Please sponsor my 5k swim coming up in April and help support Marie Curie Cancer Care, an organisation which provides home nursing care to people with terminal illnesses.

While the situation into which Echo was placed in this episode was quite cliché, this episode was, to me, the most disturbing yet. Echo receiving the implant of a dead woman’s personality had a lot of potential and served to create another warning of the dollhouse’s apocalyptic potential (this time voiced by Boyd Langton rather than by a professor, though he was following a logic I don’t entirely agree with). That said, the character of a wealthy woman who comes across as cold to her loved ones but then learns to express affection after her death is simply not sympathetic, nor does her coming back in the body of an active rather than as a ghost add a sufficiently unique spin to make the storyline otherwise interesting. (Perhaps better acting would have helped?)

Of moderately more interest was Topher manipulating Boyd into allowing him to create a temporary friend. At least, I thought it was only moderately more interesting until Boyd’s conversation with Adelle DeWitt about the situation. When she says she allows him to have his “tests” because those who most need to reach out and that it only happens once a year (while Sierra brings him a be-candled twinkie) I had to feel sorry for him. Given how obnoxious his character had been, I had never expected to feel that way, but you know? I’ve been there. I know what it’s like not to have anyone to celebrate your birthday with (which obviously doesn’t excuse violating another person’s autonomy).

The most interesting and most disturbing storyline this week, however, was that of Paul Ballard and Mellie-November. First there was the awkwardness of his trying to walk the line between not let her know that he knew she was an active, not taking advantage of her when the woman to whom the body really belong could not consent, and not hurting Mellie because even if she was created by the dollhouse, he cares for her. Then came her very troubling speech: “I will give you what you need and let you take it from me.”

I didn’t want him to respond the way he did; I couldn’t watch beyond a certain point. I would like to say it is an inaccurate portrayal, that it unfairly implied that men are animals carried away by lust, but the fact of the matter is that it was unblinkingly unrealistic. What Mellie said gave him the framework in which to believe, at least as long as he needed to believe, that it would be OK—and the dollhouse is precisely expert in giving people what they need in order to believe that rape is OK.

This was the closest to the sort of rape I experienced that I have ever seen portrayed on TV: a man who sees himself as a force for a better world allowing himself to believe the lies of rape culture. It bothers me that the only confirmation of it being wrong is his regret, evident in the shower the next morning, but given the show’s constraints, I’m not sure what more could be done.

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Needs is, hands down, the best episode yet of Dollhouse. I rarely say this, but I highly recommend that, if you haven’t seen it, you watch it before you read this or any other review, as much of the impact will be lost if you know what’s going to happen.

Two important themes were carried forward in Needs: the comparison of human with animal experimentation and the dollhouse as institutional enabler of rape. The first of these is most clearly addressed when Mr. Dominic suggests that the handlers view their actives as “pets” (which highlights that the very term “handler” often refers to a person in charge of an animal, though I would also note that very few people would put their pets in some of the positions the actives have been put in) and when the awakened Caroline compares their situation to that of lab rats. A somewhat less obvious connection is that Caroline, who in the previous episode sought to save lab animals, now seeks to save the human actives; this is what will give her closure. This similarity is expanded upon when Dr. Saunders argues that, had she not been sedated, Caroline would have led the other actives out into a world of terror for which they were not prepared: this is very similar to criticisms of animal rights activists who release creatures from cages into the wild. (Her argument isn’t entirely without merit given the state in which the actives are kept; we start to see the logic that has seduced the young doctor, assuming she had a choice in working for the dollhouse at all. Like Boyd Langton, we don’t know her very well.)

The second of these themes is explored through Sierra. We learn that she was not only raped by her former handler but was also brought to the dollhouse in the first place by a man, Nolan, who wanted to rape her. Dr. Saunders later says that Sierra needed to confront the man who took her power away. True enough. Given that she still has not taken back her power, however, the sense of closure taken from this should, to be realistic, only be temporary. Indeed, the dramatic arc of the series would seem to require this as well. The same could be said for all four of the actives’ resolutions.

