason why Bennett's in school.

Back to 2010, Echo looks at Bennett, who's locked up. Echo notes that some people can't believe she's a real person, not even Paul when he tried to help her. That's why she doesn't want Caroline back into her to "reclaim" her body. Boyd notes that won't happen because she built herself from scratch. Not bad for an Active. He even says Caroline may be proud of her, once the two egos meet.
Later, she sends Victor and Sierra away, so they can spend at least one night together. She points out it's going to be a war, and they may lose a lot when it gets bad. Them, Dominic emerges from the Attic, dressed like he's from the cast of Tron. He says that the original Clyde Randolph (former co-founder of Rossum) is dead, and the company is now after them.
Adelle is forced to take action, including "firing" the Actives. She must also send back Dominic to the Attic, and move the battle to Tucson.

Another flashback to Rossum Central in Tucson, They're ready to blow up a building, until Caroline finds a hidden room. Bennett tells her not to go, because if you get curious, you get dead. Ask any cat. Caroline goes in, and sees three people encased behind glass. One opens his eyes and sings opera. She tries to abort the mission, but the bombs go off.

Back in 2010, Paul is surprised that Echo agrees with Adelle that Dominic has to go back to the Attic. Paul says "I don't know you anymore", which is true because forgetting her was the only way to save him. However, he has Mellie back. She's happy to see him, programmed or not. She turns to Echo, thinking she's Caroline, and said Paul never gave up looking for her. She agrees.
Adelle then meets with Clive Ambrose, who's got plenty of people ready to help him take over, and toss her out. Well, a few bullets from Boyd eliminates the problem. As Adelle sees the rug is done for, she also sees Boyd is, too. He's been shot.

Back in Tucson 2007, Caroline sees Bennett is trapped, her left arm pinned by a large tower. Caroline is unable to get her out. She sees Adelle and Dominic are coming. So, according to Bennett, she was deserted. However, the real story is that Caroline decided to give herself up, and save Bennett from Rossum's wrath.
In 2010, both Echo and Bennett meet. Echo diffuses the conflict by pointing out she doesn't want to be Caroline again. She only wants to know what she knows. After that, Bennett can do what she wants with Caroline, such as what she did in "The Left Hand."

Adelle figures Ambrose may have imprinted himself in at least one other body, in case he got killed. So, to give Boyd time to run, she'll tell Ambrose 2.0 what happened. Dr. Saunders, however, has to stay. We then see that tearful farewell they shared in "Epitaph One." What happened in that episode has to happen again, and that includes what's coming next week.

So, Bennett fixes the wedge, and she and Topher share a painful kiss. He's still smarting from her punching him. Their romantic moment looks geeky, but it's still better than all of Leap Year...and All About Steve...and The Ugly Truth...and When In Rome...well, you get the idea.
As Topher goes to find a part, Dr. Saunders suddenly shows up. She admits she is surprised Topher can actually have a crush on someone, even Bennett. She's so surprised....she shoots Bennett in the head, with Topher seeing the bloody tragedy.
Maybe this started the madness.
Paul thinks that maybe Rossum turned Dr. Saunders into a sleeper agent, and programmed her to kill Bennett. I'm not so sure. First, did Rossum have any idea Bennett would betray the company? She virtually had control of the D.C. Dollhouse, which means it were certain she'd be part of their new vision. I think Dr. Saunders killed Bennett because of jealousy. Remember, she tried to seduce Topher in "Vows", thinking that is what he wanted. Maybe seeing Topher with another girl was too much for her to bear. Now that she's killed someone, where will she go next?

Another flashback: Adelle confronts Caroline, saying she is upset her little stunt forced her to go to Tucson. "I loathe Tucson," she hisses. Then she gets a phone call from the head of Rossum, who wants to talk to Caroline. She goes. Adelle does not.

In 2010, the good guys at Rossum are trapped, as the Rossum Army closes in. Topher is still shaken by what he has seen, and wonders if Bennett could be saved. Not this time. Ivy wants to stay, but Topher pulls himself together to tell her to go. He tells her that she has an incredible brain that should stay in her head. His one piece of advice: "Don't become me."

Adelle is also told to go just as she sees the Rossum troops close in, She laments they keep breaking windows she just replaced, but she goes. Now, all that are left are Paul, Mellie, and Topher. He gets the wedge ready to go as one of Rossum's killers show up. He fakes being Bruce Lee long enough for Boyd to come back and kill the assassin.
Now Echo has Caroline's head inside her. She remembers going into the office of the president of Rossum....a quiet and polite guy who looks like Elijah Wood. He calls himself Clyde Randolph the second, and that he uses other bodies. He says he's quite impressed with her. His partner agrees. His partner....Boyd Langton??
Uh, if that's true, maybe Boyd did a little "improvement" on Saunders' brain when she wasn't looking, and made her a sleeper? If so, that must have been recent if he knew what Bennett was up to.
Well, in 2006, Boyd Langton and Clyde Randolph 2 are together, running Rossum, and they offer Caroline a proposition. She won't be harmed. In fact, she can help a lot of people. She's won't be a typical Active. They know that.
She is very skeptical about this. Should she trust these guys?
"With your life," Boyd says.

