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Couch Baron will be on hand for the full recap, but he asked me to sub in for this recaplet. I'm so glad, because this was hands-down my favorite episode of the show to date. Getting to explore the backstories of the actives and seeing what happens when all hell breaks loose at the Dollhouse is actually exciting.
Adelle calls a staff meeting and says that the actives are having flashes of memory and that's something they need to fix. Topher's going to mess around with one pod's sleep drugs to see if it will more effectively wipe their brains. Claire suggests letting the troublemakers go, to let them resolve their issues. So Topher gives them back their personalities, but not their memories.
When the dolls wake up, they're panicked and freaked out, have no idea how they got there, and think that they're in a spaceship or some kind of government testing lab. November is looking for something she lost. Echo needs to get to the mountains. There's a random guy named Mike who shares their pod. He's gung-ho on this whole alien abduction theory. While the other pod buddies try to blend in with the other dolls, Mike doesn't, and he goes for a mind wipe.
Sierra, Victor, November and Echo decide to bust out of the Dollhouse. They start remembering their pasts. Sierra remembers being assaulted. November remembers she has a kid. It seems weird that the security doesn't stop them at all, or at least pick them up on the cameras, but I guess that's all part of Adelle's plan. Once they reach the surface, Sierra and Victor go off to find the man who put her there, and November goes to the cemetery where her daughter is buried. Once they get closure, they pass out. Echo decides to go back in to help the rest of the actives escape. Echo/Caroline's abilities are underestimated by Adelle, as she breaks back in and cuts the power. She almost wipes Topher's brain… which would have been the best thing ever… but alas, she's stopped by Adelle. Sad, but Echo puts her gun to good use and leads the actives outside to the light to their freedom, and then immediately powers down.
Elsewhere, in Paul land, he finds out that his apartment is being bugged by some super high-tech equipment, and he's having a nightmare about being a necrophiliac. And apparently before Echo went back to being Echo, she made a call to him saying that they were underground and they needed his help. - Angel
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see how Dollhouse's characters resemble other Joss Whedon creations.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Apparently late at night, Ballard answers a knock at his door dressed in pajama bottoms and nothing else. That's certainly a way to get my attention from the get-go. It's Echo in the hallway, dressed in a little number I would say is designed to pull in the part of the audience not already there with Ballard, and she pushes her way in and says she doesn't have a lot of time, as "they" can't know she left an engagement. Thinking this is Chapter Two in their series of surreptitious communications, Ballard kind of dimly asks if they're not fighting again, but Echo merely tells him she has a message for him from inside the Dollhouse. Ballard is over that noise, though, impatiently saying he's been sitting on his hands while his life has been dismantled, and grabbing Echo's forearms as he says he could handcuff her right now and bring the Dollhouse to his door. Dude, if that's how she's dressed for her current assignment, she might enjoy that. Oh, great, I made myself think of that bondage doofus. Well, I'll console myself with the thought that he's probably starved to death by now. Echo, whose lipstick is really garish at the moment, ties us into the episode theme by saying they each have something the other needs, and then attempts to make her mouth looks even worse by planting one on Ballard. Not that I blame her. Ballard kind of hilariously tells her, "I'm not a client. I don't need that." Echo, however, demurs, and after another kiss, Ballard uncertainly asks, "Caroline?" She whispers for him to save her, and soon he's on top of her on the couch -- only Mellie then appears and snits that she took too long getting back. Continuing to be unintentionally hysterical, Ballard tells her he knows this is confusing "for all of us," like I'm sure Mellie's mollified by the fact that the slut with the smeared lipstick is having an existential crisis while continuing to fondle her boyfriend. Getting funnier by the second, Ballard adds, "I'm sorry! I have a thing she needs!" and all I can say is that I certainly hope so. However, we get serious again in a hurry, as Mellie snarls that Caroline doesn't need anything anymore -- she's dead. Ballard pulls away from her lips in horror as he realizes that Echo's now covered in pancake makeup. He begs her to come back, but things only get worse as blood starts to trickle down from Mellie's scalp as she accuses Ballard of letting "them" hurt her. He desperately tries to tell her he's attempting to stop everything, but she asks, "How did they know? How did they know what we shared?" Honey, this is a man that spilled government secrets to you over a little pad thai. Keeping his mouth shut isn't exactly his forte. There's a flash of light...
