Dollhouse: Omega

Tonight's episode of Dollhouse may be the last one to ever air, and it was also the first one I ever saw when it was actually on (stupid Friday night death slot), and let me just say: holy shit, dudes. The show has certainly come a long way from where it was back on that Friday the 13th in February. I remember enjoying the show, but feeling like it barely deserved to have Joss Whedon's name attached to it. Tonight, the status quo was altered, dark secrets were revealed, and the show's central question was addressed, but not through the character you would think it would be.

Where to begin? Well, first I have to once again acknowledge Alan Tudyk's incredible performance as Alpha. This week, we saw new dimensions of the insane post-composite event Alpha that we only saw for about 5 minutes last week, but we also saw Alpha as an innocent (?) active in his mind-wiped state (in addition to a rather sadistic imprint; I honestly don't know what the client's fantasy was, and I probably don't want to know). I guess he always was a little different from the other actives, but his weird attraction to Echo should have set off alarms in the minds of DeWitt, Topher, and his handler, especially after he kissed Echo while both of them were wiped (Echo's non-reaction was hilarious). In the present, the interaction of the 40-something full personalities in Alpha's head was very intriguing and creepy to watch, and his views on his awareness were terrifying to say the least.

Going back to the flashbacks, Joss and company revealed that yet ANOTHER character who we thought was a "real" person was actually a doll. I always thought there was something off about Dr. Saunders; she seemed to hate the Dollhouse, but she willingly worked there and actually came up with a plan to protect it a few episodes ago. But I never saw the fact that she was a doll coming (love the fact that her name was Whiskey). She was the Dollhouse's most popular active, but she was retired when Alpha cut up her face in a fit of jealousy(?) because he wanted Echo to be number 1. Not only that, but there was a "real" Dr. Saunders too, and now we know that, back in the second episode's flashback to right after Alpha's rampage, Topher wasn't referring to Amy Acker when he said that "Dr. Saunders' face looks like a jigsaw puzzle." Now that Victor has suffered a similar fate, is DeWitt going to make him a handler or something? Speaking of handlers, I don't think we've seen Echo's new handler since Langton got promoted.

On the subject of the other dolls, I have to wonder if there was a deleted scene involving Sierra and November in their imprinted state. I am aware that the purpose of the imprint scene was to put Ballard in a room with a blank November, but I would have liked to have seen what those two were up to. Anyway, Ballard made a pretty big decision tonight, and I am VERY excited to see how it plays out next year (assuming there IS a next year). It is strange to think about how someone like Langton, who despises the Dollhouse, could come to work for it. Now, through Ballard, we have an idea. Also, I have to wonder about Ballard's comment to the restored November (I hope she comes back, but I don't know how that will happen); she asked him who he was, and he said "no one." I think that we're supposed to take that as he doesn't want her to get involved with him because it would be too painful for him and too dangerous for her. But is it a hint that maybe Ballard is going to become an active?!

And now for the main event. The scenes in Alpha's "lair", as Caroline referred to it, were simultaneously creepy, exciting, and enlightening. The scene was supplemented by Ballard, Langton, and Topher researching who Alpha was before he became an active, and suddenly, the question of whether the Dollhouse can wipe away a person's soul in addition to his/her memories came to the forefront. The series has kept that idea in the background, but tonight, the series tells us that the answer is most likely no (I originally typed "definitely no", but that may not be the case, as I will point out in a second). Alpha was a criminal before the Dollhouse took him in. He was in prison for kidnapping and attempted murder, and how did he try to kill his young female victim? He sliced up her face. As a wiped active, he still had a propensity for taking women he thought were his and cutting up other ones, and with 48 personalities in his head simultaneously, he continued these practices, even though his own personality was NOT one of the 48.

And that brings us to the idea that maybe the Dollhouse is powerful enough to wipe away a soul. Or at least, they can make someone hate oneself, because the very first person Alpha killed by choice (his initial victims were killed because they were in his way) was HIMSELF. Alpha immediately destroyed the harddrive containing his real self. He was full of self-loathing, and he tried to impart similar hatred onto Echo's composite self, referred to as Omega, by putting Caroline into a random body and telling Omega that Caroline "abandoned" her body for money. However, Omega didn't buy in.

So once again, Joss Whedon has proven himself to be a master storyteller, even when working with characters who are either extremely morally lacking or are barely characters at all. I remember being ready to love whatever Dollhouse would prove to be merely because Joss was doing it, only to have my confidence shot by the first few episodes. But we must remember that the first seasons of Buffy and Angel contained some of the weakest episodes of each series (you have no idea how much I wish I could say the same about Firefly; by the way, do you guys think this episode had Angel and Firefly references when Topher said something about putting souls in glass jars (Angel) and putting fireflies (Firefly) in them?). I really hope this show comes back next year. There is one more episode filmed, but we won't see it until the DVD is released (Felicia Day is in it!), and there is this rumor, but the end of this episode showed us that there are many more stories to tell, and I want to see them.

One last thing: I really hope that Joss casts Jewel Staite as an active next year.

Up next: Clone wars...