Leave it to Tim Minear to give us a story that changes the game, field, players, rules, stadium and league. He also did a good job fitting one of the clips from "Epitaph One" into the overall story.

We see that Echo is a real person, made from scratch through experience and technology. She has improved herself from what she used to be. Again, Echo and Caroline are two distinct people. However, can they be the best of both worlds, and merge? If so, would we get something better, or Alpha 2.0, which is even worse. Judging from what we saw of Echo in "Epitaph One", it's a good guess Echo stayed while her old self is still in a wedge. Thus, Echo will meet Caroline again, only she'll be a small girl who used to be Iris. How we'll get there is what happens next week. The point is, Echo is real, and she wants that to be recognized.
We also know that most of the crew will somehow survive, but what about November? We didn't see her in E-1, except in a photo.
The biggest tragedy, though, will be Topher Brink. He started as a snarky know-it-all, but has grown into a mad scientist who grows a conscience. We also see that it won't be guilt that drives him mad. It will be a broken heart.

Next week, it will be the invasion of the Hollow Men. We have to accept they will win, because that's how we got to the world of "Epitaph One". The final victory may have to wait.

Team Echo Is Ready....To Lose

A new year has started, and it means the beginning of the end for Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.
It looks like the Dollhouse in Los Angeles is going to overthrow its mother company, Rossum, now that it knows the technology it has will lead to world-wide slavery, and an apocalypse that was illustrated in the DVD episode, "Epitaph One."
Too bad Team Echo is meant to lose.
After all, we've been told the events of "Epitaph One" must happen. We're supposed to have a small group of freedom-fighters trying to keep their own voices, now that nearly all of civilization has collapsed.
So, let's look at what is likely to happen:

We know Adelle Dewitt pretended to sell her soul to Rossum to get her job back at the Dollhouse, from giving Matthew Harding Topher's Turn Anyone Into An Active Ray
to sending Echo to the Attic. She's now aware the first decision was a very bad idea and the second will make up for it by discovering the company's deepest secrets. We also know Paul Ballard had to be Active-ized to save his life after Alpha fried his brain, while D.C. Dollhouse programmer Bennett Halverston has turned Madeline Costly/Mellie back into November, and will likely use her to kill Echo because Bennett blames her for losing her left arm.
On top of all this, Echo says she wants too get her old memories back as Caroline Farrell, so we can see who she really was, and whether Bennett may have a point.
The main goal, however, is to find out who or what betrayed co-founder (and now Attic prisoner) Clyde Randolph that led to the imprinting of people, and Rossum's real goal of taking over the government from the inside, thanks to Senator Ken, I mean Daniel Perrin.

Whatever happens, three moments have to happen, all from the DVD-only episode (thank Fox for that), "Epitaph One":

1. Dr. Claire Saunders helping Boyd escape the Dollhouse, apparently after she left the place in "Vows"
2. Clive Ambrose downloading himself into Victor's body, and in the other Dollhouses world-wide, to signal the company's final phase towards world domination
3. Echo and Paul become the new vigilantes for civilization, while Topher is insane because of the guilt of what has been done. The other Actives have gathered, hoping they will keep their true selves, while Adelle may be facing a bullet.

So, it's safe to say the bad guys win at the end of "The Hollow Men". When "Epitaph Two" plays out on the 22nd, though, that victory may not last.
There's also speculation on who will be the Last Actives Standing. I'm hoping our Freedom Fighting group of Mag, Zone and Iris/MiniEcho come out OK, along with Sierra and Victor, or Priya and Anthony. After that, it could go either way.
The beginning of the end is just hours away.

The Education of Adelle DeWitt

Eliza Dushku may be the star of Dollhouse, the story of a woman who was turned into a Doll to fulfill the needs and fantasies of the rich and power.
It may be the story of how Echo, the Doll, slowly started to become self-aware and grow a new self inside her, much to the disapproval of Rossum, the evil Doll makers.
However, you could argue that it's also the story of another person, who thought she was a loyal employee, on the fast track to success, convinced that what her company is doing is right and proper....mostly.
Then, one day, she became self-aware, and decided to be her own woman, even if Rossum disapproved about that, too.
Of course, that person is Adelle DeWitt, wonderfully played by the woman who should be a female version of Rupert Giles like, yesterday...Olivia Williams. This was especially true this past Friday in "Stop-Loss" and "The Attic", where she really had to take a hard look at Rossum when she realizes it doesn't want to stop at ful filling the needs of the rich. Actually, it has an urge of its own that must be fulfilled with a doll...world domination. She had to ask how she could deny Rossum that urge, and avoid being dead or being stuck in the company's version of Hell, "the Attic."

