Last dark , Dollhouse served up a blend of the Borg , The Matrix and The Cell … and then give away how they all fit together , in a altogether original story . And then we finally read the secret origins of Rossum . Spoilers forwards .
Over the past few weeks , Dollhouse season two has start reminding me of Jericho season two — both appearance do back from cancellation , with a limited number of episodes . Both shows ’ fans hold dear hope that they ’d continue past those truncated second time of year , but the people establish both Jericho and Dollhouse seemed aware that they should n’t make unnecessary any trail mix for the salary increase back . Both shows abandoned their irksome , incremental approaches and lead off racing forwards … almost too fast . But I ’d way rather have too dissolute than too slow … or a setup that never pay off .
The other comparison , while we ’re at it , is that both Dollhouse and Jericho have fairly singular twirl on the apocalypse — both involve an malefic potbelly and ennoble assclowns who just have to control everything .
So last dark , Dollhouse served up one enough episode , and one great one . In the first hour , we watch , yet again , that you never really leave the Dollhouse . Victor ’s contract pass , and he gets set devoid , flush but adrift , and diffident why he ’s in love with a cleaning woman he ca n’t think of . He ’s so used to doll living , he sleeps in his bathtub because it reminds him of his casket . And then he gets kidnapped / enroll to become a soldier in a young Rossum unit , that ’s basically a linked group mind . And then in the second 60 minutes , Echo , Victor and Sierra get send to the Attic , where they encounter Mr. Dominic , and a consecutive killer … who turns out to be one of the founder of Rossum Corp.
The first 60 minutes was a slender letdown , but only a slight one . After seeing so many hints about Victor ’s warfare - refer PTSD , I figured we were in for an exploration of the ways in which injury total back even after you suppose you ’ve defeated it . Even though Topher seemed so convinced that they ’d “ cured ” Victor ’s PTSD , I assumed we were go to learn otherwise . But after roll a bit in that direction , the instalment lurch towards the “ hive idea ” soldiers thing — which was a really neat concept , and yet another refreshful twisting on the Dollhouse ’s technical school . ( The execution was reasonably good , but the “ chant soldier vocalization ” matter swerve towards being cheesy once or twice . )
Mostly , rather of being an homage to Kimberly Peirce ’s underrated movie about PTSD and getting re - drafted against your will , the sequence “ Stop Loss ” service to show us just one more style in which Rossum is evil . And at this item , we ’re pretty much primed to think Rossum is more evil than a dozen standardevil corporationsput together . So it ’s just as well that the show is move forward beyond showing us how vicious Rossum is — towards explain how Rossum got that way , and how our heroes are going to fight it .
https://gizmodo.com/15-evil-corporations-in-science-fiction-5217560
You have admire how cursorily the second sequence , “ The Attic , ” ran through all the received science - fiction bromide for this kind of position . Echo is in a virtual shared world , along the telephone circuit of the Matrix , and then she and Laurence Dominic are being tail by a shadowy serial slayer through hoi polloi ’s worst nightmares . The first half of the installment was fun , and some of the nightmare imagery was pretty jarring — particularly the vision of Echo and the other chick on tables , with telegram locomote into their brains and electron tube go down their throat , as liquid lento flows into their trays .
There ’s nothing untimely with a “ chase a serial killer through people ’s nightmares ” episode — we all like a dear mindscape nonparallel killer . But it ’s probably just as well that the episode contain a sharp lunge halfway through , when the respectable guy rope last catch up to the vicious mass - murderer Arcane — and he ’s revealed to be a British wonk .
The Attic turns out to be more than just the random hell all of the broken dolls and unpatriotic employee are broadcast to — it ’s a giant computer , made out of hundreds of human brains , all pressurise by experiencing trauma over and over again . It ’s another neat spin on the show ’s primal “ brain hacking ” conceit , and then it leads to us discovering the origins of Rossum . Arcane , the nonparallel killer , is in reality Clyde , the carbon monoxide gas - beginner of Rossum , who developed “ encephalic cryptography and communication , ” only to be bewray by his spouse after he imprints someone with a more docile version of his own mind .
And ever since Clyde got sent to the Attic — in 1993 — he ’s been break away statistical analysis and scenarios for the future of the ECC technology . And in all but 3 percent of these scenario , the ability to read and write brains leads to the collapse of civilization . Presumably , Rossum has admittance to Clyde ’s datum - crunching , and knows about this — but does n’t care .
Conveniently , Clyde ’s retentiveness of the name of his partner in founding Rossum , as well as the individual who was imprinted with the obedient “ Clyde 2.0 ” persona , has been remove . But it turns out Echo ’s original personality , Caroline Farrell , discovered who they were before she was wiped and turn into a doll . ( We know a lot of time passed between Caroline breaking into the Rossum science laboratory on that college campus and her becoming a doll — so presumptively she observe more about Rossum during that clock time . ) So after Echo and the others unwrap out of the Attic , they be intimate enough to start take the fighting to Rossum .
