But, as to the Alpha and Omega thing, I’m thinking that Alpha might believe that Echo is his Omega, so to speak. Whedon is purportedly a huge atheist, but BUFFY, ANGEL and even FIREFLY seemed pretty riddled with metaphysical themes to me. It’s interesting to hear your views on the possible religious metaphors; that was an area I hadn’t thought of yet.

I think Dominic could turn into a credible baddie. Yet i fear the whole The Pretender/Jarod scenario. I think Boyd will continue working for the DH while Caroline/Echo is on the run (at this point i can only see her running from the Organisation). She needs someone ‘inside’ and once everyone discovers Alpha is pulling the string, the DH dojo is going to turn into Fort Knox.

Anyway, this could go into many directions. Are there others DH in the world? What happens and who decides that you could make a good Active? (sorry maybe i missed an episode here) And once you join the DH do you become like the tragically infamous ‘desaparicidos’? Who is then looking for you apart from a loose-canon cop?

And last, what is the real use of the DH? So at least we know what Echo/Caroline will be up against…

We indeed need a second season. Let’s hope we get it.

What is the DH afterall? A place where villains turn to when the mafia can’t do it? A special caterer for hungry horny millionaires? A harem of zombies who are at their best when they’re everything but who they are? A company that doesn’t care about right or wrong but indulges itself in the gray areas?

DH is certainly all of the above as well as a terrific scientific experience in the hands of a genius who only cares about his ‘baby’ so fuck the lab rats. I don’t think Adele or Dominic could handle the whole shabam if Topher wasn’t around. And i don’t think that Topher was alone in creating the Dollmaker machina… My feeling is that Alpha is more than a revengeful ex-doll. He probably co-created the whole complex and its ramifications. Making him the Omega of all this (if we want to stick with metaphors!).

How could he know how to desactivate Echo? It is actually super funny to think that the object we use the most nowadays and which embodies our society of media/communication is, in that case, a powerful weapon of ‘destruction’. Seems the Achilles’ heel of the DH has been found through it’s very own mean of control.
Having said this, i wonder if the cellphone larsen will work on every doll or if Echo’s frequency is the only one known to the mysterious desactivator… (or maybe i skipped some of Topher’s hilarious faux science explanations, my english is not at his best lately)

As Bekky and others said, Dushku is actually good playing the extremes and this episode was like honey to me for that matter. When a doll is left with no imprints but the inconscious leftovers of her real self she is an empty shell who will behave instinctively in extreme conditions (like we all would). Yet the ‘tabula rasa’ is so strong that dolls seem to go back to a pre-anal stage which also means one where instincts take control. This is something i’d like to see developed in the next episodes. The fabricated versus the intuitive. In short Culture versus Nature. This was somehow underlined (quite strongly unfortunately) by the little dialogue between bleeding robber dude and Echo. Roco i totally agree with you pointing out the Michel-Angelo reference. It was actually re-used also by Rodin when he discovered the work of Camille Claudel: her sculptures were filled with an inner power, a life of their own so to speak. The comparison with the dolls is very accurate in that sense.

Alas! We haven’t got the time in the world and i have the strange impression that the show’s situation is similar to the three trapped in a cell filled with works of art. DH could be a gem. Yet it is imprisoned in a repetitive motion that is starting to be boring. And boring is dangerous in today’s TV world. Time is something that was given to Whedon and co. I don’t need to feel as if they had spoiled it, no matter how under pressure they were. This show could have been much better and we cannot always blame Fox (ummmm…). Nor can we behave like stupid fans and await the magical opus 7 of the series to finally get a glimpse of Joss’ talent.

My hopes are that the show will start to be a little more complex and ‘play’ more astutely with the various levels of mind shaping. Clearly what we’ve witnessed for the moment is a total lack of perspective. I know i am being harsh but i am a realistic person and as much as i like Eliza, as much as i am a big fan of science-fictive tales and as much as i believe Whedon can do better than that, i think DH is wasting my time. The promises of GRAY MATTER cannot totally erase the drafty aspect of the show so far.

We are probably not aware of the real making of DH. Of the needs and wills of everyone involved. And not to sound catastrophic but i also rewatched LOST IN LA MANCHA this w-e. Honestly, DH feels the same. On paper it felt a hit. On screen it now feels (sh)it. This can change. Maybe i am overly pessimistic. Or not.

(Re)inject seriousness and humour. Bring Sierra to the front stage. Eliza needs support, she has always been better with a ping-pong partner. Stop with the nonsense, this show is taking place in the real world not some god-knows-what hidden galaxy.

I am ready to spend time (again) for DH. I know going back to Buffy, season 1 was terrible and i wonder if i would have lasted 7 years watching it should i have been as critical as i am now. But i cannot compare the two shows even if they come from the same creator. Buffy had a something that DH is still looking for. GRAY MATTER pointed to it: balance.

Ballard…not in the loop. Or perhaps not horny. Ballard is in the lasagna loop, he can find the lasagna with his eyes closes. Let’s see how good the horny frat boys are at finding the lasagna. Then we’ll have ourselves a show.

That’s how I read the situation.

And in case somebody is wondering, I’m a big fan of Whedon’s work. If Fox has indeed tampered with the early episodes, then I am looking forward to seeing what is really in store for the Dolls.

Anyways, one of my main plotholes that I see is if all these rich people can find the dollhouse (enough to sustain a new story every week…) and walk in and pick up a lovely doll for the weekend why the hell can’t Ballard find ANYTHING? Hes a cop with all these resources available but all he can do is have the wool pulled over his eyes by the Dollhouse? How do the clients find it if its so secret? How does it function when no one is supposed to know about it? Its really bothering me.

Anyway, this is the only way I can really see the show growing. It could completely surpise us all and it could be cancelled, but who knows?

I’ll save my opinions of what Ballard’s going to do about the Dollhouse after the “Man on the Street” episode where he comes face-to-face with Echo. But I think you’re really right: I think Adelle is going to be a baddie in the long run. If they give us a second season! Which I hope they will.

i’m wondering if the show will eventually become boyd, ballard and a newly awakened caroline on the run with alpha pulling the strings to keep them safe with adele, dominic, and topher using victor and sierra to hunt them down. maybe the second season (should we get there) will involve caroline trying to awaken sierra and victor so we can begin to discover who they used to be. maybe boyd would use the doc to keep tabs on the goings-on at the dollhouse because they seem to have a connection.

that would solve three major issues: 1) we would finally have an empowered female lead that we could relate to because she wouldn’t be changing episode to episode 2) ballard wouldn’t be so disconnected and all over the place and 3) boyd could find his true ethical center and not be acting against his obvious moral feelings.