Dollhouse review
I marathoned the show in a couple of weeks last month and am still not over it. I still think about it. I get stuck in one fandom months at a time so I figure, while I'm here, I want to get all my thoughts out on it.
I completely understand why this show isn't for everyone. It's fucked up, moreso than any of other Joss Whedon's shows, and they're already incredibly messed up. This one is much more rooted in reality, therefore it's a lot more uncomfortable to watch. Aside from Agents of Shield (probably, I haven't watched that past the pilot and don't really feel the need to), this feels the least like Joss's work, and the most like Eliza Dushku's + JMo's (Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen) baby.
Going in, I didn't know much about it other than it's Joss's least liked work, there's gross sexism, Eliza's acting sucks and the supporting cast outshines her.
I'm glad I didn't know much more than that.
Something about this beautiful mess grabbed me, and I think it's mostly the theme of identity. Who are you, what makes you you, can your true self really be taken away? Can you rebuild yourself if some part of you is taken away? How do you know that's what makes you you? After mulling it over, I think being such a big fan of Animorphs and Deadly Premonition is one of the reasons this show's major themes stood out to me. It's about the abuse of power, and how that affects everyone.
The Good
“I love him. Is that real?”
“Yes. It’s real. He loves you back.”
+ VICTOR/SIERRA PRIYA/TONY 5EVERRR
My absolute favorite part of this series. Having a ship for a show is nice, but this is one of those few and far between pairings that really grabbed me and didn't let go, and it won't anytime soon. They hit all of my narrative and iddy buttons, and surprised me in some ways. I think this was one of those rare cases where the writing and acting for a canon pairing meshed really well for me; taken in a certain direction, this pairing could have fallen flat on its face, and it also might have with different actors (for example, I tried watching Agent Carter and didn't see any chemistry between Enver and Hayley, and I've heard their romance arc goes downhill in S2. She had so much more chemistry with the guy who plays Jarvis.)
Victor/Sierra is one of the good things I'd heard about the show before going in, but holy shit that context. They're such an amazing part of the series. I wish there could've been more of them, specifically between "Needs" and "Omega" - it's so weird because the writers pushed their subplot for a few episodes, went for it hard in "Needs," then suddenly it was nonexistant and then shown to have fizzled out in "Epitaph 1." I still don't know if it was always Joss's plan to have V/S be a constantly building thing but then it got pushed to the backburner for Echo and Alpha stuff, but it being a miracle that S2 was granted, it really was like Priya and Tony got their second chance.
I've got mixed feelings about the two "Epitaph" scenes that touch on the dark side of Priya and Tony's relationship, especially considering that in a cruel twist of fate, the world ended pretty much at the same time they began - which is one of the many reasons why I buy their soulmate trope, because there's a tragedy in it. It's tough to watch the "Epitaph" scenes - I prefer the second one, honestly - but I think they were needed. I didn't want to see P/T fighting and upset with each other, but the idea of them being happy Dolls in their perfect bubble, while exponentially adorable, is also kind of depressing, because you can't shake the fact that they are slaves and victims in their doll state, therefore they shouldn't be in it. As Dolls, their love is timeless and in its purest form, but it's not rooted in reality. It's utopian, and innocent, but unnatural, which is why we needed a counterbalance of angst and humanity to make them real.
Second GIF: endless list of whedonverse episodes → dollhouse 1.13 epitaph one
The "Epitaph One" scene shows us that they still want each other. It's sexually charged - their "Epitaph Two" scene isn't at all - but has a dark edge to it, coming on the heels of Priya saying she'll go topside (so she can hear Tony talking her out of it? I'm not really sure.) Even after Tony rejects her, when he lifts her shirt it's a clear indication that they have been lovers and there's still a natural physical ease between them. And Priya looks on curiously when Tony says he wants to show her something. I think the writing is better in this scene. It's dynamic, it isn't just them talking in one spot. It's a well-crafted scene, and it fits with the trajectory of everything else, but the thing that really annoys me about it is we don't get a reason why they broke up. I guess we're supposed to draw our own conclusions, which I can appreciate as a fic writer, but to me it feels... off, like the writers were thinking "we want to make this as dark as possible so they want each other but can't be together, because this is a Whedon show LOL!" I can't help but wonder if Enver and Dichen played the scene with more physical comfort and looking like they still enjoy being around each other after Tony's rejection, because their interaction makes me go "Hey but... why aren't you two still together?" Idk, the scene's got all the right elements, but still feels like it was just shoved in to add more misery. I think it also doesn't work as well for me because there's a huge gap between "Needs" and "Epitaph One," so it's like the writers were thinking "oh, yeah, that was a thing. Now it's not!" I'm glad they changed their minds in S2. I wonder if it was because Victor/Sierra is almost universally liked and the writers figured they should reward the 50 people who stayed until the very end, lol.
The Priya/Tony "Epitaph Two" scene is all exposition. I'd call it bad writing, but taking all the behind-the-scenes stuff into consideration, I'll let it slide. Dichen and Enver do a good job making the exposition sound as natural as they can - Echo/Paul's scene right afteward, on the other hand... was awkward all around. Eliza did a fantastic job later on, but Tahmoh carried their scenes before that - and I love the Mad Max vibe it's got going on.
