Dollhouse.
Dollhouse. What do I say about Dollhouse? Let me start out by saying the first several episodes were probably the worst way to lead up to the series. It was a good plan, showing the normal, everyday functions of the Dollhouse as a contrast to how it would all change and slowly spiral downhill, but it was, well, boring the way it was constructed. Too Echo-centric; I liked Echo by the end, I really did, but it was too...something, lacking other characters, other anything. We needed to see her opening personalities, and I get that, but it just wasn't a show I was interested in; I was interested in what it could become, not what it was. That is a dangerous opening, especially on Fox.
The show takes place in a world where the phrase Gray Morality could probably apply to literally any character. It's ripe with Unfortunate Implications about the way the imprinting technology is used, the faults it has, the problems that can occur, the comparisons with human trafficking, free will and what right we have to take it away, whether a person can hand over their life -- really hand it over -- and whether that's right or legal or if it's even just for one to ask for someone to do that, whether running away for five years is really the right answer when you're facing problems--
And I instantly saw that this was probably a reason why some disliked it. The show does make you feel uncomfortable about all of it. INCREDIBLY uncomfortable. Even in moments where it was happy, it was still unnerving, in so many ways, when the character you just watched save the day goes back to base, gets her personality wiped, and has the same emotionless exchange with the same moral-less person. As it starts to change, as we see the Dolls -- the Actives -- develop or evolve, this process gets more interesting. The glitches, the struggle to hold on to their memories, the lingering attraction between Victor and Sierra in every single personality they are imprinted with-- and yet we can't show this in the beginning because we have to know the norm. Without it, without being used to it, all these significant moments mean nothing. But there are times when I don't know what to feel. When I'm too conflicted to be happy or unnerved or even both, and I wonder if the show's failed. I wonder if an Aesop is even intended. What do we take from this, Joss? I'm confused and a little bit disturbed that I can't figure it out sometimes. What did you want to do with this show?
But...I don't think I have nearly as many problems with it as others probably do. I have issues with the pacing, with the generals, with how most of my favorites are......dead by the end ( >o< ), and for some reason, I can't love the dystopian society as much as I usually do. And yet...I'm not torn up. I don't regret watching Dollhouse. I actually grew to love most of the characters, grew to care about them and want them to be happy in the end, Gray Morality and all. The characters made the show for me. And I can see where some would hate nearly all of them; most don't grow a conscience until the second season, and even then, reports on just when said conscience is grown vary. Some grow one late. Some loose theirs. Some...heck, we're still not sure. But...I can't help but like most of them. Maybe it says something about me.
Keep in mind, I'm the girl who read Bokurano and loved it, adored it, and cheerfully plays in a roleplay centered entirely on the premise of killing another group of people to keep yourself and others alive. The sacrifice. The give and take. The Gray Morality. Maybe that's why I'm not as bugged. I think I like the Gray Morality. A lot. I love happy endings. I love to put characters through hell, let them suffer, watch them suffer, watch them reach the end of their rope completely, mutilated and defeated...and then I like to watch them be happy in the end. Obviously, it's a Joss show. Lower death rate than some of the others, but considering it was so short it felt higher. Few can be said to be truly happy in the end, but those who are...well, good on them. In any case, I love watching people start off wrong or right and generally become more and more flawed, or maybe have their already inherent flaws brought out or highlighted or completely and totally torn out of them and displayed for the world, and I like watching them struggle through these flaws and become better people in the end.
Arguably, except for a few characters, most of the Dollhouse cast does this. Personal opinions aside, it's difficult to argue that characters like Adelle and Topher are worse than where they started, both of them being perhaps the most amoral characters at the beginning of season one. Heck, Topher went on to become one of my favorites and I shed more than a few tears when he had his heroic sacrifice.
What I'm trying to say is...I liked Dollhouse. It had flaws. Story flaws, more like, pace issues, as I've said, and the overwhelming confusion, but...maybe that last one was intended. Maybe it's not a bad thing that I'm so confused on what I'm supposed to think about Dollhouse. Maybe it's good that I'm trying very hard to sort out if tech is good or bad or if it's the person behind it, if good intentions are all that's needed or if bad intentions can lead to anything good, if signing away your life gives another the right to make you do things such as kill people, if all those freaking Gray Areas in the show have any black or white in them. It wasn't Joss's best, no. But when it was good...damn, it was pretty awesome.
On a selfish note, there needed to be more Summer Glau in general and more Amy Acker in season two, and more a more definitive reveal on if Whiskey died or not, and maybe a bit more of a bridge to the end of "The Hallow Man" to "Epitaph One," but I hear there's a comic for some of that.
My big favorites all died, some turning evil (or sort of evil) before they did. Still, this is an intriguing world. Just...one that needed a bit more thought to it. If the story could've grasped me the same as the characters did, I would give this show much more praise, but as it stands, it's a good show, with potential for greatness, some really dull bad moments, and a lot of ambiguity. I just wish more of the great part of that could have been harvested.