...and then Ballard bolts awake in bed as Mellie's accusing-yet-inspiring question plays in his head again...
...and then elsewhere, the Dolls are likewise starting their day, and we watch from an overhead view as five pods slide open and Echo, Sierra, Victor, November and some tall, blond dude we haven't seen before smile at each other and then file out of the room. However, when we pan up, we see a window through which Adelle is watching...
...and then she's in her office telling the entire Dollhouse staff that there have been recent problems, and while they live in a complicated world, that of their Actives must be one of "constant certainty." Topher then comes rushing in on a wave of unnecessary words, as usual, but is saved from a British scolding when the lights flicker for a moment, which Adelle says is due to an upgrade currently being performed on their electrical and security systems. With gravity, she says they've had an Active go off-mission, another develop "urges," and still others show signs of cognizance and recognition. She goes on that all the Actives that have been exposed to a particular drug they apparently use have had some kind of glitch, so she needs the handlers to identify and report any behavioral problems in their Dolls. Laurence pipes up that it's easy, even necessary, for handlers to become attached to their charges, but they shouldn't regard them as children. "Think of them as pets." Claire disbelievingly asks if that's supposed to be funny, so Laurence smugly clarifies that if you have a child start talking, you feel proud, but if your dog does it, "you freak the hell out." And then make millions on the talk-show circuit, I'd imagine, but I doubt Laurence wants to examine the parallel any further. His point is that any developmental progress an Active makes is dangerous to the Dollhouse, and "a possible first step toward another Alpha." Boyd's like, "Yeah, about that..." but, as the lights flash again, Laurence replies, "Whereabouts unknown," like, his honesty is commendable but not exactly reassuring. ince they mention Alpha, it'll be interesting if they try to figure out what his unfulfilled need that made him go composite is. Seems like it's about time he became a big focus of the story here.
Anyway, Adelle gives the floor to Topher, who says he's scrubbed the Dolls as much as he safely can, and science-babbles for a while until he brings up the sleep cycle. Apparently, there's a reason the Dolls sleep in pods -- while they're unconscious, in addition to oxygen and "subliminal tone patterns." they get sedatives and anti-psychotics pumped into the air they breathe. Considering some of the dreams I've been having lately, that doesn't actually sound like a bad idea. At least until the economy recovers, anyway. Topher says he could play with the "cocktail," but Claire cautions that their sleep period is their most vulnerable time. Topher condescendingly replies that he could test it out on one chamber if she's "stressed" about it, and adds that he knows what he's doing. Claire: "So do I. But I also care what you're doing." Check and mate! Topher looks steamed, and Claire places the cherry on top as she continues in Laurence's direction: "...To our pets." Adelle puts an end to all this by saying she'll take everything into consideration, and then tells them she'll need all their reports at the end of every shift, and they need to be detailed and extensive. Boyd expresses his concern that reporting on every little thing might get his Active sent to the Attic, especially since he was hired to protect her, but Adelle informs him that's only true in the field. "In here, we protect the House." She goes on that they need to take steps against the rising tide of what's been happening, "unless anyone here thinks they've got a better idea." Satisfied that's not the case, she turns away...
...and then we cut to Echo, brushing out her hair long and straight in a way that kind of makes her look like Cher. Well, they've probably had similar amounts of scary work done, if not quite of the same ilk. As she looks in the mirror, she remembers Ballard telling her that her name is Caroline back in the "Internet mogul's" house, and also the part where Ballard told her he'd never hurt her. Soon, she's walking down the hall, and then we focus on Sierra, who's behind her and pauses uncertainly as she remembers Hearn's abuse of her, and that's not getting any less creepy or upsetting as time goes on. In the pod room, however, her mood lightens when she sees Victor, and then all five of them settle into bed...
...but soon Echo, instead of enjoying sedate and non-psychotic dreams, is hit with a wave of memories, all of which we've seen before -- herself in the pool, the Ghost, and some snowy mountains. A female voice whispers for her to wake up...
