Dollhouse: "Omega" (1x12)

[Caligula]

I didn't have a problem with this because what happened to her in this episode wasn't really growth. Her enlightenment was brought about by a machine, a flick of a switch, and in that sense is no more growth than any of the times she received a normal imprint. It honestly would have felt like a bit of a cheat to me if the change had stuck, forced and artificial.

That makes sense. I just get frustrated by the fact that nothing that happens during any of the episodes ends up making a damn bit of difference where she is concerned. I was hopeful that, as time went on, Echo would be able to retain more and more information from her imprints. This did seem to be the case until "A Spy in the House of Love," and they got me again with "Omega."

In the end, I just don't understand how I can be expected to continue caring about a show where the main cast is made up of almost entirely unsympathetic characters, and the few who are sympathetic (with the exception of Ballard) always end up as blank slates by the 10:00 hour. I loved the ending to "Briar Rose" in part because it dared to defy that routine, and had hoped that "Omega" would be an extention of that defiance. It was.... for a while.

Now I'm sad the show is canceled

Um...it isn't.....yet.

*shrugs* It may as well be, especially since the finale got the lowest ratings of the series' entire 12-episode run. We'll see....

 

[Cartoonist]

I just remembered one thing that I really hated. The "There's 32(?) personalities in here, and not one of them thinks you can sign a contract to be a slave... especially not now we have a black president." line just seemed like bad writing to me. I mean was there some doubt slavery was bad until Obama became President? Was that relevant in anyway? Terrible line.

I didn't think it made sense, but I didn't think it was terrible. I wish it had been constructed better, but it did make me smile anyway -- only because after I saw the "Caroline the animal activist" episode, I couldn't help but wonder how someone like her would feel if she knew she'd missed the election of the first black president. So in a sense it felt like a bit of closure to me.

As an aside, if you don't think there's some doubt slavery was bad, you clearly haven't spent much time in political forums on the Internet. I'm envious.

I wasn't overwhelmed by this episode, or by the series, really. But all along I had the distinct feeling that there was much more to the dollhouse than they were showing, and we'd find out its real purpose in season two. If we get a season two, I'll watch to see if I was right. If we don't, I don't regret watching these twelve. I may not have been blown away, and it didn't excite me the way Whedon's first three shows did, but I found season one to be a pretty good way to pass the time.

If it's canceled, I hope at least it gets a "Buffy Season 8"-style continuation in comic book form.

 

[Velocity]

I like how the different aspects of the situation have been explored. How do those in power live with what they are doing? Does it affect any of them emotionally? Do they manage to resist taking advantage of people who are literally in their control? (Obviously at least 3 of them haven't, maybe more) Can they really understand what will be done to them when they sign the contract? What is the morality of taking away a person's personality, what makes them "them"? If you take away a person's ability to make conscious thoughts and decisions for themselves, have you taken away their "soul" and are they therefore meer automatons or pets? Are they building the perfect servants/slaves/soldiers, whatever? I think that is the interesting part of the show to me--sort of like Star Trek, exploring the human condition in different circumstances.

 

[Mr Light]

Um...it isn't.....yet.

...

In what is sure to be series-finale news, Fox’s Dollhouse was off the charts with just 2.75 million viewers and a 1.0/ 4 among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. Comparably, that ranked fourth in both categories (and makes it very worthy of facing the axe).

 

[commodore64]

I didn't think it was incredibly intriguing. I've been disappointed in Dollhouse especially since Whedon is my favorite writer. This is well ... it isn't that interesting. Maybe it's Dushko who isn't gelling for me. I agree with someone above who said they wanted to understand/like/root for Caroline and didn't.

 

[hyzmarca]

I didn't have a problem with this because what happened to her in this episode wasn't really growth. Her enlightenment was brought about by a machine, a flick of a switch, and in that sense is no more growth than any of the times she received a normal imprint. It honestly would have felt like a bit of a cheat to me if the change had stuck, forced and artificial.