One day I'll review Firefly a bit. I'm not sure if this counts as a review or just ramblings, but either way, I've now seen everything Joss has produced. Somehow, I feel a little empty. But there's always the superhero movies coming up...
(And now I'll probably have to get sleep early, about to drop; also, look at the insanity I have created, clearly I am crazy.)
(that will make little sense to most people. I don't think it even makes sense to me entirely. but well. you know. expected by now.)
EDIT: After reading over a review of the series, I realize something that bugged me that I just want to mention: Bennett's death. Now, yes, you're probably saying, "But it's a Joss series, you know there's going to be death," and YES that is true and it's not the fact that she died that's got me unhappy (well, it IS but--) but the fact that she died and there was no reason for it at all. It wasn't like Tara in Buffy, a random shot and the horrible sense that life is too short. It wasn't like Wash in Firefly, where they were in a war and there were casualties. It wasn't even like Book also from Firefly, though they tried to make it seem like it. With that, Shepherd Book was killed because he was helping Serenity and he was a safe haven. They tried to make it appear like Bennett was killed for the same kind of reason -- she was helping the main cast achieve their goal, so she had to die. But...correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Boyd WANT them to get to Arizona and revive Caroline? There's the issue of them then knowing that he was the bad guy, but in the end, wasn't Caroline being there not exactly a horrible thing, especially since he'd already had a syringe to fix the situation. Plus, Topher would've fixed the wedge either way, with or without Bennett's help. By the time he sent Sleeper!Claire there to rectify the problem is was too late and it only caused his "family" more grief, which though he said he'd planned for in "The Hallow Man" DOES NOT MAKE SENSE with the rest of how he explained his plan. So why kill Bennett?
Maybe it was necessary for Topher's eventual breakdown. But he already had the knowledge that he effectively caused the end of the world and the fact that they killed a person in front of him for I don't know how long in the future. So why? Why kill Bennett when they didn't need to, especially in a way where someone deliberately had to assassinate and plan for this. Why not have her killed earlier, before she started working on the chip, if they really didn't want Caroline back? Why not go after her when she was in solitary? It's easy to explain it away with "she was a sleeper," so Boyd's cover wouldn't be blown. The way the plan works doesn't make sense. At all. It served some purpose, but it felt like, in the end, they just wanted a higher body count before the end. The review I'd read mentioned that it's especially infuriating because just an episode later, Mellie died as well, with a bullet to the brain. Her sacrifice had meaning and it made sense with the way her and Paul's story developed-- but one after the other like that it takes away from the power of the deaths where it really does feel like it's all a string of them with no rhyme or reason.
So, tl;dr, Bennett's death, plot-wise, didn't make sense, I wanted more Summer Glau, and...yeah. (We also should've gotten closure on Whiskey/Claire Saunders. Yes.)
The show takes place in a world where the phrase Gray Morality could probably apply to literally any character. It's ripe with Unfortunate Implications about the way the imprinting technology is used, the faults it has, the problems that can occur, the comparisons with human trafficking, free will and what right we have to take it away, whether a person can hand over their life -- really hand it over -- and whether that's right or legal or if it's even just for one to ask for someone to do that, whether running away for five years is really the right answer when you're facing problems--
And I instantly saw that this was probably a reason why some disliked it. The show does make you feel uncomfortable about all of it. INCREDIBLY uncomfortable. Even in moments where it was happy, it was still unnerving, in so many ways, when the character you just watched save the day goes back to base, gets her personality wiped, and has the same emotionless exchange with the same moral-less person. As it starts to change, as we see the Dolls -- the Actives -- develop or evolve, this process gets more interesting. The glitches, the struggle to hold on to their memories, the lingering attraction between Victor and Sierra in every single personality they are imprinted with-- and yet we can't show this in the beginning because we have to know the norm. Without it, without being used to it, all these significant moments mean nothing. But there are times when I don't know what to feel. When I'm too conflicted to be happy or unnerved or even both, and I wonder if the show's failed. I wonder if an Aesop is even intended. What do we take from this, Joss? I'm confused and a little bit disturbed that I can't figure it out sometimes. What did you want to do with this show?
But...I don't think I have nearly as many problems with it as others probably do. I have issues with the pacing, with the generals, with how most of my favorites are......dead by the end ( >o< ), and for some reason, I can't love the dystopian society as much as I usually do. And yet...I'm not torn up. I don't regret watching Dollhouse. I actually grew to love most of the characters, grew to care about them and want them to be happy in the end, Gray Morality and all. The characters made the show for me. And I can see where some would hate nearly all of them; most don't grow a conscience until the second season, and even then, reports on just when said conscience is grown vary. Some grow one late. Some loose theirs. Some...heck, we're still not sure. But...I can't help but like most of them. Maybe it says something about me.
