Dollhouse Watch: New and Improved

Yup - agreed that Dr. Saunders is probably a doll. The following scenario seems most likely - Alpha slashed her face so she wasn't useful as fantasy doll, but she still had a few years left under contract so they made her a 'perfect' doctor.
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The resurrection of Dominic was supercreepy, and I think that whole scene spoke really well of that actor's skilz - whatever his name is. The supporting cast here is fantastic - and I agree that Eliza D's characters are more convincing in small doses.
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How heartbreaking was Mellie's post-breakup meltdown?
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I was spoiled on the Wash-is-Alpha thing ages ago, and spent most of the episode torn between wishing I didn't know, eagerly anticipating the imminent switch, and slightly wondering if maybe the whole Wash=Alpha thing was a purposeful mislead and he wouldn't really turn out to be Alpha after all. It was totally enjoyable, however sliced. And then diced. Wash Rules.
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I totally want this show to come back, so badly. I didn't mind the stories of the week (I liked them way more than most did, apparantly), but the bigger conspiracy/ongoing storyline is definitely the strongest, most compelling part of the show. I am gonna be super upset if it gets cancelled, mostly because the weakest parts of the show are apparantly the same parts of the show that the network insisted be emphasized early on, so if they screw it over from the beginning and then cancel it as soon as it starts to do its own thing, then that's just low.

Joss Whedon is an evil genuis. He knows that his fans would be looking for a twist regarding Alpha. So he casts Alan Tudyk so that Whedonites would all be thinking comic relief after his Firefly role. Then he pulls that shocker. I had successfully avoided any spoilers, and the Alpha reveal was one of the most shocking moments of this TV season for me.
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Also, who knew Tudyk could flip the switch and go instantly villian? He needs his own TV show immediately. Oh, and the guy who plays Victor did an incredible job with his Reed Diamond impersonation. That was creeeepppppyyyy...
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The whole episode was filled with great moments. Mellie's post 'break up' meltdown. The fight scene between Ballard and Boyd. Amy Acker's reaction to Alpha. Boyd's reaction to Ballard's comment that the Dolls were still slaves, even if the participants volunteered.
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Also agree with James P.'s point #3. One of the cooler things about this show at the moment is that I don't know whether to hope that Echo can get away from the Dollhouse or if that would be the worst thing that can happen.

The Whiskey/Saunders thing is still a bit fuzzy.
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Saunders as a doll is not that surprising - her scarred face ruined her for normal engagements, her absence from the "no inhibition" drug episode was a giant red flag, and her never leaving the facility could be PTSD or the normal doll sleeping schedule.
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What is interesting are some of the minor details:
Alpha seems to torment Saunders specifically, implying that A) he's aware that "Saunders" has a new body, and B) he still holds some hatred of her (I continue to think original Saunders was using Alpha for recreational purposes, leading to his break).
On the other hand, he also seems to specifically target Victor. Was it just to ruin him for Adele? That would imply that his info is only semi-current (i.e. he has not found out that Adele has stopped using Victor after Dominic was atticed). So where is Alpha getting his info from?
And the real kicker: It is _Saunders_ that tries to dismiss that bit of information. So who doesn't know Saunders isn't the original? Just Ballard?
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And I don't know if "next week" previews counts as spoilers, but in it Alpha wants the "Bonnie & Clyde" version of Echo he's whipped up to kill Caroline. Killing(/erasing) Caroline would be an interesting move - there would be no Caroline left for Ballard to rescue, and it would leave Echo as the only Dushku entity the audience has to root for. I like it already.
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And yes, I too would like more Dollhouse, more so than anything else on the bubble. Not only does it fill the "lemon coated bleakness" void created by The Shield & BSG ending, but it continues to introduce new-to-TV concepts in an interesting manner.

BTW, how funny was Wash's medicinal carrot operation?
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My question now is this: If Alpha could get into the Dollhouse and go all ninja whenever, why did he wait for Ballard to come find him before doing so? There is something there that felt weird... Did he just need the epic diversion of Ballard busting in for Echo to cover whatever he was doing, and did he lay out the links to himself for Ballard to find? Or was it all a coincidence that Ballard showed up, and Alpha just jumped at the chance to go back to the Dollhouse with a guaranteed diversion to mask his activities? Or other?

I was spoiler free and was shocked by the Alpha reveal. The show has been good at surprising me, I was also surprised by the end of 1-7.

I knew who to root for in the stairway fight-- Boyd. He and Dominic are the only two regulars who have never raped a doll. I just can't see Ballard as a hero since he had sex with November knowing she was a doll.

I managed to avoid the spoilers so I was floored. I'm so glad people are coming around on this show. It's gotten better every week. I have to admit I didn't know Tudyk had it in him to be that sick. And the dude is ripped, where did that come from?
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@shara: I had those same questions. I'm going with "it happened because it'd be cool if it did" more than any real character/plot reason.

@ shara - Good question. My feeling is that Alpha lured Ballard into finding him so they could do the big break in together. That's why he killed the Dollhouse designer and took his identity so Ballard would find him and 'force' him to help. And why he sent the info to the Dollhouse for Dominic to trick them into thinking that he was going after the main HQ in Tucson. The whole thing seems like diversion and decoy to draw main attention away from what Alpha was doing so that he could get Echo and do the download on her.
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But I'm not 100% on that, and I'm wondering why he left the designer's body in Tucson to be ID'd and discovered eventually.