Adelle started in a division that made replacement organs out of stem cells, and that eventually led to her running the Los Angeles Dollhouse. Somewhere on that road, she did someone especially bad, according to evil bigwig Matthew Harding, but she still wound up being a boss. When we first met her, she was seen as the one who ran the Dollhouse, and the best saleswoman for it. Add a friendly spot of tea, and the client is hooked. She was also busy trying to keep the Dollhouse hidden from a certain FBI agent, and using favors from the rich and powerful to do it. Of course, there was the problem of Alpha, an Active that went insane and escaped.
Eventually, she saw herself as a very important person at Rossum, maybe to the point that she could abuse that power. That's why she invented "Miss Lonelyhearts", and enjoyed an illicit affair with "Roger" who was actually Victor, an Active. She didn't see it as forcing herself on him. She just programmed him to love her, because it's a lot easier than the singles scene.
Some may find that ironic, since she had one of the handlers who raped Sierra killed through Mellie, a "sleeper" Active. However, Adelle wasn't aware of what another major player at Rossum was doing to Sierra...with the company's blessing. Once she was told what Nolan Kinnard was doing to Sierra, and was determined to literally own her, she thought she had no choice. Topher's decision to turn Sierra back into Priya, which led to her killing him in self-defense, would lead to Adelle deciding to turn the other way, as Rossum looked the other way to what Nolan was doing. However, she would not forget.

Then Echo was grabbed by the D.C. Dollhouse after she discovered Senator Daniel Perrin is a Doll. She escapes, which looks bad for DeWitt. It's not long before Harding takes over the Dollhouse, and Adelle is demoted to being his lackey. That sticks in her craw, but not enough to do anything drastic. That happens when Topher reveals his most dangerous invention: a portable ray that can turn anyone into a Doll. She hands it to Harding, and she has her job back. She sees it as a way to protect the Dollhouse, but it was mostly ambition. She thought she had to act like one of the boys to win the company's favor again.

However, that takes a toll on her. "Stop-Loss" shows her drinking a lot of whiskey, while trying to show she is in control. However, she tried to have one last sexual encounter with "Roger", or should we say Victor, before he is released from service. However, he rejects her because he has found someone else, namely Sierra. She is as upset as any client who wanted a Doll as a lover. Eventually, Adelle takes a shower with the Actives. This is a big scene because we wonder whether this shower has provided a point of clarity, or is it just a respite before she resumes being Matthew Harding's Doll, there to serve his wishes and urges.

A few minutes later, it looks like Adelle is still Harding's Doll, when she sends Echo to the Attic. While the staff, and Paul Ballard, are shocked over her decision, she justifies it in many ways. First, she reminds Boyd that once he joined Rossum, he had to obey their orders, or find himself in the Attic or in a grave. She also says "I have seen the future, Mr. Langston, and it is not for the weak." He may argue that is this is true, she wouldn't last, either.

By the end of the episode, we see that Adelle is right: Rossum's future is not for the weak, and she has stopped being weak. Sending Echo to the Attic was really a chance to dig into Rossum's darkest secrets. Once Echo got them, Adelle got an advantage to protect herself, the Actives and the Dollhouse. As someone once said, she aims to misbehave...again, but it is for the right reasons, not for an urge.

So what happens next? Will Team Echo win? Maybe not, or the world of "Epitaph One" would not exist. She will keep fighting for something more important than a corporation whose attitude towards humanity isn't, well, human.

Recap of Dollhouse "The Attic", or Echo the Dream Warrior

Echo has been a bad doll. She has been a big problem to Rossum, doll makers for the rich and powerful. It decided that Echo must stay in the Attic, and be kept in a permanent nightmare. She'll find out there are others, not all of them Dolls, who have suffered the same fate.
Is this the end of her story...or the beginning?

The episode starts where "Stop-Loss" left off, with Echo being laid out on a table, hooked up to a monitor, while a female voice says "Welcome to the Attic. We're so glad to have you." When her body disengages, she's able to wake up, put down a couple of guards, and escape. She finds Sierra and Victor, and they are about to escape when Echo is tapped when a clear door closes behind her. She sees Sierra and Victor shot and killed in front of her....
and then the nightmare begins again.
Welcome to the Attic, Echo. It's so happy to have you.

