New Joss Whedon Series: Dollhouse [Spoilers Within]

[aleflamedyud]

Well that was interesting. They certainly didn't fill in everything, but they managed to go out on a definite high note.

Did those two have to die, however? Due to this being a Joss Whedon show, I don't consider it spoilers to say that a bunch of people died, but did it have to be those two? Nice ending for Echo, though.

[ameretrifle]

Mm... it was pretty good, I suppose. Still... I think they would've been better off just ditching the whole postapocalyptic mess and figuring out some way to resolve it all in the present. They just didn't have the time to really make it work. Especially for those of us who haven't seen Epitath One firsthand. >_> I was calling Joss Whedon some pretty filthy names for that the first half-hour...

Still, it was a pretty good ending. I still find myself vaguely unsatisfied, though. Again, mostly, I think, due to lack of time.

Spoiler:

What went wrong? When? There wasn't enough time to be moved by what was going on, because by the time you'd figured out WHAT was going on, you'd moved to another scene.

Was it really necessary to have someone like-- I dubbed him "Richard", for reasons that I imagine to be obvious-- in the mix? Yeah, yeah, antihero, different perspective, but still. So. Annoying. The more so because they didn't really have the time to waste on him. Conversely, the red-headed girl didn't get a whole lot of development. But, no one really did.

At the least, they should've nixed the "let's have these random characters introduce us to the new apocalypse" thing, because they did not have the time. It's a good dramatic device, sometimes, but when you're pressed for time, and you have enough shit to get done already, and you don't have the time or resources to turn them into proper characters... drop that approach and stick with who we know. In medias res, dammit. Drop us into the assault on Rossum to save Topher. It would've given them at least five, ten-odd more minutes to play with. And they needed. every. second.

I wish we'd seen more badassgeneral!Adelle... she seemed to have gone all agrarian on us for a while there. Soft is good, but I would've liked to have seen her doing more plotting, or at least more threatening to sever Richard's most important appendages. I half expected her to find some way to switch places with Topher at the end. Naturally, she couldn't and shouldn't have, but still... that she just went along with it without having anything to try was a bit of a letdown. Maybe if they'd given her more plotting-the-siege-of-the-Dollhouse scenes to offset it.

Crazy-Topher... argh, I keep coming back to there not being any time. He was always either completely in la-la land or rational, in a disconnected kind of way. Never got the chance to really feel it. Because neither did anyone else. No one had a chance to be surprised by anything. And maybe that was partly the point, especially with Ballard's death, but...

Speaking of which... that was also kind of... well, pointless. And death generally is. But... maybe I can make more sense of this later. The resolution of it was pretty good-- I figured it'd be either that or Alpha's Ballard imprint, so reeeaaally no surprise. Gah, without knowing the answer to this, I don't have much else to say, especially this late at night:

Was this ten times better if you'd seen Epitath 1? Because I got that impression. I got the impression that they've been using a metric ton of shorthand from that, and it felt really, really unfair. X_X Some people haven't bought the DVD yet and don't/can't torrent crap from the internet, you know. They'd like to fully enjoy your show, too. Hell, some people probably don't have friendly fora they can browse to figure out what's going on...

I really think they would've been better off retooling the plotline a bit to fit in the number of episodes they had. Keep the high notes, but drop whatever you have to. Make Epitath 1 apocryphal, it wouldn't be the end of the world (*cough*). It seemed to me like they kept a 3-5 season plan and just cut out the filler... filler exists for a reason, though, and either way, if they really didn't adjust their plot ideas enough to match the new number of episodes (which I can't prove, but didn't it feel like that?), it was a terribly lazy thing to do. You can't get too married to ideas-- you've got to be able to dump them when you can't make them work...

[aleflamedyud]

I think I'll agree with the people who said that Dollhouse should probably have been a mini-series with a fixed story arc in the first place.

[Wolf]

Was this ten times better if you'd seen Epitaph 1?

I would argue that it would be significantly better if you have seen Epitaph One beforehand. A lot of the characters (like "Richard," as you called him) actually make sense and don't seem like completely random insertions.

