Dollhouse 1x07: Echoes
I'm still working on my rewatch notes from 1x06, Man on the Street, because I think it's ending up ficcy. But here are my thoughts from my rewatch of Echoes.
Echoes is, probably, the funniest of the Dollhouse episodes so far. Topher and Adelle, stoned off their gourds, eating from the drawer of inappropriate starches and having Deep Thoughts is just hilarious. Secret Agent Victor is amaaaaazing, as is Special Agent Medical Doctor Sierra. Boyd's little "Wow. OK. Totally did not have control of that situation" is brilliant. Dominic apologizing--"I tried to set you on fire! Who does that?"--is magic.
And yet, it's one of the scariest episodes so far, because we see precisely how damaged the Dolls are, and we get the edge of how evil Rossum is. Not to mention, we finally meet Caroline--Caroline the anti-war protester, Caroline who breaks into animal research labs to liberate the test subjects, Caroline who had a boyfriend who she loved, and who lost him--and then her life--because she wanted to make a difference.
In a way, Echoes is a perfect example of the moral economy of the Whedonverse--the people in it are funny, but what's happening is often deadly serious. This tension between humor and seriousness makes accessing the serious easier--but does it also denigrate it? Does Echoes become a less serious episode because of the drawer of inappropriate starches? Does November's slide into Mellie frighten us less because of Topher and Adelle hiding behind the railing?
Echoes is, probably, the funniest of the Dollhouse episodes so far. Topher and Adelle, stoned off their gourds, eating from the drawer of inappropriate starches and having Deep Thoughts is just hilarious. Secret Agent Victor is amaaaaazing, as is Special Agent Medical Doctor Sierra. Boyd's little "Wow. OK. Totally did not have control of that situation" is brilliant. Dominic apologizing--"I tried to set you on fire! Who does that?"--is magic.
And yet, it's one of the scariest episodes so far, because we see precisely how damaged the Dolls are, and we get the edge of how evil Rossum is. Not to mention, we finally meet Caroline--Caroline the anti-war protester, Caroline who breaks into animal research labs to liberate the test subjects, Caroline who had a boyfriend who she loved, and who lost him--and then her life--because she wanted to make a difference.
In a way, Echoes is a perfect example of the moral economy of the Whedonverse--the people in it are funny, but what's happening is often deadly serious. This tension between humor and seriousness makes accessing the serious easier--but does it also denigrate it? Does Echoes become a less serious episode because of the drawer of inappropriate starches? Does November's slide into Mellie frighten us less because of Topher and Adelle hiding behind the railing?