The first hour of FOX’s final double episodes of Dollhouse was what most fans have been asking for: an Enver Gjokaj/Victor centric episode. But we also got more info on the mythology of the Dollhouse and Rossum, plus my obsession, which is “Epitaph One”. And is it just me? Or does anyone else wonders if FOX feels like they shot themselves in the foot by canceling Dollhouse? Because each new episode is kicking ass and taking names… And the next hour, “The Attic”, made feel as if MY mind had been wiped and printed with a new personality. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with “Stop Loss”…
The Set Up
Ms. Lonely Hearts, aka Adele, is having a final romp with Victor as her suitor Roger. He spoils the mood by saying that he is in love with someone else, which is not a good thing on so many levels for Adele, namely because Roger/Victor is quickly becoming aware ala Echo. Adele berates Roger/Victor and tells him that he is a Doll, who is about to end his contract the next day. Roger/Victor states that he doesn’t think Adele would stoop so low to hire a Doll to suit her needs. She cries at this.
Topher and Boyd look at Ballard’s brain after Alpha scrubbed him clean. Topher explains that Alpha did some serious damage, which could leave Ballard in a vegetable state for Eh-VER. Adele then bursts in the lab and demands to know who is in on the joke of Imprinting Victor with thoughts of another woman on her final engagement with him. Topher doesn’t have a clue on what she is talking about, but it quickly dawns on him that Adele is Ms. Lonely Hearts. Ivy doesn’t know either since Roger/Victor came back early from the engagement. Topher reports that the Imprint Adele ordered for Victor was within the perimeters so the program wasn’t manipulated. This is when Victor wakes up from his “treatment” and asks for Sierra. Bingo!
Topher tells Adele that its nothing but the Dolls “grouping” and that it can be cured when Victor leaves. But Adele doesn’t think that’s the basic problem and explains that Actives who don’t follow their orders are bad for business. She also tells Topher to keep his mouth shut about Ms. Lonely Hearts.
Echo goes to visit Paul with her illicit swipe card, but Boyd tells her that Adele is itching to find something to put Echo back in isolation. Plus, he tells her about Victor’s departure the next day. Echo doesn’t like that all the people who she has grown to love is leaving. Wonder how she would have managed in college? Anyway, Boyd offers to give Adele another go and we know how that went.
After Adele gives Boyd a resounding “NO!” on Echo seeing Paul, she explains that it is all Echo’s fault for the L.A. Dollhouse’s latest unfortunate events. She wants to see what makes Echo tick, which Boyd explains that Echo is now a person like him and Adele and shouldn’t be treated like a lab rat. But there is a more pressing issue: Adele can’t face giving Victor/Anthony his walking papers, so she assigns Boyd to do the deed.
Victor and Sierra have breakfast and it is an adorable interaction between the two for those with fluffy hearts. But Victor is called for his treatment and after he tells Sierra he will see her later, Echo secretly tells him that he will never see Sierra again and that he needs to say goodbye. The advice goes over Victor’s head and he childishly waves goodbye to Sierra.
After Victor is wiped and restored with Anthony, he goes through the motions of a Doll that has been discharged from duty: diagnostic tests, personal belonging pick ups, and a debriefing from Boyd. Anthony is then dropped off in the middle of Los Angeles to start his life anew.
But someone is already following him and taking pictures. So that can’t be good…
Readjusting…
While Anthony sits in his new decked out suite with no clue or sense of direction on what to do next, back at the Dollhouse Echo
explains to Sierra that “Victor” is not coming back. Sierra senses Echo’s disappointment in this, but tells Echo that Victor is not ready to be alone. This is apparent when Anthony thinks he sees Sierra at a club he decided to go to. When he returned home later that night, Anthony can’t sleep on his bed, but finds a suitable replacement with the tub/floor of the shower.
It is reminiscent of his pod at the Dollhouse, which match cuts to Sierra and the other Dolls going to bed for the night. Everyone besides Echo that is, who is immediately up and at em when the coast is clear. She goes to see Paul, but when she swipes into the room, she finds it empty.
Echo takes the elevator to Adele’s office to find Adele one or two glasses short of being drunk. Echo asks Adele what’s the deal, but Adele only tells Echo that Ballard is being treated with the utmost care. The two go toe to toe with each other on the status of Echo’s ability. Echo states that she is ready to kick ass and has no trouble taking down Adele if need be. She also tells Adele that playing for both teams has lasted it’s course and now it’s time to pick a side and stick with it.
