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tardis_stowawayTonight's Double Dollhouse was a mixed bag. There was a lot to love about it, but everything felt rushed and crammed in. On the one hand, I'm glad that the writers are trying to give us the complete story arc in the scant time remaining. However, overstuffing makes it harder to properly appreciate all that's going on. That "three months later" jump would have been more effective if we had then had more time to appreciate the sucky state of the Dollhouse with Adelle not in charge before she took it back (more on that later). Also, the two-hour block that worked well on last week's closely connected episodes felt a little odd with these more distinct stories. The eps were pretty different, but I'm going to talk about them together in a jumbled way, because it's my LJ and I can.
While I'm complaining, I need to lodge a BIG complaint about all the Paul/Echo. That ship is full of squick for me. It's too tangled up with Ballard's hero complex and Echo's dollhood. Yes, she is self-aware, but I can't help wondering how much of her attachment to Paul ultimately traces to the handler/active bond. Also, it would have been so much cooler if Echo had learned to survive on her own instead of needing some man who could help her navigate the big bad world. However, the excuse for an airing of Ballard's abs was nice. ;)
Why is the Mexican woman (Graciela? I can't remember, and the internet isn't providing the answer quickly) so grateful and trusting toward Echo? Echo's shoplifting antics were what landed her in jail in the first place.
Awww, Victor and Sierra are kissing in their lab coats! <3 <3 <3 OH NOES! DON'T SENT SIERRA TO DUBAI!!! (The choice of Dubai for the new Dollhouse branch is unintentionally ironic since their financial crisis has been so much in the news lately.)
I am really impressed with how this show has managed to completely turn around my attitude toward Topher without ever feeling like they started writing a different character. In S1, I cheered when Ballard tazed Topher. Starting with Epitaph One, Topher has grown facets and shown more and more humanity. He's now one of my favorite characters to watch. He is still obnoxious and cocky, but interestingly so. The revelation that he held off on releasing the wipe gun for two months trying to find a way to make it less likely to lead to worse things was pretty huge. Topher loves showing off his toys, but here he held back for the good of humanity.
Unlike Adelle! I am completely appalled by her tonight. She's always been willing to do awful things when she believes it necessary, but handing over Topher's secret plans for a way to remotely imprint non-Doll people was SO NOT OK. Yes, it let her regain control of the LA Dollhouse, but only by putting the rest of humanity at risk. Even if she can't conceive of the technology's impact on the scale we saw in Epitaph One, I thought she had enough imagination and conscience to see how dire this tech would be even if only used against occasional individuals. I hope this is part of some Epic Kickass Sekrit Plan, because right now it looks like she is putting her desire for control over whatever shred of decency working in the Dollhouse left her. It was good to see Boyd telling her off a bit in the beginning.
On a side note, I think I just might ship Adelle/Topher. It's two parts twisted, two parts crack, and one part inappropriate starches (actually, that's crack as well), but I think they're fascinating together. Tonight's instance with Topher's trust in showing the plans and Adelle's betrayal and smackdown just added some messed up fuel to the fire. Repressing your feelings, much, Adelle?
Alpha's back! He cleans up VERY well in that dandyish suit. Alpha is close behind Sylar on the short list of disturbingly attractive serial killers. Alan Tudyk continues to be outstanding in the role. His confrontation with Adelle was excellent. Also, I was glad his killing spree gave the excuse to bring back Motorcycle & Bondage Boy and Joel Miner, the internet mogul. The former gave an explosive performance (yes, I went there), while the latter is my favorite client.
Paul is brain dead? Well, we know from Epitaph One that they'll fix him. I found the way they did Paul's personality surfacing in Alpha a little cheesy, but I will be interested in seeing how it affects the situation later.
Preview for next week looked crazy! I can't wait!
Best line of the night by far: "Did they eat my brains?" -Topher
While I'm complaining, I need to lodge a BIG complaint about all the Paul/Echo. That ship is full of squick for me. It's too tangled up with Ballard's hero complex and Echo's dollhood. Yes, she is self-aware, but I can't help wondering how much of her attachment to Paul ultimately traces to the handler/active bond. Also, it would have been so much cooler if Echo had learned to survive on her own instead of needing some man who could help her navigate the big bad world. However, the excuse for an airing of Ballard's abs was nice. ;)
Why is the Mexican woman (Graciela? I can't remember, and the internet isn't providing the answer quickly) so grateful and trusting toward Echo? Echo's shoplifting antics were what landed her in jail in the first place.
Awww, Victor and Sierra are kissing in their lab coats! <3 <3 <3 OH NOES! DON'T SENT SIERRA TO DUBAI!!! (The choice of Dubai for the new Dollhouse branch is unintentionally ironic since their financial crisis has been so much in the news lately.)
I am really impressed with how this show has managed to completely turn around my attitude toward Topher without ever feeling like they started writing a different character. In S1, I cheered when Ballard tazed Topher. Starting with Epitaph One, Topher has grown facets and shown more and more humanity. He's now one of my favorite characters to watch. He is still obnoxious and cocky, but interestingly so. The revelation that he held off on releasing the wipe gun for two months trying to find a way to make it less likely to lead to worse things was pretty huge. Topher loves showing off his toys, but here he held back for the good of humanity.
Unlike Adelle! I am completely appalled by her tonight. She's always been willing to do awful things when she believes it necessary, but handing over Topher's secret plans for a way to remotely imprint non-Doll people was SO NOT OK. Yes, it let her regain control of the LA Dollhouse, but only by putting the rest of humanity at risk. Even if she can't conceive of the technology's impact on the scale we saw in Epitaph One, I thought she had enough imagination and conscience to see how dire this tech would be even if only used against occasional individuals. I hope this is part of some Epic Kickass Sekrit Plan, because right now it looks like she is putting her desire for control over whatever shred of decency working in the Dollhouse left her. It was good to see Boyd telling her off a bit in the beginning.
On a side note, I think I just might ship Adelle/Topher. It's two parts twisted, two parts crack, and one part inappropriate starches (actually, that's crack as well), but I think they're fascinating together. Tonight's instance with Topher's trust in showing the plans and Adelle's betrayal and smackdown just added some messed up fuel to the fire. Repressing your feelings, much, Adelle?
Alpha's back! He cleans up VERY well in that dandyish suit. Alpha is close behind Sylar on the short list of disturbingly attractive serial killers. Alan Tudyk continues to be outstanding in the role. His confrontation with Adelle was excellent. Also, I was glad his killing spree gave the excuse to bring back Motorcycle & Bondage Boy and Joel Miner, the internet mogul. The former gave an explosive performance (yes, I went there), while the latter is my favorite client.
Paul is brain dead? Well, we know from Epitaph One that they'll fix him. I found the way they did Paul's personality surfacing in Alpha a little cheesy, but I will be interested in seeing how it affects the situation later.
Preview for next week looked crazy! I can't wait!
Best line of the night by far: "Did they eat my brains?" -Topher
