There are a few changes in the wake of season 1's finale (this premiere ignoring DVD-extra "Epitaph One"'s flashforward*), with cashiered FBI Agent Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) now involved with the Dollhouse as a contemptuous client, using Echo (Eliza Dushku) to infiltrate an arms dealer called Martin Klar (Jamie Bamber). It's a long-term mission that means Echo's been imprinted as Ballard's partner, sent undercover to woo and marry Martin so they can prevent him selling a "dirty bomb". "Vows" tried to make it plausible that Ballard, the staunchly anti-Dollhouse hero of last year, would get into bed with the people he spent months trying to expose, using a doll to catch those he wasn't able to bring to justice as a Fed, but I still have a tough time buying it. Ballard's such a headache and his intention to expose the Dollhouse from the inside-out, that it feels ridiculous DeWitt (Olivia Williams) doesn't just eliminate him, if only to be on the safe side.
Still, there's some intriguing development for Echo's character -- who is now more aware of her existence as an "active", and can feel the ghosts of past imprints floating around her hippocampus. Ballard clearly intends to help restore Echo's original personality (collegiate Caroline), but in the meantime we have a character whose mind isn't being entirely erased at the end of every engagement -- something that proved counter-productive in season 1, as Echo's very nature meant she couldn't properly evolve or have a decent character arc. Hopefully she'll become a more fascinating character this year with the benefit of unsuccessful "treatments". We're already given a scene where she's able to tap into past imprints and use dormant skills to help Ballard take out a hangar full of henchmen.Typically for Dollhouse, there were more compelling events away from Echo and Ballard's primary operation, mainly from Dr. Saunders' (Amy Acker) shared scenes with Boyd (Harry Lennix) and computer whiz Topher (Fran Kranz); the former offering sympathy that Saunders has learned she's an active codenamed Whiskey, the latter her creator whom she blames for placing her in a metaphysical nightmare. After all, even if Whiskey's body is one day reunited with its original personality, that would result in the "death" of the Saunders psyche Topher created. It's another fantastic example of the knotty problems mind-swapping technology throws up, superbly performed by the ever-wonderful Amy Acker. Even Kranz, an actor plenty of people have a problem feeling any empathy for as Topher, came across much better here as he realized the heartache and moral quandaries his technology causes. Less snarky comebacks, more maturity at last.
While on the subject of improved performances, Eliza Dushku fared better than usual in the dramatic stakes. I particularly liked a tense scene with Bamber, when his character caught her trying to jimmy a lock on his antique desk drawer and brutally smashed her head in, and a moment when Echo's mind jumped to previous personalities was handled better than similar scenes in season 1's finale (but maybe the visual cues helped us see changes in Dushku's temperament?) Either way, I think her performance was better than usual, although it's once again abundantly clear Dichen Lachman would have made a more convincing lead actress -- a brief scene with Sierra (Lachman) as a politely racist Englishwoman was sublime, and she demonstrated a change in body language and vocal tone beyond Dushku. I mean, no matter who Echo is imprinted with, they all seem to share Dushku's "coquettish head wobble" -- watch out for it.
If anything, "Instinct" was an unwelcome throwback to early season 1; a standalone story featuring another questionable use of Echo. Here, Topher has found a way to have the mind affect the body, by fooling Echo's brain into believing she's recently given birth, so she can breast feed a baby she's been imprinted to mother. The reason being that the baby's real parent died, and father Nate (Kristoffer Polaha) is having difficulty bonding with his newborn. As usual, there are flaws with the concept: how long is Echo expected to care for a baby? Surely it would be inordinately expensive to hire a doll for years until the infant reaches school age. And why was Sierra imprinted as Echo's best friend? Isn't that a terrible waste of an active, as surely Echo could interact with real people.
Everything boiled down to Echo developing paranoid feelings for her "husband" because of his unnatural behaviour around her (not helped by the fact Dollhouse staff are parked outside her house in a blacked-out van), prompting her to run away with the child. Then, even after eventually being captured and mind-wiped, Echo's hormonal changes prove too strong for technology to tame, as she retains her identity after her "treatment" and escapes. It was interesting to learn that the mothering instinct can overcome Topher's erasure, but this was another episode where the story didn't capture your imagination.And, while she certainly gave it her best, Dushku lacked subtlety and nuance when playing a volatile mother. She always seems to overplay the emotions of a scene; take the moment when Echo's caught by her "husband" trying to creep out of the house and run away with his son -- Dushku reacts with such a shifty manner, hesitating speech and wandering eyes that it's almost comical her guilt doesn't register with her other half. All that was missing was a flushed face and beads of sweat.
Elsewhere, there was a tiny subplot that smacked of fan-servicing, as DeWitt visited Madeleine (Miracle Laurie) -- former doll "November" who was prematurely released from her contract thanks to Ballard, the man she doesn't remember sleeping with while undercover as his neighbour "Mellie". It was fun seeing Rubensesque Laurie again, now playing someone more confident, and we also learn the debilitating grief she carried over the death of her child has been graciously wiped by Topher. DeWitt persuaded her to revisit the Dollhouse for a "diagnostic" checkup of her mental faculties, where she inevitably bumps into forgotten lover Ballard. Nothing much of consequence happened between them, sadly, but I'm hopeful Madeleine will return in the future with a storyline worth the effort.Both episodes also featured a new character in the shape of Senator Daniel Perrin (Alexis Denisof), who appears to be this year's version of Ballard and has suspicions about the Rossum Corporation (who bankroll the secret Dollhouses). Given his status as a politician, I'm hoping we'll get to see just how insidious the Dollhouse is in the upper echelons of political life, and he certainly has a better chance of exposing them than a maverick FBI agent ever did.
Overall, I don't consider these episodes a great start for a sophomore season, particularly as they often fell into traps Whedon claimed was purely the result of studio interference last season. There were a few welcome changes (like Echo remembering her past), but just as many unwelcome ones (Ballard being part of the Dollhouse, taking Boyd away from handler duties).
20 October 2009
The Sci-Fi Channel, 10pm
written by: Joss Whedon (2.1) & Michele Faze & Tara Butters (2.2) directed by: Joss Whedon (2.1) & Marita Grabiak (2.2) starring: Eliza Dushku (Echo), Harry Lennix (Boyd Langton), Fran Kranz (Topher Brink), Tahmoh Penikett (Paul Ballard), Enver Gjokaj (Victor), Dichen Lachman (Sierra), Olivia Williams (Adelle DeWitt), Amy Acker (Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey), Liza Lapira (Ivy), Alexis Denisof (Senator Daniel Perrin), Zoran Radanovich (Hugo Taubman), Jamie Bamber (Martin Klar), Ben Hermes (Handler), Jesus Ruiz (Justice) & Eileen Gonzales (Reporter) / Miracle Laurie (Madeleine), Kristoffer Polaha (Nate Jordan), Iris Bahr (Detective Donovan), Stacey Scowley (Cindy Perrin), Sergio Enrique (Sanchez), John Kelly (Captain), Geoff Burns (Medical Tech), Geoff Burns (Medical Tech), James S.W Lee (Uniformed Officer) & Danna Brady (Tipsy Woman)
* An episode that was broadcast on TV in most countries around the world, so can't be swept under the carpet. Indeed, Joss Whedon promises the events of that future-set episode are canon and the show will work towards filling in the gaps between now and then.
