Friday April 10, 2009
1APK10
When a traitor is discovered inside the Dollhouse, Echo and Sierra are programmed to root out the spy. Meanwhile, Paul receives surprising news from Mellie.
Write a Recap »Dollhouse continues its uphill climb with this highly engaging episode. hide show
Dollhouse continues its uphill climb with this highly engaging episode that quickens the pace of the ongoing narrative by presenting the viewer with a number of much-anticipated confrontations. Once again, the imprint process is used in a refreshingly inventive fashion, this time to provide the facility with an internal investigation into the possibility of a mole within their midst. Dushku does a great job as detective Echo, clearly relishing the opportunity to have the upper hand in her scenes with the characters that she normally has to act like a human vegetable around. Dichen Lachman is also good as the wigged, espionage-adept Sierra, and the sequences in which she infiltrates the CIA building are deftly executed. While the viewer is obviously aware of Mr. Dominic's position as the traitor, the dramatic irony actually works to the story's advantage as it is both rewarding to see how he handles the situation, scheming and squirming his way around the problem, and engaging to watch the missteps within the investigation, particularly the accusation of Topher's ever-unfortunate assistant. Once the cat is out of the bag, we are treated to a number of delectable sequences, including a superbly choreographed fight between Echo and Dominic, and a marvellously understated two-hander involving him and DuWitt, which cleverly avoids providing any distinctly concrete answers for his behaviour, leaving the door wide open for further exploration of this angle. In the 'real world', per se, Ballard finally gets the chance to see Mellie, sorry November's, true colours when another message from inside the Dollhouse plays out through the mouth of his girlfriend. Tamoah Penikett is excellent here, conveying the character's surprise and horror without a great deal of dialogue. Only DuWitt's sub-plot with Victor really falls anywhere near under par, as it seems a trifle intrusive when one considers the exhilarating thrust of the main narrative, although it certainly adds much welcome depth to her occasionally one-note character. And Enver Gjokaj's a bit of a hottie, so any opportunity for him to remove his clothes is fine by me…
The Mole
Written by Andrew Chambliss
Directed by David Solomon
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Dominic: "The Dollhouse isn't a gift."
Adelle: "I think the countless people we've helped would disagree."
With the title being so obvious, it wouldn't happen to centre on someone finally realising that there was a mole in the Dollhouse, now would it? Heaven forbid, would on Earth would want to do such a thing?
Bigger question should be – who wouldn't? The Dolls who compositing and want to regain the autonomy as well as the various staff members who have enough sense not to believe that an organisation like the Dollhouse is for the greatest good. Maybe even Adelle and Topher themselves, despite seeming to be the only two people who actually believe in the Dollhouse's work. Or Dominic perhaps.
Yes, definitely Dominic. He's always had that sinister veneer as well as his unabashed dislike for Echo, why didn't we see it beforehand? It's amazing that when Adelle left him in charge that Topher would then discover that there was a spy in the house of love (are you kidding me?) and report it.
What I loved was that little moment where Topher thought Boyd might have been the mole and decided to give him a head start. What motivated Topher to do that? Does he actually like/respect Boyd? If he had thought it was someone else, would he have been as kind to give them a heads up?
The interesting part was Dominic's reaction when Topher had to tell him about the mole. We've seen him threaten and yell at Topher enough times but here in retrospect, it was to cover his own ass. Also getting Sierra imprinted to go to the NSA to discover who their spy was (a false mission) was reasonably clever.
However the best part of this episode was Echo wanting to help. Yeah, we've seen Echo showing bits of awareness (whether it's talking about the mountains or painting houses) and asking Topher to make her better should definitely be a case of concern.
Giving her the imprint of a spy catcher is one of the best ones they've done. I even think it's one of Eliza Dushku's best performances on the show and it's not like she's been imprinted with the most complex of roles to play.
