Episode Discussion 1.02 "The Target" - Aired 2/20/09 (FOX-US)

Now that I think of it "Lasagna Girl" (the doe-eyed neighbor chick) was kinda overly sweet. I instantly got the impression she was a plant, but deployed by whom...? Hmm...
 
Better than the first episode, but still not great. I really like Langton though. So i will continue to watch in the hopes of him and Echo forming more of a father / daughter bond. Like Giles and Buffy. The scenes between him and Eliza are really good, and her performance was far better when they were in scenes together. When he was not around, i thought her acting was pretty average. The rest of the characters, still have had little impact. Except for Amy Acker, she is great. And the moment at the end with Echo and the head of security, Lawrence (i think), was good. He could become an interesting character. And the worst part for me, the shoulder to the wheel metaphor, every time it was mentioned, i cringed, some things should just be removed from a script, this was one of them.
 
I think it's good that we got to see a little more about the process as well...the "bonding" process between Echo and Boyd. It helps explain a little more as to how they do manage to get them to return to the van or what have you.

Also....with all the deaths and stuff, Dollhouse codenames are definitely re-used. Okay...maybe not definitely, but I'm pretty sure I was right on that. There seems to have been a LOT of experimentation (which makes obvious sense...it's not like you can do this sort of thing automatically...so who knows just how many times this has been tried?).

Definitely blew my Ballard is Alpha story. Perhaps though Alpha is doing a little reprogramming on his own (meaning: Richard not really existing)...I don't think you can just find an average adventurist/psychopath in the classifieds....there's my wild speculation for the day. He's definitely after Echo. There must be something....perhaps a love awareness that he didn't really understand, hence not killing her at the time, but as he learns more on the outer, he's not processing the thoughts the right way and is now out to kill her? Or maybe he's testing her.

Anyway....I'm sure I'll be back to ramble other thoughts later....
 
I thought it was really good, on par with the pilot.

One thing i really hope they develop is the active-handler relationship, he seems to really care about her.

I loved the last touch at the end too showing she's starting to have memories remain.

As the resident BB climber, i couldn't go without mentioning the climbing in this eppy... it was pretty cool to see some climbing going on, even if he didnt even use a belay plate lol. Actually the crack that Echo climbed down when she was trying to escape, ive actually climbed a whole bunch on routes on the very piece of rock in Joshua Tree (around the hidden valley campground area). It was hilarious seeing it, and then the transition from JTree to woodland forest gave me another chuckle.
 
I loved this episode so much.

I admit, when it started, I was thinking, "Ehhh..." They were rushing to get the plot for the episode set up and jammed way too much information in the first 15-20 minutes. But once everything really got started, I was just blown away. The whole Handler/Active relationship is just incredible and SO Joss. And, even though Eliza's acting while Echo is in her mind-wiped state is sort of iffy at times, for some reason, I felt SO bad for her...especially at the end when the security was being an ass.

Also, I'm starting to really like Xander/Wash/Topher.
 
who else was really touched by seeing the growth of the connection between Echo and Langton from the flashbacks to the present day? He has a fatherly love for her thats so sweet. When she found him in the forest after killing the guy hunting her, and when she laid there with him, i actually got teary eyed and its only the second episode that ive grown to know these characters! Joss is sooo good at relationships and emotions. Especially with the reversal in the "do you trust me" "with my life" moment.

This whole Alpha thing is very interesting.... far more than the agent looking for them.

Question.... ok so we learn Langton has these call and response words that Echo then recognizes him... but i still don't understand what convinces them they need to go to some sort of "treatment". Is it imbedded in their personality, that they routinely go for a treatment of some sort?
 
C
charmingslayer
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Question.... ok so we learn Langton has these call and response words that Echo then recognizes him... but i still don't understand what convinces them they need to go to some sort of "treatment". Is it imbedded in their personality, that they routinely go for a treatment of some sort?
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I think that part of their "personality" kicks in when it's near the end of their engagement. Because at the very beginning of the pilot Echo suddenly stopped smiling at the party, turned around and left, walking towards the van to go get her treatment. So maybe they don't remember that "fact" until they have to, but they're fully convinced the treatment is a perfectly normal regular thing they do.