...which she does. When she sees where she is, she freaks, probably thinking she's been buried alive. Too bad she didn't train with Pai Mei for emergencies such as this. We cut to an overhead shot as we hear her muffled cries for help, and a bit of a chill accompanies me into the opening credits.
When we come back, Echo's still calling for help and trying to open the overhead pod door, cutting her hand in the process. However, she finally gets out, and then is surprised when Victor appears from another pod. There's mistrust and a lot more yelling, but the salient points are that none of them appear to remember the others. Victor's kind of a tough guy, the tall blond dude, "Mike," is obsessed with aliens and thinks that's who imprisoned them, Sierra is Australian just like Dichen Lachman, November is a big scaredy cat, and Echo is... Caroline, so it's logical to conclude that we're meeting all the Actives' real personalities here. However, while those may be intact, their memories about themselves aren't, although the attraction between Victor and Sierra is still existent is some fashion. Also, Echo remembers that she has to get to the mountains, because everything's okay there, while November thinks she lost something. If she means a dimwitted Canadian with a bruising body, she's absolutely right. The five of them get freaked out when they see Dolls walking past the glass outside, and then the lights come on, which presumably is the signal for everyone to start the day. Sierra wants to get out of there, like, last week, and the others follow...
...and out in the hall, they observe that the Dolls are walking around as if they like the place, and Victor tells them they have to act the same way to allay any notice. Then, after a staff member greets a blonde female down the hall as "Tango," she turns their way and bids them all good morning, mentioning all their code names before telling them their clothes are in the changing room. Mike looks about 11 feet tall compared to the others, which makes me wonder if they made him a custom-sized pod. If not, good thing about all the on-site massage on tap. Also, I recognize the actor, Teddy Sears, from an episode of Mad Men in which he played a social superior of Pete's, which makes me wonder if he'll only do scenes with people he towers over by at least a full head. Anyway, the woman asks "Echo" how she's feeling, and after she assures her she's fine and the woman leaves, Echo whispers to Victor that that's not her name, and based on the codes, they conclude that they're prisoners of the government. Honey, I think you might even prefer Guantanamo Bay to what's going on here. They go through a set of doors...
...into the atrium, which awes them. Echo admits that everyone looks happy, and November speculates that maybe it's a place of healing. It is hard to come to nefarious conclusions once you see people doing yoga and offering you banana pancakes. However, in response to the latter occurrence, some passing blonde (Tango, as it happens) ditzes that she likes pancakes, prompting this hilarious opinion from Victor: "We're all gonna die." We'll see how you feel after the Swedish massage and communal showers, you horndog.
Inspired by his dream, Ballard searches his apartment rather thoroughly, and eventually finds some sort of bug hidden in a vent. I'd make a comment about him only thinking to do a counterintelligence sweep of his place after having a dream about it, if it weren't already clear he's the worst agent in the history of ever.
Echo and Mike are sitting with Tango the Banana-Loving Bimbo, and after Mike talks nervously about fruits he enjoys, some staffer pulls Echo away to have Claire look at her hand...
...and upstairs, Echo sees Claire and is horrified by her facial scars, thinking the Dollhouse was responsible for them, but Claire cautions her to be quiet -- "they're watching." Obviously, you'd think Claire would notice this isn't Echo she's dealing with, but it plays without knowing the twist, because Claire always seemed like she'd turn against the Dollhouse given half a chance, so it seems like she's just taking advantage of the composite event she always knew was coming. Anyway, after Claire's warning, Echo notices the security cameras all over the place, so she keeps her voice down as she asks where they are and who's running the place. Claire, however, says she's sorry, but she can't help her to that degree...
...and outside, Mike is getting hauled away, apparently having babbled about subjects other than pancakes to the extent that Tango called the staff on his ass. He yells for help as Claire goes rushing after, leaving the other four to stare in trepidation...