While the significance of these themes should not be underestimated, they are not what gives this episode its emotional sweep and power. Rather, it is the well-constructed set of frames and machinations which shift our expectations and understandings. When the actives first awake, we of course cheer for them to escape. Even when we learn that Ms. DeWitt knows of the plan and is allowing it for the purposes of a “test”, we can still question how much is programmed and how much is real (though if you’re programmed with your real personality, unreal isn’t exactly an accurate description). Mr. Dominic at least believes there is no kill switch or safety net, so we hope for the actives to escape the boundaries of the experiment, even as we wonder why Adelle would really take such a risk. When we learn that Caroline has been programmed as Caroline-without-memories, we can still believe that the memories Sierra and November (Mellie) have recovered are outside the program. Even this is stolen from us in the end. Were it not for the call Caroline managed to place to Paul Ballard, the conclusion would be unbearably bleak.

The biggest reason for hope, however is something that even Dr. Saunders, who noticed the need for closure, misses: that if the strong needs of the original personalities can cause “glitches” then the original personality is never as overwritten as everyone who works for the dollhouse believes or pretends to believe.

For other perspectives on this episode visit:

• What’s Alan Watching?: Dollhouse, “Needs”: Caroline says
• Cultural Learnings: Dollhouse – “Needs”
• The Onion AV Club: “Needs”

ETA: Arturo R. García examines the roles of POC in Dollhouse at Racialicious.

ETA2: Fox has decided not to air the final episode of the first season of Dollhouse. If you’re a fan of the show and are on Twitter, tweet @FoxBroadcasting and ask them why.

The ironies of Echo-programmed-to-be-Esther being sent to infiltrate a cult are not lost on this episode, nor is the point belabored. The Senator who rents Echo (and this serves as a fairly non-cliché way to introduce the cliché but necessary figure of a well-placed protector for the criminal organization) for this purpose mentions the irony, but is not allowed to muse on it for long. Moreover, the eerily similar speeches of Jonas Sparrow and Adelle DeWitt on the innocence of those under their power (though these two would say care) and on preservation of a pure environment for them are divided by enough scenes to avoid any sense of overkill.

One parallel that could have been more clearly addressed, however, is that of sexual assault. It was there for those who know to look for it: there’s the mention of Jonas Sparrow having been sent to jail for something involving underage girls, and the mention of the cult members having previously been at Zion Ranch brings to mind Yearning for Zion Ranch. If you already understand that the Actives of the Dollhouse are unable to give consent, you can see the parallels. Had sexual crimes been more directly considered, however, it would have been possible for a few of the ATF agents to discuss the impossibility of giving meaningful consent when one’s self has been compromised, how cult leaders can manipulate their followers into sexual activities. This is only one example of the sort of conversation that might allow viewers who do not see how sexual assault is an issue in this series to understand. That way, everyone would have been able to see through Ms. DeWitt’s discussion of Victor’s erection being a violation of the innocence of the Dollhouse. Her problem with it has nothing to do with wishing to protect the women Actives from rape (since she is happy to rent them out for such purposes). Rather, she needs to control the actions and sexuality of all the Actives. (The use of the penis as a symbol for the possibility of individual self-determination is, however, more than a little cliché.)

Finally, when Echo-Esther leads the cult members out of the burning church, we can see her original personality coming through. In the FBI storyline, Caroline’s “potty mouth” has been commented on, and now she tells people to move ass. Once again, after the final wipe of the episode, we get an indication that not every memory has been erased. It does seem stronger than previous episodes, but a stronger actress than Eliza Dushku might be able to do a better job of giving these episode-ending indications of memory a subtle arc.

ETA: Alyssa Rosenberg’s review in the Atlantic, written after seeing the first five episodes, while seemingly evenhanded, ignores a lot of the nuance and hints of what’s to come in Echo. 

