BELONGING
The good; Very good mislead at the start, you keep trying to figure out the nature of Sierra's assignment. Nice to see Adele with long hair again. Some great acting from Dichen in her madness.
The bad; If Kinnard has used the LA Dollhouse before in his seduction of Priya isn't he worried anyone will remember her?
Best line; Kinnard;(of Priya) "I'm a collector, you're the real deal" (collector of what exactly?) plus Topher; "I'm not the bad man" (as we shall learn)
Kinky dinky; Of course you can't go to Venice Beach to film and not have a couple of shapely bimbos in bikinis wander across the screen. Plenty of both straight and gay sex at the art exhibition 'chill out room' along with a few lines of coke. Note that among the pictures in Kinnard's drawer are some of Sierra in a schoolgirls uniform.
Capt subtext; Note how tactile Adele is with Topher, hinting at the mother/son like relationship we saw in Epitaph One.
Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; definitely Kinnard for Sierra Echo; 4 definite, 2 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 Sierra 1 definite Topher; 1 possible
How'd they get away with that? Boyd and Topher butcher Kinnard and dissolve his body with acid. Yeessh! The whole Sierra/Kinnard fight and Topher's disposal of the corpse is incredibly bloody and brutal, to judge by the commentary it was even more visceral in the first cut, must have been the full Evil Dead 2. More needles, you know some of us suffer trypanophobia Joss.
This weeks fantasy; Sierra is essentially her original personality of Priya but in love and devoted to Kinnard.
What do we think of the client? Adele hits the nail on the head, loathsome scum. Essentially the Dollhouse is a high tech brothel (although not every assignment features sex), whatever you think of prostitution it's the choice of the actives to go there. They're all consenting adults, doing it for money and other benefits, Caroline to avoid going to jail, Mellie to help her get over her grief, Victor to presumably help him recover from his traumatic wartime experiences . However we now learn that Sierra ISN'T a volunteer, she's there because the man who couldn't have her despite all his wealth and influence pumped her full of drugs and then had her brainwashed into his submissive concubine. She's a slave pure and simple and what he does to her is rape. And Rossum is quite willing to let this continue. Thankfully Topher isn't.
Total number personalities; Victor and Echo are a couple of highbrow art fans hired to make Kinnard look good Echo; 28 Sierra; 12 Victor; 10 November; 3
Total dolls; 8-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey
Addy is a bit British; She tells it straight, describing Kinnard as a 'raping scumbag' but still serves him tea with a smile.
Topher is a bit geeky; He does resemble Shaggy, zoiks!
Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Ballard; 1
Knocked out; Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Topher; 2
Kills; Sierra/Priya kills Kinnard with a steak knife to the heart Sierra; 3 kills Echo; 3 November;1
Dolls injured; Poor Sierra nastily knocked around.
Know the face? Clyde Katulas, one of those actors you see everywhere on TV. Here he plays the doctor at Pirya's mental hospital and played a very similar role on the Buffy ep 'Nightmares' 12-Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Amy Acker-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), walking action figure-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse), Eliza Dushku-3 (Buffy/Angel/Dollhouse), Jim Piddock-2 (Angel/Dollhouse), Gregg Henry-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Alan Tudyk-2 (Dollhouse/Firefly), Felicia Day-2(Dollhouse/Buffy), Alexis Denisoff-3 (Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse), Kristoffer Pohala-2 (Dollhouse/Angel), Stacey Scowley-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse) Clyde Katulas-2 (Buffy/Dollhouse)
Whedon clichés; Rich and powerful famillies who cover up the evil deeds of their wayward sons. Top security installations which aren't secure at all. Loving self-sacrificing mothers who risk all for their children.
Breaking the programming; Echo can now lie and keeps a journal. Victor is already becoming more assertive although he decides he doesn't want to be the leader.
Questions and observations; Directed by Jonathon '2 takes' Frakes of Star Trek fame. Very much the ep where Topher's conscience comes to the fore and Adele realises that Rossum truly are evil, she just hasn't picked sides yet. We're told that Dr Saunders is a permanent imprint on Whiskey. Does that mean she'll not be restored to her original personality at the end of her contract? Echo refers to Topher as 'Shaggy', can anyone tell me what Adele mouths to Topher afterwards? Topher can 'cure' schizophrenia? I suspect it's reasons like that why Adele became involved with the Dollhouse in the first place. Very little Echo in this ep and no Ballard (can't afford him according to the commentary). Sierra confirms her love for Victor both in her blank state and her Priya personality and they cuddle at the end, awwwww! Poor Sierra, sexually abused by this guy AND Hearne. No wonder she wants to continue as a doll in order to forget. Topher outside the Dollhouse, actually we see him twice, at the mental hospital and at Kinnard's house.
Marks out of 10; 8/10, Topher takes a moral stand and it's nice to see. The rotten underbelly of the Dollhouse/Rossum comes to the fore.
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