Spy catcher testing out everyone's reactions to the Dollhouse merited some moments of fun. I loved that Topher had to endure some questioning, Claire raised some interesting question, Boyd seemed disgusted with the work at the Dollhouse and Ivy was understandably annoyed that Topher wouldn't let her do anything interesting.
All of this made each and everyone of them a perfect candidate. Ivy's such a tertiary character that making her the spy would've been easy and lazy in one fell swoop. Luckily even when Dominic seemingly had evidence that proved her guilt, I liked how spy catcher Echo turned the tables on him.
We haven't had that many fight scenes on this series but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Echo and Dominic got at it with each other. Echo needed to get some much needed vengeance after he tried to kill her and beating the crap out of him was a good way of doing it. As well as exposing him as the mole of course.
Now the confusing thing about Dominic's reveal of the mole is that it doesn't explain who's helping Paul. Dominic admitted that the NSA was trying to stop the Dollhouse from destroying itself, which means that Dominic's motives aren't that heroic. It also meant that Adelle could carry off with him being sent to the Attic.
The Attic turned out to be something a lot scarier than I thought it would. The idea of being that powerless and stuck in a permanent mind suck seems to be a fate worse than death. I don't know why but in spite of some of the things that he's done, a little part of me actually felt a bit sorry for Dominic. Is that weird?
I suppose Dominic did manage to get a parting shot by grazing Adelle with a bullet. I thought Adelle was a hard **** in the previous episode but she gets shot and she barely acknowledges. Maybe she's a Cylon or a Terminator in disguise because even someone as tough as Adelle would feel being shot more than she showed.
It definitely wasn't me but Adelle did seem betrayed by Dominic's reveal. I think deep down under her tough exterior that she might have had some feelings for him. Claire tried to get her to talk about them but Adelle brushed them under the carpet. She even took the bullet as some kind of punishment she needed.
It was also pretty obvious that with the word 'love' in this week's episode title that we'd see at least one character choosing an unorthodox way of coping with loneliness. Adelle having Victor programmed as suave British guy Roger for some weekend fencing and shagging wasn't totally unexpected.
On one hand, what Adelle is doing with Victor could easily be compared to Hearn did with Sierra but at the same time, it was also nice to get an insight into Adelle's psyche. I like that there's a tiny part of her that has doubts about what she does for a living. Undoubtedly that's probably something that will get future exploration as the series goes on, right?
As for November, put her back into her Mellie persona and Paul finds himself being contacted for the second time by the mystery person trying to take down the Dollhouse. Miracle Laurie is effortless in switching from sweet Mellie into November trying to warn Paul about uncovering the Dollhouse's purpose.
Although Paul still generally bugs me at times, I did feel bad for him here. He went from his usual obsessive mantra about the Dollhouse to trying to protect Mellie to realising that the woman he cares about (because I'm not convinced he loves her, even if she is probably better for him than Caroline/Echo) is part of the same organisation that disgusts him so much. Paul, you've just become their client.
Also in "A Spy In The House Of Love"
At different points in the episode, the screen went to spell out when Echo, Victor, Sierra and November were being imprinted.
Echo (to Boyd): "Don't be vanilla. You can trust me. I've already shown I trust you. I got in the van."
Echo in her dominatrix outfit and Victor as love believer Roger really should've had some dialogue together. I'm just saying.
Boyd: "You think I'm a spy?"
Topher: "Not in a bad way."
Echo (to Topher): "You make people different. You can make me help."
Adelle is aware of Echo's compositing/remembering stuff and seems to be encouraging it. Maybe she's the mole or has an agenda of her own.
Paul: "You didn't come back to listen to this."
Mellie/November: "I came back to see you." Mellie/November (to Paul): "The Dollhouse deals in fantasy but it's not their purpose. Investigate their purpose."
Echo had no names when she was both the dominatrix and the spy catcher. Sierra played a woman who stole Miss Sato's identity in scenes that were nicely reminiscent of Alias.
Victor/Roger (to Topher, re Ivy): "Be nice. I think she likes you."
