i may already be planning dollhouse fanmixes in my head

[intrikate88]

Dollhouse 1x02.

SO much better than last week's: that was fun and intriguing, but this I gaped and got wide-eyed at all the right places for. I didn't see the twists coming (except for the cabin Echo went into and the poisoned water, that I knew was a trap) and I totally didn't expect sexy boyfriend to turn into psychotic killer. Though I did think that it would just be a game, since he would have to return Echo to the Dollhouse after; I didn't realize he was really trying to kill her and had faked his whole identity until the end.

I think it's interesting how the show is dealing with issues of identity. It seems that rules are being established for this situation that no matter what Topher says about not-Actives being completely wiped of any other personalities, they do retain something. This storyline with Alpha is arising where an imprint didn't take properly and had epic results. Is Echo going to follow that? Is this foreshadowing?

Another theme seems to be presence-in-absence... of course, that's what all the Dolls are. They're spaces of nobody. But the world moves around them as if they are there and that motion tells us about those people. But there are other presences that are not there but still take up space- there's Caroline, a missing girl that is real to Paul Ballard and is a dream to Echo. There's the compiled personalities of a lot of people that are used and discarded by Actives. If identity and presence is so transient, what are people, really?

And that brings us to the end of the episode, where the one security man was telling Echo how much he didn't think she was a person. Hurtful words: not that she can be hurt, but what's wrong in his head that he despises people so much? And then she pounded her shoulder at his back as he left in some sort of response. Probably residue or some very deep connection with her latest identity, but the statement of that motion was to say something about how humans are measured by their dedication to survival. We've already seen her prove that twice. So is she arguing that she's a person because she's a survivor?

GUYS TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT.

Comments

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

I liked it! Much better than last week. And funnier too, which I think was what last week was missing. There's nothing I can really say outside of what you did, except that I was definitely surprised that the psycho guy really was trying to kill her. Also, I totally thought that Ballard's neighbor was going to report back to the dollhouse the second he closed the door, but she didn't (...yet).

Speaking of already creating fanmixes, is it bad that I already ship Topher and Dr. Amy Acker (it still throws me that her character name is the same as my name!)? Because I think I do.

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

HEE I SHIP THEM TOO. They share so many tragic glances across the atrium. I want to know more about them, Dr. Amy Acker (what IS her character's name, btw? I can't remember) is too quiet and fucked-up sounding for just getting a wee bit chopped across the face by Alpha. She and Topher would balance each other nicely. They should be forced to work together on some emergency.

Also, I totally thought that Ballard's neighbor was going to report back to the dollhouse the second he closed the door, but she didn't (...yet).

!!!!

I didn't even consider that. Of course, I had more in mind a recent conversation with one of my guy friends about how I really wanted to cook him dinner but I didn't want it to be A Thing, because when a woman starts cooking for her man, suddenly there are Strings Attached, far more than any sexual encounters do. (Which since me and said friend clumsily attempted that once and gratefully returned to being just friends, I was protesting that I didn't want creamed spinach and baked potatoes to turn into True Love.) And clearly Neighbor Girl wanted to give Lasagna with Strings Attached to Paul. BUT SHE MAY YET BE A SPY. Hee.

[ninamazing.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOD I LOVED IT SO MUCH. IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE PILOT, WASN'T IT? WHICH I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE. IT WAS AWESOME. AWESOME. IT WARMED MY HEART AND IT MADE ME HOT AND IT CREEPED ME OUT BY POINTING OUT MY DEEPEST DARKEST FEARS. IN SHORT, IT WAS JOSS. ♥ ♥ ♥

I didn't see the twists coming (except for the cabin Echo went into and the poisoned water, that I knew was a trap)

ME TOO. I mean, I don't ever get twists, but I LOVED the way Joss subverted expectations — Langton rushed in to be the White Knight and then GOT SHOT AND DID NOTHING, etc. etc. There were other ones but I'm forgetting them, and I will talk about this in my own recap. :P That was the only twist I got — I was all "DON'T DRINK THE WATER ECHO JESUZZZZZ." :P

So is she arguing that she's a person because she's a survivor?

YES. I think that is a very good read of that. And I would not be surprised if that is where Joss is going, but I'm sure he has a lot to tell us before he takes us there.

I love that you love this show. Because you are classy and have great taste and so you are like ammunition in my mind against the haterz. ;) ALSO I GET TO SQUEE WITH YOU AND DISCUSS AND IT'S AWESOME. ♥

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

Because you are classy and have great taste and so you are like ammunition in my mind against the haterz. ;)

Aw, thanks. I try to imagine there are no haterz. I mean I'm not going to praise it quite yet as the greatest show ever and I'm still longing for someone ANYONE on teevee to be a great art director and make a show that way (sometimes Dexter comes a little close. Otherwise, it's rare.) but for a show that has to work with a primetime pop audience and is just starting? I think it's doing quite admirably. (Though in terms of directing I thought there was a bit of focus on hands in this episode, perhaps in the context of the sometimes-painful links between people, did you see that? There was a large focus on the handler taking Echo's hand, and then she injured her hands, and then fingers on the bowstring, all of that.)

I think that is a very good read of that. And I would not be surprised if that is where Joss is going, but I'm sure he has a lot to tell us before he takes us there.

Oh, of course. A hella lot. But it is so interesting to see those versions of non-verbal and even to some degree non-conscious communication that she is capable of. I'm sure you're at least familiar with a little deconstruction and semiotics, so Echo's ability to communicate is entirely based on the context of her experiences and the definitions she has acquired. Except there's a problem: she has a different set of experiences and definitions all the time. And sometimes she has absolutely none at all. So what is involved in her communicating on any level at all?

AHHH I LOVE SRS DISCUSSION SO MUCH. IT'S LIKE SCHOOL BUT WITHOUT BORING STUFF.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

Though I did think that it would just be a game, since he would have to return Echo to the Dollhouse after; I didn't realize he was really trying to kill her and had faked his whole identity until the end.

Me too, but I should have known, dammit. Joss simply does not half-ass anything.

"This Girl is Taking Bets," huh? That was my Song About River for a long time. Still is, maybe. Funny that Joss's girls should have that in common.

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, "This Girl is Taking Bets" has played in my car at least four times today, so it was in my head anyway. It is about River, but in some ways, River and Echo have a lot in common. OOH. I COULD WRITE A POST ABOUT THAT.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

AND YOU TOTALLY SHOULD!