Meanwhile, a group of highly trained soldiers break into Anthony’s apartment and take him down, but our boy gave a fair and decent fight, but it seems as if the soldiers were in sync with their movements. Hmmm….
Re-enlisted…
As Anthony is being driven away and bagged and tagged, Topher views Anthony’s vital scans from the Dollhouse and smells something afoul. Boyd enlists Echo into seeing what the problem is and they find Anthony’s hotel suite empty. We also learn that Echo doesn’t have to think too hard about accessing an Imprint anymore and can just pretty much blink her eye to gain one. Boyd sums up that whoever snatched Anthony was from Rossum, given that they knew how to deactivate Anthony’s tech and what not.
We then see Anthony being surrounded by soldiers in a dark room with a light shining on Anthony’s face. One of the soldiers calls out Anthony’s full name and rank and reveals himself and the others to be old Army mates of Anthony’s. The US Army listed all the soldiers as “broken” and sent them away for five years and then Rossum got a hold of them and turned them into Borgs soldiers with one mind collective and one purpose: eliminate the target. Anthony says simply, “Where do I sign up?” He is then taken into a room where a chip is embedded into his neck, which links him into the soldiers’ collective.
Back at the Dollhouse, Echo and Boyd find out that Victor/Anthony’s file was accessed by someone within the Rossum Company three months prior and after Echo cracks into the system, they find out that Victor/Anthony was selected to be a part of the military branch of Rossum called Project: Mind Whisper, because the Active Architecture allows for the soldiers to be linked in mind, body, and damn near soul. Boyd goes to telll Adele and she is so sloshed now that there isn’t a chance of getting any semblance of coherence from her. Boyd then goes to Topher, who breaks it down that if Victor/Anthony isn’t extracted now, then his individual identity will cease to exist.
Echo asks Topher and Ivy to load her with all military personas from the basic grunt to the highest physicist. But Echo needs one more weapon: Priya.
They bring Priya back to help Anthony remember who he is. Priya is not happy about being awakened AND remembering what happened during her last engagement, but she’s down for the cause. Echo and Priya drive out to the Rossum compound where they are captured to gain access into the base. At the Dollhouse, Topher informs Boyd that Echo’s signal is lost and prays that Adele doesn’t wake up and finds out what’s going down.
Echo enters and starts kicking ass all across the board. Priya sits back and watches, but Anthony approaches and holds a gun to her stomach, saying that Anthony is gone. She pleads with him and calls out for Victor. The voices in Anthony’s head want Anthony to kill the women, but he eventually remembers and states that Priya helps him remember. Echo asks where is the exit and Anthony gives them directions and is knocked out by Echo, because all of the soldiers would be heading to that location. Echo gives Priya a gun and tells her to watch Anthony while she goes to find a way to corrupt the group think mind collective.
At the Dollhouse, Adele, who is past frat boy drunk, is awakened by the phone. It’s Harding telling her to do her damn job. She immediately goes to Boyd and demands to know why has he disrespected her authority. Boyd stands his ground and tells Adele that she needs to step up to the plate before it’s too late. Adele later goes to take a shower with the Dolls to wash away the shame and drunkenness from her body.
Anthony comes to and recuses Priya from being shot. He tells her that his connection to the hive is an advantage cause he knows their every move. Anthony then starts up small talk with Priya as they hold off the soldiers, saying that it helps keep the collective thoughts at bay. Echo makes it to the Infirmary and ejects a chip within herself. This girl is really dedicated to the cause! She eventually gets the soldiers to drop their weapons and to let them leave, but not before one of Victor’s buddies is taken down after helping them escape.
Return
Echo, Priya, and Anthony drive away from the compound. Priya and Anthony remember enough of each other as Sierra and Victor that they are comfortable with each other. Echo notices this and stops the car to tell them to leave so that they can be free, because if they come back to the Dollhouse then they will be wiped. While Echo tells them to get rid of their GPS systems and to look her up, the trio is zapped by a Remote Wiper and they all collapse.
Adele, in a shot that makes her look like every female villain known to man combined, has Boyd taken away so she won’t have any interference with her plans for Echo. She tells Echo, who is strapped down in a chair with cords in her body, that since Echo is raising hell in many ways than one, that there is only one place for her…
THE ATTIC!!!!
DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!!!!!
Adele gives the orders to Ivy and Topher to do the same with Victor and Sierra. Echo is zapped to all hell and it looks beyond painful and something that I think no one will ever be able to describe. The set up for the Attic looks disgusting, creepy, and downright wrong… But that’s just the tip of the iceberg…
Read on for The Attic recap…
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