DOLLHOUSE 2.11 - "Getting Closer"
As of the pre-hiatus climax, the Dollhouse staff are now united in their ambition to bring down the Rossum Corporation from the inside. To help them do this, they intend to cut the snake's head off by going after Rossum's secretive CEO, and DeWitt (Olivia Williams) realises that only Caroline has ever met the corporation's chief exec, which means her personality must be reinserted into Echo (Eliza Dushku) if they have any chance to find him. Unfortunately, Caroline's data-cartridge has been badly damaged, meaning the gang have to first kidnap techie Bennett Halverson (Summer Glau) from the Washington D.C 'house, and convince her to repair Caroline's data. But what will Caroline do if she's returned to her body, to find dozens of other personalities floating around her mind, now forming a collective "superego"? And will Bennett be willing to help her kidnappers, baring in mind the bad blood behind her and Caroline?"Getting Closer" certainly crammed a great deal into its hour, most likely because this latter batch of episodes were rewritten to take into account the fact Dollhouse's existence is coming to an end. For that reason, I grant a certain amount of leeway in how this episode lacked a certain amount of grace, instead coming across as a wild dash at times. Writer Tim Minear kept a cool head for much of it (writing and directing this episode, that must have helped), and any deficiencies can be overlooked because it was just so enjoyable, fast-paced and revelatory.
A series of flashback to three years ago revealed exactly how Caroline first met Bennett, with the two students at Tucson technical college becoming friends because of their shared pariah status. I especially loved a later scene where Caroline effectively helped nerdy Bennett become a "different person" by dying her hair a sexier colour; a harmless example of altering a person's personality through physical change, but one which had obvious parallels to the kinds of "treatments" both will become familiar with in later life.
Caroline and Bennett eventually conspire together to gain access to the Rossum Corporation, who have recently recruited neuroscientist Bennett into their program, and plot to blow up the building in an act of anti-corporate terrorism But, during their covert mission, Caroline makes the startling discovery that Rossum are secretly experimenting on people, but after she's primed her explosives to detonate. The resulting blast traps Bennett's arm under some fallen rubble, and Caroline decides it's best to let her friend stay behind to be discovered by security (as she has an alibi to be there as an employee), although we know Bennett comes to harbour a great deal of bitterness and anger for Caroline's decision, which resulted in the loss of her arm's use. Caroline herself was captured by DeWitt (Olivia Williams) and delivered to Rossum's bigwig...
The present day storyline was contained within the Dollhouse, with everyone preparing for war against their paymasters – having kidnapped Bennett and rescued Mellie (Miracle Laurie) from the D.C branch, it's only a matter of time before their rebellion is exposed. Topher (Fran Kranz) resumed his romance with Bennett, in scenes that were so syrupy they walked a thin line between being sweet and ridiculous, but Kranz and Glau somehow made it work. I especially liked how their first kiss was amusingly spoiled by the pain from Topher's split lip. It's also worth mentioning here that, having been one of season 1's most divisive characters, Topher's become fascinatingly complex and sympathetic this season, and Kranz's faltering performances are now one of the big reasons I'll miss Dollhouse when it's over.We also learn that Boyd (Harry Lennix) has been living with scarred Dr. Saunders (Amy Acker) since she ran away from the Dollhouse earlier this season, and the pair have apparently grown to have a romantic relationship in private. This did feel like a very rushed development in light of Dollhouse's demise (not helped by the fact Acker wasn't available for more appearances), but we'll just have to live with it. At least it explained the pair's chemistry in their scenes during "Epitaph One" in the near-future.
It was also made clear that Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett), who was recently turned into a doll rather than be left brain-dead, isn't quite the person he once was. Topher's had to erase his potent feelings towards Caroline/Echo in an effort to "rewire" his mind, so Ballard's no longer as protective and sympathetic to Echo and her situation. I'm not sure if there's going to be much relevance to this change considering we're only a few episodes away from the grand finale, though. And, truth be told, I think most of us will agree that Ballard's role on the show has been largely unnecessary and unconvincing this year.
Anyway, for all its clever explanations of the back-story between Caroline and Bennett, together with a palpable sense that everything's building to a thrilling climax, "Getting Closer" will be best-remembered for two hugely significant twists that arrive in the final act. First, having finally made a breakthrough with Bennett and kissed her in his lab, Topher's life is shattered when Dr. Saunders coolly walks into his office and shoots Bennett through the head at close quarters. The gang assume that Saunders was captured by Rossum at some point after she left, then reprogrammed to be a sleeper agent. The second twist involved the flashback to Caroline being sent to see Rossum's chief, with the "man behind the curtain" revealed to be... Boyd Langton! That was quite a shocking development -- although I was expecting a twist along similar lines the moment Caroline entered his office -- but I would never have thought affable, fatherly Boyd was the "big bad" all along...
There are plenty of huge questions this all raises, too: thinking back to season 1, does it make sense that Boyd went undercover in one of his own Dollhouse's? Why did he do this, exactly? He seems to have known from the very start that Caroline would become "special" if she were a doll (Rossum had paperwork on her way before she tried to blow-up their building), so has he been trying to create an Echo-like psyche all these years? Was Alpha his first attempt and failure? And now that Echo exists and Boyd's in the middle of an insurgency against him and his company – what will he do? Was he responsible for turning Saunders into his ally? If so, did he instruct Saunders to kill Bennett in case she fixed Caroline's corrupted data?Overall, this antepenultimate episode was rich and absorbing, if a little unfocused and freewheeling at times. A lot can be forgiven because of the bizarre circumstances Dollhouse has found itself in, but continue to be amazed and excited by where this show has been going since episode 4 this year. It looks likely to achieve a warm place in most sci-fi fan's hearts, and if Whedon's team can give us a fitting, satisfying finish... well, I'll be annoyed Dollhouse didn't last longer, but eternally grateful the team went out fighting, with one of the strongest runs of episodes I've seen in recent years.
A few random thoughts and observations:
- Apparently, the guy playing the last doll to be given his original personality back and sent home was L.A Lakers star Rick Fox, Eliza Dushku's boyfriend. I guess it's kind of like seeing David Beckham as a doll, for anyone unfamiliar with basketball.
- In one scene, DeWitt reveals that Rossum is named after a play. Indeed it is: R.U.R (Rossum's Universal Robots), a Czech piece written in 1921 credited with giving us the word "robot". Rossum itself alludes to the Czech word "rozum", meaning "reason", "wisdom", "intellect" or "common sense". The "artificial people" in the play were actually biological beings, so there are similarities to the "actives" of Joss Whedon's universe.
8 January 2009
Fox, 9/8c
written & directed by: Tim Minear starring: Eliza Dushku (Echo), Harry Lennix (Boyd), Fran Kranz (Topher), Olivia Williams (Adelle), Enver Gjokaj (Victor), Dichen Lachman (Sierra), Liza Lapira (Ivy), Tahmoh Penikett (Ballard), Summer Glau (Bennett), Amy Acker (Saunders), Reed Diamond (Mr. Dominic), Miracle Laurie (Madeleine), Jay Malone (Young Man) & Philip Casnoff (Clive Ambrose)