Victor/Roger: "You are perfection. If I can make a woman, I'd make you."
Adelle: "Really?"
Who was the original Roger – someone that Adelle was in love with or a dead lover? Interesting how she told 'Roger' about the Dollhouse in some detail.
Topher (to Echo): "I don't want to brag – I want to brag. I'm a genius."
Echo: "I don't know why but I trust you."
Boyd: "I must have one of those faces."
Echo got a new handler called Travis at the end of the episode when Adelle gave Boyd Dominic's old job.
Dominic (to Echo): "Is her body language telling you she's innocent?"
Ivy: "No, her language language is telling her."
Ivy: "Shouldn't we help?"
Topher (re Echo): "Yeah, I helped when I imprinted her with kung fu skills, but be my guest."
The fact that Claire doesn't leave the Dollhouse can't be good. It could mean that she's either a Doll or a prisoner but it's worrying none the less.
Adelle: "Did you think I'd show you mercy or rage? I think you know me better than that."
Dominic: "You're a piece of work."
Claire: "It's okay to feel something."
Adelle: "That would imply that I've lost something."
Claire: "Didn't you?"
Adelle: "Nothing I can't live without."
Chronology: How many months has Mellie been keeping tabs on Paul?
"A Spy In The House Of Love" shows that the show is getting better, that it can experiment as well as offer some neat characterisation and performances, especially from Reed Diamond and Olivia Williams.
Adventures In Imprinting. We Follow a storyline for each of the main Dolls but unlike last week its far more uneven. hide show
This episode creates mini adventures for the imprinted Dolls. However it doesn't quite gel because the tone shifts too abruptly at times.
The main problem comes from Victor and Adelle's Mills and Boon adventure. I felt sorry for Adelle who imprints one of her own Dolls (victor) to sneak out (everyone else is under the impression he's playing Toyboy to an old women) just to not feel Lonely however against the cyber thriller seen in Sierra's adventure it clashed. By the way, in that wig Sierra looked seriously hot - the actress has a unique look about her anyway but with that fringe. The clever acetate had me laughing and marveling at the same time as well.
The other two Dolls follow similar suit with November (as Ellie) going back to a ever increasingly paranoid and crazy Ballard. When in middle of kissing him she delivers a message to Ballard (as November) that creates one of the best parts of the episode. However, you are thinking 'what the F' when it happens though. The other Big thing is Echo and her increasing awareness of her surroundings (she actually asks to be imprinted). Now this is disturbing but only because of what it could become, which is another Alpha situation. Last week obviously didn't do anything for Echo's piece of mind at all. Eliza Dushku does play her imprinted self better than her abysmal Hostage Negotiator from the First episode though.
I'm still enjoying and like where the show is heading, but it still has balancing issues. Reaper had a similar problem in it's first season until it realised that the escaped soul of the week shouldn't be the main focus. Recently, Dollhouse is realising that it shouldn't just be the imprint of the week and is benefiting because of it.
Very strong episode with the POV of different people in the hunt for the spy. hide show
Very cool episode - different POVs, a skeleton in DeWitt's closet, the shocking identity of the spy and a surprise promotion.
An unexpected side-effect of Caroline shooting Tofer's computers is that during repairs, he finds the chip which is letting someone slip messages to Ballard. Echo's paying a little too much attention to conversations which should mean nothing to her. Then not only is she aware of the tensions running through the house, she shows marked interest in it. Echo's definitely not just a 'doll' right now, when Tofer was sarcastic to her, she reacted. She figured out that Tofer makes people 'different' and volunteered, sitting in the chair! If I was Tofer, I'd be extremely alarmed!
Ballard's taken a considerable turn for the worse since the last time we saw him, he's degenerated into complete obsession, living and breathing the Dollhouse. I loved how November gave him the message, turning his world upside down – the girl he's sort-of dating is nothing but a spy and that if he becomes a threat, she will be the one to kill him. Imagine how freaked out he must have been when she switched off again and turned back into Mellie. That would have turned my blood to ice! What's interesting is that Mellie was imprinted with the message *after* Tofer found the chip, it's obviously not the only way to do it.