That makes sense. I just get frustrated by the fact that nothing that happens during any of the episodes ends up making a damn bit of difference where she is concerned. I was hopeful that, as time went on, Echo would be able to retain more and more information from her imprints. This did seem to be the case until "A Spy in the House of Love," and they got me again with "Omega."

In the end, I just don't understand how I can be expected to continue caring about a show where the main cast is made up of almost entirely unsympathetic characters, and the few who are sympathetic (with the exception of Ballard) always end up as blank slates by the 10:00 hour. I loved the ending to "Briar Rose" in part because it dared to defy that routine, and had hoped that "Omega" would be an extention of that defiance. It was.... for a while.

It was obvious in the end that Ecco did retain memories of the episode, even though the extra imprints were erased.

She chooses to return when she could have ran, because she didn't want to abandon Caroline, herself. I think the whole thing has helped her come to grips with Caroline's choice, and with her role. She's more than just a blank Active now, she understands who and what she is, and removing those imprints didn't change that.

 

[Ayelbourne]

Um...it isn't.....yet.

...

In what is sure to be series-finale news, Fox’s Dollhouse was off the charts with just 2.75 million viewers and a 1.0/ 4 among adults 18-49 at 9 p.m. Comparably, that ranked fourth in both categories (and makes it very worthy of facing the axe).

Which is why I used the term "yet"...

But unless Fox says it's cancelled, it isn't cancelled, technically.

 

[Joe Washington]

I don't know how I feel after watching this episode.
I was interested in the scene when Saunders confronts Topher about her being a Doll, the twist that Alpha's psychopathy was always there even before he became a Doll, Echo kicking Alpha's butt and that Topher wasn't completely back to his gleeful self by the end of the episode, shows how much Saunders' confrontation has affected him.

But I didn't buy Ballard deciding to work for the Dollhouse organization even if he's doing it to secretly help Caroline free herself from them or his choice to have Mellie regain his memories and leave the Dollhouse instead of Caroline.

And I was disappointed that after a season of her slowly gaining some independence and pieces of memory, Echo's back at the Dollhouse after being wiped of most of the personalities Alpha downloaded into her. Yeah, there's that bit at the end when she says Coraline's name, which hints she hasn't forgotten everything. But I expected something more than that. I expected her to go beyond the "slowly remembering pieces of memory" phase to something close to Alpha's level without turning into a psychopath. I based that expectation on the fact on Buffy and Angel, each season ends with the status quo getting altered. Sometimes, it's in small ways and sometimes, it's in big ways. But nothing's completely the same as it was in the beginning of the season. Like, by the end of Buffy's first season, Buffy has become a stronger Slayer opposite to the girl who just wanted to have a normal life and run away from her destiny, Cordelia knows her secret, and the Master is dead, though the evil little boy is still out there, obviously up to no good. Or by the end of Angel's first season, Cordelia has become to appreciate how much she and her friends are important in a world where many innocents are suffering, Angel discovers a prophecy that foretold him becoming human again after stopping a number of evils and apocalyptic disasters, Lindsay loses his hand thanks to Angel, and Darla is back from the dead. So you see why I expect something close to those two season finales from the Dollhouse finale.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

perhaps the 13th episode will conclude in a big way and just that Fox's studio politics only allowed them to end with 12 episodes, on Omega.

 

[Pingfah]

I figured that the plan for season 2 would be for her to be permanently imprinted with these different personalities and be able to dip into them at will so I was surprised when she lost them all again.

 

[Ayelbourne]

^Then the show basically would have turned into another Pretender.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I figured that the plan for season 2 would be for her to be permanently imprinted with these different personalities and be able to dip into them at will so I was surprised when she lost them all again.

