Friday May 8, 2009
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Alpha's continued obsession with Echo may cost her everything. Ballard makes a decision that could change the rest of his life. One Doll's story ends as another's is revealed.
Write a Recap »Victor and Sierra, Alpha & Echo's style. hide show
Once upon a time there was serial killer, an evolving one at that, said serial killer evolved, got caught and got used in ways not even a serial killer should be used and then came her, the rescuer, an echo, for even a serial killer could fall in love sometimes.
The series finale explores the reason why Dominic was so adamant the handlers would stop seeing their actives as children, Alpha's handler was so proud of his little boy's first crush that he wouldn't even see his own murder coming, neither could Dr. Saunders, a man around Boyd's age that was in charge to protect the very active that would later on be imprinted with his now dead self.
And yet it was Whiskey, the current Dr Sanders, the cause of Alpha's downfall for he attacked her to make sure "his Sierra" would be the number one active, unaware of what "her Victor" has done for her Echo awaits his instructions to become "Omega", the only chance they have to be together, no longer confined to an imprinted personality or the limitations of the tabula rasa state.
However romantic the notion could be, "Omega" is an illusion and Echo only wants to be Caroline as strongly as "Alpha" never wanted to go back to be himself, she can't be many if she can't be herself. The spell is broken once the serial killer shoots the Caroline proxy they kept as hostage and Omega herself tries to recue her own personality from a man so fractured that his only hope is to "awake" someone else.
And so it ends, with Alpha at large, Omega destroyed, Echo at peace and a grieving mother called November released ...thanks to FBI agent gone handler Paul Ballard himself.
A more than satisfactory substitute for the MIA 'Epitaph One.' hide show
Unusually, 'Omega' has come under fire from a number of fans and critics alike for not providing a 'satisfying' enough conclusion to Dollhouse's admittedly rather turbulent debut season. Such accusations seem rather to miss the point: Tim Minear's script was never meant to be the last we saw of Echo, Sierra, Victor and co. in this televisual year. Due to some ludicrous behind-the-scenes politics, Fox ultimately decided only to show twelve of the thirteen hours filmed for season one, meaning that 'Epitaph One', Whedon's actual season finale, which can be found on series one's DVD release, was never aired. Fortunately, it is something of a unique instalment that can be separated from the season as a whole without having an effect on the flow of the ongoing narrative (even though it contains an abundance of revelations and plot developments… intrigued? You should be). Anyway, it certainly seems that 'Omega' has had to bear the brunt of this unfortunate occurrence and honestly, it really doesn't deserve the scorn that some seem inclined to bestow upon it. The episode expertly explores some of the wider-ranging implications of the concept of imprinting through Alpha's clearly rather disturbed machinations, hinting at some of the more sinister avenues that the show could take in seasons to come. The decision to imprint a random host with Caroline's original memories and present her with another individual inside her own body is just plain warped, and quietly illustrates how dangerous the technology could be if it fell into the wrong hands. The scenes between Alpha, Caroline and the so-called Omega (Echo with an awareness of all of her previous personalities) are equally fascinating, opening up the possibility for a future turn in Dushku's character towards self-awareness and providing a wonderfully succinct summary of the moral debate that has consistently underscored the show's ongoing narrative. Some fans have criticised these sequences for being too 'talky', lacking action, but when the action actually comes, with Alpha basically running away with Echo's original personality, it's rather lacklustre and feels tagged on, as if Minear realised he needed to appease the quotient of fans that just want to see Dushku's boobs bouncing up and down. It's the intrigue of the dialogue and the horror of Alpha's plan that make for the most compelling viewing; frankly, I'm dying to see how he's going to top this in season two. Tudyk is wonderful once again, particularly in the subtle exhibition of the character's abundance of personalities, one of which, amusingly, is a multiple personality. The supporting cast are fairly good too: Boyd and Ballard work significantly well together and appear to have considerable chemistry, while Olivia Williams's DuWitt just gets better and better the more furrowed her brow becomes. There's also the small matter of the Whiskey revelation, which is achieved through a number of simultaneously amusing and sickening flashbacks. Amy Acker is just outstanding throughout; the moment where she confronts Topher is probably the most heartbreaking scene that the show has yet given us. While the ending seems a little disappointing given the gravitas of what occurs in the episode, 'Omega' is nevertheless a thoroughly engaging episode with an abundance of fantastic sequences that demonstrate the wealth of potential that the show has going into its second season. A more than satisfactory substitute for the MIA 'Epitaph One.'
Ascension
Written And Directed by Tim Minear
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Alpha: “Omega … you hit me with a pipe.”
Echo: “Yeah? Call me Omega again and you’ll get some more.”
Last week on Dollhouse, the psycho known as Alpha got Paul to lead him into the place, slashed Victor’s face, terrified Claire and managed to escape with Echo with very little effort at all. Even Torchwood would call their efforts into question.
Unfortunately this episode does do what I feared it was going to with Alpha and Echo by turning them into some sort of Bonnie And Clyde dynamic. There’s even a poor girl kidnapped by the pair as well but that’s more for Alpha’s benefit than anyone else.