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I didn’t get a chance to write up my thoughts on last week’s episode, which seemed more like a placeholder than anything else, a mediocre adventure that advanced the story. The FBI storyline served primarily as a cliché device to remind us that Echo had once been someone else (which made it hard to have much sympathy for the agent after this week’s plot twist). Having the client turn around and hunt Echo brought to the surface clients’ lack of concern for the humanity of actives they rent, but the execution was merely workmanlike. Similarly, the introduction of the “composite incident” while not particularly subtle or interesting in itself underscored the idea that Topher doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does about how the reprogramming of personalities works.

This week’s episode, however, proved much better. Having Echo sing about freedom at her audition seems at first merely ironic, but the episode develops the theme. Rayna, the celebrity Echo has been programmed to save, talks about wanting to die in order to be free. She describes her position in terms of having been “grown in a lab”, creating a moment of dramatic irony as we the audience and possibly Echo (who in the previous episode began to have flashbacks to her life before) know which woman comes closest to literally embodying that.

[ETA: Maia of Alas, a Blog thinks the episode would have been stronger "if we’d just seen snippets of the consequences for [Rayna] of not toeing the line – of not being just rebellious enough – then the episode might have soared”. I would argue that because these issues are told rather than shown, it helps us understand that Rayna’s difficulties, as a wealthy celebrity, are due to the (socially implanted) limits of her own perceptions, which contrasts with the more directly (that is, violently) implanted limits faced by the actives.]

When Rayna faces death, she realizes that she need not die and does not wish to do so. There are other ways for her to find freedom. The actives Sierra and Echo, on the other hand, are going to have to make these options themselves, which makes Rayna’s rendition of Echo’s audition song poignant, especially when the two actives exchange a meaningful glance back in the Dollhouse when they are supposed to have been placed in a “tabula rasa” state.

Sierra in this episode has played a superfan, the sort who gives up quite a bit of her own personality and will to following her favorite celebrity, though she isn’t a stalker. This also has some parallels with the loss of self experienced by actives, except of course that such fans do have some freedom to stop being fans.

Finally, the development of Boyd, Echo’s handler, has continued in a sympathetic vein over the last two episodes. He disapproves of much of the actions of the Dollhouse. Because of his being an ex-cop, one suspects he didn’t have many job options. His function appears to be to allow us to cheer for a representative of the Dollhouse when the story requires without being implicated ourselves; this may be necessary, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. Especially given the use of Eliza Dushku’s body in promotions, shouldn’t the audience feel implicated? Isn’t it problematic to watch, as entertainment, a story about human trafficking without feeling that way?

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Dollhouse has a lot of potential but, like most TV series with that much potential, has a lot of fine lines to walk. One of the less charged ones has to do with its existence as, in part, an action series: I’ve seen a few shows start out with promise only to fall into too much mindless action (Andromeda, I’m looking at you). I’m not too worried about tech and explanations thereof taking over because, while this might hamper character development, the technology is deeply entwined with the thematic issues.

 The more charged lines are what gives the show a creepy edge: these call for an intense degree of self-consciousness to prevent them from becoming mere reproductions and amplifications of social phenomena. There’s the kinda geeky hipster guy who runs the “treatments” wiping and implanting personalities and who is absolutely convinced that the people he “treats” are living the dream; note that we mostly see him doing this to beautiful women. The series name with its reference to Ibsen’s drama certainly help maintains a degree of apparent self-consciousness on this front. 

 Another issue is corporate speak. In addition to the “treatments”, the memory-wiped and personality-implanted operatives are called simply “actives”. Then there’s the bit about preferring to call missions “engagements”. If not carefully managed, such language can become normalized within a series.

 Finally, there is the fact that the Dollhouse itself represents a sort of human trafficking (Echo wasn’t exactly a wholly willing recruit), but not a realistic one. How do you do that without falling into appropriation and without grossly misrepresenting the issue? This first episode, Ghost, has given me no evidence of how, if at all, this is to be achieved. 

These are just quick first impressions. I also have some half-formed thoughts about Echo’s “handler”. Did you watch the premiere of Dollhouse? What did you think?