I failed to issue the mayday, you still broke the spell that bound me.

[intrikate88]

The crunchy rice in my leftover sushi is bringing me down. I wish it were fresher.

Briar Rose theories.

Okay, so now that Dr. Amy Acker ate my hamster proved Paul wasn't Alpha liek I hoped  (DAMN) (despite that, Alpha menacign her was a pretty epic menacing. That, I can appreciate. It was epic.) I am theorizing that Paul is an Active. He's ALPHA's active. We know that he has the technology and prowess to program his own Dolls- he's proved that just now wtih imprinting Echo, and he did it to her before, remotely. (After which point she started developing the ability to evolve, didn't she? I think. Maybe when she got that wipe it wasn't as ineffectual as we thought.) 

But see, something doesn't add up if we look at this straight on- how did Alpha know to kill that environment-building guy and be there when Paul showed up? And he said to Echo that he was coming back for her like he said he would- how could he have so perfectly planned to get to her in the Dollhouse when there was a handy distraction to keep DeWitte's attention? 

Alright, evidence that Paul was programmed by Alpha to be his way back into the Dollhouse:

• Paul has an obsession. While we could just explain that as him being a douchebag, which is ENTIRELY possible, guys, it also has the single-minded focus of a computer program. All of the Actives, you'll notice, are programmed wtih a certain directive for each of their jobs, and they're very involved in accomplishing it. At the very beginning, he was just looking for the Dollhouse- which was his sole job and activity in life.
• This leads into another point about the beginning; Paul had a strong interest in the Dollhouse, but his life-destroying obsession didn't begin until it had the focus on Caroline. How did that focus get triggered? By a photograph of her wtih her name on it that he received anonymously- and I believe it's establishd that we know Alpha sent that photo, right? This may be like November/Mellie's "Three flowers are in a vase" trigger.
• In this latest episode, when Paul is packnig up to go, he seems to be evacuating the life of Paul Ballard just like any other Active finishing a job.

So what I think will happen, or at least am interested in seeing happen, is Adele gets her way, Paul gets put in the chair, Topher gets woken up, and tries to suck out his personality and discovers his brain has all the signs of having been wiped before. And there are Realizations. And then Paul runs away, finds November/Mellie, and they run off to find out the truth about themselves while running for their lives. I SAY ITS A GOOD PLOT, RIGHT?

Other interesting thigns I noticed about "Briar Rose":

• In the beginning, when Echo is wtih the little girl, she tells her "You let me sit very close to you. You feel safe. That means you have a knife on you." It is established that a sharp blade = safety. Then later on, Alpha shows up wtih his razors. And Echo feels safe going with him. Nicely subtle foreshadowing, there, and I sort of wonder where that concept is going. (Also, better than the "I'm afriad hands might reach through the stairs for my ankles!" foreshadowing, jeez, that's worse than the WW1 anvils in "Human Nature". )
• Isn't there one version of the Briar Rose story that the prince can get through the wall of thorns because he enlists the help of a local woodsman, whose family has lived by the enchanted castle for generations, and the woodsman knows the plant magic to help him get through where all the other princes failed? I think that's an interesting parallel to the role Alpha played as the environmental designer. It also shows Alpha as someone who has teh power to subvert stories. This whole series, in one aspect, has been about the power of stories- what happens when someone becoems a character, and what happens when Paul positions himself in the character of the rescuing hero. It's also about the dark side of that- what people do to others when they believe them to be mere characters, and not real people. That Alpha can live outside of that system is really interesting.