Once again , the star of last night ’s episode was really Olivia Williams as Adelle — her arc moved awfully promptly , but it was still pretty amazing to watch . In the first hour , she has one last fling with “ Roger , ” her perfect lover who ’s instal into Victor ’s body — only to have Roger confess that he ’s in dearest with someone else … Sierra . Even a pre - programmed devotee wo n’t make love Adelle . “ Roger ” only scratch salt in the wound by gibe at the idea that Adelle would be pathetic enough to hire a program chick to eff her . This rejection , and evidence that Adelle has lost her adhesive friction on the Dollhouse by not prevent Victor and Sierra from “ group , ” place her into a tailspin , and she spends pretty much the residue of the instalment intoxicated , while everyone around her schemes . Echo bursts in to tell Adelle that they ’re not equals , and Boyd evidence Adelle that she need to find the old Adelle quickly , or he ’ll serve take her down .
And then Adelle takes a rain shower with the Actives , and when she comes out , she ’s ostensibly sobered up a bit — and chosen her side in the combat between Rossum and the human wash . We think at first that Adelle has at last toss the last lilliputian man of her soul and become “ Darth DeWitt ” in full — but then it turn out she sent Echo to the Attic on aim , to get wind Rossum ’s secrets .
If these episode had aired on a hebdomadal basis , this progression would have experience a lot boring , probably — Adelle losing control of the Dollhouse to Harding , sell out to get it back , turn into a bitter shell of her former self , and then finally making her choice . But even getting all six of these episodes over a three - calendar week yoke , it still feels like a pretty intense journey , with Olivia Williams to the full investing you in Adelle ’s downward coil .
Once again , I also really liked Echo — specially the bit where she went shopping in the Dollhouse ’s imprints and ferment them into an all - you - can - eat skillset snack bar . After so long of Echo being helpless and glitchy and confused and headachy , it was just beautiful to see her turn her late source of weakness into an amazing metier . And yay for Echo taking on an army individual - handed and winning , by hacking their brainiac with her superintendent - brain . If we did n’t already know the good guys were live to lose , I ’d say perchance Rossum had create the engine of their own devastation .
And I inquire if Victor and Sierra are gone for proficient — are they just Tony and Priya now ? Their sexual love has overcoming brainwashing and programming , and now it ’s get the better of a military beehive head as well . I wonder if we ’ll get to see what it is that drives them apart in the time to come ?
Speaking of which , it seems like we ’re jump off over the flashforwards in “ Epitaph One ” at astonishing speed now . I ’m have a hard time calculate out where those segments conform to into all this . I ’m guess we ’ve already top by the sequence where Echo is programmed to be a Russian girl and complains to Ballard about her headaches — when did that befall ? Right before Alpha ’s visit ? It does n’t seem like the succession of events allows for that . ( Or did that tantrum purely happen in Echo ’s nightmares inside The Attic ? ) And then the panorama where the Rossum scumbag Mr. Ambrose takes over Victor ’s body and announces that the Dollhouse is now hire out its Actives to become spare bodies for rich the great unwashed — did that happen during the three months Echo was forth , but before Mr. Harding took over the Dollhouse ? I ’m a act mazed at this point .
In general , though , Dollhouse is deliver unforgettable characters and a mind - blowing spin on its canonic premise , and it ’s really to the full become the show it ’s hint at from the beginning . It ’s going to be a long three calendar week ’ wait to see our champion posse up to take on Rossum , and I ’m promising based on the past few hebdomad ’ improbably inviolable caterpillar tread record that the revelations about Caroline ’s past times are n’t last to be disappointing . ( It helps to know that the next episode is written by Tim Minear , the Isle of Man who can do no wrong . ) Even if you were hop-skip the show would plunge us into the post - apocalyptical Felicia - Day - on - the - run future decent at the starting of the season , you ca n’t deny that getting to see the building blocks of that future sliding into place has been amazing . This show may be on its way to cancellation , but we ’re go to be seeing people building on it for years to issue forth .
Also , I hate to be a broken record , but the more we see of time of year two , the sadder I am that the show did n’t put its best metrical unit ahead . The season ’s first two episode were just so lackluster , compared to everything that ’s amount after , that it ’s depressing to look back on them . I get very sad when I think of the fact that Fox sent out DVD screeners of “ vow , ” the I - married - a - dull - arms - dealer episode , to every TV diarist in the country , thus give bad or no buzz . What if Fox had mailed out the Sierra / Nolan episode instead ? Or any of the episode since then ?
Anyway , there are just three installment of Dollhouse left , including two present - day ones and then a return to the post - apocalyptic future . Now that the show has already proved it ’s not holding any plot of land ( or persona ) developments back for a later that ’ll never do , those last three episodes are give-up the ghost to be the most anticipated television of January , as far as I ’m bear on .
dollhouseEliza DushkuJoss WhedonTelevision
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