Of endings and beginings...
So we finally got around to watching the Dollhouse series finale. (I'll blame the delay on the CA Bar, the Olympics, and an apparently unfounded assumption that the finale was two hours.) These are my thoughts:
Spoilers! And a bit lengthy!
Over all, this was my least favorite of Joss Whedon's television series. For one, it was a really disturbing premise. We were basically invited into a place where rape was not only condoned, it was good business. There's nothing escapist about that. Which meant this was never a relaxing show to watch. It also made it hard (if not impossible) to get behind most of the main characters. Half of them felicitated the rape, the other half were slaves being raped.
Except for Paul Ballard, the obsessed FBI man on a mission to expose the Dollhouse and take it down. Which told me that the thrust of the show was, ultimately, the destruction of the dark place we started in. And that's what kept me watching. I wanted to see how Paul made out. I wanted to see Echo and Victor and Sierra recognize the individuality I saw peeking through their "I try to be my best" mantra. I was curious to see who amongst the Dollhouse staff would find redemption.
Which, I think is all down to Whedon's storytelling abilities. (Well, that and casting.)
In the end, I thought the show fulfilled its mission, though not as well as it could have. Two reasons: First, the first part of the final episode was confusing as hell. Apparently there was a "direct to DVD" episode from s1 that set up this episode. We didn't (and won't) purchase the DVDs. So we spent the first 10min or so wondering who these people were, what the hell happened, and did our dvr mess up and not tape the first half of the two hour finale? Not a good way to enter an episode. I don't know if it was Whedon or Fox who caused the issue, but it was annoying.
Second... Okay, first I have to say what the episode did well. I loved how Topher and Adelle's storyline ended. They were redeemed, the redemption wasn't easily predictable (I was uncertain about Adelle until the show basically told me, yes she's becoming a good-guy), and it was satisfying. I loved how much they cared for each other (that they both could care for another). I loved how Topher sacrificed himself to undo what he'd done, and I adored that his last moment was one of simple curiosity (that little, "huh" when he spotted the remembrance-wall, and that he was walking toward it when he died). I loved that Adelle finally became a good guardian, looking after the newly awoken 'dolls'.
Which makes me almost doubly sad that I wasn't thrilled with the ending given Paul and Echo/Caroline. I wasn't too upset about Paul being killed (amusingly, I pegged him as the one most likely to die in the battle right before he did). I mean, I liked him so it was sad, but he'd completed his mission. It wasn't a failed death (like poor Mellie/Melinda/November;I'm still unhappy about that one). But having Echo download Paul's personality into her head was just...weird. It was like she was trapping him inside her, which didn't seem a good thing. Neither did that final image of her climbing down into her little sleeping chamber.
So I think my second reason is that I don't think all the storylines ended well. I think Anthony and Priya's story ended a while ago (their little drama thing seemed forced). I think Echo's story needed one more episode. I think Adelle and Topher ended perfectly. I think several other storylines got lost in the shuffle (ex. Alpha whose redemption we completely missed, or November who just ended without a real ending).
Which, kind of makes me think of Serenity. I adored "Firefly", but the movie was... not that satisfying, really. I think Whedon is better at long stories than short ones. Not a great excuse for Dollhouse (it wasn't that short, after all), but I got the impression he tried to squeeze a little more than he could into the last episode. Inevitably, plots are left dangling or a story is unsatisfactorily summed up.
It was an interesting ride. But not one I'm going to revisit.
On exactly an opposite note, we also finally got around to trying out Caprica. We delayed that for similar reasons (busy, 2 hour pilot) with the addition of the show just not looking that interesting. For which I'll blame the advertising. The show looked beyond boring.
It's not. The characters are fascinating, the world building is incredibly deep, and the premise is intriguing. At its most simple, it's about the creation of the Cylons. (I guess the first Cylons? Before the final five showed up? Frankly, the ending of BSG lost me for the most part. I've let it all go and am watching this with a reasonably blank slate.) Less simply, it's about how the Cylons were created out of blood and death and anger and grief.
Plus, in true BSG fashion, it's also about fathers and sons and mothers and daughters and nationality (planetality?) and tradition and guilt and ambition. And! There's an openly, and happily married, gay character. And not a character that you'd read a description of and say, "ah yes, he'll be the gay guy in this show." There's also a poly-marriage (I think is the proper term?) which honestly looks like my idea of hell (omg, so many people! I'm sure there's chore-lists and committee meetings) but it's a nice way to explore different ideas of marriage and family.