Priya/Tony's scene reflects weariness, both in a long marriage - Tony's "oh not this again" reaction at Priya reminding him "We agreed to keep him away from the tech" is such a true-to-life reaction - and between ex-lovers who have a lot of baggage and who have grown bitter over the years. I like there's just as much unsaid in this scene as there is said: Priya and T sleep on a bed near the driver's seat, so we can conclude that Tony offered them his bed; Priya goes up to the front to talk to Tony when she could have very well just stayed in the bed and watched him, sulking; Tony tries to extend an olive branch by complimenting the garden and trying to empathize with Priya leaving, but when she throws his long absence in his face, and has a pity party for herself - saying "I was locked up in" instead of "we were locked up" and especially since Tony had been there far longer as a Doll than her - Tony can't help but say the "how ironic" line, also because he's bitter at not having raised T for long - my headcanon is he was there for the first few years, but things got strained and he left before T could recognize him. And when he snaps at her, T rolls over, and we think "stop fighting, Mom and Dad!" and Tony looks instantly apologetic, but then insists that he still cares about Priya and Tony. And with Priya's last line - coupled with "it was our home" not "my home" when later she clarifies that Tony's cause was his cause alone - we get the sense that they could have been together, they could have made it work, if Tony hadn't become a Techhead. But he had a reason to, and even though it was a noble reason, he obviously let the tech get to him along the way.
Later, Priya's holding T as she still sits in the front. I think this was to show us Priya, Tony, and T as a tentative family unit again, because Priya could have very well gone back to bed and we could have either just heard Tony over the speaker, or seen him sitting alone at the front. Priya sitting with T up front shows that she still trusts Tony enough to be near him, and this contradicts their previous agreement to keep T away from the tech - btw, how much do I love Tony going all vicious Papa Bear on Romeo showing T the tech? A LOT. So there was always love there, it just needed a stepping stone to get us to their final (and ultimate) reunion.
On paper, this scene should be considered poorly conceived, but I prefer it because we get a reason why they split up - I think it's alluded that they either hooked up right before leaving the Dollhouse or got back together after being reunited in Safehaven because if they did have T in the Dollhouse, or at least knew of his conception, it would make zero sense for them to have as long a conversation as they did in their "Epitaph One" scene and not bring up the baby. I doubt the writers had that plan in mind back then, but if they did, Tony would have definitely said something cryptic like "it'd be bad for..." and Priya cutting him off. Or Priya did have T in the Dollhouse and she went up early? Idk, timeline shit is weird and it's already so jumbled in "Epitaph One," and I think some stuff is obviously fudged because of the Ambrose!Victor scene and Adelle's hairstyle. Anyway, the P/T scene in "Epitaph Two" should be clunky, but it works for me. There's misery, but it doesn't feel tacked as tacked on as the "Epitaph One" scene does. And Epitaph One just has the one scene of them, which their scene in "Epitaph Two" is part of their arc on a grander level: can they make it work as themselves? And yes, they can.
One of the things I love about their relationship is how it symbolizes love in multiple stages of life:
1) innocent, childlike, unconditional love (as Dolls)
2) sexual, passionate, and tentative love in its honeymoon period (Priya and Tony, both in "Needs" and in "Stop-Loss" through "The Hollow Men")
and finally, 3) mature love, with all its hard edges and depth and experience, love that remains even after the tough moments, a familiar love where both people have had to witness each other's flaws, admit they've been wrong and compromise, working through challenges to come out stronger together ("Epitaph One" sort of hints at this but "Epitaph Two" really shows this.)
Seriously, love these two. I wish we could've seen more of them together, especially as Priya and Tony, but I'm thankful for what we got. Definitely on my list of Top Ten OTPs <3
Oh yeah, there was other stuff in this show lol
+ Topher's arc. I think it's the best character arc in the series, and I think it was planned from the start. He's supposed to be a narcissistic, arrogant jerk, a child thinking of humans as playthings. He's good at what he does so you gotta respect him at the start, even if it's incredibly easy to love to hate him. But then he starts seeing the Dolls as people - I particularly love his interaction with Sierra/Priya - and he cannot start to shake off that moral quandary. In the end, he gets the emotional shit kicked out of him, and he wants to save the world, put it back to what it once was, even if that means giving up himself. Fran Kranz (and Enver!) sold the hell out of the character. I love Xander but I think Topher was a much better self-insert than Xander. Topher is the writer playing God until he realizes his characters are real. It's a very poignant and well-paced arc. I'd even go so far as to say Topher is one of the best characters in the Whedonverse.
+ Adelle's arc. She had the second-best one and I think a large part of that arose from Olivia Williams' acting, because she too was phenomenal in that role. I think Joss has stated somewhere that Adelle was supposed to be much more formidable (a "Dragon lady" as I recall), but then when he saw Olivia's audition tape he empathized with her take on Adelle. Whereas Topher's arc, I think, always planned from the beginning, I believe Adelle's developed as the show went on and the show was better for it. I really believed she was on Rossum's side up until the last minute of "The Attic," and I though that was a well-executed twist. I do have issues with her subplot of Victor being treated much more sympathetically than Nolan's treatment of Priya, and I do think it's because Adelle is a woman and we're conditioned to not think of them being as sexually dangerous as men. However, Adelle did stop the Roger engagements and I do think that her trying to get in one last romp with Roger was supposed to paint her in the wrong. (BTW I have to say, I fucking love that even Roger had fallen for Sierra, not knowing who she was, and refused to have sex with another woman because he was so in love with Sierra. OTP RIGHT THERE.) Anyway, Adelle's arc was handled so well, and I think a big part of that was tied to her relationship with Topher. I love how it evolved and had so many dimensions, especially that strong mother-son vibe, and I was very satisfied with their arcs as a whole.