...and later, they're pedeconferencing in robes, as Victor mutters that Mike screwed up and got noticed. Well, it's hard not to when you're the Gandalf in a sea of Frodos. Echo tells them about Claire warning her about the cameras, but what she didn't prepare them for is the coed showers, which give Sierra pause. November, however, is in there faster than you can say "Double D," while Victor distracts himself from Sierra's nubile form by reciting the starting lineup of the '80s New York Mets. Heh. The bunch of them barely get wet, though, before they see Mike appear and head into the sauna, so they follow, and it quickly becomes clear that, thanks to a treatment, Mike's thoughts are now less focused on aliens and more on "I like banana pancakes" and the like. On another note, given that he's played a society boy and an alien-obsessed geek, I wasn't expecting that seeing Mike in just a towel would be enough to make my own mind think of names like Mookie Wilson and Gary Carter, but I'll move on from that and tell you Mike's little transition is all the impetus the others need to plan to get the hell out of there...
...an initiative that Laurence swiftly reports to Adelle. She turns to face him with a smile: "Right on schedule." I don't know if there's a British translation for this, Adelle, so you'll have to bear with me, but: DUN!
After the break, Laurence asks Adelle for permission to brief the in-house security team, as the staff all think the exercise involving the Dolls is a couple months down the road, but Adelle tells him every person in the house should always be ready for anything. Laurence twitches impotently in response to this platitude as she then makes the better point that the four of them need real tests from real adversaries. I suppose that means Mike was thrown in to give them the impetus to escape, or perhaps so there wouldn't be an empty pod in the room. Laurence protests that there's no way to end the experiment, which may mean he wasn't let in on every detail of the plan, and points out that they could lose all four of them, but Adelle snaps her head around with a tight smile: "I've made my decision." Laurence, I'd let it go if you ever want to be allowed in the elevator again.
Victor and his handler are approaching the sauna, with Victor telling him he forgot where the sauna is, but he likes it, and the handler, an African-American guy we haven't seen before, replying, "You told me." Heh. What Victor didn't tell him, however, is that he was planning on choking him with his towel until he passes out, which he proceeds to do. He grabs the guy's keycard off him as two random female Dolls come in to use the shower, and when Victor turns to see them, he explains, "He's very tired." He'll be more so after sweating through his suit to the point of dehydration, but the Dolls merely give a blank response...
...and later, Sierra and Victor use the keycard to open an exit door, doing their best to avoid the cameras as they go. They leave the card in the base of a nearby potted plant and then head through to a more office-building-looking hallway. Meanwhile, Echo's in the atrium, looking around unhappily. She sees Tango go off with a guy for treatment, and then November's voice tells her it's time...
...as Sierra and Victor reach a door and pause to await the others. Sierra wonders what's taking Echo and November so long, but Victor thinks they're probably just being careful, and the two of them can hang out a little longer. Victor, his New York accent becoming more pronounced, then asks Sierra to tell him something about herself, and they both laugh for a moment over the fact that they have no memories, but then Victor offers that he feels like sometimes they do -- he remembers that something bad happened to her. Sierra speculates that it could be the same "something bad" that happened to all of them, but Victor tells her he doesn't feel that way about anyone else. With a note of endearing shyness, he asks if there's any part of her that finds him familiar, and Sierra puts on a knowing smile, but before we can hear if she has any, um, muscle memory associated with Victor, Echo and November show up, having grabbed the keycard from the plant as they apparently had planned...
...and then the four of them are sneaking past what looks like the handlers' break room, in which some Asian woman named "Sophie" is bitching to Boyd about her latest assignment. As Echo pauses at the door, though, Sophie offers that her problems are tame compared to what Boyd's dealing with, and adds that she doesn't think Echo will last. Boyd assures her he hasn't given up on her, but is just going to enjoy a few days of vacation while she has a little down time, and then it's Sierra's turn at the door, and as she sees one of the handlers flash his sidearm as he reaches in his pocket for something, Sophie goes on that Laurence was right -- the Actives should be treated as pets. It'll be your own fault if Sierra pees on your leg later, lady. She concludes, "Even a good dog needs to be put down sometimes," and Sierra doesn't need to hear any more to get the hell out of there...
