DOLLHOUSE - 2x01 “Vows” - Episode Review
Hell hath no fury like a Doll reprogrammed....
Plot: Three weeks after the events of “Omega”, Paul Ballard uses Echo to entrap an arms dealer he was unable to while working for the FBI; Echo begins to exhibit Alpha-esque symptoms while on the assignment; Whiskey angrily confronts Topher after realizing she is a “broken” doll.
Alan Sepinwall hit it pretty much on the head when he stated, “What Dollhouse is about theme-wise is fascinating, and what Dollhouse is about story-wise is only sometimes interesting.” “Vows”, alongside several of the post “Man on the Street” S1 episodes, is a perfect example of that mindset, what with its marginally interesting “A” story and far more compelling “B” one.
Structurally, Whedon also takes a big chance by refusing to “recap” the series for newbies, as it were, and jumps headlong into new plots - which is why “Vows" felt mostly like a second episode rather than a season premiere. That’s great for pre-existing fans (especially those who saw “Epitaph One”), but utterly confounding for potential new ones, and considering the improbability of its return last year, coupled with the horrific ratings “Vows” received (down 41% from the Season One opener), I figure that Whedon knows the angle the show’s working towards and what’s the sense in wasting time.
That being said, I (like every other fan) greatly enjoyed this week’s Whiskey / Topher interactions, on multiple levels. On the one hand it was yet another compelling look at the ethical issues brought up by the Treatment, and what it means to Creator / Created (nice use of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and in an odd coincidence, I got my signed copy of GODS AND MONSTERS today) - and what I gleamed here is that Topher actually does have an conscience (and a feeling of guilt) when it comes to his job. On the other hand, it continues to lay the plot tracks down towards the inevitable (?) future of “Epitaph One” (and how sad was it that Whiskey’s new goal of getting free / getting out was book ended by the fact that she will be someday forever trapped, perhaps even voluntarily, in the House?). And on the final note, both Amy Acker and Fran Kranz brought it big time, acting-wise (it also helps that Acker is, IMO, cuter and a better actor than Eliza Dushku).
It seemed to me that both Whiskey and Echo (especially Echo) seem headed towards an Alpha-like composite event (Echo’s flashes were even edited much like the train of thought madness Alpha endured). The Mission of the week was only mildly interesting (and most of that coasted on an enormous, almost distracting, wave of BSG nostalgia created by, of course, Jamie Bamber’s guest role), but I liked how willing Ballard was to pimp out Echo in his own way. I also further enjoyed how Adelle so quickly pointed that out to him and Boyd (I read that whole mission as a set-up by Adelle to force Paul into the role of Echo’s handler, after all, it’s best to “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”). But as a whole, the arms dealer plot plodded instead of crackled.
So, average start, but once again, the deathwatch is on. Let’s hope they can give it everything they’ve got before Fox pulls the plug.
Other notes:
• Line of the week: “My whole existence was constructed by a sociopath in a sweater vest.”
• “Eleanor Penn” was a nice parallel to the Season One (aired) pilot. For the record, I thought the way Echo got wiped so easily in “Omega” was B.S. as well as shoddy plotting.
• Sierra’s anti-Asian bias was most amusing.
• Guess Enver won’t be in makeup for most of the season. And Whiskey had an utterly rational reason for refusing the same procedure.
• Of course Helo and Apollo fought each other again. Ah, fun with fanboys…
• The “Epitaph One” time period material shot for this episode got cut due to time constraints. Most likely it will show up in another episode.
• Someone on TWOP said that’s a good way to create a paraplegic rat, by pulling it by its tail. I guess ya learn something new every day.
• Next week’s mission looked really dumb (based on the coming soon).
Episode Grade: B