Dollhouse Ending: Good Thing or Bad?
- Thread starter Joe Washington
- Start date
The real curiosity is that the character we're supposed to be rooting for----Echo----isn't even the original personality. She's not Caroline, she's a completely new person.
Recall when Topher offered to give Whiskey her original persona back....and she didn't want to "die," even knowing she was a Doll.
Recall when Topher offered to give Whiskey her original persona back....and she didn't want to "die," even knowing she was a Doll.
Sadly, the role needed an actor who is a chameleon.
Judging from the events of the most recent episode.
Echo doesn't want to be Caroline again.
I think the show was too much for some people. The main character is a different person every episode, with the doll-state Echo slowly growing over the series. The closest we got to an actual hero, Ballard, was completely torn down as the series went on. It isn't even shades of grey, it's grey and grey.
I don't see why most people are jumping on Dushku's acting, most of her imprints are similar given that she's rented out for romantic engagements. Even then she there is a range among them, more noticeable now that she is flipping between them. Still I think her best role so far on the show has been the more aware Echo that has recently developed.
In the end, the show isn't for everyone. Sad, because I think there was a lot more stories that could be told. But at least we get seven more episodes and they can wrap up the story to some degree.
I do hope that the actor and actress who play Victor and Sierra get more work in the near future, both are amazing.
Good point,
She's become her own person in that regards, not to mention, I think like Whiskey and Alpha, she doesn't want to 'die' and she also doesn't seem to like her original personality. Finally, I get the impression she is afraid of Caroline, or maybe detests her, from the above reasons along with what she saw her doing to Bennett.
Dollhouse had an interesting premise, and some of the episodes were very good, but, as others have said, it was so morally disquieting that it probably belonged on HBO. That would have allowed for more free range in the stories that could have been told.
Both Whiskey and Alpha have completely rejected their original selves, Alpha even destroyed his. Given what we know from Epitaph One, Echo either has Caroline imprinted or just assumes the
name at some point.
I do find what Bennett said about multiple imprints interesting. Something similar has been happening to Echo, but did she do something to her while Echo was strapped down? The Echo towards the end was far more aware than any other time we've seen her.
name at some point.
I do find what Bennett said about multiple imprints interesting. Something similar has been happening to Echo, but did she do something to her while Echo was strapped down? The Echo towards the end was far more aware than any other time we've seen her.
It's hinted that she either did something, or the attempted remote shutdown/wipe/whatever did something. My memory is a tad fuzzy, because I am tired (I should rewatch it), but some point after the events in Bennett's imprinting room, Echo begins to glitch/remember previous engagements like in "Briar Rose" and react accordingly (Daniel Perrin did the same thing). Also, I think that Bennett did do something else to Echo for some reason, bcause Echo looked visibly strained in the chair, something that couldn't have come from a few zaps and a horrible memory from someone else's POV. Could be wrong though. Echo's awareness could ahve simply been what we have seen from the entire series, with the events of this episode being the breaking point and creating the self aware Echo. Interesting theory about it being Echo and her taking on her name, Epitaph One somewhat suggests this, but none of the others (particuarlly Adelle) refer to her at all as "Echo" and after the girl is imprinted with Caroline, she seems pretty firm that she's looking for Caroline.
The Disruptor had the effect of spurring memories in both Echo and the Senator. It would be interesting to see if any of the other dolls were effected while in range (see: the scene in which Topher realizes that the range is actually 50 feet).
I'm not sure it did. I think that, given the mutable nature of the lead character, her intrinsic Eliza-ness gave her a consistent throughline that could be used as an anchor for identification while everything else about her changed. I think that fits with the underlying theme of Echo's arc -- that no matter how many times they erase and rewrite her memories, on some intrinsic level she remains the same person. Maybe the whole point is that Echo isn't as mutable as the other Dolls, isn't as much of a blank slate who vanishes beneath the other personae, but instead has her own consistent identity that shines through.
So while I will agree that Dushku's narrower range as an actress isn't quite as impressive as watching Enver Gjokaj do note-perfect impersonations of Reed Diamond and Fran Kranz, I do think it works for the role she's playing.
You caught it dead on, the whole point with Echo (and similar to a statement said by Ballard in..."Omega" I think it was), is that she is not being totally 'wiped' and 'imprinted' she's gaining a self awareness and immunity to a full wipe since the series began. This is most likely why there's similarities (that is often noted within the show) between each of Echo's engagements, despite attempts to the contrary.
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