...but when the four of them are in the stairwell, Sierra pauses, and as the other two go on ahead, she dazedly tells Victor that she remembers men with guns coming to take her away. Her voice then gets harder and purposeful: "I remember the man who put me here." Victor promises that they'll get him, but they've got to go, and she takes his hand...
...and then they've caught up with Echo, who tells them that there are no windows despite the fact that they've gone up several floors, so they've got to be underground. Don't know how that could be the case unless Adelle's office, always bright and sunny, is miles above the atrium, but anyway, the four of them hear a noise and quickly duck into a nearby room -- which contains racks and racks of clothes, all with different Dolls' names on them, including theirs. They change so as to be less conspicuous, but seeing a carriage triggers a memory in November that she has a daughter named "Katie," but she doesn't know where she is. Echo promises that they'll find her, but they hear another noise, so they hide in the racks as some guy comes in, grabs an outfit for a Doll, presumably, and leaves, not before Victor and Sierra have the opportunity to breathe all over each other, which is a great precaution to take before you commit to making out.
Echo uses the keycard to summon the elevator, and while Victor thinks that's a dangerous move, he doesn't have a better plan, so they wait anxiously until it arrives with no one in it. They reach the parking garage safely, and as they start checking to see if any of the vehicles are unlocked (Is it smart to take a car that your enemy could easily track? Seems like they should at least have planned to ditch it quickly) they argue over what to do -- should they call the police or the FBI? Victor says they shouldn't do anything until they know what the place is and whom they can trust, and then they hide as they hear another car pull in. Some guy in fatigues gets out babbling to his female handler about his PTSD or whatever, and if I thought the guy's persona was taken from someone who actually watched a man die in Iraq, it would be sad, but the dude's acting is so bad it sounds more likely he was an overzealous paintball enthusiast. Once they're safely gone in the elevator, Victor rushes over to fiddle with something as Echo gets Sierra to remember that the guy that put her in the Dollhouse is named "Nolan," and then tells them she remembers the mountain house, and she needs to go there. Hmm, now I'm wondering if that odd, seemingly tacked-on assignment from the beginning of the fourth episode wasn't really an engagement but a manifestation of her need to get back to the place about which she's talking. Victor finishes up...oh, I see, the handler dropped the keys to her ride in a box by the elevator, and Victor succeeded in getting it open, so the four of them pile into the ride. They don't go yet, though, because at that moment, Tango and her handler get out of the elevator, and Tango's babbling in French about the folly of using car services in Los Angeles while dressed like a hooker, and against the backdrop of the top-secret Dollhouse I invite you to make your own joke about the Mata Hari here. Anyway, when they're gone, Victor gets the car started...
...just as Laurence is calling in an alert to his security team about the imminent escape. Things take an unexpected turn, though, when Echo hops out of the car, saying that now that she's figured out that they're dealing with a "people warehouse," she's going to "try and make a difference." Honey, I know you lost your hot boyfriend, but why not, say, join the Peace Corps instead of RUNNING BACK INSIDE TO GET RECAPTURED? Caroline's kind of annoying, has no perspective, and can make me root against her even when she's doing noble things, which just goes to show how accurately written a twentysomething she is. Anyway, she marches back into the elevator, and I can't help but giggle into the commercial break at how loudly the sound of Victor's tires squeals this at her: "You're on your own, girlie."
Echo has returned to the handlers' area and is attempting to break open the weapons locker with a fire extinguisher when Sophie appears and tells her in fake-soothing tones that she's just going to give Boyd a little call. Having none of that, Echo sprays her, and then the two of them have a fight that proves that either Caroline studied martial arts at some point, or the Fox execs don't much care if things make sense as long as Eliza's kicking ass on a regular basis. Actually, I think I'll believe both. Anyway, with Echo on the floor, Sophie goes for her walkie-talkie, but Echo literally trips her up by knocking her in the shin with the extinguisher, causing Sophie rather spectacularly to fly up and then land on her face, which knocks her out, as you might imagine. Echo cares enough to clean up Sophie's now rather bloody visage, but then grabs her keys, loots the locker, and runs out with a gun.