Elsewhere in the Dollhouse, Adelle wants Topher to fix Paul's brain, even if it means turning him into an Active. Maybe he can be the new Victor. Boyd is still at the Dollhouse, but reveals he's been at home, dealing with something personal. Some suspect he's keeping Claire Saunders there, but that's not certain.
Boyd then asks him about the Attic. All Topher knows is that it's where Rossum does experimentation, maybe torture. Anyone in the Attic is kept in a fear-inducing nightmare, as a problem they can't solve.
In Echo's case, it's trying to escape when she can't. However, once she realizes it's all a dream, she escapes to another room...where she's under a large snow-covered tree. She also sees Terry's hateful relatives from "Belle Chose" and even the young Margaret Bashford from "Haunted". Echo guesses this isn't real. However, someone in black is real, and is trying to kill her.

Back at the Dollhouse, Topher compares Paul's brain to a football team without a quarterback. Ivy says it's not as if his brain could do the "wildcat formation", where the center snaps the ball to a running back, not a quarterback. Topher, however, suspects it could. So, Paul's brain will become the Miami Dolphins, which likes the wildcat offense. Suddenly, Ivy's called to Adelle's office. He's worried, but tells Ivy Darth Vader kills lieutenants, not stormtroopers.

In Attic Land, Echo finds out someone is following her....none other than Laurence Dominic, the former head of security. He says he is following someone named Arcane, who tried to kill him and is killing others. He thinks he's still in his head, but Echo tells him he's in hers.
As they wander around, she suddenly finds her way to a Japanese restaurant. She meets someone named Matsu, who says he has to stay and enjoy himself. He, of course, is also in the Attic. He says Rossum hired him to find a weakness in the company mainframe. Once he did, he was sent to the Attic to keep his findings secret. As for Victor and Sierra, we learn that sometimes they make love, then find out where they really are. Sierra is locked in a padded cell with undead Rossum bigwig Nolan Kinnard raping her, while Victor is in Afghanistan literally fighting himself. That is, Anthony the solider is attacking Victor the civilian.
How can Enver Gjokaj do both roles well? He gets his twin brother Demir to help out. Enver and Nick Brendon would have a lot in common.

When Ivy gets back from Adelle's office, she is cold to Topher, almost afraid. Adelle got to her, and "advises" Topher not to be disloyal. She also says she knows how he got rid of Nolan Kinnard, the Rossum bigwig who wanted to own Sierra. If Adelle is being sympathetic towards Nolan, to show her loyalty to Rossum, then something is wrong. Actually, she defines it for Boyd: when you work for Rossum, it owns you body and soul. You be a good employee, or it's off to the Attic or the grave. Specifically, "I have seen the future, Mr. Langton, and it is not for the weak."
If that is true, Adelle, you won't last, either.

Back at the Attic Sushi Bar, Echo hears Arcane kill someone. She tries to get Matsu to leave, but he can't. His legs have been cut off, and he's been forced to eat the meat from them. It's not long before Arcane kills Matsu as well, and his world also "dies". He's about to kill Victor before Echo and Dominic get there first. Later, they're able to save Sierra, but soon find themselves in the apocalyptic world that was part of "Epitaph One". We also see Arcane has turned into.....Clyde?

Now Boyd and Topher are passing a flask, discussing how to rewire Paul's brain to bring him back to the land of the living. He'll lose some part of him, but don't say what. Whatever it is, Boyd says anger is all he'll have left. "That woman is going to drag us straight to hell," Topher says. Is that Echo or Adelle?
They do revive Paul, and he's not happy when he's told he had to be turned into a Doll. He winds up pulling a gun at Adelle, while she has a gun aimed at Paul's face. What happens next? We don't know.

Now, who is Clyde, and why are everyone in Los Angeles 2019? Clyde Randolph was a co-founder of Rossum, and helped develop the theory of imprinting people. He says he's also trying to destroy Rossum's mainframe, except it's made of human brains. The Attics of all the Dollhouses are computer rooms. He's been in one of the Attics since he was betrayed by his partner, with help from the first imprinted person, Clyde 2.0, way back in 1993. Since then, he's been forced to determine what the technology would create, In 97 percent of all cases, we'd have the end of the world.
He asks what year it is now, and Echo says 2010, maybe, because "we don't know how long we've been off the air" (hey, too close to the 4th wall, kiddo). Clyde thinks that's good news until he learns about Daniel Perrin.
Then he remembers that a woman accidentally got inside Rossum, and discovered the person who betrayed Clyde.
Yep, it's Caroline Farrell, now known as Echo. She doesn't have Caroline's memories, but can find them.
So, what can be done? Echo makes the sacrifice, allowing herself to be shot so she can cause her monitor to flat-line. Then, she can "rise from the dead" in a Matrix-type of way, escape from her room, and revive the others. Sierra and Victor are willing to sacrifice their dream selves, while Clyde and Dominic stay behind to tell the others to not be afraid.