Was listening to my lover Thea Gilmore last night and this one song, "Pontiac to Home Girl", really made me think of all of Dollhouse- I'll upload the actual song later-

Are you receiving me? I’ll give you
Something to write home about
Put the colour back in your cheeks and take the
"milk of" out
Call it what you will, I’ll call it
Pontiac to home girl
Born to the losing side, over and out

And you have no faults and I had no mouth
So we’ll sit in silence and figure that out
And I will have lost all heart and all soul
You have, you have, you have, you have, you have
Control

I failed to issue the mayday
You still broke the spell that bound me
There's a man on my chest seems to have a
False sense of right
Call me a fool, I’ll call it
Pontiac to home girl
Never meant to win the war
Over and out

And you have no faults and I had no mouth
So we’ll sit in silence and figure that out
And I will have lost all heart and all soul
You have, you have, you have, you have, you have
Control
Control

Born again, torn again
Lead a revolution
Once in a lifetime the hope remains
Blood rushes out through my eyes
Through my eyes

And you have no faults and I had no mouth
So we’ll sit in silence and figure that out
And I will have lost all heart and all soul
You have, you have, you have, you have, you have
Control

And he had no mind and I had no mouth
So I’ll lie in silence and figure that out
And I will have lost all heart and all soul
He has, he has, he has, he has, he has
Control
Control
Control

ETA: Here is the song, 'tis pretty! Download and give it a listen.

Comments

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh yes yes yes to all of the theories. I don't know which if any are right, because this show is driving me nuts, but YES.

Also, Thea, yeah. I don't listen to this song much, but now I think I may have to.

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, it's on Burning Dorothy, which isn't her best. Sometiems fun, though, and this is what shuffle is for.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

Do love the shuffle. That's how I've been going through my Indigo stuff lately... otherwise I'd never end up on stuff like "Our Deliverance" (WHAT I NEVER LISTEN TO THAT) and forgetting songs that I actually like.

[ninamazing.livejournal.com]

how did Alpha know to kill that environment-building guy and be there when Paul showed up?

I WAS WONDERING THAT TOO AND NOW I AM SUPER-EXCITED. AAAAH I LOVE YOUR THEORIES. FUCKING LOVE. :D

OMFG I JUST READ ALL YOUR EVIDENCE AND YOUR NOVEMBER BIT AND OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I THINK I JUST CAME. :DDDDDD THAT MUST HAPPEN. WHATEVER JOSS HAS PLANNED, IT HAD BETTER BE THAT, OR IT WILL BE LESS COOL.

♥ ♥ ♥

YES re: the woodsman and stories and Alpha. Damn. And omg, I thought the hands-through-the-riser-holes thing was just funny, and then it happened and I was like "Jesus, that was FORESHADOWING? EPIC LAME."

ALSO: How Spike/Drusilla were the imprinted Echo and Alpha? Ahahahaha yesss!

I need to listen to Thea Gilmore, clearly! I know thunderemerald likes her, too.

[intrikate88.livejournal.com]

WHATEVER JOSS HAS PLANNED, IT HAD BETTER BE THAT, OR IT WILL BE LESS COOL.

ohemgee, darling, I THINK you just told me my coolness IS GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO JOSS WHEDON'S. UM UM UM.

YES re: the woodsman and stories and Alpha.

Heee. Glad you agree. One of the things I DO like about this show is how very many themes it encompasses that I like. Well, like discussing, anyway.

How Spike/Drusilla were the imprinted Echo and Alpha?

DOOD. They totally were. I knew they looked familiar. Omg I love the crazy love of them. (It seems the less Echo is like Caroline and the more Alpha is like a psychotic quirkster the more I like them. Is that wrong? Weird? Critically fucked up?)

I need to listen to Thea Gilmore, clearly! I know thunderemerald likes her, too.

thunderemerald and I MET because of Thea Gilmore. I'd already loved Thea's music for awhile (because of her song in that Where's Neil When You Need Him compilation) and then thunderemerald wrote a Dexter fic with a title from one of her songs and there was instant squeeful bonding. But I do think you'd like Thea's music- very deep insightful lyrics and wonderful music and vocals. Check out my music tag, you'll find stuff by her.

ETA: I uploaded the song in this entry, ch-ch-check-it-out.