Overall, I liked it. A good enough way to end the series, and probably as good as it was going to get given how pressed for time they were. The only thing that really bothers me is that I wonder what happened to (Epitaph One Spoilers) :

Spoiler:

Whiskey. I mean, we see her gas the butchers in Epitaph One, but it's never made clear if the gas killed them and her or just knocked everyone unconscious. (And, given the nature of the Dollhouse pre-apocalypse, the latter would make more sense, I think). So it was kind of disappointing for me that she wasn't even mentioned in passing by any of the characters. Oh well. As far as characters to cut because they were pressed for time, she was probably the best candidate.

[lemmings]

As for what happened to ****

Spoiler:

Alpha had said he cleaned up when he had arrived, I am assuming that he means cleaned up the bodies. If the gas had just knocked everyone out, they would have just killed her when they woke up and then kill themselves as they got hungry/bored. The band of 3 who left the Dollhouse in E1 last had seen Whiskey walking into the horde so nobody even knew she tuned on the gas.

The City of Minds

Spoiler:

At Neuropolis, they wanted Topher to make the device to reset everyone. Whether this is to a doll state, the butchers, or their original personalities isn't really made clear but the outcome would have been the same, everyone in Neuropolis would have been stuck on a HDD since the original bodies with their minds would have been disposed of. I would think that they would have some backup plan in order to reinstall someone as a deadman switch to restart the city.

Having Neuropolis being the only people who knew what had happened doesn't seem so bad until you realize that someone is still using the signals to wipe others.

[BlackSails]

Yeah, the ending really isnt all that good because

Spoiler:

whoever was using the blanket signals (I think they mentioned china in epitaph 1) still has them

Also, wtf happened with Alpha? We dont see what happens to him at the end.

[Wolf]

Also, wtf happened with Alpha? We dont see what happens to him at the end.

Spoiler:

They mentioned briefly that he'd gone off to be on his own when the bomb went off. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't revert into being a psychotic serial killer before being around people again. (Either DeWitt or Echo said that he had evolved before (from a psycho into a decent guy), and he'd evolve again.)

[ameretrifle]

Was this ten times better if you'd seen Epitaph 1?

I would argue that it would be significantly better if you have seen Epitaph One beforehand. A lot of the characters (like "Richard," as you called him) actually make sense and don't seem like completely random insertions.

I KNEW IT! My thanks, you have made me terribly happy ^^

In their defense, they did have a recap at the beginning... it lasted about three seconds. >_> They couldn't have got Fox to actually air the damn episode at some point? Like, directly before this episode, perhaps? Not like it would've cost them anything...

As regards-- er, spoilers--

Spoiler:

I just assumed they'd decided to actually kill Whiskey in the Dollhouse last episode... Another thing about basing your plot on a semi-canonical bonus episode: when you have to run with the abridged plot, you can't go back and retcon anything. It would make sense that SOMETHING had changed. So, is it possible that she was just dead this go-round? Without having seen the episode, I have no idea whether that's actually plausible. >_> God, that's an annoying feeling. That's got to be at least half the reason I wasn't impressed. Hell and damnnation.

"Well the people who got the DVD or downloaded my art illegally will know what's going on, who cares what anyone else thinks?" X_X Not cool... not goddamn cool...

[Amnesiasoft]

Spoiler:

everyone in Neuropolis would have been stuck on a HDD since the original bodies with their minds would have been disposed of.

Or, you know, they could have gone underground too...

I KNEW IT! My thanks, you have made me terribly happy ^^

They also had a practical reason for the extra characters, when they initially filmed Epitaph 1, they had to do it alongside episode 12, so they didn't really have access to any of the main actors.

[Virtual_Aardvark]

Spoiler:

Could someone tell me what was up with chibi-Caroline? Cause I'm totally lost.

[Amnesiasoft]

Spoiler:

Could someone tell me what was up with chibi-Caroline? Cause I'm totally lost.