At the moment, we're hooked. (And also, not fully caught up, so no spoilers please.)
Spoilers! And a bit lengthy!
Over all, this was my least favorite of Joss Whedon's television series. For one, it was a really disturbing premise. We were basically invited into a place where rape was not only condoned, it was good business. There's nothing escapist about that. Which meant this was never a relaxing show to watch. It also made it hard (if not impossible) to get behind most of the main characters. Half of them felicitated the rape, the other half were slaves being raped.
Except for Paul Ballard, the obsessed FBI man on a mission to expose the Dollhouse and take it down. Which told me that the thrust of the show was, ultimately, the destruction of the dark place we started in. And that's what kept me watching. I wanted to see how Paul made out. I wanted to see Echo and Victor and Sierra recognize the individuality I saw peeking through their "I try to be my best" mantra. I was curious to see who amongst the Dollhouse staff would find redemption.
Which, I think is all down to Whedon's storytelling abilities. (Well, that and casting.)
In the end, I thought the show fulfilled its mission, though not as well as it could have. Two reasons: First, the first part of the final episode was confusing as hell. Apparently there was a "direct to DVD" episode from s1 that set up this episode. We didn't (and won't) purchase the DVDs. So we spent the first 10min or so wondering who these people were, what the hell happened, and did our dvr mess up and not tape the first half of the two hour finale? Not a good way to enter an episode. I don't know if it was Whedon or Fox who caused the issue, but it was annoying.
Second... Okay, first I have to say what the episode did well. I loved how Topher and Adelle's storyline ended. They were redeemed, the redemption wasn't easily predictable (I was uncertain about Adelle until the show basically told me, yes she's becoming a good-guy), and it was satisfying. I loved how much they cared for each other (that they both could care for another). I loved how Topher sacrificed himself to undo what he'd done, and I adored that his last moment was one of simple curiosity (that little, "huh" when he spotted the remembrance-wall, and that he was walking toward it when he died). I loved that Adelle finally became a good guardian, looking after the newly awoken 'dolls'.
Which makes me almost doubly sad that I wasn't thrilled with the ending given Paul and Echo/Caroline. I wasn't too upset about Paul being killed (amusingly, I pegged him as the one most likely to die in the battle right before he did). I mean, I liked him so it was sad, but he'd completed his mission. It wasn't a failed death (like poor Mellie/Melinda/November;I'm still unhappy about that one). But having Echo download Paul's personality into her head was just...weird. It was like she was trapping him inside her, which didn't seem a good thing. Neither did that final image of her climbing down into her little sleeping chamber.
So I think my second reason is that I don't think all the storylines ended well. I think Anthony and Priya's story ended a while ago (their little drama thing seemed forced). I think Echo's story needed one more episode. I think Adelle and Topher ended perfectly. I think several other storylines got lost in the shuffle (ex. Alpha whose redemption we completely missed, or November who just ended without a real ending).
Which, kind of makes me think of Serenity. I adored "Firefly", but the movie was... not that satisfying, really. I think Whedon is better at long stories than short ones. Not a great excuse for Dollhouse (it wasn't that short, after all), but I got the impression he tried to squeeze a little more than he could into the last episode. Inevitably, plots are left dangling or a story is unsatisfactorily summed up.
It was an interesting ride. But not one I'm going to revisit.
On exactly an opposite note, we also finally got around to trying out Caprica. We delayed that for similar reasons (busy, 2 hour pilot) with the addition of the show just not looking that interesting. For which I'll blame the advertising. The show looked beyond boring.
It's not. The characters are fascinating, the world building is incredibly deep, and the premise is intriguing. At its most simple, it's about the creation of the Cylons. (I guess the first Cylons? Before the final five showed up? Frankly, the ending of BSG lost me for the most part. I've let it all go and am watching this with a reasonably blank slate.) Less simply, it's about how the Cylons were created out of blood and death and anger and grief.
Plus, in true BSG fashion, it's also about fathers and sons and mothers and daughters and nationality (planetality?) and tradition and guilt and ambition. And! There's an openly, and happily married, gay character. And not a character that you'd read a description of and say, "ah yes, he'll be the gay guy in this show." There's also a poly-marriage (I think is the proper term?) which honestly looks like my idea of hell (omg, so many people! I'm sure there's chore-lists and committee meetings) but it's a nice way to explore different ideas of marriage and family.
At the moment, we're hooked. (And also, not fully caught up, so no spoilers please.)