Eventually, we see Echo tell someone that she has the information that can destroy Rossum's mainframe and its plans for the future. She has escaped the Attic, and is now ready for the final battle against Rossum.
So, what will Adelle DeWitt do to stop Echo?
Nothing. Adelle can't stop Echo...because all this was ADELLE'S IDEA!!!!

Yes, Miss DeWitt pulled off the biggest scam this side of Angel pretending to join the Order of the Black Thorn to uncover pure evil. The shower did clear her head. It reminded her she's a woman, not Matthew Harding's Doll...and she's not weak, either.
Let's go back to where Adelle is about to send Echo to the Attic, describing how it could be the worst type of Hell. She also thinks Rossum's deepest secrets could be located there, especially the "human brain mainframe" part. Adelle actually gambled that Echo, with 40 brains, can make her way through the Attic and get out with the information. Clearly, it worked, because Victor, Sierra, Topher, Ivy, Boyd and Paul are in Adelle's office, too.
They're ready, but they need one more person.
Caroline Farrell.

Dollhouse December has included more plot twists than a year of daytime soap operas, along with betrayals, triumphs and surprises. It's almost a shame to see it go.
Now, Dollhouse fans will be unwrapping their Christmas gifts and ringing in the New Year. On January 8th, the road to the end will start.
The big question is: will Team Echo battle Rossum and lose? It has to, so that the world of Epitaph One can exist. Does that mean final victory will be delayed until 2019? Who will be left, and can the survivors clean up the mess Rossum made?
Not only that, did Caroline really betray Bennett Halverson, costing her an arm? Will Alpha show up again, and where? There's lots left to consider while we wait for eight tiny reindeer.

As for the ratings, both episodes generated an 0.7 rating, or about 2.1 million viewers. Overall, people decided not to stay home on December 18th because they wanted to check out Avatar. For the cost of five minutes of that movie, they could have seen two compelling hours of TV drama, where the dialogue was in
3-D.

Recap of Dollhouse "Stop-Loss", or Life After Wartime

This week, Sierra and Victor are separated, but not the way you think. We find out it's not easy to leave your Active years behind, and Adelle falls apart, only to recover and make a shocking decision.

What happens when your tour of duty is over? How can you get back to your old life?
It's a problem Anthony Ceccoli has to face twice: once as a veteran of the Afghan War, and again as an Active named Victor.
It's also something Adelle DeWitt has to face, since he was her imaginary lover when she was Miss Lonelyhearts. As the episode begins, we see her hoping to have one last sexual session with Victor, as Roger. However, he winds up dumping her, saying there's someone else. She is upset, revealing that he's really a Doll who's about to leave the Dollhouse. Of course, he doesn't believe it.
She immediately thinks Topher rewired Victor somehow, but he denies it. He is surprised when Adelle admits she was Miss Lonelyhearts. Ivy, his assistant, makes an awkward comment on the matter. Adelle tells Topher to make sure Actives don't reject the people who had them programmed to love them.

As for Paul, he's still brain dead after what Alpha did to him last week. Echo is upset because she's been able to keep his memories while she's losing her friends. She is also sad Victor is leaving, because she was hoping he'd help her. At least, she makes sure he says goodbye to Sierra, without knowing what it really means.

What it means is that Victor is back to being Anthony, a veteran recovering from PTSD, but struggling to get back to civilian life. For now, he'll be a lonely guy at a suite in the Hyperion, newly-renovated after Angel left. However, there is someone who thinks Anthony could be useful.

Echo reluctantly tells Sierra that Victor has left, but Sierra fells bad about Victor because he's not ready to be alone. His first night alone, which winds up with him sleeping in a bathtub that is shaped like his old bed, proves her right.

This episode also traces the development of Adelle DeWitt, brilliantly played by Olivia Williams. Here, she aims to be Rossum's Employee of the Year if it means keeping her job. However, it also means sipping whiskey more often. When Echo confronts Adelle abut Paul, Echo says she has the advantage because "I have a serial killer in my head", while all Adelle has is her job. Adelle also thinks her knowledge of the rebellion forming against her is also giving her an edge. Echo, however, tells Adelle to pick a side, either Rossum or her Actives.

Meanwhile, a special ops team breaks into VicTony's (Victor/Anthony) suite and kidnap him. We find out they're part of a military group called Scytheon, owned by Rossum. They ask VicTony if he wants to join them. He agrees, but there's more than that. He has to wear a gizmo that links his mind to the rest of the Scytheon army. He's now part of the RossumBorg, where the mission is all, and individuality is removed.