+ the overall plot. Where Life unfortunately went downhil in quality from its first to second season (S1 always paralled the cases to Charlie or Dani's issues and the conspiracy was a big thing; in S2 the cases felt more tacked on while becoming the focus and while I like S2, I'd say only about a handful of the episodes felt like classic S1 Life), Dollhouse did the exact opposite in starting from generic, case-of-the-week shallowness and ended up being really intriguing, gripping, and containing lots of narrative and sociopolitical layers. It became so much more than I thought it would and there were a lot of interesting twists and turns, specifically for Claire Saunders, Alpha and Senaort Perrin. I had no idea Claire was a Doll and that really caught me by surprise when she stepped out of the shadows as Crystal - totally thought that was Echo. Brilliant twist; it's one of my favorite moments in the series. Alan did a fantastic job as Alpha; I liked him as Wash but I think he went above and beyond as Alpha, making him threatening and entertaining while being oddly sympathetic, especially in Epitaph 2. Like he just popped out of nowhere, all normal and Zen, and I was like "Yeah, I can buy this" without needing any exposition. I also appreciate that Alpha, unlike Sylar, was used in just the right amounts. Great character, fantastic acting. I also gotta give big ups to the Senator Perrin miniarc, in which Alexis Denisof was charming if a bit dickish, and wayyy more sympathetic than Wesley became in Angel. My mind was blown when he got up and had a nosebleed; I was totally fooled by the tease that his wife was a Doll, but that was very well-played. The actress who played his wife also did a superb job.
+ Echo. I like Echo. I can see why people had issues with Eliza's portrayal. This was way before Orphan Black and while I agree with the general consensus that Tatiana is 10x more versatile, Eliza gave it her all and I think she improved immensely by the second season's premiere. I appreciate that the writers realized that the audience didn't find Caroline likable or engaging and (I think they) re-tooled the vibe of the show around Caroline as not being the hero, but rather the anti-hero that everyone has come to see as an annoyance, but still has a respectable goal. But Echo ended up building herself from scratch, and did not let Caroline take her over. That was an interesting aspect of the theme of identity throughout the series, and I like where Echo ended up. That scene of Echo breaking down about Paul is so damn good; it's one of the best scenes Eliza's ever done, IMO. She knocked it out of the park several times in the series, especially in that scene in "Vows" where she's trying to convince Roma Klar's husband that she's Roma; I even like Eliza's acting in the episode where Echo is remote-wiped while trying to steal art (on re-watch I was like "omg it started this early?? Awesome.") So was Eliza the best choice for the character? No. But without her, the show wouldn't exist, and she clearly worked hard and had to do the most work out of anyone. I respect her for that, and I really love Caroline's relationship with Bennett, and Echo's relationships with Boyd, Adelle, Topher, Sierra/Priya, Victor/Tony.
+ Epitaphverse. I was astounded at how similar the whole mass mindwiping thing and cell phone zombies echoed Cell, though I suppose it's already become a common fear that technology will lead to our downfall. There are so many interesting aspects to this verse, and the tragedy of Echo and Co. (initially) not saving the world like the Scoobies and Angel Inc. is, I think, a very poignant and necessary aspect of the Whedonverse. Btvs is about saving the world again and again and has the unusual, unsung heroes, AtS plays with the concept of hero and they save the world and they go out trying to save it again, even if it looks futile. Firefly is about the aftermath of losing and how antiheroes can become heroes. Dr. Horrible is about blurring the lines between hero and villian and both 'ending' the protagonist's world while starting it at the same time. To that effect Dollhouse is about victims and abusers, how one can become the other and how the world is destroyed, but can still be salvaged, and both victims and abusers can become the heroes. Getting back to Epitaph-verse, it would've been cool to see the third season be about the horrific spiral and lead-in to the finale, but as a whole, with this show, less is more, so I am satisfied with what we got of the verse. There's a lot of room to play around in, headcanon and fic-wise, and I like that. With the other Whedons shows, I've rarely felt the need to seek out fic - and the Buffy and Angel comics were so uneven that I gave up on them after a while - but with Dollhouse, I'm like give me all of the fic, I need meta. One last thing about this: I love the ending. It wrapped up important plot points while leaving an optimistic open ending and assuaged a lot of the pain and misery in Epitaph One. Topher made his peace with his actions and went out like a hero, making the ultimate sacrifice. Alpha can be wiped again and will hopefully remain the man he'd become, rather than succumbing to the monster within. Mag and Kilo can start a life together. Zone can watch over the little girl (Molly! She was so great in this). Adelle can rebuild what she had helped destroy. Priya, Tony, and T can be a family. And Echo can rest. It's a bittersweet symphony wonderful sendoff for all the characters.
+ Echo/Sierra/Victor's brief OT3 moments! They didn't get as much build-up as Buffy/Willow/Xander but in the time the show had, I'm satisfied with them. Ok, maybe I would like a one-hour special of them working together to take down another Dollhouse, but I can always dream! They were so cute and their sort of instinctive, protective nature of each other was given a good shorthand with the Doll state. I love how they help each other and care about each other in different ways, especially how Echo ships Victor/Sierra/Priya/Tony ultra hardcore. Conversely, in HP fandom Harry's always talked up as a huge R/Hr shipper but.... I don't think he ever really was. I think he was always ambivalent about them. Echo actively (haha) tries to get/keep Victor/Sierra together. They're like her babies and she knows they make each other happy. I also like that Echo gets to be the soft, motherly type with Sierra/Priya and the hardcore brother-in-arms with Victor/Anthony. I would love to read a Pacific Rim AU of Echo and Tony as drift-compatible Jaeger pilots, either just by themselves or discovering Priya is compatible with them, because I think one of the jaegers had 3 pilots.
+ Dominic. Great character, great style, great acting! Very dynamic without being physically active. He would just stand in a room and my eye would be drawn to him. Reed Diamond played so wel off of Oliva Williams and I thought Dominic was so hot in "The Attic," Excellent way to bring him back. I love his bickering with Echo and their team-up. Kinda shipped them for a while too!