Did you watch Epitaph 1?

[Virtual_Aardvark]

No. And I'm not in the financial means to watch it anytime soon.

[phlip]

Brief recap of Epitaph One... warning, will probably spoil it if you go back and see it at some point (which I do recommend):

Spoiler:

The dollhouse tech has been used as a weapon by unnamed people, we don't really find out who did it or why, but most of the population has been wiped by a "blanket signal"... a sorta WMD version of Topher's remote wipe machine. Half are blank slates (termed "dumb-shows" by the slang) and half are, for some reason, programmed as indiscriminate killing machines ("butchers"). Crazy Topher mentioned something about some people attacking by phoning everyone at once and sending a remote wipe signal down the phone... everyone who answered the call became a butcher, everyone who didn't was attacked by the first group. Anyways, the exact scenario of the apocalypse doesn't matter so much, and isn't really explained... just the fallout from it. People who still have their own personalities ("actuals") are few and far between.

The story follows a group trying to get away from the butchers, away from the possibility of being hit by another blanket signal... basically trying to get away from everything. Getting out of the city (and to a rumoured safe place, imaginatively called "safe haven") would be preferable but too dangerous, so they choose to go underground instead... and stumble onto the (empty and abandoned) LA Dollhouse. The group consists of a half-dozen or so adults (who die off in the shadows one by one, as you'd expect), one child, and the child's father (who's a dumbshow, but the group is being uncharacteristically empathetic by leaving him alive for now until the kid gets used to the idea). They find the imprinting chair and are tempted to destroy it (they have a perfectly rational fear of everything technological), but curiosity gets the better of them and they figure out it's a precursor of the tech that destroyed the world, and has a bunch of memories cued up that explain the history of the house.

So they put the kid's father in the chair and imprint the memories one at a time, and cue a bunch of flashbacks, to both before Season 1, and in the time between Season 1 and the Epitaphs (some of the latter flashbacks appeared in Season 2... I get the feeling that if the show'd run longer, they would've all shown up at some point). In between the flashbacks, more people keep dying. At some point they kill the kid's father, but then they find Whiskey, who gives them another person to keep imprinting onto. One of the flashbacks shows that Caroline/Echo knows the way to the safe haven, and another shows her making a backup copy of herself and hiding it. So they go get that.

In the meantime, it's revealed that the child isn't actually an actual - but was randomly imprinted with some other woman's personality... she didn't reveal herself because she knew she'd probably be killed by the actuals, but she has a gun, and she wants out of the girl's body and into Mag (being the only other woman around). Some excitement happens, and the child ends up wiped, and they put Caroline/Echo in her.

Caroline (in the girl), along with Mag (Felicity Day's character) and Zone (your "Richard") are the only ones of the original group left alive, and they escape the building and head for safe haven. Whiskey stays back, nominally so that she can continue to help the next group who stumbles onto the dollhouse also get a copy of Caroline and the directions to safe haven.

I'm pretty sure I didn't leave out anything important to understanding Epitaph Two... but ask if there's anything still unexplained.

[ameretrifle]

Ah... thanks <3 It's also good to hear it wasn't just me who got screwed by not having seen Epitath 1. Sigh.

(you realize i only decided to call him 'richard' because the rest of the episode i'd been calling him 'dick', often out loud? i can be terribly weak ^^; )

Spoiler:

Ah, I see the question about Whiskey now... was she in that three seconds at the beginning of the episode? If not, maybe they did retcon her out. I can't remember whether I saw her or not-- I think I glanced away for half a second and thus missed half the recap. >_> It does seem like there's a pretty huge discrepancy between the Dollhouse being a broken hellhouse and being Alpha's Funhouse of Creepy-- even just in the context of the episode, it seemed strange. I thought, "but didn't they just leave from there? And it was a burned out wreck with some pictures on the wall and crap?" Was there supposed to be a bigger time lapse there, or...?

