Dollhouse Review (Man on the Street)
I gotta say, this episode absolutely blew my mind.
First off...I am about done with a bottle of champagne that I bought before the show. Yeah, I know, sad sad sad. Drinking by myself whilst watching Dollhouse. But hey, I was pleasantly surprised to be in the company of Paul and that nerd guy...with the champagne :-) So it was all good. But anyway...yeah I am a bit tipsy so this may not be the most coherent review ever (or possibly the best review ever...we will see).
So, let's get the goods out in the open first. Mellie!!! She is a doll! I sort of saw it coming, but somehow I was still surprised. Those of you that know me, know that Mellie was not in any way one of my fave characters. In fact I quite detested her...up until this episode. The crazy part is that I started liking her in this episode way before I found out she was a doll. In fact, that made finding out she was a doll kind of heartbreaking :-( Especially after the cute love-fest with Paul (who is finally starting to grow on me a little). Like a lot of you, I was thinking that Mellie was gonna die...because if there's one thing Joss has proven in the past, it's that he likes to kill off the sweet and innocents. Yeah...seeing pasta girl kick some ass was definitely a surprise. But then the fact that she is a doll is also heartbreaking! Arrg.
It's almost like Joss is playing with his audience. He gave us what we wanted instantaneously...for Mellie to fight back, to kill the evil molester/handler. It was momentarily very satisfying...at least for me. But then, once the realization that she is a doll sets in...well, one wonders if that is any different than Mellie dying. She has died, in a way. Basically, our immediate needs were met (hello, meta-textuality), but what about the long-term? Is it so much better that she lived, but is a doll?
The whole Sierra thing was very disturbing. I totally did not see that coming. There's not enough yuck in the world...Ugh. It was painful to watch, but I think that it needed to be done. Joss needed to go there to make it known that this show is about exploitation, and about how those in power will always try to take advantage of those with no power at all. I thought it was horrific, terrifying, and damn brave of him to write it. Also, Boyd? Could he be any more awesome? With the throwing of the bad handler through the window?
Still...poor Sierra. I was terrifically relieved that Victor was proved innocent, not that I really expected that he'd done anything wrong.
The internet nerd guy (can't remember his name!) was a strangely touching character. His conversation with Ballard was fascinating. I think he has Ballard's number, to be frank. I wrote a little fanfic not long ago touching on this subject (about his own fantasy of being the knight in shining armour to Caroline). I feel like this is a really big part of what makes him tick. And yet...when he comes face to face with her a second time (in the Chinese restaurant) he has absolutely no problem with fighting her. That added another layer...for me at least. But what do I know, with the champagne buzz and all ;-)
ETA: Actually, I am wrong (or just not completely right)...he did pause in hitting her.
Who is the inside man!? My money is on Adelle. I'd love to hear who you guys think it is! Why do I think it's Adelle? Mostly because of the way she handled the handler (heh) by activating Mellie. She also has a strange closeness to Echo that seems above and beyond the professional level. Mostly, though, I think it is her because she seems the last person that it would be (many are probably thinking Topher, or his assistant...don't know her name...or even Claire or Boyd).
Adelle is one of the first characters that we are met with in the show, declaring "nothing is what it appears to be." I think, therefore, that this could very well be an insight into her own character.
I really liked the "man on the street" interviews. I thought they wrapped around the main drama of the show very nicely, and they brought up a lot of issues that fans have been raising about the nature of the Dollhouse...and indeed, the nature of the show itself. What is this show trying to accomplish? I feel that I know on a very intuitive level what it is trying to accomplish...to state that we (the audience) are in our own ways complicit in the exploitation of the characters onscreen.
The fascinating thing is that when I see people ranting against Dollhouse, it's because they are disappointed that it's not enough like Buffy...or Angel, or Firefly. It can't be good to them because it's not familiar enough...it's not their fantasy.
And as far as the show being sexist? I defy this with all my being (have a little patience, folks!) I think this show is so amazingly courageous, and this episode really cinched the deal for me. I can't wait to see where the next 7 episodes take us!