+ Ivy - don't have as much to say about her because she was a tertiary character, but she was great! I like her arc with Topher and how she started out basically being his servant, but she did sass him at times, figured out things he couldn't, and then he told her to get out while she still could, because he wanted her to live, because in the end, he respected her more than he thought. Plus it was nice to have another Asian character on the show :D I also love her outtfits and "wtf?" expressions.
+ Mag and Zone. I ended up appreciating their addition, in different ways and for different reasons. Zone is such a great character and pops on screen. He's a jerk, but very entertaining. Mag is, I think, Joss's apology for killing off Penny, and for the Tara/Willow/Kennedy fiasco in Season 7. I found her so much more likable and interesting than Penny, and even her character on Supernatural
+ Best Episodes: Epitaph One, The Attic, The Left Hand, Belonging, and Epitaph Two: The Return.
+ Favorite Episodes: Belonging, The Attic, Epitaph Two: The Return, Needs, and Stop-Loss.
The Not So Good
- BOYYDD. Ugh. What sucks is, there's no evidence against him being the Big Bad, and in a way, it's actually kind of narratively logical because the first 90% of the show set him up as Giles 2.0, but as the first line prepares us, "Nothing is what it seems." Writing-wise, it works. Emotionally, it fucking sucks - I felt just as betrayed as Echo did. And it's so uncomfortable that the only regular black male character on the show turns out to be evil and violent and doles out threats to his supposed family, then the last we see of his is as a docile suicide bomber. I'm still mad about this. The woman who was pre-Whiskey could have been the partner. Hell, Harding or Ambrose could have been it and I wouldn't have minded. I'd have been ok with Boyd sacrificing himself for Echo to preserve that relationship, rather than an OHSHIT moment. I wish the writers hadn't decided to go this route. I know they were pressed for time and even they admitted this was an asspull and they were originally going to build up someone else as the co-founder of Rossum, but this just.... leave such a sour taste in my mouth when I think about it. Echo and Boyd's relationship felt so natural and well-done, I'm just really sad and hurt by this.
- November/Mellie got such a shitty deal starting from the end of the Perrin subplot. The writers had something so good with November in S1, and then dropped the ball on her in favor of other stuff. I almost wished they didn't bring her back in "The Hollow Men." I sort of liked Paul/Mellie at first, but I quickly sensed a staleness in their scenes and it felt like the writers just stopped trying with her arc once they'd switched back to Paul/Echo. Then Paul rejected Mellie's advances - I think it's because he was rightfully squicked out by the consent issues - and she killed herself for him. Total letdown. I'm not as pissed about her end as I am with Tara's death, I just wish November's arc had ended with her being free. She deserved peace (and I think it was a retcon from "Epitaph One" where it was alluded in the Priya/Tony scene that November was running around topside.) I hate that I even think this, but honestly, I'm pretty sure she was dropped by the wayside because she's plus-sized. Blaurgh.
- Paul. Oh, Paul. I guess Pauls in TV are destined to be generic hero-type characters. Tony was very similar - I think Joss has A Thing for soldiers - it's just that he had the edge of Enver's acting + not having to see him as Tony all the time. I think if we had seen Tony from the start, we'd feel the same way about him. But this might be the case of unfortunate writing, where the strong leading male character is supposed to be good and brave, and we want to root for him, but something just gets lost in translation so he ends up dull (see Ward in the beginning of AoS, Riley Finn, and even Enver fell victim to this in Agent Carter.) I did start to warm up to Paul in "Epitaph Two," and even though I think Helo was a thousand times more likable than Paul, Tamoah put a lot of effort into the character despite being jerked around by the wriers, and I really respect him doing his own stunts. Also, I think it's kind of cute that Paul was created and casted out of Joss's crush on Tamoah. Love his gushing in the pilot ep commentary.
- Claire Saunders' arc. I admittedly didn't care about her as much as others do - I honestly find her more interesting as Whiskey, and my favorite role of the actress has been as Illyria - but I'm ok with her not being around much in Season 2. I feel more cheated out of not seeing what happened to Dominic, although I suspect that budget cuts and having to hit the most necessary character beats meant making some sacrifices, and we pretty much get closure with Whiskey in "Epitaph One" anyway. While I'm on this, I don't get Boyd/Claire or Topher/Claire. Both felt weird to me; the only time I liked Topher and Claire together (but platonically) was when they were talking about Victor's "man-reactions" over Sierra. That was cute. That one Topher/Claire scene in "Vows" is so popular and it's a good scene, but I had kind of forgotten about it when I read all the reactions to it being super amazing and I was like "huh? Oh." It's like the House "Three Stories" effect, everyone raves about how good it is and I'm like, I must be defective because I don't see the genius of it.
- unpopular opinion incoming: I like Bennett/Caroline, but didn't see any chemistry between Bennett and Topher. They were so awkward, and I think the only thing I liked about them was Topher talking to Victopher about her and later, when he said to Bennett, "You showed me yours, I'll show... you... mine" and realized what he'd just said, and Bennett full on cringed. That was hilarious. Them hitting each other and doing that weird fumbling kiss and talking science, just.... zzzz. And of course Bennett got headshotted, beause Joss hates life. I felt the least upset about her death. To be fair, I think pretty much anyone could have died and I would have eventually accepted it, so long as it wasn't Tony or Priya. They were like my Ron/Hermione and Athena/Helo of this series, lol. You could kill off whoever else you wanted, just don't touch them.
All in all, I really enjoyed watching this series. It made me think, it made me cry at the end, it even made me chuckle. It made me uncomfortable and paranoid and grossed out. It warmed my heart and gave me lots of headcanons and fic ideas. I won't forget about this series, and while I can see why it pissed off a lot of people to the point of being discarded as Whedon's worst series, I still love it, and it's my second favorite (non-MCU) Whedonverse work after Buffy.
