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TV Series: Dollhouse
Episode: Omega
Starring: Eliza Dushku, Olivia Williams, Fran Kranz, Harry J. Lennix, Tahmoh Penikett
Written By: Andrew Chambliss
Directed By: David Solomon
Network: Fox
Series: Dollhouse

Dollhouse: Omega

Natural Born Dolls?

By Stephen Lackey May 09, 2009

Echo (Eliza Dushku) in DOLLHOUSE: OMEGA(2009).
© Mania.com/Robert Trate

It’s not a bad thing to expect the basics of good story, good acting, and good execution, from a series with some of the best creators in the business behind it. Dollhouse features the talents of Joss Whedon and Tim Minear behind it. These are the fellows that brought us Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel, all fantastic television series. Sure, all of these shows had some installments that were weaker than others but overall, the average of quality was very high on all of those efforts. Firefly wasn’t actually around long enough to have a single bad episode. Dollhouse, unfortunately, hasn’t risen to the challenge. Even the better episodes aren’t as good as the poorest of these other shows. With that said, there have been a few entertaining episodes of Dollhouse in this brief season. The ratio has been really low but there have been a few bright spots. For a while it was a bit hard to tell if this episode was going to be a bright spot or not. In the end it’s a very tarnished and a little rusty but there’s still a glint there.

There’s another episode of Dollhouse in the can, but the season is stopping here and honestly, it’s a solid place to stop. There are reveals, new questions, and resets for some of the characters. It all sounds good until you factor in the ham fisted dialogue throughout and some sloppy assembly toward the beginning of the episode.

The story picks up right where it left off last week with Alpha invading the Dollhouse and taking Echo out with him leaving Ballard confused about what has just happened. The episode starts with a stunningly bad redo of Natural Born Killers. This redo fills in much of Alpha’s back-story via a “wedged” in flashback that doesn’t feel like a natural flow with the rest of the episode. A previous episode of Dollhouse featured flashbacks that told a good bit of Echo’s back-story that were excellently assembled and integrated into the natural progression of the episode. Those flashbacks should have been used as a template for this episode. There’s something to be said for jarring flashbacks that create an emotional plateau or send home a thematic element. Look at Lost for good examples of that, but here it just feels like there wasn’t a good place to start them so they just got slammed in.

Now to the dialogue. There were many instances in this episode of awkward or laughable dialogue. There’s one spot where Echo is comparing her current situation to the potential of living in a “spa like environment”. Who talks like that? It would normally be a minor reference if the episode weren’t so chock full of goofy dialogue. There’s another place Eliza Dusku delivers the line “comin’ to getcha” that made me nearly burst out in laughter. Finally, there’s yet another spot where a conversation referencing slavery again “wedges” in heavy commentary about us having a black president. Tim Minear can do better than this. One other thing worth mentioning is the “wedges”. They appear to be hard drives. If one gets dropped over a railing you’d think it would be done. Yes, this is sci-fi so of course, if the plates did get bounced together, Topher could probably repair the drive somehow. You’d think with all of the other radical technology in the Dollhouse they’d at least make the wedges look like solid state drives. This is really nitpicking but it’s still an observation.

Speaking of Topher, he actually gets some meaningful development in this episode. It doesn’t happen until the end of the episode but at least it shows that there might actually be more to him than the stereotype that he’s been all season. He’s truly unlikable but the connection between him and Dr. Sanders is intriguing. Dr.Sanders also gets a really nice twist this week that makes her a bit more mysterious. The truth is that this episode ends fairly strong. Ballard, while still a block of wood gets set up for changes and he he gets a nice emotional beat too. The entire second half of the episode, the final act in particular offers a glimmer of what Dollhouse could be. It reminds me of the potential I hoped for when the series first launched but the first half still reminds me of why the series is so often, such an utter failure. The final episode is truly a mixed bag but if it does come back for a second season, this episode is good enough and if offers enough solid mystery that I’ll be on board for season two with my fingers crossed.

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COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

LooneyBinJIm 5/9/2009 5:50:23 PM

Great episode!! This is how you end(?) a series. If Fox doesn't pick this up for S-2, CW should consider this as a replacement for Smallville (it's run it's course).

With the anime feel of it, maybe Joss should consider making an animated version of Dollhouse. HBO or Adult Swim could pick it up (worked for Spawn).

jfdavis 5/9/2009 8:40:07 PM

Last week, when Victor as Dominic asked for Whiskey and everyone assumed hie was thirsty, I, who knows the military alphabet, guessed he was a refering to a Doll but I never would have guessed who that Doll was! It ws nice to see the Mathnet guy too...

The CW very well could pick it up but I hope Fox gives it more time to develop. I'm intrigued on where they go from here...

redhairs99 5/9/2009 11:31:42 PM

Loved the episode and I hope they bring it back for more. The ending was a fitting way to end a series, but I still hope to see more. In my view, we got 7 good episodes out of 12, not great, but still more than 50%. And for a show that I had little hope that it would be any good, that's a good number.

I liked the way they had Ballard freeing November/Mellie. It showed that while he had been obessed with finding and saving Caroline that he did actually love Mellie. I also think he did it because if he's going to work for/with the Dollhouse it would probably be too painful to see her doing what she has to do as doll on a daily basis.

The stuff with Amy Acker was great too. I'm usually pretty good a spotting twists in films and tv very early on, but Joss really surprised me with that. With her being a Doll, you really have to wonder who else might be a Doll. Hell, all the employees could be dolls. There are other Dollhouses all over the world. Wherever the Dollhouse HQ is, they could have made all the other branches from Dolls. Didn't remember the line last week about wanting Whiskey. I'll have to go back and rewatch it.