I wouldn't be too surprised if that was the plan. Not that they'd always be accessible, but they could manifest at any time when she's imprinted with other personalities while active.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I thought I'd check out the ending anyway...what a pile of absolute nonsense. They still haven't resolved the issue of "why should we care about Caroline," given that she's an idiot who got herself into this mess via her monumental idiocy. At least Alpha got to shove her stupidity in her face, good for him.

So that leaves us with who to sympathize with, really? Caroline's body? Because there is no "Echo" - I suppose whoever is in her body is either a childish remnant of Caroline's personality or an amalgam of imposed personalities - but even that makes no sense, really. Echo is nobody and Caroline deserves whatever happens to her. Bah. There's nobody to root for here, so how does the audience retain interest in the story? And that's why the ratings took a nose dive.

The one thing I got out of this is that Alan Tudyk should have been the lead actor in this show all along. There's a germ of a good premise in this episode, if you keep the notion that the Dollhouse experiments on criminals, who might have a reasonable motive to seek oblivion that can't be ascribed to simple stupidity.

Tudyk is talented enough to pull off multiple roles and riveting enough to hold the audience's attention. You'd have to do something about the characterization - making the guy a simplistic bwah hah pyscho won't cut it versus the gold standard established by Dexter - but the acting is certainly there and the writing could come up to snuff enough to make the character worthwhile. Too bad Whedon can't just scrap everything and start over now that it's become more clear that there are a few elements worth salvaging.

But Whedon really has to cool it with his cutesy-poo idiosyncracies. Now I really see why some people can't stand the guy's writing - he's way too in love with himself. His "cleverness" could use a good editor to delete the stuff that is just plain self-indulgent and not clever at all.

Verdict: Good riddance. I'm sure even Fox can use this timeslot for something better. But here's hoping Tudyk's new pilot V gets picked up. He's the one thing worth salvaging from this disaster.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Weren't you the one who was screaming that Starbuck should have been the Bionic Woman all along?

I also find that the secondary characters are much more interesting because there's less need to make them goody good and identify... Although as soon as you graduate these people (Spike from Buffy and Avon from Blakes Seven come to mind. Hell even the last years of Happy days staring Henry Winkler with out the ginger goof apply.) into the spotlight it usually ruins them since writers start talking about "quests for redemption".

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Temis, This wasn't a Whedon episode, it was Tim Minear who wrote these last 2 episodes.

 

[hyzmarca]

That's because too few writers have the balls to write an unrepentant villain that the audience is supposed to identify with and support or to present alternate morality systems that allow the casual murder of innocent people as perfectly valid.

One of the reasons I love The Destroyer books is that they have Chiun a lovable racist and misogynist who casually kills people for minor annoyances such as interrupting his soaps or singing too loud. He's totally unapologetic about his activities and prejudices, and he's one of the heroes of the book, the wise old mentor and partner to the titular protagonist.

The thing that made Spike lovable was the fact that he was an unrepetant murderer. The second he repetented, he became less. It would have been far better to take a "not that there is anything wrong with that" aproach to random killings, though that might have destroyed the entire point of the Faith arc in Season 3.

 

[zengoth]

I based that expectation on the fact on Buffy and Angel, each season ends with the status quo getting altered. Sometimes, it's in small ways and sometimes, it's in big ways. But nothing's completely the same as it was in the beginning of the season. Like, by the end of Buffy's first season, Buffy has become a stronger Slayer opposite to the girl who just wanted to have a normal life and run away from her destiny, Cordelia knows her secret, and the Master is dead, though the evil little boy is still out there, obviously up to no good. Or by the end of Angel's first season, Cordelia has become to appreciate how much she and her friends are important in a world where many innocents are suffering, Angel discovers a prophecy that foretold him becoming human again after stopping a number of evils and apocalyptic disasters, Lindsay loses his hand thanks to Angel, and Darla is back from the dead. So you see why I expect something close to those two season finales from the Dollhouse finale.

wow, i never realized how strong Angel & Buffy's first seasons were until this comparison.