Echo comes up with a plan to get Victor back, but it includes turning Sierra back into Priya. Topher and Boyd just hope Adelle can stay in her alcoholic haze long enough for them to finish the job. They also learn that Echo can maintain her self, even as several people and abilities are imprinted into her. Some fans suggested it's improving on The Matrix.

Echo and Priya/Sierra get "caught" in the Scytheon base, but it's only to get close to VicTony. It's not easy, but Priya/Sierra is able to get through to him. However, what he sees the rest of the Scytheon army sees. It also works the other way, and that's how he's able to anticipate their moves.

Adelle wakes up after too much whiskey, thanks to a call from Harding over what Echo is doing. She confronts Boyd. She's mad, but so is he. He wonders what happened to the Adelle who would put the welfare of the Actives and Dollhouse first. She says that Adelle is still there, but he doesn't believe it. She eventually takes a shower with the other Actives, but does the water clear her head, or is she still clouded by ambition and the need to be protected from Rossum?

Echo is able to stop the Scytheon army by injecting a neural radio into herself, and convincing the rest of the Borg, I mean soldiers, to stand down. She, VicTony and Priya/Sierra escape, and make plans for their lives away from the Dollhouse. However, Topher's disruptor ray disables them all.

We see Adelle looking at Echo, who is tied down as Laurence Dominic was tied down when his true mission was revealed. "You leave a wake of destruction wherever you go," Adelle tells Echo, and such a Doll can't be trusted. It's time to go to the Attic.
She won't be lonely. Victor and Sierra will join her...maybe followed by Boyd, Topher, Ivy, Paul.........Dr. Saunders?

It looks like Rossum has won, because Adelle DeWitt chose her job and her company over humanity. It's all for self-preservation. Knowing she has Rossum on her side makes her mighty, while her enemies, which now include Boyd, Topher and Ivy, are in big trouble if they can't stop her. Even if they could, how can they stop the company?

Recap of Dollhouse "A Love Supreme", or Alpha Wants His Beta

While Adelle DeWitt was occupied with finding Echo and Paul Ballard, there's one Active she may have forgotten. He caused a little trouble, like killing several Actives and severely injuring another, all to get the love of a certain girl...named Echo.
Now, Alpha is back, and he'll win Echo's love by eliminating the competition.

He'll start in Riverside County, where a guy named Clay who lives in a run-down trailer. He talks about how he's blown his money on the Dollhouse. While he may be in love with a girl who doesn't exist, that love sustains him. Alpha, looking very fashionable in a three-piece suit, agrees with Clay, and points out the saddest part about love is the ending...right before he cuts Clay's neck with a hunting knife.

At the Dollhouse, Echo is in a straightjacket, interviewed by a shrink who looks a lot like Victor...because it is. It's part of Adelle's efforts to get Echo to say what she did during her three-month walkabout. Adelle claims she's sorry she has to do this, but I suspect she also resents Echo for running away. It was the reason Adelle lost control of the Dollhouse. It's also a way to get Paul Ballard to admit he was helping Echo. It's starting to work until Boyd tells him to "man up".
As Adelle asks Dr. Victor his opinion on whether Echo is really in pain, he winds up analyzing Adelle, especially about how reserved she is. He even accuses Adelle of being jealous of Echo because she's both the "virgin and whore" and is being celebrated for both. Of course, he gets treated after this. Topher also pretends to side with Victor's opinion that Echo's pain is all in her mind.

Later, we see Topher knows how active her Doll state has become. He's told by Paul and Boyd about how she's 37 people in one, and is just about self-aware. So, what is Echo, he asks? Is she Eleanor Penn, Taffy, Bree, Rebecca, Terry the serial killer (even a little bit)? Yes, and more. Soon, she'll become Susan, for a romantic engagement with a guy named Frank Pierce. She does that even without an imprint. Topher can only think this is what old people feel like...or Blockbuster. Well, more like Tower Records, Topher.
On their way, Paul tells Echo he was hoping that when she came back on the field, they'd run. Echo disagrees, because they'd probably be Attic-bound. They get to Pierce's house, and she notices a trail of rose petals. It leads to Pierce's dead body. They also find some flowers, with a card that says "You're My Number One." Alpha the romantic.

They also figure out Alpha's been killing Echo's past romantic engagements that have given her love, including a woman that married her.
Later, Sierra comes back as a film noir doll, maybe Elizabeth Scott or Barbara Stanwyck, complaining about a guy who did her wrong. She hopes she never hears that guy's name again...Alpha. She also has a message, "the next one ages well." They also figure the next victim is a guy named Cargill, who reserves Echo on his birthday.
While all the Actives are re-wiped, Paul and Boyd find Alpha, with Cargill wearing a vest loaded with TNT. Alpha is disappointed his fashion sense is better than anyone else there. He says the men Echo had only loved pieces of her, while he alone can love all of her, and those inside her. He winds up blowing Cargill to smithereens and leaving the scene.

