“Haunted”

It was a return to the standalone episode for Dollhouse and truth be told…the series just isn’t nearly as compelling in standalones. Very little drives forward in the arc and therefore we are left with a nice and tidy but bland story. I will admit that there are one or two things that save this episode from complete mediocrity. Topher and an idea.

Quick recap states that a friend of Adele’s dies and there is some question as to how or why it happened. Due to the fact that Adele has her mind imprinted it is suddenly possible for her to live on in a new body…Echo’s. It is merely a way for Adele to say goodbye and perhaps learn what happened.

I could go on with the story, but really the story is a very unimportant whodunnnit. At the end Echo discovers the murderer and gives closure to Adele and the family. What’s more important about this part of the story honestly is the idea that someone can live on after death. It’s a part of the ballgame that wasn’t really discussed before and there is a danger inherent in the very idea. Is Adele real? Or is she a doll programmed with someone’s life? I don’t even know why I picked on Adele specifically but you get my point. The very moral question which is like that of cloning is certainly worth exploring and I hope that this episode only scratches the surface of what is to eventually come as the show expands.

If they don’t mention the idea again or choose not to explore it I would consider it a waste, a tease and hypocritical to be honest.

Story number two revolves around Ballard’s crisis of faith. He knows what Mellie is and he also knows that if he let’s on that he knows, he could be in serious trouble. But he does also have one more thing now. A solid clue right in front of him. He uses that by getting her fingerprints and trying to track down who she really was with his contacts in the Bureau…one of which starts to believe him when they find a match in a database that suddenly disappears before their eyes.

The moral dilema of Paul Ballard is also intriguing as Mellie keeps coming on to him and finally he gives into his animalistic side and has sex with her but it turns into lustful angry sex as Ballard is obviously disgusted with himself for doing exactly what he has been trying to stop. It’s good to see the noble, righteous hero with a character flaw now and it will be interesting to see where it goes from there.

Finally, amazingly enough the most endearing part of the story for me was a simple one. Topher requisitions a doll from Boyd for “tests”, but it turns out that once a year Topher gets a doll for himself. He programs Sierra with the girlfriend a geek would love to have but the best part is the innocence of the whole thing. It’s not sexual. It’s a girl that Topher throws a football with around the Dollhouse, a girl who will kick his ass in video games, and basically someone he can just be himself with. It’s easy to see Topher as a lonely, friendless scientist so it was heartwarming to see him find something even if just for a day.

It was even better to know that Adele knew about it and supported it. It was a nice look into the people of the Dollhouse and that alone makes it a worthy episode to watch.

C+

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