[Master Gunner]

The only parts of the Dollhouse we saw were the underground section, which was fairly well preserved having being sealed off from the outside world

Spoiler:

(most of the damage to it was from previous to it's abandonment, and the main cast had holed up there for a while before moving to Safe Haven)

, and DeWitt's office, which was damaged more due to exposure than anything else.

[Nath]

That was pretty darn good, but probably not worth watching if you haven't seen Epitaph One (which you can get from Amazon or iTunes for $2 or 3). The last act felt a little contrived (e.g. that guy having to do that thing in that high-rise office). But still, a good conclusion to the series. And who kidnapped Eliza Dushku and replaced her with a similar-looking but competent actress?

[cephalopod9]

I don't know why this is bothering the most, but

Spoiler:

why the hell is (victor)Tony burning chairs when the house seems to have enough electricity to be lit and stuff?

[Nath]

You mean towards the end?

Spoiler:

He was burning the destroyed tech, using chairs for fuel.

[Princess Marzipan]

I am left feeling unexpectedly satisfied with everything. There's more of the story to tell; I think that season two would have naturally ended with the Dollpocalypse and season three would have contained all the plot threads that we saw hints of throughout the Epitaphs.

I think I am most pleased with

Spoiler:

Ballard's death not being in vain. It serves as a wakeup call for Anthony and Priya, rather than just "oh hey we killed someone off."

And oh man. "Why do you even bother anymore? You know I'm backed up!" "Ask me again sometime." Hee!

[cephalopod9]

You mean towards the end?

Spoiler:

He was burning the destroyed tech, using chairs for fuel.

Spoiler:

So was that just to get the most Luddite imagery possible? Kill technology with fire. Shortly after smashing technology with guns.
Not just technology, but concentrated knowledge.

Whedon, you are the worst nerd ever.

tho' i guess

Spoiler:

if the series had time to develop fully, those scenes might have had a different feel,
still, they went as far as to blow up the guy who made the computers.

[Nath]

Whedon, you are the worst nerd ever.

Did you just call him a Luddite?

[cephalopod9]

(...double checks the definition) I don't know about him personally, but a show that ends with

Spoiler:

Smashing. Knowledge. With Guns.

has some pretty heavily anti-progress imagery there.

Even with the context of the show, it's pretty hard to defend

Spoiler:

destroying furniture just to give a more dramatic end to information incarnate. It was giving people control of their minds, not taking it away.
but no, technology is evil.

[Nath]

Spoiler:

I was kidding, referring to something Alpha said. I agree that Dollhouse has a bit of an anti-technology slant to it. It doesn't bother me particularly, even though I quite like tech myself; I think pointing out possible worst-case scenarios is one of the useful roles of science fiction. It gets people thinking about the long-term consequences of what we make, and that's not a bad thing.

[phlip]

Spoiler:

Also, note Tony's history... he prioritised the fight over his family, and getting the implanted tech was a part of that. In that scene, we see him both destroying the tech and introducing himself to his son. The symbolism there is that he's switched priorities (after the argument with Priya in the truck), and the tech was holding him back. Not necessarily that the tech is evil (though there's certainly undercurrents of that) but it certainly was doing harm in his case.

But yes, I'm with Nath, considering certain kinds of technology problematic does not a Luddite make. And it's not exactly old ground for sci-fi, or even real science (see: atomic weaponry, cloning, GM... all have had their share of ethical dilemmas... atomic weapons were pushed through regardless, GM was considered beforehand and limits set, cloning hasn't yet reached the point where decisions need to be made).

[aleflamedyud]

(...double checks the definition) I don't know about him personally, but a show that ends with

Spoiler:

Smashing. Knowledge. With Guns.

has some pretty heavily anti-progress imagery there.

Even with the context of the show, it's pretty hard to defend

Spoiler:

destroying furniture just to give a more dramatic end to information incarnate. It was giving people control of their minds, not taking it away.
but no, technology is evil.

I had been wondering if there was going to be some kind of anti-Dollhouse Butlerian Jihad, but it seems Whedon dislikes religion a little too much to let it side with the good guys on this.