I completely understand why this show isn't for everyone. It's fucked up, moreso than any of other Joss Whedon's shows, and they're already incredibly messed up. This one is much more rooted in reality, therefore it's a lot more uncomfortable to watch. Aside from Agents of Shield (probably, I haven't watched that past the pilot and don't really feel the need to), this feels the least like Joss's work, and the most like Eliza Dushku's + JMo's (Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen) baby.
Going in, I didn't know much about it other than it's Joss's least liked work, there's gross sexism, Eliza's acting sucks and the supporting cast outshines her.
I'm glad I didn't know much more than that.
Something about this beautiful mess grabbed me, and I think it's mostly the theme of identity. Who are you, what makes you you, can your true self really be taken away? Can you rebuild yourself if some part of you is taken away? How do you know that's what makes you you? After mulling it over, I think being such a big fan of Animorphs and Deadly Premonition is one of the reasons this show's major themes stood out to me. It's about the abuse of power, and how that affects everyone.
The Good
“I love him. Is that real?”
“Yes. It’s real. He loves you back.”
+ VICTOR/SIERRA PRIYA/TONY 5EVERRR
My absolute favorite part of this series. Having a ship for a show is nice, but this is one of those few and far between pairings that really grabbed me and didn't let go, and it won't anytime soon. They hit all of my narrative and iddy buttons, and surprised me in some ways. I think this was one of those rare cases where the writing and acting for a canon pairing meshed really well for me; taken in a certain direction, this pairing could have fallen flat on its face, and it also might have with different actors (for example, I tried watching Agent Carter and didn't see any chemistry between Enver and Hayley, and I've heard their romance arc goes downhill in S2. She had so much more chemistry with the guy who plays Jarvis.)
Victor/Sierra is one of the good things I'd heard about the show before going in, but holy shit that context. They're such an amazing part of the series. I wish there could've been more of them, specifically between "Needs" and "Omega" - it's so weird because the writers pushed their subplot for a few episodes, went for it hard in "Needs," then suddenly it was nonexistant and then shown to have fizzled out in "Epitaph 1." I still don't know if it was always Joss's plan to have V/S be a constantly building thing but then it got pushed to the backburner for Echo and Alpha stuff, but it being a miracle that S2 was granted, it really was like Priya and Tony got their second chance.
I've got mixed feelings about the two "Epitaph" scenes that touch on the dark side of Priya and Tony's relationship, especially considering that in a cruel twist of fate, the world ended pretty much at the same time they began - which is one of the many reasons why I buy their soulmate trope, because there's a tragedy in it. It's tough to watch the "Epitaph" scenes - I prefer the second one, honestly - but I think they were needed. I didn't want to see P/T fighting and upset with each other, but the idea of them being happy Dolls in their perfect bubble, while exponentially adorable, is also kind of depressing, because you can't shake the fact that they are slaves and victims in their doll state, therefore they shouldn't be in it. As Dolls, their love is timeless and in its purest form, but it's not rooted in reality. It's utopian, and innocent, but unnatural, which is why we needed a counterbalance of angst and humanity to make them real.
Second GIF: endless list of whedonverse episodes → dollhouse 1.13 epitaph one
The "Epitaph One" scene shows us that they still want each other. It's sexually charged - their "Epitaph Two" scene isn't at all - but has a dark edge to it, coming on the heels of Priya saying she'll go topside (so she can hear Tony talking her out of it? I'm not really sure.) Even after Tony rejects her, when he lifts her shirt it's a clear indication that they have been lovers and there's still a natural physical ease between them. And Priya looks on curiously when Tony says he wants to show her something. I think the writing is better in this scene. It's dynamic, it isn't just them talking in one spot. It's a well-crafted scene, and it fits with the trajectory of everything else, but the thing that really annoys me about it is we don't get a reason why they broke up. I guess we're supposed to draw our own conclusions, which I can appreciate as a fic writer, but to me it feels... off, like the writers were thinking "we want to make this as dark as possible so they want each other but can't be together, because this is a Whedon show LOL!" I can't help but wonder if Enver and Dichen played the scene with more physical comfort and looking like they still enjoy being around each other after Tony's rejection, because their interaction makes me go "Hey but... why aren't you two still together?" Idk, the scene's got all the right elements, but still feels like it was just shoved in to add more misery. I think it also doesn't work as well for me because there's a huge gap between "Needs" and "Epitaph One," so it's like the writers were thinking "oh, yeah, that was a thing. Now it's not!" I'm glad they changed their minds in S2. I wonder if it was because Victor/Sierra is almost universally liked and the writers figured they should reward the 50 people who stayed until the very end, lol.
The Priya/Tony "Epitaph Two" scene is all exposition. I'd call it bad writing, but taking all the behind-the-scenes stuff into consideration, I'll let it slide. Dichen and Enver do a good job making the exposition sound as natural as they can - Echo/Paul's scene right afteward, on the other hand... was awkward all around. Eliza did a fantastic job later on, but Tahmoh carried their scenes before that - and I love the Mad Max vibe it's got going on.