Okay, this scene with Ballard really does not seem necessary, so here's the deal: Ballard manhandles some electronics geek into taking a close look at the bug, and when he does, he says the technology they're using "don't exist yet," and neither he nor anyone he knows would be able to figure it out. Look, we're probably meant to think it has a lot of uses other than video and audio surveillance, but until we find out what they are, what say we get back to the action?
Sierra tells Victor she feels like they're getting close, and Victor snaps, "You've been saying that for 20 minutes while I've been circling." Sounds like the honeymoon's over now that they don't have communal showers to look forward to. November breaks up the bickering when she tells them to stop the car, having just seen a mother and her young daughter on the sidewalk, which triggered the memory of where Katie is. Sierra thinks that's "wonderful," which goes to show she hasn't been watching her own program, but is less jazzed when November declares her intention to go alone now that she remembers her life. After she and Victor protest, though, Sierra admits it's November's call, as they should all individually decide what's best for them now. Victor stops the car, and after he and Sierra bid her good luck, they leave her looking rather watery indeed...
...and back in Adelle's office, Laurence reports this latest. Adelle then notices on the security monitor that Echo has returned to raid Claire's office, and reproaches herself for not seeing this coming, as it's Caroline, and she "never was very realistic." She opines that there's no harm in letting the scenario play out, but immediately gets more than she bargained for when the power dies. Laurence heads out to try to remedy the situation, while Adelle gets on the phone to Topher, who's got a little glow stick in hand, and tells him to be ready when Echo's brought in. Topher, however, informs Adelle that there's not much he can prep without power, and by the way, did he mention he's afraid of the dark? Awesomely, Adelle hangs up on him, but we quickly learn his fears were justified, as Echo emerges from the shadows, her gun trained on him. He asks, "Echo?" and she replies, promo-style, "Not anymore." Well, Topher, at least she doesn't have knives like Alpha did, right?
Although a soothing female voice tells everyone via the PA system that there's no need to worry, Topher is freaking out as Echo calmly asks him what they do to people in the Dollhouse. After some characteristic babbling, he tells her he puts them in a chair and programs them, and goes on that it's not that different from programming a computer. Given how much money I've had to fork out recently for laptop-related concerns, I hope the maintenance is easier. Echo's chagrined to hear that it's 2009, and although she can't remember how long she's been there, Topher's answer that it's been "kind of... longer" than a month is unsettling, and makes me wonder if she's even past that five-year mark. She asks him where the chair is...
...and oh, yuck, this scene. Character actor Vincent Ventresca opens the door to find Sierra and Victor, and he greets the former as "Bria" and asks if her visit is some sort of "frequent-buyer reward." Ick. Victor pushes the guy back inside, and he kind of loathsomely wonders if this is some sort of shakedown, but Sierra asks him what she did to him that he would have sent her to the Dollhouse. With an oily smile, he replies, "You said no. Nobody ever says no to me." This is one of those times I don't enjoy writing, because using words to describe the inherent horribleness of everything about this guy and his actions is almost insultingly insufficient. Anyway, Sierra disbelievingly asks if he took away her life just because she wouldn't have sex with him, and he, with disgusting levity, asks if she knows how much trouble that was, saying with all the money and favors he called in to do so, he could have bought Peter Island. "But owning you is better than real estate." Now I see I had no need to worry about coming up with the right words, because he did it for me. Victor, having restrained himself too long already, decks the guy, who quickly figures out that he's not her handler, so they must have "hopped the fence," but it doesn't matter, because they don't exist anymore. After some more grotesque comments and another backhand in the face, the guy tells the two of them that his security team is on the way already, so they might want to run. This seems a little odd, as I can't imagine the guy would encourage the two of them to get out of there, which would mean he'd never, um, see Sierra again, unless he was cooperating with Adelle here, especially if he thinks that will cause Sierra to fall in line and be as submissive as possible. Anyway, Sierra snarls that he will see her again before the two of them get going, and the guy's comment after they leave that "it'll be even better now" makes me think my theory is right, not that I take any pleasure in that at all in this instance.
There's a little fake-out with November walking by a church with kids in uniform playing, but we all know where she's really heading by now, I'd think...