And everyone about to call me an annoying religious guy... go look up what the Butlerian Jihad is. The thoughtpocalypse actually makes perfect sense as a cause for that kind of thing.

[gmalivuk]

I recall reading in some genetics textbook or another that most traits are not linked only to one specific gene. Having degrees of genetically-conferred resistance possible would be only logical.

Most aren't, but some are, and some single mutations actually can have a tremendous effect on the phenotype. And it's not as ridiculous as X-Men style mutations, either. While the technology is pretty hand-wavy, presumably Echo could have had some sort of slightly differently structured neurotransmitters or something equally small (and nearly undetectable in the absence of wipe technology), and it would have made her resistant.

(...double checks the definition) I don't know about him personally, but a show that ends with...some pretty heavily anti-progress imagery there.

First, yeah, the Luddite comment was a direct quote from the show, when one of the tech guys called Alpha that and he scoffed at the very notion.

Second, yes, they were destroying technology. Brain-altering technology related to what had just destroyed all of civilization. That's not anti-progress imagery. That's believable characters.

[Princess Marzipan]

Guys.

I lurved this last episode.

Like so much for some reason.

Spoiler:

I actually think it's mostly Topher. I'm sad at how much he loves bedtime. D:

[cephalopod9]

First, yeah, the Luddite comment was a direct quote from the show, when one of the tech guys called Alpha that and he scoffed at the very notion.

I see that now, thank you.

Second, yes, they were destroying technology. Brain-altering technology related to what had just destroyed all of civilization. That's not anti-progress imagery. That's believable characters.

I can see where they're coming from, but uncontested, their opinions become that of the show, and they're saying things that I find problematic. This iteration of the technology is, seemingly, completely de-weponized. (I didn't see Epitaph 1, don't particularly want to at this point) As I said, by all accounts, it helped them to control their minds, as opposed to taking control of others. So it came down to the violent destruction of actual skills and knowledge , because they're tangentially related to The Bad Thing, that Echo continues to benefit from. ... actually, I can't really remember what she said on the matter, but it was pointed out that they're doing exactly what she does, just with mechanical assistance.
There's a couple other underlying implications that bother me, but I can't put them into words well. Like, the ongoing theme that information itself is dangerous or evil kind of takes away the responsibility of those abusing it, intentionally or otherwise.

I also really hated the way DeWitt went from a pragmatic bad-ass as late as 2.3, to Topher's mommy figure, with very little explanation.

[Nath]

I also really hated the way DeWitt went from a pragmatic bad-ass as late as 2.3, to Topher's mommy figure, with very little explanation.

This transition would have been smoother if you'd seen Epitaph One. It's still a big leap, but I actually like that. We're meeting the characters after a ten year gap; everybody's gone through major character arcs. I like the implication that there are stories here that they just never got around to telling. Just because there were no episodes from this ten year period, that doesn't mean the characters were stagnant for all that time.

[Princess Marzipan]

But with the exception of Echo, you couldn't use the tech without altering who you were. Sweet, I'm a badass weapons expert, but oh 'whoops' I forgot how to care about avoiding killing people!

And the previous iterations of the technology were also deweaponized - initially it was just a damn chair.

[aleflamedyud]

Hell, initially it was just a goddamn chair with wires that required 2 hours to upload a personality into a brain. Part of the reason nobody (except the Big Bad, hahaha) thought to stop the tech was because they all thought that it couldn't be further weaponized... first a really slow chair, then a fast chair, then a wipe-gun... then blanket-signals.

But with the exception of Echo, you couldn't use the tech without altering who you were.

And Alpha, don't forget Alpha. However, I can't say I liked the way they changed it from season 1 to season 2. In season 1 Echo and Alpha kept resisting imprints because of teh human spiritz... in season 2 because they have teh speshul extra neurotransmitters that normal folks don't have.

Also, they seriously get to 2019 without enough advancement in gene therapy to transmit the speshul extra neurotransmitters of compositing, imprint-resisting shininess?