Keep in mind, I'm the girl who read Bokurano and loved it, adored it, and cheerfully plays in a roleplay centered entirely on the premise of killing another group of people to keep yourself and others alive. The sacrifice. The give and take. The Gray Morality. Maybe that's why I'm not as bugged. I think I like the Gray Morality. A lot. I love happy endings. I love to put characters through hell, let them suffer, watch them suffer, watch them reach the end of their rope completely, mutilated and defeated...and then I like to watch them be happy in the end. Obviously, it's a Joss show. Lower death rate than some of the others, but considering it was so short it felt higher. Few can be said to be truly happy in the end, but those who are...well, good on them. In any case, I love watching people start off wrong or right and generally become more and more flawed, or maybe have their already inherent flaws brought out or highlighted or completely and totally torn out of them and displayed for the world, and I like watching them struggle through these flaws and become better people in the end.
Arguably, except for a few characters, most of the Dollhouse cast does this. Personal opinions aside, it's difficult to argue that characters like Adelle and Topher are worse than where they started, both of them being perhaps the most amoral characters at the beginning of season one. Heck, Topher went on to become one of my favorites and I shed more than a few tears when he had his heroic sacrifice.
What I'm trying to say is...I liked Dollhouse. It had flaws. Story flaws, more like, pace issues, as I've said, and the overwhelming confusion, but...maybe that last one was intended. Maybe it's not a bad thing that I'm so confused on what I'm supposed to think about Dollhouse. Maybe it's good that I'm trying very hard to sort out if tech is good or bad or if it's the person behind it, if good intentions are all that's needed or if bad intentions can lead to anything good, if signing away your life gives another the right to make you do things such as kill people, if all those freaking Gray Areas in the show have any black or white in them. It wasn't Joss's best, no. But when it was good...damn, it was pretty awesome.
On a selfish note, there needed to be more Summer Glau in general and more Amy Acker in season two, and more a more definitive reveal on if Whiskey died or not, and maybe a bit more of a bridge to the end of "The Hallow Man" to "Epitaph One," but I hear there's a comic for some of that.
My big favorites all died, some turning evil (or sort of evil) before they did. Still, this is an intriguing world. Just...one that needed a bit more thought to it. If the story could've grasped me the same as the characters did, I would give this show much more praise, but as it stands, it's a good show, with potential for greatness, some really dull bad moments, and a lot of ambiguity. I just wish more of the great part of that could have been harvested.
One day I'll review Firefly a bit. I'm not sure if this counts as a review or just ramblings, but either way, I've now seen everything Joss has produced. Somehow, I feel a little empty. But there's always the superhero movies coming up...
(And now I'll probably have to get sleep early, about to drop; also, look at the insanity I have created, clearly I am crazy.)
(that will make little sense to most people. I don't think it even makes sense to me entirely. but well. you know. expected by now.)
EDIT: After reading over a review of the series, I realize something that bugged me that I just want to mention: Bennett's death. Now, yes, you're probably saying, "But it's a Joss series, you know there's going to be death," and YES that is true and it's not the fact that she died that's got me unhappy (well, it IS but--) but the fact that she died and there was no reason for it at all. It wasn't like Tara in Buffy, a random shot and the horrible sense that life is too short. It wasn't like Wash in Firefly, where they were in a war and there were casualties. It wasn't even like Book also from Firefly, though they tried to make it seem like it. With that, Shepherd Book was killed because he was helping Serenity and he was a safe haven. They tried to make it appear like Bennett was killed for the same kind of reason -- she was helping the main cast achieve their goal, so she had to die. But...correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Boyd WANT them to get to Arizona and revive Caroline? There's the issue of them then knowing that he was the bad guy, but in the end, wasn't Caroline being there not exactly a horrible thing, especially since he'd already had a syringe to fix the situation. Plus, Topher would've fixed the wedge either way, with or without Bennett's help. By the time he sent Sleeper!Claire there to rectify the problem is was too late and it only caused his "family" more grief, which though he said he'd planned for in "The Hallow Man" DOES NOT MAKE SENSE with the rest of how he explained his plan. So why kill Bennett?
Maybe it was necessary for Topher's eventual breakdown. But he already had the knowledge that he effectively caused the end of the world and the fact that they killed a person in front of him for I don't know how long in the future. So why? Why kill Bennett when they didn't need to, especially in a way where someone deliberately had to assassinate and plan for this. Why not have her killed earlier, before she started working on the chip, if they really didn't want Caroline back? Why not go after her when she was in solitary? It's easy to explain it away with "she was a sleeper," so Boyd's cover wouldn't be blown. The way the plan works doesn't make sense. At all. It served some purpose, but it felt like, in the end, they just wanted a higher body count before the end. The review I'd read mentioned that it's especially infuriating because just an episode later, Mellie died as well, with a bullet to the brain. Her sacrifice had meaning and it made sense with the way her and Paul's story developed-- but one after the other like that it takes away from the power of the deaths where it really does feel like it's all a string of them with no rhyme or reason.
So, tl;dr, Bennett's death, plot-wise, didn't make sense, I wanted more Summer Glau, and...yeah. (We also should've gotten closure on Whiskey/Claire Saunders. Yes.)