Well, that's all for now. My bottle of champagne is now empty, and my thoughts are feeling less and less coherent. It was nice to rant for a while though :-)
First off...I am about done with a bottle of champagne that I bought before the show. Yeah, I know, sad sad sad. Drinking by myself whilst watching Dollhouse. But hey, I was pleasantly surprised to be in the company of Paul and that nerd guy...with the champagne :-) So it was all good. But anyway...yeah I am a bit tipsy so this may not be the most coherent review ever (or possibly the best review ever...we will see).
So, let's get the goods out in the open first. Mellie!!! She is a doll! I sort of saw it coming, but somehow I was still surprised. Those of you that know me, know that Mellie was not in any way one of my fave characters. In fact I quite detested her...up until this episode. The crazy part is that I started liking her in this episode way before I found out she was a doll. In fact, that made finding out she was a doll kind of heartbreaking :-( Especially after the cute love-fest with Paul (who is finally starting to grow on me a little). Like a lot of you, I was thinking that Mellie was gonna die...because if there's one thing Joss has proven in the past, it's that he likes to kill off the sweet and innocents. Yeah...seeing pasta girl kick some ass was definitely a surprise. But then the fact that she is a doll is also heartbreaking! Arrg.
It's almost like Joss is playing with his audience. He gave us what we wanted instantaneously...for Mellie to fight back, to kill the evil molester/handler. It was momentarily very satisfying...at least for me. But then, once the realization that she is a doll sets in...well, one wonders if that is any different than Mellie dying. She has died, in a way. Basically, our immediate needs were met (hello, meta-textuality), but what about the long-term? Is it so much better that she lived, but is a doll?
The whole Sierra thing was very disturbing. I totally did not see that coming. There's not enough yuck in the world...Ugh. It was painful to watch, but I think that it needed to be done. Joss needed to go there to make it known that this show is about exploitation, and about how those in power will always try to take advantage of those with no power at all. I thought it was horrific, terrifying, and damn brave of him to write it. Also, Boyd? Could he be any more awesome? With the throwing of the bad handler through the window?
Still...poor Sierra. I was terrifically relieved that Victor was proved innocent, not that I really expected that he'd done anything wrong.
The internet nerd guy (can't remember his name!) was a strangely touching character. His conversation with Ballard was fascinating. I think he has Ballard's number, to be frank. I wrote a little fanfic not long ago touching on this subject (about his own fantasy of being the knight in shining armour to Caroline). I feel like this is a really big part of what makes him tick. And yet...when he comes face to face with her a second time (in the Chinese restaurant) he has absolutely no problem with fighting her. That added another layer...for me at least. But what do I know, with the champagne buzz and all ;-)
ETA: Actually, I am wrong (or just not completely right)...he did pause in hitting her.
Who is the inside man!? My money is on Adelle. I'd love to hear who you guys think it is! Why do I think it's Adelle? Mostly because of the way she handled the handler (heh) by activating Mellie. She also has a strange closeness to Echo that seems above and beyond the professional level. Mostly, though, I think it is her because she seems the last person that it would be (many are probably thinking Topher, or his assistant...don't know her name...or even Claire or Boyd).
Adelle is one of the first characters that we are met with in the show, declaring "nothing is what it appears to be." I think, therefore, that this could very well be an insight into her own character.
I really liked the "man on the street" interviews. I thought they wrapped around the main drama of the show very nicely, and they brought up a lot of issues that fans have been raising about the nature of the Dollhouse...and indeed, the nature of the show itself. What is this show trying to accomplish? I feel that I know on a very intuitive level what it is trying to accomplish...to state that we (the audience) are in our own ways complicit in the exploitation of the characters onscreen.
The fascinating thing is that when I see people ranting against Dollhouse, it's because they are disappointed that it's not enough like Buffy...or Angel, or Firefly. It can't be good to them because it's not familiar enough...it's not their fantasy.
And as far as the show being sexist? I defy this with all my being (have a little patience, folks!) I think this show is so amazingly courageous, and this episode really cinched the deal for me. I can't wait to see where the next 7 episodes take us!
Well, that's all for now. My bottle of champagne is now empty, and my thoughts are feeling less and less coherent. It was nice to rant for a while though :-)