So, Alpha. If there’s one thing this episode does, it’s delivering flashbacks in spades when it comes to the bloke. The first one included him going off mission and scaring the living daylights out of his presumed client, Lars along with fellow Doll Whiskey as well.
It was more or less confirmed in the previous episode that Claire used to be a Doll and the set of flashbacks we get in this episode proved that she was an extremely popular one as well. If Paul’s favouring of Caroline/Echo for Mellie/November is annoying then, Alpha managed to usurp Paul in that stakes pretty well.
From the first few scenes, it seemed like Alpha and Whiskey were almost a thing of sorts but as soon as Echo came into the picture, Alpha got a little more unhinged than usual. Kissing Echo in the hallway during their blank state worried his handler. Handler probably should’ve done more than give a brief warning.
Instead handler let Alpha’s attraction to Echo fester to the extent that Alpha attacked Whiskey just so Echo could be the best. Yeah, because a bit of face mutilation will definitely get you the girl of your dreams �" not! Poor Whiskey. Yet another person tossed to the sidelines in favour of Echo.
Because of these flashes, including the ones where Alpha attacked his handler and the real Dr Saunders, where the plot goes won’t surprise but will let down some viewers. Why did Alpha’s need to want to ascend Echo have to be his major scheme of the week when it probably would’ve made an alright subplot?
The actress who they hired to Wendy was terrific, especially during the moment where Wendy became imprinted with Caroline �" talk about being able to see yourself. However, there’s no real validity to Alpha’s angry accusations that Caroline abandoned her own body.
Caroline might be a pain in the ass but she didn’t voluntarily sign up for the Dollhouse, which makes her victim and non-culpable for what’s been happening to her. There are some good moments with Alpha and Caroline attempting to appeal to Echo, with Alpha seemingly having the upper hand at first.
Of course in obvious TV scripting, just because it looked like Alpha’s plan to upload every personality that Echo has ever had so she could be superior being and love him was working, that moment where she grabbed the pipe, I would’ve been shocked if she had actually attacked Wendy/Caroline with it.
The fight scene between Alpha and Echo lacks the same spark that made Paul and Boyd’s fight in the previous episode so effective. Even when Alpha threatened to blast away Caroline’s imprint forever, the tension could’ve been a bit more, I don’t know �" there perhaps.
Needless to say, Paul being the one to save Caroline’s personality wasn’t the most satisfying of things but Alpha getting away means that he can hopefully return for a more powerful storyline in the second season. Besides, Alan Tudyk is way too good not to return, am I right?
The end with Echo remembering Caroline is probably just another reminder of her compositing state, which will hopefully be delved more into in the next season. This episode’s heavy focus on Caroline didn’t fare well for our other Dolls.
For instance both Mellie and Sierra were primed to go and save Echo but we saw them nowhere near that warehouse at all. On the plus side, Paul actually did something that would make you proud of him by getting Adelle to release Mellie from her contract. I hear Miracle Laurie is returning next season, so that’s not the end of everyone’s favourite Doll next door.
As for Victor, I really, really felt for him when Claire was cold with him about being broken. The poor guy wanted reassurance and she lost it with him. Not that Claire was intentionally being a **** but I do wonder whether or not Victor is going to end up having a similar fate like Claire/Whiskey bestowed on him.
Some of Claire’s scenes in this episode raised a lot of interesting questions. Two of them being was why didn’t she delve more into who she really was when she had the chance (something which Topher made the point to ask) and also why on Earth did Topher imprint her not to like him?
If I had to guess, maybe the old Dr Saunders disliked him and Topher was sticking to consistency or maybe Topher actually enjoys having people to verbally spar with him. He’s still deluded enough to think that he’s the smartest person in the Dollhouse. Okay, he’s smarter than Paul but that’s hardly a difficult task, now is it?
As for Paul joining up the Dollhouse, it made sense. There was no way Adelle was going to let him walk away. If Paul hadn’t joined, she would’ve either had him killed, sent to the Attic or wiped and used as a Doll. Paul has managed to achieve in one season what took the Angel four seasons to do �" work for the very organisation that he worked so hard to stop. That can’t end well.
Also in “Omega”
If Alpha is the beginning of the phonetics, shouldn’t he have named Echo the last letter of them as well?
Claire (re Alpha): “He asked me if I always wanted to be a doctor.”
Topher: “Well, who can fathom the mind of a crazy person?”
Claire: “The person that made him crazy.”
We learned that Mellie’s real name is Madeline Kostley. I loved her comment about Paul being furniture as well.
Paul: “He broke out of here and so will I.”
Adelle: “Alpha is a genius.”
Alpha: “Welcome to your castle my princess. Behold your throne.”
Echo: “Wow! Say have you got a bathroom?”
While Echo was uploaded with 38 personalities (shouldn’t she have been blind with the Esther one?), Alpha had 48 of them permanently in his brain thanks to Topher.
Dr Saunders (re Echo): “Sounds like you’re gonna have another friend.”