But there were strong first seasons that never got the chance to finish their time in the Fox Friday night Hour of Death. (tho' they did gleen a Major Motion Picture as salve for the wound)

If Dollhouse doesn't get renewed, blame Fox and Joss for not getting a 2-season promise in his contract. He shouldve learned more after the Firefly debacle. I'd imagine in the sci-fi channel would've given the show more than a season.

But, no worries, I'll have another re-watchable 1 season dvd set in my collection come end of summer. Don't have too many of those...(not that i would admit to owning So NoTORIous or Fat Actress)

 

[Caligula]

I didn't have a problem with this because what happened to her in this episode wasn't really growth. Her enlightenment was brought about by a machine, a flick of a switch, and in that sense is no more growth than any of the times she received a normal imprint. It honestly would have felt like a bit of a cheat to me if the change had stuck, forced and artificial.

That makes sense. I just get frustrated by the fact that nothing that happens during any of the episodes ends up making a damn bit of difference where she is concerned. I was hopeful that, as time went on, Echo would be able to retain more and more information from her imprints. This did seem to be the case until "A Spy in the House of Love," and they got me again with "Omega."

In the end, I just don't understand how I can be expected to continue caring about a show where the main cast is made up of almost entirely unsympathetic characters, and the few who are sympathetic (with the exception of Ballard) always end up as blank slates by the 10:00 hour. I loved the ending to "Briar Rose" in part because it dared to defy that routine, and had hoped that "Omega" would be an extention of that defiance. It was.... for a while.

It was obvious in the end that Ecco did retain memories of the episode, even though the extra imprints were erased.

She chooses to return when she could have ran, because she didn't want to abandon Caroline, herself. I think the whole thing has helped her come to grips with Caroline's choice, and with her role. She's more than just a blank Active now, she understands who and what she is, and removing those imprints didn't change that.

Well, sure. Echo whispering "Caroline" at the end of the episode was an obvious giveaway that she retained SOMETHING. My point is it regressed her to the same level where she usually ends up, and I had hoped that a season finale.... well, let's not kid ourselves.... a SERIES finale would have given us something more than what we got.

I'm not sure I buy that she chose to whore herself out once again.... and again, and again, and again..... all in the service of protecting the memory card that represents her body's original occupant. Especially when she seemed so resentful of the choice that Caroline made. Note that I said "seemed." I'll have to rewatch that part of the episode to be sure of my assessment. Her motives for returning to the dollhouse might've been clearer had this not been the finale.

Whatever the case, the one thing that does seem clear is that Joss Whedon believes in the "no-win scenario." Just look at the way his other three series ended. Granted, two ended prematurely (one with a feature film follow-up) but still.... Not saying that's a terrible thing. Just making an observation.

 

[Ayelbourne]

Funny tidbit:
Echo whispering "Caroline" before going to sleep was the final scene of the original pilot.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Really? I think it's damning to suggest that souls do not exist and there is no metaphysical nature tot he universe whatsoever

I'm sorry but this statement is just absurd... It is damning to say that something doesn't exist when there is no proof that is exists at all? Talk about dogma.

Perhaps that's not what you meant, but an odd thing to say nonetheless.

You didn't view Ballard and Topher staring down on the subject?

Topher claims he can disprove souls exist, when the entire defence from the spiritual oddjobs is that souls might exist because you can't prove they don't.

It's completely on point.

O.

I'm utterly godless.

Life is utterly meaningless.

We're meat on a pebble flitting 'round a campfire made from a billion billion exploding a-bombs.

But that doesn't mean i don't feel compassion for the morons who create buffers and defence mechanisms to survive being pummelled by this dark bleak unplanned mess, and humour the buggers that there's some fuck with a beard living in the clouds controlling everything wise and benevolently.

Would you burn linus' saftey blanket?

Besides remember hitchhiker guild?

It's reprehensible to put all those philosophers out of work!