Episode Title: "Instinct"
Written by: Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters
The Story: Echo (Eliza Dushku) has been many people and many things -- a blind churchgoer, an athletic damsel in distress, a dead woman solving her own murder -- but this time, she enters the world of motherhood once Topher (Fran Kranz) imprints her with a physiological bond to another man's baby. Her role is to replace the baby's dead mother, but Echo's attachment to the child takes more than a few turns for the worse -- and not even her handler Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) can break that bond.
Mommy Did A Bad Job: Man, this might have been one of the most needless episodes of "Dollhouse" to date. It did very, very little to propel the forward momentum of the series seen in last year's finales and hinted at in this year's premiere. Sure, we get the reminder at the end that Echo is growing cognizant of her situation, but we have to wait until the final minutes for this reveal. It felt like the bad old days of the first season, where those opening episodes struggled to find their footing. This was an extraordinary step back, in my opinion.
It's No Miracle: Even the return of actress Miracle Laurie, who played the compelling active November in the first season, felt completely forced and unnecessary. Sure, it was a nice throwback to get some scenes between her and Paul, but was it a necessary appearance? I suppose if she has an important continued role this season, I won't mind -- but if it's just a one-off return, just to relay to Paul and the viewers that some of the actives are happy post-Dollhouse, then it was a waste of valuable screen time.
Political Asylum: The only respite this episode offers is the developing quest of Senator Daniel Perrin (Alexis Denisof). As a prominent player on Joss Whedon's "Angel," Denisof clearly feels at home on the set of a new Whedon show, but his job isn't particularly difficult -- at least not yet. So far, Perrin's plot to investigate the Dollhouse is a slow burn, but it has potential. As long as it plays out differently than Ballard's first season mission, I'm very interested to see where Perrin's road leads.
Going Forward: The scenes between Echo and Paul are typically "Dollhouse's" most powerful moments, but it's not good enough that viewers suffer through an entire episode only to have those few minutes dedicated to the ongoing plot. "Epitaph One," and to a lesser extent "Omega," proved that this show not only has merit, but that it can live up to its own potential. Going forward, "Dollhouse" needs to offer more episodes that further the mythology and develop Echo's involvement in taking down the whole operation. An episode like "Instinct" is inexcusable this late in the game.
Final Imprint: Overall, a solid episode -- if we were still in the trenches of early season one, that is. "Instinct" was a complete waste of time given the progress the show has made since last year's final episodes. I truly hope this was a one-time fluke in quality, because when "Dollhouse" is this stale, I have a hard time feeling bad about its ratings decline and inevitable cancellation.
Next Mission: Topher screws up again, causing Echo and Victor's (Enver Gjokaj) imprints to swap during a dangerous assignment. Why he hasn't been fired yet is truly beyond me.
What did you think of last night's "Dollhouse"? Am I being too harsh or do you agree that the show needs to figure itself out soon? Offer your reviews in the comments section or on Twitter!
Tags dollhouse, eliza dushku, Tahmoh Penikett
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'Dollhouse' Episode 2.02: 'Instinct'
Posted 10/3/09 10:47 am EST by Josh Wigler in Commentary, Reviews
Written by: Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters
The Story: Echo (Eliza Dushku) has been many people and many things -- a blind churchgoer, an athletic damsel in distress, a dead woman solving her own murder -- but this time, she enters the world of motherhood once Topher (Fran Kranz) imprints her with a physiological bond to another man's baby. Her role is to replace the baby's dead mother, but Echo's attachment to the child takes more than a few turns for the worse -- and not even her handler Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) can break that bond.
Mommy Did A Bad Job: Man, this might have been one of the most needless episodes of "Dollhouse" to date. It did very, very little to propel the forward momentum of the series seen in last year's finales and hinted at in this year's premiere. Sure, we get the reminder at the end that Echo is growing cognizant of her situation, but we have to wait until the final minutes for this reveal. It felt like the bad old days of the first season, where those opening episodes struggled to find their footing. This was an extraordinary step back, in my opinion.
It's No Miracle: Even the return of actress Miracle Laurie, who played the compelling active November in the first season, felt completely forced and unnecessary. Sure, it was a nice throwback to get some scenes between her and Paul, but was it a necessary appearance? I suppose if she has an important continued role this season, I won't mind -- but if it's just a one-off return, just to relay to Paul and the viewers that some of the actives are happy post-Dollhouse, then it was a waste of valuable screen time.
Political Asylum: The only respite this episode offers is the developing quest of Senator Daniel Perrin (Alexis Denisof). As a prominent player on Joss Whedon's "Angel," Denisof clearly feels at home on the set of a new Whedon show, but his job isn't particularly difficult -- at least not yet. So far, Perrin's plot to investigate the Dollhouse is a slow burn, but it has potential. As long as it plays out differently than Ballard's first season mission, I'm very interested to see where Perrin's road leads.
Going Forward: The scenes between Echo and Paul are typically "Dollhouse's" most powerful moments, but it's not good enough that viewers suffer through an entire episode only to have those few minutes dedicated to the ongoing plot. "Epitaph One," and to a lesser extent "Omega," proved that this show not only has merit, but that it can live up to its own potential. Going forward, "Dollhouse" needs to offer more episodes that further the mythology and develop Echo's involvement in taking down the whole operation. An episode like "Instinct" is inexcusable this late in the game.
Final Imprint: Overall, a solid episode -- if we were still in the trenches of early season one, that is. "Instinct" was a complete waste of time given the progress the show has made since last year's final episodes. I truly hope this was a one-time fluke in quality, because when "Dollhouse" is this stale, I have a hard time feeling bad about its ratings decline and inevitable cancellation.
Next Mission: Topher screws up again, causing Echo and Victor's (Enver Gjokaj) imprints to swap during a dangerous assignment. Why he hasn't been fired yet is truly beyond me.
What did you think of last night's "Dollhouse"? Am I being too harsh or do you agree that the show needs to figure itself out soon? Offer your reviews in the comments section or on Twitter!
Tags dollhouse, eliza dushku, Tahmoh Penikett
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