[Princess Marzipan]

I get the idea they didn't really get much further than maybe 2011 at best.

And I am so much more okay with a strange concoction of genes than I am with the 'human spirit' paradigm. That would be entirely random and you couldn't know until you starting printing and wiping. One of the major reveals was that Caroline was essentially handpicked by Boyd to enlist as an active at the LA house, as a result of blood and/or bone marrow work whose processing Rossum had almost entirely infiltrated.

[aleflamedyud]

I get the idea they didn't really get much further than maybe 2011 at best.

And I am so much more okay with a strange concoction of genes than I am with the 'human spirit' paradigm. That would be entirely random and you couldn't know until you starting printing and wiping. One of the major reveals was that Caroline was essentially handpicked by Boyd to enlist as an active at the LA house, as a result of blood and/or bone marrow work whose processing Rossum had almost entirely infiltrated.

Well the "human spirit" thing could have been handwaved just as easily. After all, the brain didn't evolve for convenience of wiping and imprinting, so it makes a kind of sense to suggest that it resists this process and tries to reset itself back to its biologically natural self.

In fact, this had been a planned part of the show at the start. There was originally a bit of mythology that said the Dollhouse existed because an imprint would glitch and fade if not renewed in the chair after two or three days. That carried over into the Season 1 mythology that Actives could glitch or "evolve" as their brain attempted to rebuild itself after wiping, which could possibly result in a "composite event" (they talked about it like they'd seen more than one or at least knew of the theoretical possibility).

Then they changed it in Season 2 so that the tech works perfectly and only special people like Echo and Alpha resist it enough to composite or access multiple imprints at once. This leaves open the question of how Victor and Sierra always remembered their love, and how Dr. Saunders glitched.

[Zohar]

I'm just now watching the second season (up to episode 7, when Echo gets back to the Dollhouse) and I'm constantly amused by the parade of Whedon and BSG characters. So far there have been three actors from BSG (Helo, Apollo and Col. Tigh), one from Buffy (Echo-Faith obviously), two from Angel (Senator person and Dr. Saunders) and one from Firefly (River). And last season there was also that what's-her-name who's also on The Guild and played a potential in Buffy's 7th season. Will there be any more? I guess I'll find out.

Also, Victor's actor is pretty awesome.

[Yubtzock]

I'm just now watching the second season (up to episode 7, when Echo gets back to the Dollhouse) and I'm constantly amused by the parade of Whedon and BSG characters. So far there have been three actors from BSG (Helo, Apollo and Col. Tigh), one from Buffy (Echo-Faith obviously), two from Angel (Senator person and Dr. Saunders) and one from Firefly (River). And last season there was also that what's-her-name who's also on The Guild and played a potential in Buffy's 7th season. Will there be any more? I guess I'll find out.

Also, Victor's actor is pretty awesome.

Alpha is played by Alan Tudyk (Wash from Firefly).

Anyone else notices similarities between characters of Helo and Ballard? Protecting their women despite the side they themselves are on? Pointing the gun at people all the time (now i think, I'm exagerating). I wonder if its Penikett's fault or is it just coincidence.

True Spoiler:

Spoiler:

and this time Tudyk's character survives! Good. Didn't like Ballard myself. If his brain wasn't frakked up by Alpha I would be even glad he gets shot down instead of any other character. (because someone had to die, we all know that.)

[Amnesiasoft]

what's-her-name who's also on The Guild and played a potential in Buffy's 7th season.

Felicia Day.

[Zohar]

Right, I forgot about Alpha as well. I should avoid this thread for now until I finish the series...

[Joeldi]

Just marathoned the series, and in paralell, this thread. I have to say that while I was watching it, I was consistently enthralled and in love with it, and only in hindsight and after hearing others' opinions am I seeing the many flaws. Well, except for the over-focus on Dushku and the three fillers at the start of S2. The S1 fillers didn't bother me anywhere near as much as they seemed to bother everybody else - at the time it seemed like the plot was just going to move at a slower pace as it developed the world, and it wasn't until I saw the potential utilised in later episodes that I started resenting them. (Especially that cult episode. It and Instinct were terrible.)

