so, Epitaph Two
Overall, I thought the episode was kind of uneven and didn't really do justice to the rest of the series. Like with most of the other episodes near the end of season two, I thought it felt rushed. If the series had been allowed to continue, there would have been a lot more time to build up to it and establish the new world, and extend the plot of what became Epitaph Two over several episodes.
One other problem I had is they didn't really do the best job of making everyone look ten years older. Echo should be pushing 40, and Adelle should be in her late 50s, but they all still looked basically the same.
That said, there were some incredible scenes, and for all the problems with Eliza Dushku's acting early on in the series, she's done a much better job as evolved Echo in season 2, especially in this episode. Her breakdown over Paul was one of the best written and played scenes in any Joss show (it reminded me most of Buffy's response to Giles in Prophecy Girl - "Read me the signs! Tell me my fortune!" etc.), and her response to Victor about "that's everyone" was very reminiscent of Zoe's "he ain't coming" in Serenity.
And at first, the ending seemed kind of creepy to me, but the more I watch it, the more I like it. The idea that Echo could never be with Paul, but was OK with the idea of being Paul, or at least having him somewhere in her head.
I also just noticed, on my fourth time through the episode, that whoever the composer was must have been watching a lot of Buffy, because the piece leading up to Topher setting off the explosion was very similar in instrumentation and style to the one at the end of The Gift, and it worked just as well here.
I'm sure there's more I'll think about as I continue to re-watch this episode, and now the others, too. I still have all of season 2 on my DVR, after all...