Priya/Tony's scene reflects weariness, both in a long marriage - Tony's "oh not this again" reaction at Priya reminding him "We agreed to keep him away from the tech" is such a true-to-life reaction - and between ex-lovers who have a lot of baggage and who have grown bitter over the years. I like there's just as much unsaid in this scene as there is said: Priya and T sleep on a bed near the driver's seat, so we can conclude that Tony offered them his bed; Priya goes up to the front to talk to Tony when she could have very well just stayed in the bed and watched him, sulking; Tony tries to extend an olive branch by complimenting the garden and trying to empathize with Priya leaving, but when she throws his long absence in his face, and has a pity party for herself - saying "I was locked up in" instead of "we were locked up" and especially since Tony had been there far longer as a Doll than her - Tony can't help but say the "how ironic" line, also because he's bitter at not having raised T for long - my headcanon is he was there for the first few years, but things got strained and he left before T could recognize him. And when he snaps at her, T rolls over, and we think "stop fighting, Mom and Dad!" and Tony looks instantly apologetic, but then insists that he still cares about Priya and Tony. And with Priya's last line - coupled with "it was our home" not "my home" when later she clarifies that Tony's cause was his cause alone - we get the sense that they could have been together, they could have made it work, if Tony hadn't become a Techhead. But he had a reason to, and even though it was a noble reason, he obviously let the tech get to him along the way.
Later, Priya's holding T as she still sits in the front. I think this was to show us Priya, Tony, and T as a tentative family unit again, because Priya could have very well gone back to bed and we could have either just heard Tony over the speaker, or seen him sitting alone at the front. Priya sitting with T up front shows that she still trusts Tony enough to be near him, and this contradicts their previous agreement to keep T away from the tech - btw, how much do I love Tony going all vicious Papa Bear on Romeo showing T the tech? A LOT. So there was always love there, it just needed a stepping stone to get us to their final (and ultimate) reunion.
On paper, this scene should be considered poorly conceived, but I prefer it because we get a reason why they split up - I think it's alluded that they either hooked up right before leaving the Dollhouse or got back together after being reunited in Safehaven because if they did have T in the Dollhouse, or at least knew of his conception, it would make zero sense for them to have as long a conversation as they did in their "Epitaph One" scene and not bring up the baby. I doubt the writers had that plan in mind back then, but if they did, Tony would have definitely said something cryptic like "it'd be bad for..." and Priya cutting him off. Or Priya did have T in the Dollhouse and she went up early? Idk, timeline shit is weird and it's already so jumbled in "Epitaph One," and I think some stuff is obviously fudged because of the Ambrose!Victor scene and Adelle's hairstyle. Anyway, the P/T scene in "Epitaph Two" should be clunky, but it works for me. There's misery, but it doesn't feel tacked as tacked on as the "Epitaph One" scene does. And Epitaph One just has the one scene of them, which their scene in "Epitaph Two" is part of their arc on a grander level: can they make it work as themselves? And yes, they can.
One of the things I love about their relationship is how it symbolizes love in multiple stages of life:
1) innocent, childlike, unconditional love (as Dolls)
2) sexual, passionate, and tentative love in its honeymoon period (Priya and Tony, both in "Needs" and in "Stop-Loss" through "The Hollow Men")
and finally, 3) mature love, with all its hard edges and depth and experience, love that remains even after the tough moments, a familiar love where both people have had to witness each other's flaws, admit they've been wrong and compromise, working through challenges to come out stronger together ("Epitaph One" sort of hints at this but "Epitaph Two" really shows this.)
Seriously, love these two. I wish we could've seen more of them together, especially as Priya and Tony, but I'm thankful for what we got. Definitely on my list of Top Ten OTPs <3
Oh yeah, there was other stuff in this show lol
+ Topher's arc. I think it's the best character arc in the series, and I think it was planned from the start. He's supposed to be a narcissistic, arrogant jerk, a child thinking of humans as playthings. He's good at what he does so you gotta respect him at the start, even if it's incredibly easy to love to hate him. But then he starts seeing the Dolls as people - I particularly love his interaction with Sierra/Priya - and he cannot start to shake off that moral quandary. In the end, he gets the emotional shit kicked out of him, and he wants to save the world, put it back to what it once was, even if that means giving up himself. Fran Kranz (and Enver!) sold the hell out of the character. I love Xander but I think Topher was a much better self-insert than Xander. Topher is the writer playing God until he realizes his characters are real. It's a very poignant and well-paced arc. I'd even go so far as to say Topher is one of the best characters in the Whedonverse.
+ Adelle's arc. She had the second-best one and I think a large part of that arose from Olivia Williams' acting, because she too was phenomenal in that role. I think Joss has stated somewhere that Adelle was supposed to be much more formidable (a "Dragon lady" as I recall), but then when he saw Olivia's audition tape he empathized with her take on Adelle. Whereas Topher's arc, I think, always planned from the beginning, I believe Adelle's developed as the show went on and the show was better for it. I really believed she was on Rossum's side up until the last minute of "The Attic," and I though that was a well-executed twist. I do have issues with her subplot of Victor being treated much more sympathetically than Nolan's treatment of Priya, and I do think it's because Adelle is a woman and we're conditioned to not think of them being as sexually dangerous as men. However, Adelle did stop the Roger engagements and I do think that her trying to get in one last romp with Roger was supposed to paint her in the wrong. (BTW I have to say, I fucking love that even Roger had fallen for Sierra, not knowing who she was, and refused to have sex with another woman because he was so in love with Sierra. OTP RIGHT THERE.) Anyway, Adelle's arc was handled so well, and I think a big part of that was tied to her relationship with Topher. I love how it evolved and had so many dimensions, especially that strong mother-son vibe, and I was very satisfied with their arcs as a whole.