Who's left? None other than Joel Mynor, who we last saw in "Man on the Street." He was the internet genius who wanted Echo as his dead wife to recreate a moment that never came. He's leery about hiding out at the Dollhouse, especially since Alpha once broke in. After he sees Echo as Rebecca, he might as well try. He also talks shop with Topher, saying that once a program is deleted, it becomes alive somewhere. Maybe the same with personas?
Adelle prefers that Mynor be sent somewhere else. However, Alpha is already inside her office. She claims she's scared out of her mind, but he doesn't have that problem. He can just go to the next mind. She's willing to give him Echo not because she is chivalrous, but because of self-preservation (which the previous episode has proved). Echo's locked up, and she can be sent to him. Instead, he shows Adelle his "vacation photos", including a lot with Echo and Paul. He drags her to the executive elevator, where they get to the lobby. However, it's not because she's his human shield. It's to allow him to use his own remote wipe gizmo, which causes the Actives to turn against their handlers. Adelle gets away, and runs into her panic room.
Echo is able to get out by breaking a two-way window. Paul finds Alpha with Mynor, but it's bait and switch. Victor drugs Paul, while Alpha has plans for him. He wants to know why Echo loves Paul, and will drill right into his brain to find out. Paul keeps saying he doesn't love Echo even if she might love him. Alpha is certain Paul loves her because he didn't have sex with her. So. he zaps Paul's brain to get the answer.

Echo finds Adelle, and they later figure out Alpha used a computer virus to take control of the Actives, but it didn't work on Echo. Topher also figures he can use his Remote Wipe Ray to subdue the Actives.

Alpha, meanwhile, hasn't found the answer in Paul's brain...because it's been fried. So, he decides to imprint Paul into himself. Echo is shocked and angry at Alpha for making Paul brain-dead. While she clobbers Alpha, and says that Paul is ten times Alpha is (and he's 40 guys), he keeps telling her that to love him is to love herself. Then he speaks in Paul's voice, and the "Paul" inside Alpha begs Echo to kill him. She just can't, and Alpha leaves. It's almost a callback to when Buffy was torn over fighting Angel because she had to kill the man she loved...when he had a soul. Here, Echo can't kill Alpha because it also means killing Paul.

Mynor soon leaves, but not before Echo shifts into her Rebecca persona to give him a chance to say goodbye. He admits to "Rebecca" she lives on in him. Echo then turns to Paul's brain-dead body, and says he lives on in her.
The last scene is Adelle DeWitt over looking the damage in her Dollhouse. We wonder what she is thinking. Does she regret selling her soul to Harding to regain her place at the Dollhouse? Does she blame Echo for all her problems, and believe Echo should be shipped to the Attic?
Next week, we'll see if Paul can be saved somehow, and we'll also see what the Attic is all about, thanks to someone who we remember from last season.
Even though Dollhouse will end its run in a little more than a month, both episodes actually gained a tenth of a point over last week, attracting more than 2.4 million people.

Recap of Dollhouse "Meet Jane Doe" or The Last Temptation of Adelle DeWitt

There's nothing more troubling than a missing Active.
Adelle DeWitt has been busy trying to find Echo, who has gone off the grid thanks to removing her GPS chip in "The Left Hand".
Her bosses are not happy. They decide to make some changes, while Echo is busy with another MIA employee trying to battle prison abuse in Texas.
In the end, Adelle DeWitt will make a choice that will not be popular, but keeps her alive...which is all that matters to her.

The episode opens with Topher complaining about how Bennett Halversom tricked him in "The Left Hand", but he's not willing to tell Ivy, his assistant, all the details. Not at first. He does call Bennett "ice cold, truly wicked, with a shriveled-up raisin for a heart." He'll later discover that describes someone else.

Adelle asks Boyd if they have any idea where Echo and Ballard are. She's worried that Echo can't possibly survive in her doll state, even with 36 people inside her. She's also worried what Rossum will do to her and her house if she doesn't find them.
She winds up in Medina, Texas, dumpster-diving and looking for food. She's unclear on how to get money, asking an ATM for cash. She also sees Galena, an illegal immigrant trying to use food stamps but the clerk won't accept them. Echo steals some cookies and given them to Galena, but they are approached by two deputies who don't know Spanish. This is important. Galena is caught, but Echo gets away when she clobbers a deputy by remembering how to do that.