This was the first time I didn't feel like I was wasting my time watching this show. Great job by Jane Espenson (and Victor).
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I am militant about spoilers, so I was able to experience the big reveal, although I did think in an earlier scene that Wash (hard to stop calling them Wash, Helo and Fred) looked a little buff for a guy who was apartment-bound.
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I agree with you, James, about the "swinging for the fences" idea. Your Southland post brought up Boomtown, which I think had a similar hit-and-miss feel. Would trade Chuck for Dollhouse in a heartbeat (but would love to have both).

Could not agree with this article more. I was unspoiled as well (even on DVR delay) and the reveal was a fantastic moment. I have watched this show since the beginning, as a devoted Whedon fan should. But I wasn't thrilled. I was giving it time. I am SO glad I did. This episode was the best by far for several reasons:

1. Alan Tudyk has insane range that I hadn't expected.

2. Making Tudyk play the apartment-bound geek brought classic Whedon humor back. Topher's had it a bit but this was a new level. This episode was so funny, for a dark show in general.

3. My 15 year old non-Whedon fan brother asked me if the Dollhouse was bad. I told him it is morally ambiguous. Which is evidenced by the Ballard/Langdon fight. I agree with comments about the brilliance of that. I can see Ballard as a hero, but I also see Langdon as one.

I am very interested to see next week AND next season. I want Chuck too. Dollhouse more.

@wiltsie: I'm not sure how you can make the case that the dollhouse is morally ambiguous. People who are not in a position to give meaningful consent (or later withdraw their consent) are slaves to the wealthy. It's hard to see how there is anything ambiguous there.

Yes, sometimes the rich people have sob stories (Adele's friend, that internet guy) but instead of say, getting therapy, they've decided to employ a slave, often times for the purpose of rape. You feel sad for Adele or her friend or the internet guy? How about feeling sorry for Caroline, Caroline's family and loved ones who are left to think she's dead.

I like the show, but the Dollhouse is not a good place.

Originally, I was just watching this show because, well, I'm a Whedon fangirl. I'll admit it.

But now, the show has just gotten fantastic, and one more episode is simply not going to cut it. Had it continued the way it started and gotten canceled, I'd be sad, but not on a "I can't believe you canceled Firefly" level, and I wouldn't exactly be clamoring for DVDs. I pre-ordered the DVDs right after Briar Rose aired, just to rewatch the season. I'm honestly hyped about this show now, based on its own merit.

I didn't know that Tudyk was Alpha, it came as a big but excellent surprise (I thought Ballard was Alpha!). I like the way Ballard's getting steadily more unhinged, and fixated on Caroline - it helps the moral dilemma (I was rooting for Boyd, when Ballard clocked him with that stone I was worried they'd kill Boyd off). I also thought Victor as Dominic was really excellent - Enver Gjokaj is one of the best of the dolls.

Fingers firmly crossed for a renewal, the show is now on form, if Echo/Caroline is liberated, we're sufficiently invested in the other dolls to enjoy seeing more of their escapades/escapes, and there could be some serious conspiracy fun in future episodes.

I'm glad Joss Whedon got the network's agreement to do an entire season, since we're finally seeing the culmination of an exploration of fairy tale princes he's been developing all season.
http://jaynelovesvera.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/dollhouse-episode-11-briar-rose-or-princess-valiant/

@pointy07 - thanks for the link - the write-up was really interesting.
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I'm seeing some major parallels with Dr. Horrible, in that there is a woman whose life is in danger of being even more screwed up because there are a bunch of morally ambiguous men trying to 'save' her on their own terms. I love that all the potential saviors are so tainted that Echo's only real hope is to wake up and save herself.

Yeah, Shara (and thank you)!

I was doubly unspoiled, as I thought the Alpha reveal wasn't until next week. I'm still on the fence with this show, trying to like it in spite of the plot holes. The HitFix recapper is less forgiving: http://snipurl.com/hcudx

[...] Dollhouse Watch: New and Improved [...]

I'd like to take issue with what nearly all of you are saying about the show having a slow start. A usual start to a show is story where we have a character or characters thrown into something new, lives are changed and we are swept along. In Dollhouse, we are limited by the lack of memory retention from one of the central characters in Echo. The story moves with the implanted personas in the Dolls while the plot is advanced with the other characters. This was offset by Whedon as whole situation is on the downlow and the backstory was weaved slowly in a non arbitrary way, thank you Lost. I think possibly Whedon did acquiesce and provide more of a procedural show at first, maybe when Echo was on the floor saying "I did my best" she was merely channeling Joss. For me the show has hit fifth gear and given that the whole flow of the show was changed in around 2 WEEKS by Whedon, I think that the show is freekin amazing.

[...] the comments on this post, one of the commentors suggests that the Dollhouse is a morally ambiguous place, which seems, [...]

I wrote about this on my blog (http://theboozetube.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/we-have-to-rape-this-village-to-save-it/) because I think the subplot with the little girl was more important than it seems on its face.

We know that the download process is very painful from what Adelle says, but also from what we see when people are in the chair. So basically in order to get a print to imprint onto Echo, Topher at some point had to download the little girl without, presumably telling her why, which is a second violation on top of her rapes. So basically, they mind-rape a girl to save her from rape. Which is a pretty good metaphor for what's going on at the Dollhouse. Yes, the tech can be used for good, but it depends on initial violation.

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