+ the overall plot. Where Life unfortunately went downhil in quality from its first to second season (S1 always paralled the cases to Charlie or Dani's issues and the conspiracy was a big thing; in S2 the cases felt more tacked on while becoming the focus and while I like S2, I'd say only about a handful of the episodes felt like classic S1 Life), Dollhouse did the exact opposite in starting from generic, case-of-the-week shallowness and ended up being really intriguing, gripping, and containing lots of narrative and sociopolitical layers. It became so much more than I thought it would and there were a lot of interesting twists and turns, specifically for Claire Saunders, Alpha and Senaort Perrin. I had no idea Claire was a Doll and that really caught me by surprise when she stepped out of the shadows as Crystal - totally thought that was Echo. Brilliant twist; it's one of my favorite moments in the series. Alan did a fantastic job as Alpha; I liked him as Wash but I think he went above and beyond as Alpha, making him threatening and entertaining while being oddly sympathetic, especially in Epitaph 2. Like he just popped out of nowhere, all normal and Zen, and I was like "Yeah, I can buy this" without needing any exposition. I also appreciate that Alpha, unlike Sylar, was used in just the right amounts. Great character, fantastic acting. I also gotta give big ups to the Senator Perrin miniarc, in which Alexis Denisof was charming if a bit dickish, and wayyy more sympathetic than Wesley became in Angel. My mind was blown when he got up and had a nosebleed; I was totally fooled by the tease that his wife was a Doll, but that was very well-played. The actress who played his wife also did a superb job.
+ Echo. I like Echo. I can see why people had issues with Eliza's portrayal. This was way before Orphan Black and while I agree with the general consensus that Tatiana is 10x more versatile, Eliza gave it her all and I think she improved immensely by the second season's premiere. I appreciate that the writers realized that the audience didn't find Caroline likable or engaging and (I think they) re-tooled the vibe of the show around Caroline as not being the hero, but rather the anti-hero that everyone has come to see as an annoyance, but still has a respectable goal. But Echo ended up building herself from scratch, and did not let Caroline take her over. That was an interesting aspect of the theme of identity throughout the series, and I like where Echo ended up. That scene of Echo breaking down about Paul is so damn good; it's one of the best scenes Eliza's ever done, IMO. She knocked it out of the park several times in the series, especially in that scene in "Vows" where she's trying to convince Roma Klar's husband that she's Roma; I even like Eliza's acting in the episode where Echo is remote-wiped while trying to steal art (on re-watch I was like "omg it started this early?? Awesome.") So was Eliza the best choice for the character? No. But without her, the show wouldn't exist, and she clearly worked hard and had to do the most work out of anyone. I respect her for that, and I really love Caroline's relationship with Bennett, and Echo's relationships with Boyd, Adelle, Topher, Sierra/Priya, Victor/Tony.
+ Epitaphverse. I was astounded at how similar the whole mass mindwiping thing and cell phone zombies echoed Cell, though I suppose it's already become a common fear that technology will lead to our downfall. There are so many interesting aspects to this verse, and the tragedy of Echo and Co. (initially) not saving the world like the Scoobies and Angel Inc. is, I think, a very poignant and necessary aspect of the Whedonverse. Btvs is about saving the world again and again and has the unusual, unsung heroes, AtS plays with the concept of hero and they save the world and they go out trying to save it again, even if it looks futile. Firefly is about the aftermath of losing and how antiheroes can become heroes. Dr. Horrible is about blurring the lines between hero and villian and both 'ending' the protagonist's world while starting it at the same time. To that effect Dollhouse is about victims and abusers, how one can become the other and how the world is destroyed, but can still be salvaged, and both victims and abusers can become the heroes. Getting back to Epitaph-verse, it would've been cool to see the third season be about the horrific spiral and lead-in to the finale, but as a whole, with this show, less is more, so I am satisfied with what we got of the verse. There's a lot of room to play around in, headcanon and fic-wise, and I like that. With the other Whedons shows, I've rarely felt the need to seek out fic - and the Buffy and Angel comics were so uneven that I gave up on them after a while - but with Dollhouse, I'm like give me all of the fic, I need meta. One last thing about this: I love the ending. It wrapped up important plot points while leaving an optimistic open ending and assuaged a lot of the pain and misery in Epitaph One. Topher made his peace with his actions and went out like a hero, making the ultimate sacrifice. Alpha can be wiped again and will hopefully remain the man he'd become, rather than succumbing to the monster within. Mag and Kilo can start a life together. Zone can watch over the little girl (Molly! She was so great in this). Adelle can rebuild what she had helped destroy. Priya, Tony, and T can be a family. And Echo can rest. It's a bittersweet symphony wonderful sendoff for all the characters.
+ Echo/Sierra/Victor's brief OT3 moments! They didn't get as much build-up as Buffy/Willow/Xander but in the time the show had, I'm satisfied with them. Ok, maybe I would like a one-hour special of them working together to take down another Dollhouse, but I can always dream! They were so cute and their sort of instinctive, protective nature of each other was given a good shorthand with the Doll state. I love how they help each other and care about each other in different ways, especially how Echo ships Victor/Sierra/Priya/Tony ultra hardcore. Conversely, in HP fandom Harry's always talked up as a huge R/Hr shipper but.... I don't think he ever really was. I think he was always ambivalent about them. Echo actively (haha) tries to get/keep Victor/Sierra together. They're like her babies and she knows they make each other happy. I also like that Echo gets to be the soft, motherly type with Sierra/Priya and the hardcore brother-in-arms with Victor/Anthony. I would love to read a Pacific Rim AU of Echo and Tony as drift-compatible Jaeger pilots, either just by themselves or discovering Priya is compatible with them, because I think one of the jaegers had 3 pilots.
+ Dominic. Great character, great style, great acting! Very dynamic without being physically active. He would just stand in a room and my eye would be drawn to him. Reed Diamond played so wel off of Oliva Williams and I thought Dominic was so hot in "The Attic," Excellent way to bring him back. I love his bickering with Echo and their team-up. Kinda shipped them for a while too!
