Dollhouse 1.11
So, if you’re a Ballard/Caroline shipper, this episode was probably a dream come true for you. If you think his sexual obsession with a woman he’s never met and who he seems to see as a token representation of a righteous need to save voiceless masses is one of the creepier things in this show, it was probably a mass of unsubtle metaphors that made you cringe.
Guess which side I fall on. Really, I’ve never quite liked Ballard, but earlier in the series, I remember defending him some. I still stand by it for at the time, because he hadn’t actually done anything bad. Now? He’s hovering around there with Topher and Boyd for me. And, seriously, only Caroline matters! (Not his girlfriend, who he at least knew as a person, not a symbol.) Not the other Dolls! Not anyone else the Dollhouse might be tricking! Just this one woman!
I do give the show credit for attempting to deconstruct “Sleeping Beauty,” but it was a failed deconstruction, at least partly because, even though the story was brought up in the context of dealing with rape, it still avoided the word rape. It’s a pity, really, because I love fairy tale themes, and things that deconstruct fairy tales. But it also rubbed my face in the desire I (and many Dollhouse fans, I suspect) have for the actives to save themselves by saying that it can’t happen. Instead, we have to rely on the sexual obsession an obsessive man has for a woman he’s never met to do it for us.
Alan Tudyk’s agoraphobic scientist was annoying, but also funny, and an unsurprisingly excellent performance. It also helped emphasize how not-funny I find Topher. The switch to Alpha was creepy, but amazing.
Really, this is supposed to be a showcase for Eliza Dushku, but it’s really only shown that she doesn’t have a wide variety of character types that she can shine in. On the other hand, it’s done a great job of showcasing Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjojak (I misspelled that, but…) and even Miracle Laurie. Miracle Laurie hasn’t had the range of roles the other Dolls have, but she’s definitely had the role with the most emotion. It’s gotten to the point where it’s literally painful to watch her scenes and realize she wants to stand up for herself, but her program won’t let her to anything but cling and beg. Her scene at the bridge is the first time I’ve ever been HAPPY to see a handler. Victor-as-Dominic was absolutely brilliant. I already knew he was amazing with accents, but he actually sounded like Dominic, and I loved his horror at realizing whose body he was in. Sierra’s imprint was just fun. And I love how her imprints wakeup lecturing and giving orders. It gives me hope that Priya was something of a tough one.
And I swear Dominic called Dr. Saunders Whiskey, which fits in with the Doll naming system. Perhaps when the doctor died, she was imprinted with him? Because I swear, in the ep. 2 flashback she labeled her predecessor as a man. And the scene with Alpha seems to encourage that reading, though it would imply that she doesn’t know she’s an active, and I was kind of hoping she would know.
But Victor! Glass falling on him! Scars! The poor baby! And I don’t say that as “poor hot wounded woobie,” but as his being, effectively, a small child and having a child’s understanding of what was happening to him.
And I will now try to purge my brain of Caroline and Ballard being Briar Rose (who, I remind you, woke up pregnant) and her handsome prince, and Boyd and Ballard’s creepy hero complexes over her battling it out.
Guess which side I fall on. Really, I’ve never quite liked Ballard, but earlier in the series, I remember defending him some. I still stand by it for at the time, because he hadn’t actually done anything bad. Now? He’s hovering around there with Topher and Boyd for me. And, seriously, only Caroline matters! (Not his girlfriend, who he at least knew as a person, not a symbol.) Not the other Dolls! Not anyone else the Dollhouse might be tricking! Just this one woman!
I do give the show credit for attempting to deconstruct “Sleeping Beauty,” but it was a failed deconstruction, at least partly because, even though the story was brought up in the context of dealing with rape, it still avoided the word rape. It’s a pity, really, because I love fairy tale themes, and things that deconstruct fairy tales. But it also rubbed my face in the desire I (and many Dollhouse fans, I suspect) have for the actives to save themselves by saying that it can’t happen. Instead, we have to rely on the sexual obsession an obsessive man has for a woman he’s never met to do it for us.
Alan Tudyk’s agoraphobic scientist was annoying, but also funny, and an unsurprisingly excellent performance. It also helped emphasize how not-funny I find Topher. The switch to Alpha was creepy, but amazing.
Really, this is supposed to be a showcase for Eliza Dushku, but it’s really only shown that she doesn’t have a wide variety of character types that she can shine in. On the other hand, it’s done a great job of showcasing Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjojak (I misspelled that, but…) and even Miracle Laurie. Miracle Laurie hasn’t had the range of roles the other Dolls have, but she’s definitely had the role with the most emotion. It’s gotten to the point where it’s literally painful to watch her scenes and realize she wants to stand up for herself, but her program won’t let her to anything but cling and beg. Her scene at the bridge is the first time I’ve ever been HAPPY to see a handler. Victor-as-Dominic was absolutely brilliant. I already knew he was amazing with accents, but he actually sounded like Dominic, and I loved his horror at realizing whose body he was in. Sierra’s imprint was just fun. And I love how her imprints wakeup lecturing and giving orders. It gives me hope that Priya was something of a tough one.
And I swear Dominic called Dr. Saunders Whiskey, which fits in with the Doll naming system. Perhaps when the doctor died, she was imprinted with him? Because I swear, in the ep. 2 flashback she labeled her predecessor as a man. And the scene with Alpha seems to encourage that reading, though it would imply that she doesn’t know she’s an active, and I was kind of hoping she would know.
But Victor! Glass falling on him! Scars! The poor baby! And I don’t say that as “poor hot wounded woobie,” but as his being, effectively, a small child and having a child’s understanding of what was happening to him.
And I will now try to purge my brain of Caroline and Ballard being Briar Rose (who, I remind you, woke up pregnant) and her handsome prince, and Boyd and Ballard’s creepy hero complexes over her battling it out.