Season finales are meant to be huge, if for no other reason than to make a big showing in the ratings. May is a month for sweeps, which means those who are concerned with ratings pay especially close attention. For long established shows, this is hardly much of a concern — they know whatever they put on the air will be okay, since their chances of renewal are pretty high anyway. Other shows make sure to have as solid an episode as possible so they might at least get a better chance of being renewed.
Dollhouse, the latest product of science fiction by Joss Whedon, falls into the latter category. This is a shame with it being such a good show — solid writing and a strong cast pull fans in each week. I have to assume with the way the latest episode ended, a second season will, hopefully, be on the way sometime next year. Unfortunately, Whedon also remembers the time Firefly got cancelled after just a few weeks on air. Whoops! At least TV marathons appear every so often.
Perhaps a little translation would help. Some of the characters in this show are known as "Actives," who agree to become living robots for a period (supposedly) of five years. Their minds are wiped clean, so an "imprint" of a new personality can be put in according to the wishes of the client. Any personality or original thought is gone, only absolute obedience remains. Now then, I did mention it's voluntary, right? Every person who signs the contract knows pretty much what he or she is getting into.
Some Actives even have more than one persona used on a regular basis. Case in point — Victor (Enver Gjokaj) is a blank Active; Roger, an English gentleman; as well as Lubov, a Russian mob boss. Gjokaj, a native Albanian, juggles these parts with ease. At one point, he has even taken on the personality of Vincent Dominic, a character we met who is actually played by Reed Diamond.
The biggest part of the entire finale has to be the return of Alan Tudyk as a multifaceted villain. The actor has the ability to go from nice to evil within seconds, all it takes is a shift in both body language and facial expressions. I greatly appreciate the way he drops his timbre down so there is little doubt as to how deadly he is.
Article comments
1 - Blue McGinnis
Alpha (Tudyk) wasn't kissing Amy Acker's character. He was kissing Eliza Dushku's character (Echo). And to be honest, that scene didn't make me chuckle. It made me think how fast that situation could escalate (ala, Sierra) and thus, a little uncomfortable. But for a show about using "shells" of people, I've always expected to feel slightly uncomfortable... and it's a relief, when put up against the generic shows on TV lately.
As for the "reveal" about the remaining Doll, there's been a lot of talk about why Topher would program them to hate him. I really don't think that line was meant to be taken literal. I see it as the "Doll," possibly remembering who they were before they were a Doll, and making it clear to Topher that they hate him for what he's done.
Of course, none of this will be answered until a season two (pleeeeaaassseee!) but overall, the second half of this season was simply amazing. It definitely had some faults, but all TV shows do, and for a first season... I was pretty blown away. The best thing they did was take the focus purely off Echo and made it more of an ensemble piece. But anywho, nice review.
2 - Kimba
actually he kissed Amy acker in the beginning. I didn't find it ammusing but he did. It was a little wierd because they were making out while she was sitting on some other guy's lap. They had lights flashing and it was brief. i think it was a couple of times and her hair was in the way but they did kiss.
3 - Blue McGinnis
Oooh. I thought you were talking about when they were in their Doll states, and he was continuously pecking Echo, before his Handler told him to watch his step. My bad!