+ Ivy - don't have as much to say about her because she was a tertiary character, but she was great! I like her arc with Topher and how she started out basically being his servant, but she did sass him at times, figured out things he couldn't, and then he told her to get out while she still could, because he wanted her to live, because in the end, he respected her more than he thought. Plus it was nice to have another Asian character on the show :D I also love her outtfits and "wtf?" expressions.
+ Mag and Zone. I ended up appreciating their addition, in different ways and for different reasons. Zone is such a great character and pops on screen. He's a jerk, but very entertaining. Mag is, I think, Joss's apology for killing off Penny, and for the Tara/Willow/Kennedy fiasco in Season 7. I found her so much more likable and interesting than Penny, and even her character on Supernatural
+ Best Episodes: Epitaph One, The Attic, The Left Hand, Belonging, and Epitaph Two: The Return.
+ Favorite Episodes: Belonging, The Attic, Epitaph Two: The Return, Needs, and Stop-Loss.
The Not So Good
- BOYYDD. Ugh. What sucks is, there's no evidence against him being the Big Bad, and in a way, it's actually kind of narratively logical because the first 90% of the show set him up as Giles 2.0, but as the first line prepares us, "Nothing is what it seems." Writing-wise, it works. Emotionally, it fucking sucks - I felt just as betrayed as Echo did. And it's so uncomfortable that the only regular black male character on the show turns out to be evil and violent and doles out threats to his supposed family, then the last we see of his is as a docile suicide bomber. I'm still mad about this. The woman who was pre-Whiskey could have been the partner. Hell, Harding or Ambrose could have been it and I wouldn't have minded. I'd have been ok with Boyd sacrificing himself for Echo to preserve that relationship, rather than an OHSHIT moment. I wish the writers hadn't decided to go this route. I know they were pressed for time and even they admitted this was an asspull and they were originally going to build up someone else as the co-founder of Rossum, but this just.... leave such a sour taste in my mouth when I think about it. Echo and Boyd's relationship felt so natural and well-done, I'm just really sad and hurt by this.
- November/Mellie got such a shitty deal starting from the end of the Perrin subplot. The writers had something so good with November in S1, and then dropped the ball on her in favor of other stuff. I almost wished they didn't bring her back in "The Hollow Men." I sort of liked Paul/Mellie at first, but I quickly sensed a staleness in their scenes and it felt like the writers just stopped trying with her arc once they'd switched back to Paul/Echo. Then Paul rejected Mellie's advances - I think it's because he was rightfully squicked out by the consent issues - and she killed herself for him. Total letdown. I'm not as pissed about her end as I am with Tara's death, I just wish November's arc had ended with her being free. She deserved peace (and I think it was a retcon from "Epitaph One" where it was alluded in the Priya/Tony scene that November was running around topside.) I hate that I even think this, but honestly, I'm pretty sure she was dropped by the wayside because she's plus-sized. Blaurgh.
- Paul. Oh, Paul. I guess Pauls in TV are destined to be generic hero-type characters. Tony was very similar - I think Joss has A Thing for soldiers - it's just that he had the edge of Enver's acting + not having to see him as Tony all the time. I think if we had seen Tony from the start, we'd feel the same way about him. But this might be the case of unfortunate writing, where the strong leading male character is supposed to be good and brave, and we want to root for him, but something just gets lost in translation so he ends up dull (see Ward in the beginning of AoS, Riley Finn, and even Enver fell victim to this in Agent Carter.) I did start to warm up to Paul in "Epitaph Two," and even though I think Helo was a thousand times more likable than Paul, Tamoah put a lot of effort into the character despite being jerked around by the wriers, and I really respect him doing his own stunts. Also, I think it's kind of cute that Paul was created and casted out of Joss's crush on Tamoah. Love his gushing in the pilot ep commentary.
- Claire Saunders' arc. I admittedly didn't care about her as much as others do - I honestly find her more interesting as Whiskey, and my favorite role of the actress has been as Illyria - but I'm ok with her not being around much in Season 2. I feel more cheated out of not seeing what happened to Dominic, although I suspect that budget cuts and having to hit the most necessary character beats meant making some sacrifices, and we pretty much get closure with Whiskey in "Epitaph One" anyway. While I'm on this, I don't get Boyd/Claire or Topher/Claire. Both felt weird to me; the only time I liked Topher and Claire together (but platonically) was when they were talking about Victor's "man-reactions" over Sierra. That was cute. That one Topher/Claire scene in "Vows" is so popular and it's a good scene, but I had kind of forgotten about it when I read all the reactions to it being super amazing and I was like "huh? Oh." It's like the House "Three Stories" effect, everyone raves about how good it is and I'm like, I must be defective because I don't see the genius of it.
- unpopular opinion incoming: I like Bennett/Caroline, but didn't see any chemistry between Bennett and Topher. They were so awkward, and I think the only thing I liked about them was Topher talking to Victopher about her and later, when he said to Bennett, "You showed me yours, I'll show... you... mine" and realized what he'd just said, and Bennett full on cringed. That was hilarious. Them hitting each other and doing that weird fumbling kiss and talking science, just.... zzzz. And of course Bennett got headshotted, beause Joss hates life. I felt the least upset about her death. To be fair, I think pretty much anyone could have died and I would have eventually accepted it, so long as it wasn't Tony or Priya. They were like my Ron/Hermione and Athena/Helo of this series, lol. You could kill off whoever else you wanted, just don't touch them.
All in all, I really enjoyed watching this series. It made me think, it made me cry at the end, it even made me chuckle. It made me uncomfortable and paranoid and grossed out. It warmed my heart and gave me lots of headcanons and fic ideas. I won't forget about this series, and while I can see why it pissed off a lot of people to the point of being discarded as Whedon's worst series, I still love it, and it's my second favorite (non-MCU) Whedonverse work after Buffy.