Whiskey: “Friends are nice.”
Dr Saunders: “They sure are.”
Alpha: “I like you, you’re special.”
Echo: “I try to be my best.”
Alpha: “You are the best.”
Alpha’s real name was revealed to be Carl William Craft and he was a criminal. Criminals as guinea pigs. Damn, the Dollhouse gets more and more stupid.
Mellie/November (re Paul): “So, if you’re done molesting the furniture, can we get these guys already?”
Sierra: “Well, you’re the one still in your pyjamas.”
Alpha: “I enjoy my treatment.”
Topher: “Well, you’re gonna love this one. Kind of like a greatest hits.”
Topher took an instant dislike to Paul, whereas Boyd showed a good degree of compassion and sympathy for him. I guess that Boyd used to be Paul.
Echo (re Alpha): “He’s going to make me a superior creature. An ascended being.”
Wendy/Caroline: “Do you even know what that means?”
Echo: “Do you?”
Wendy/Caroline: “No.”
Echo: “Okay! So you’re not better than me.”
Paul (re Dollhouse): “I’m not working for them. I’m saving the girl.”
Boyd: “There’s always a girl.”
We got a brief appearance from Tanaka in this episode as well as one of Alpha’s victims as well.
Alpha: “Thought you were different. Thought you were exceptional. I was wrong, you’re weak.”
Echo: “I might not know who I am but I know who I’m not, your girlfriend.”
Echo (re wedge): “I said shoot, I don’t care.”
Alpha: “She will.”
Echo: “She won’t know, she won’t care and we’re both coming to get you.”
We saw some flashes of original pilot “Echo” (available on the Season One DVD) during some of Echo’s engagements flashing up on screen.
Claire: “Why did you decide it was so important for me to hate you? I think that’s strange.”
Topher: “You didn’t open it?”
Claire: “No.”
Topher: “Aren’t you curious to know who you are?”
Standout music: Beck’s “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”. It was also used on an episode of Nip/Tuck this year as well.
“Omega” isn’t a terrible finale but given that this series had finally been upping the ante, it does feel like a rather tame way of ending the first season. On the plus side for the series, at least we know it has a future.
Give this show a chance it deserves... hide show
What's with all the haters?!
If you don't like the show,then stop watching it.
Maybe this episode is not a perfect 10, but due to some unreasonable reviews I think it's only fair to give it such a high score.
The show is not bad especially if you give it a chance. It has a very complex storyline, therefore you must watch more than one episode to grasp its meaning and the story's "nuts and bolts." I admit the pilot was a letdown, but watching the succeeding episodes this series started to grow on me. It's one great show with so much plot and twists that makes it worth watching. I'm glad I did not give up on this one!
A bit disappointing, after the previous several strong episodes, this one went off the rails sometimes. hide show
I didn't expect the story to go in the direction it did – I loved most of it but the Echo/Alpha god-complex stuff was way too over-the-top. Ignoring that, I loved Whiskey's story and Ballard's surprise switch in allegiance.
Just when we thought we were getting a handle on the characters – Saunders is a doll! She was teamed up with Alpha as his doomed-Bonnie & Clyde-love-interest! Nice to see Amy Acker get to play the bad girl for a change and she's great at it! Whole sequence, very, very dark but very, very sexy. Code name: Whiskey which is what Dominic called her when he was inside Victor! Alpha cut Saunders up but let her live. Heavily scarred, she had to be taken out of the field but was still useful. 'Saunders' was the previous doctor.
From the moment Alpha saw Echo, it was love at first sight. Except unlike Victor, his interest isn't innocent or sweet. Even then he was more aware than the others, I'm guessing his problem with the imprints has to do with his intelligence. He built his own chair, he's probably a genius like Topher. But unlike Topher, he's schizophrenic, an unfortunate side-effect of so many personalities in his head.
Whiskey was the number one active who was later replaced by Echo… with a little help from Alpha. He cut her up so Echo could replace her. The 'composite event' wasn't a natural blending of memories, it was an accident while trying to figure out why he attacked Whiskey.
The Dollhouse's first experiments were on prisoners, of which Alpha was one. Well on his way to becoming a full-blown psychopath. They put the wolf among the sheep then acted shocked when he slaughtered everyone. The theory about basic nature (or as Ballard puts it, the 'soul') does seem to come through, Echo (unfortunately) starts exhibiting Caroline-like traits. For a while, I hoped we were going to get rid of Caroline once and for all. She's arrogant, obnoxious and self-righteous.
Ballard switches sides to help find Alpha and his bargaining chip is November, her freedom and contract ended. It was a nice thing to do, let her walk away. He broke her heart once, he won't do it again.
If they'd done the Echo/Alpha story more realistically than all that unbelievable 'Omega' rubbish, this could have been a really great episode. So much of it was but the Echo/Alpha stuff just ruined it. The entire series has been grounded in reality then suddenly they go all mythical on us? The rest of the episode was so good, a real shame. As this is probably the final episode of the entire series, definitely disappointed that it would end on this note.
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