On another note- this episode was fantastic. I couldn't believe how the client just totally went evil-hunter-person on her. But I couldn't help thinking that earlier on in the episode he said if you miss the kill it deserves to live and you go hungry, but if you get it, you earned the right to kill it and to have a meal....so I really hoped he wasn't planning on eating Echo if he'd ever gotten to her! Haha.
And I'm really loving the development of the relationships, and the character development for everybody has already gotten fantastically deep and we're only the second episode in. I mean, even the agent, who is trying to reveal the Dollhouse, had depth added to his character. I got more of a feel of a guy who just wants to do the right thing (no matter what) rather than annoying crazy obsessive guy- which was the impression I got in the first episode.
I'm really loving Olivia William's character though- she seems so in control and yet a mere puppet of a crazy theater at the same time. And this Alpha storyline is really intriguing.

And we found out how Amy Acker's character got her scars, which explains why she jumped away when Echo touched her face in the pilot. She has Dollphobia....I presume. Or maybe she knows why Alpha left Echo alone...?
 
I loved this episode but I have a few questions.
What the hell was up with Olivia's guy at the end with Echo?
Did anyone else find it shocking but kinda funny when Echo hit's herself?
Is the italian guy a doll yet or is he already one?
Where is Sierra?
 
charmingslayer said:
I loved this episode but I have a few questions.
What the hell was up with Olivia's guy at the end with Echo?
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He was being condescending to her as if she were not really a person. He was a big doo-doo head.

Did anyone else find it shocking but kinda funny when Echo hit's herself?
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She was aping the "shoulder to the wheel" gesture used by the hunter-sleezeball-client-guy. On the note of "aping", I thought there was something distinctly simian about the way that both he made that gesture and the way Echo mimicked it later. Curiouser and curiouser still...

Is the italian guy a doll yet or is he already one?
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Italian guy?
Where is Sierra?
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I too missed Sierra. Maybe she'll be back in the next ep to kick butt 😀
 
WhiteHat said:
He was being condescending to her as if she were not really a person. He was a big doo-doo head.
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But why? IMO he's probably a secret agent or someone trying to bring down the FBI or he is in league with Alpha.

WhiteHat said:
She was aping the "shoulder to the wheel" gesture used by the hunter-sleezeball-client-guy. On the note of "aping", I thought there was something distinctly simian about the way that both he made that gesture and the way Echo mimicked it later. Curiouser and curiouser still...
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Which is cool espicially that she's starting to remember.

WhiteHat said:
Italian guy?
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The guy who was on the cell talking to Paul while driving and making out with the blonde.

One more question which might not make sense.
Do the active's remember there doll memories after they have been imprinted?
 
I was also wondering about the Italian guy, who I have now been told is Russian. In the promo shots he was a doll so I was really confused. My fellow IRCers rekon that he has been recast and is no longer a doll...

Charmingslayer, the dolls cant remember anything besides what they are imprinted with, or at least they are not supposed to. Echo starting to remember stuff is an abnormality as was Alpha. Thats what I thought anyway..
 
C
charmingslayer
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Yeah, I thought that guy was supposed to be Russian or Ukrainian, not Italian. When some actors do the 'generic foreigner accent' it always sounds like Dracula! LOL
 
I liked it, it was very good, although it did feel a bit rushed to me. I really liked the explanation about Alpha, but I wanted to see a bit more Claire and Topher action.
 
Looking back on the episode there was a view negatives i felt the beginning 20mins was a bit to rushed. I was getting really confused with peoples names and faces!.
 
He is supposed to be Russian, isn't he? It sounds Russian, and with the people trafficking and all....just a thought. I don't get how he fits in....but perhaps he is a doll, that's been sent as a red herring for Ballard to follow. Hence management thinking they'll have it under control. Who knows?
 
definition of insane said:
He is supposed to be Russian, isn't he? It sounds Russian, and with the people trafficking and all....just a thought. I don't get how he fits in....but perhaps he is a doll, that's been sent as a red herring for Ballard to follow. Hence management thinking they'll have it under control. Who knows?
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He looks like he's probably a doll. I hope he is, that'd be a good surprise.
 
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