...so let's go back to Echo, who can't believe the Dollhouse is doing what it's doing. Topher claims that they're good people, who are helping other people become even better people by giving them what they need. After a pause, he adds, "I don't usually do the sales pitch." Heh. Echo opines that what they're doing is tantamount to murder, and menaces him with the gun as she asks who she was before he killed her. He claims that she volunteered to be a Doll, and when she accuses him of lying, he points out that she doesn't have her memories, so she can't know that for sure. The power comes back on as he tries to tell her that she'll get back her memories and be free to go once her contract is up, but when she asks why she's not like the rest of the banana-pancake-loving population, he admits they're running a test on her and the other three. Echo tells him about her visions of the mountain and her desire to go there, and he assures her that that place is real, and she's remembering it because it's what she needs. He then offers to restore her memories if she'll only get in the chair, but she points the gun purposefully at him: "You first." If he didn't think he was a good salesman before, I doubt this development is going to help.
Evading shots from Nolan's security men, Victor and Sierra make it down to the parking garage, but when they see cop cars swarming the place, they duck through a door to hide...
...while Echo is taking great pleasure in having Topher in the chair. He tells her that imprinting over a fully-functional brain will cause it to implode, and she notes that that must be why everyone around there likes banana pancakes so much. By the way, I think I'm going to adopt that phrase as code for someone who's not too swift on the uptake, and my first official use of said code is to tell you that Ballard must really like banana pancakes. Echo asks if the imprint process hurts, and Topher winces, unable to bring himself to lie, before telling her he's just the science guy. She puts paid to that little attempt to sidestep responsibility, so Topher, really looking like he believes she'll shoot him, offers to help her with anything she wants. She asks him to let the Dolls go (er, I hope she means with their memories restored, otherwise that's a terrible idea) and when he balks, saying he doesn't have that power, she turns the chair on and starts to force him down into it as he gasps desperately that he really can't do what she's asking. Just as it looks like we might get to see a genius's brain puréed, though, Adelle's voice cuts in from behind: "I can." When we get back from the last commercial break, it will be so on.
Adelle politely requests that Echo stop the imprint, which she does -- by putting a bullet in the chair. Adelle summons all her British reserves of self-control not to react to the monumental financial damage she just incurred, not that Topher doesn't mourn the loss enough for the both of them. Adelle informs Echo she's responsible for the "facility" and everyone in it, and by the way, Echo wanted to forget her old life, and Adelle merely eased her suffering. However, she claims, she'd be breaking a promise she made to Echo when she signed up if she were to reveal why she wanted to relinquish her personality in the first place. There's certainly no indication, from what we've seen, that any of this is true, particularly not in light of what we've learned about Sierra's conscription into the Dollhouse, but that doesn't stop Adelle from smugly continuing, "All I can say is, that you couldn't live with the consequences of your own actions." That I'll believe, at least when it's looked at from a certain point of view. She adds that Echo's free to leave, but wonders who she is to decide for the others. Echo counters that Adelle should have asked herself that, but Adelle archly says that she made the same promise to them as she did to Echo, and she won't return those memories...
...which nicely leads us back to November, who reaches her destination past the church -- a cemetery. It's good when a show knows how to balance terrible developments like Sierra's with happy ones such as this.
Back in the lab, Echo shoots some more technology, and at this rate I think Topher should breathe the Dolls' cocktail if he wants to sleep through the night.
In their hiding place, Sierra apologizes to Victor for dragging him into their current situation, but he tells her he needed to help her, for some reason -- he could see her being hurt in his dreams, and it was horrible to witness. "I could see his face, but I couldn't stop it." Okay, this is interesting, because Victor is clearly referencing what Hearn did to Sierra. I wonder if he had such a strong reaction to it not just because of his feelings for Sierra, but because the helplessness of not being able to save her paralleled the vision we saw in the last episode? Just a thought. Remembering, Sierra can't believe she trusted Hearn, which is another cruel irony, before recalling that Victor waits for her when they go to bed at night to make sure she's okay. Aw, these two are adorable together. Hearing a search party coming their way, Sierra, referencing her apparent certainty that either the police or the Dollhouse will catch them, glumly says she's not sure what outcome to root for. "Feels like dying either way." Victor, however, demurs: "We'll look for each other like we always do. And we'll finish this." She smiles through her tears, and they finally make out...