Agree with what someone said a few pages back about the right amount of episodes on average. Enough time to pace correctly if not for all the damn filler. I like how they tied up the plot enough with the Epithaphs to be satisfying, but left enough threads open in case someone decided make a season 3 or season three surrogate.

Dichen and Enver's characters were consistently my favourites. The best scenes in the show were Enver Gjokaj as Topher, and I have a huge place in my heart for genuine Australian accents in American television. Also a huge fan of Topher. Even during S1 when people hated him...

On the topic of Australians - in Belonging there were several cultural things I want to call them on.
a) Priya's boss on the beach said the word "Ossie". Any Australian would immediately correct an American they were on good terms with on hearing that. It's honestly cringe-worthy.
b) This one's more of a stereotype than an actual dyed-in-the-woll fact, but in the scene when Topher and Priya are sharing a beer, you'd expect some comment about "American piss-water" or "I'd prefer a VB" especially when you were distressed as she was, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

This show gets a 7.5 from me, but would have benefited from better pacing and less reliance on one actress.

[mercuryseven]

I have just finished the series myself...and I'll have to say: Awesome! It's been a long time since I've been really enjoyed and satisfied watching a series. I'm not Australian, so I missed the finer points of Australian culture that Joeldi said. But even for me it's always pleasant to hear a nice Australian accent in a show (I don't know why) --> like Claire in Lost.

I'll continue under spoiler tag, just in case. Besides, many of the points below are already raised earlier, so I'm spoiler-ing it for potential redundancy.

Spoiler:

My thoughts about the show:
- It's really fun watching the dolls (or the actors) take on different roles and personalities. It's a good way of showing off their acting skills. And I think Enver (Victor) is the best of the three.
- Topher/Bennet scenes. Maybe it's because I like Summer Glau, but the scenes when they appear together are priceless. Somehow they managed to flirt and attract each other while sabotaging each other at the same time. It was cute in a twisted sort of way.
- I'm kinda new to Whedon-world, though by reputation I knew that his characters die unexpectedly. But why oh why did Bennet had to go out that way? If Bennet really had to die, I wish that they delayed it for an episode or so. I'd love to watch just a few minutes more of Topher/Bennet twisted flirting scenes.
- Boyd: Well, the "I-saw-it-coming" discussion already went at length earlier in this thread. For me, I didn't see it coming, but I wasn't surprised either. Though I found Boyd's "big plan" seemed to be a stretch of logic.
- Epitath One/Two: Wow, I felt like it was a teaser of potentially epic post-apocalyptic sci-fi/cyberpunk trilogy. Or they have enough ingredients to make one. For just two episodes I was pleased to find that they invested a lot of thought into creating an elaborate future world, complete with future techs and jargon. But I just have one question, why couldn't Topher remote detonate his device? He seemed to be able to set up the bomb, had enough time to look around and notice some unrevealed picture on the wall. If he just ran towards the elevator shaft instead could he have survived?
- Topher was also my favourite character. Echo aside, Topher was one that evolved and developed the most. Perhaps more convincingly than Echo, I might add (or was it convincing because Topher is non-doll, hence we relate more to him?) And I always get a kick out of each time Victor gets imprinted as Topher.
- My least favourite: Ballard. For the first half of the show he was a typical, cliche, cop-with-morality character. When he was in the Dollhouse he was just...annoying. I only really liked him in Epitath Two. "Sometimes the world needs heroes, kid" That was hilarious!

[Malice]

Spoiler:

But I just have one question, why couldn't Topher remote detonate his device? He seemed to be able to set up the bomb, had enough time to look around and notice some unrevealed picture on the wall. If he just ran towards the elevator shaft instead could he have survived

Spoiler:

Possibly. But he didn't want to. Topher was so unhappy about what had been done with the technology that he in large part invented that he preferred to die a martyr's death, destroying the source of the abused tech at the same time that he undid its apocalyptic effects.