We just switched from Dollhouse… to Alias. Disguises, retina imprint contact lenses… It's impressive what a wig does, Sierra is barely recognizable.
Speaking of unrecognizable – DeWitt isn't at some top secret meeting, she's got a hot weekend planned with Victor!! Not that I blame her… but it's just very bad timing. I'm guessing it's seriously breaking the rules for the boss to 'borrow' one of the dolls for their personal entertainment. She's obviously conflicted, there are times when Victor talks about 'their' future and she becomes despondent because she knows their entire 'relationship' is a lie. It's quite sad but I pity her too.
Tofer's use of Echo to find the spy backfires when he becomes prime suspect. The flaw is obvious quickly – Boyd – he's her handler and she's programmed to trust him, no matter what so it would be hard for her to even suspect him. Then again, if he was the spy, he would have had no idea that Echo would be used to find the spy and that he would be able to exploit that.
Though it is very cool that the spy is Dominic, of all people, I am upset too – I loved the guy! Not to mention the great actor who played him. Turns out the reason he tried to kill Echo is because he believes she will bring the Dollhouse down. The NSA's interest in maintaining the Dollhouse is to prevent the technology spilling into the black market where it would for sale to the highest bidder. This also means that Dominic is the one who's been throwing Ballard off the scent with the misleading messages. Explains why it appeared to be help while telling him absolutely nothing he could use.
After Dominic's betrayal, DeWitt tells Tofer to shelve Victor's 'Roger' persona. Perhaps blaming her infatuation with Victor for her failure to see Dominic's lies. Then there's the complete non-future for this 'relationship'. She promotes Boyd to head of security, which means Echo gets a new handler. Something tells me she's not going to accept him. So sweet when she says the words but stares at Boyd.
Really enjoyed this episode, lots of twists, a mole hunt, surprising villain… the list is long. Very good.
Enjoyable, but this episode made no sense, full of plotholes... hide show
First of all, I liked how the show got better, but it seems that every time there is a good episode, there is a bad one to follow it, and this episode kinda bothered me a while, mainly because there were several plotholes.
Dominic is a spy for the NSA, he has never left any trace of his ativities even tho they are supposedly monitored, except for that bug that Topher found.
When they found out there's a spy in the dollhouse, he is the security head, he has the capability of controlling the situation and he let's Echo, a doll he personally dislike, take charge, or at least part of the situation, and then she discover he is the double-agent without any kind of proof whatsoever, by body language? Come on, that was just bad writing.
After that, he could just have ordered Echo to be wiped again and told she was glitching, again, but no, like a guilty person he pulls his gun, fire and manage to miss all his shots, and gets owned, like it'd be far less suspicious for him to kill Topher, his assistant and Echo, instead of just ordering Echo to be wiped.
After he is discovered, Adelle orders him to the attic, and say when the NSA is coming looking for him they'll take him out of his box say everything is ok and then put him back on, the major problem there is considering how they are so unwilling to take out FORMER Agent Ballard of the FBI, an agency that doesn't seem to know officially they exist, how are they willing to take out a NSA Agent, considering the NSA is far more powerful, and around 7 times bigger than the CIA, and knows they exist, and as a double-agent, he would contact them to deliver reports regularly and have all kind of procedures to say when he was in danger, and he'd hardly work alone, it'd surely have a task-force.
Also, another major hole, is that since they are supposed to keep track of every move of the dolls, considering they are very expensive 'projects', they suck at keeping track of them and apparently don't know that much about them, I mean, Victor goes on 10 dates with Adelle and nobody has any idea, how hard it is to put a gps microchip on them or even give them a watch with a gps tracker for them to use?
Overall, bad episode, Action-wise, it was alright, but story-wise, it sucked.
grailwolf
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