Advance three months, and we see Adelle is demoted to tea lady while Matthew Harding has taken over the L.A. Dollhouse. She sees how the main company now prefers to send Actives to any job, no matter whether they'll survive it or not. She used to care about that because she could. Boyd wonders if Adelle is upset she's not the boss, or the changes Rossum has made. It's both.
Topher, though, is happy, because he's got more resources, even as much as what Bennett has in her DC Dollhouse. He even uses Sierra and Victor as his assistants.
We also see Echo is now Nurse Jane, who volunteers to give flu shots to the local jail after the usual nurse got sick. We later learn it's part of a plan to spring Galena out of jail, because she's getting beaten up by the guards. Echo/Jane also takes advantage of the fact the deputies don't speak Spanish, and tells Galena what to do while the guards have no idea.

So how has Echo stabilized into Nurse Jane? She has help...from Paul Ballard. We learn she's able to pick and choose from the people inside her. For example, we found out Rebecca, Joel Mynor's wife, was a nurse. The other skills come from other people. It's kind of like one part Matrix, one part Johnny Mnemonic. We also see they're getting cozy in their small apartment, and it looks like she's falling for him. She insists it's real love from her real self. He's not so sure. Even if that's the case, he can't love a girl with 36 people inside, her. Besides, he's still smarting from his affair with Mellie/November.
Echo does say she's disturbed about the memory of her old self, Caroline, that Bennett showed her last week. "I've been saving this body for her," she says, "and I'm not her." She is Echo, and Echo loves Paul.
But business is business, and what starts as sex soon goes into training and planning for Galena's escape. It does look sexy, though.
Back at the Dollhouse, Topher brags of what he's been able to do thanks to more R&D money. She asks what he's doing, but Harding is also there wondering why Adelle is wondering. That's bad, at least according to Bennett. It's also clear Topher is Harding's favorite. She does get good news: Echo's been found...because Paul Ballard just called. He's not giving the whole story to her, but will to Boyd. Paul tells Boyd that while Echo is getting smarter, her body is deteriorating. There's some question how long she'll last.

The plan is that Galena takes verapamil to fake her death, and Echo/Jane gets her out. She also learns from Sheriff Rand, who's played by Glenn Morshower (aka Aaron on 24), that sometimes the guards get out of control, but it's all part of everyday life in the jail. Anyway, Echo/Jane's plan almost works, and they're brought back into the jail.

Back at the Dollhouse, Clive Ambrose (Mr. Rossum) and Harding tell Adelle they're opening a house in Dubai, and should decide which Actives to transfer there. Let's just say Sierra may be headed to the Middle East. Afterwards, she asks Boyd how she can get her job back. He says the Adelle he knows wouldn't ask that question. This is really eatnig at her. She'll do anything to be Queen Bee in L-A, and that is very unfortunate.

At the jail, Rand wants Galena and Echo to explain themselves, or else. After he leaves, Galena asks Echo what they should do. Echo tries to think of something, but the headaches stop her. Then, she goes into Taffy mode, as in Miss "Blue Skies" back in "Gray Hour." They get out thanks to her bra as a lockpick. Eventually they get away, and Paul hands the Sheriff proof of abuse in his jail. Seems Echo was wearing a wire to get the proof.

Then the Dollhouse reveals some new toys that will send mankind on an express trip to the apocalypse in 2019. Topher demonstrates a new gun that remotely wipes an Active. He uses Kilo, who talks like Missy Eliot until he zaps her. She's again played by Maurissa Tanchareon, one of the writers of this episode. However, he also tells Adelle about another device that will imprint anyone with a new personality, whether converted into an Active or not. She's upset, and suggests Topher keep it well-hidden.

Back in Texas, Echo and Ballard send Galena on her way with cash and a new identity, No imprint needed here. It also means they have to go back to the Dollhouse.
Speaking of which, we find out Adelle handed the Super Imprint Gun to Harding to get her job back. She'll claim it's to protect the L-A Dollhouse, but this is the real reason: "In the end, power is always used to get more power; and if Rossum has this much, I've little interest in being with the other team".
Topher, in the "other team", calls her the coldest bitch he's ever met. She slaps, him, because she doesn't care. She's in charge again, and it will stay that way, no matter what. Just ask Laurence Dominic, if we can find him in the Attic.
Paul and Boyd get that message, too, after Adelle decides to keep Echo in isolation to see what else she can do. In other words, she's been put in a very special Attic, where she won't be a threat.

Now, looking at the responses from Whedonesque, some are disappointed by Adelle's decision. Some are hoping Adelle is only doing this to get deeper into the Rossum inner circle, and that's when she'll double-cross Harding, Ambrose and everyone else.
However, since when has she ever thought Rossum had to be taken down? That's what Paul believes, and maybe Boyd and Topher, too. To quote a thing known as the First, "It's not about right, it's not about wrong. It's about Power." Power, and avoiding a life sentence in the Attic. This is all that Adelle DeWitt wants. The hell with people. Since when have they given her what she wants?
This has got to backfire, but let's hope she'll at least have time to partially atone.