...as November cries while kneeling by her daughter's grave. Here, at least, you can believe she would have gone to extremes to forget her life, but I still don't believe what Adelle's saying...
...except for the part where she duhs to Echo that it would be a really bad idea to take the Dolls out in their current condition. Echo, however, thinks they'll do fine, and gets off a good one when she tells Adelle that she's not as important as she thinks she is. Adelle stiffens at that jab, and Echo orders her to show them out...
...and then we cut to an exit, and soon all the Dolls fade in, walking like they're going on a field trip to the nearest IHOP. O+S's "Lonely Ghosts" plays as the Dolls and the entire staff walk out into the sunlight, which is going to be interesting for all those urban-legend aficionados supposedly littering the streets of L.A. Echo walks along with her gun pointed at Adelle's back, looks up at the sky... and then suddenly collapses. We see the same thing happen to Sierra, Victor, and November, and after Echo gets scooped up by security, the parade immediately turns around as we get a shot of a guilty-looking Claire. Sierra, Victor and November are similarly collected, and then we hear Adelle's voice saying that a tide is rising...
...back in the scene from the beginning -- only this time, when she asks if anyone has a better idea, Claire pipes up: "We give them what they need." Adelle, looking roundly shocked that Claire would offer up an idea in this way, listens as Claire clarifies that she thinks they should give them closure -- if the Actives have particularly poignant or recurring experiences that can have the effect of awakening desires and memories that interfere with their efficacy as Dolls and cause the glitching that's been widespread of late. Adelle asks if she's recommending they permit the Dolls to take a "self-guided journey," but Claire thinks they should limit it to the priority cases. "Let the tide come in. It's the only way to wash it back out." It's a great twist that it was all Claire's idea, but I'd submit it's logical for this simple reason: Look what happened to her with Alpha. But not everyone is going to see it that way...
...as we quickly learn, because after we cut to Echo settling back into the chair, Boyd, with his back to her as he watches Echo, bitingly asks Claire, his onetime partner in disapproval, if the tide has turned. Claire, a note of apology in her voice, explains that each Active's brain was programmed to release a sedative once he or she had achieved closure, and all I can say is that if Sierra and Victor can, um, achieve closure at the same time, they're even more compatible than I thought. Boyd says he understands what November, Sierra and Echo were doing, but expresses confusion about what was up with Victor, as he didn't have a trauma from his past. Obviously, Boyd doesn't know about the vision, and maybe neither does Claire, so she says he had a more present need -- he's in love. Boyd tells Claire that he would have liked to see Echo leading the charge out of the Dollhouse, even though it was all a game. "Your game." Claire asks if he thinks she had fun with it, and Boyd counters that he doesn't know her very well, which sounds like a "Yes" to me. However, Claire tells him that while he's responsible only for looking after Echo, she has to do the same with all of them, and Echo was leading them to "a world of terror and chaos that would have destroyed them." She says he should be grateful, and gets this reply: "Yeah. I'll work on that." When he's gone, Claire looks conflicted...
...and then we cut to Echo and Sierra, walking down the hall without a care in the world as the song kicks up again. We then cut to their room, and Mike has rejoined the four of them as they all settle into their pods for the night. The doors close, and they're left to dream without needs...
...but the Dollhouse didn't manage to erase everything, as when Ballard checks his messages, there's a desperate one from Caroline, saying she doesn't know who she is, but his name was in her file and she thinks they've met. "We're here, somewhere underground. I'm trying to get everyone out, but if I can't, please, please find us!" It's not like I hold out much hope for Ballard succeeding, but I so want to see his expression when he comes face to face with November. See you time, when the Dollhouse brass learns there's a spy in their midst, and Echo and Sierra get tasked with finding out who it is.
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John Ramos is a writer and film producer living in Los Angeles. You can reach him at couchbaron@gmail.com.