Well, I can't say that it's my favourite episode of the series to date, but it certainly was a good start to the season. We didn't see a
whole lot of every character, but I like that we get to see everyone at least once and it's nice to start to see some different, more human sides to the characters.
Adelle: Love her new haircut and it's nice to see her interacting a little more with the dolls (checking up on Victor's scars, being there when Echo gets a treatment). I'm hoping we get to see a little more of this for the rest of the season, for sure.
Boyd: I like the "nice suit" line in his scene with Adelle, and it's interesting to see him communicating on a more personal level with Saunders. Telling her that he wouldn't let Adelle wipe her away was particularly touching; one of the things I've always liked about him is that no matter what position he holds or what situation he's in, gaurding over those he cares about seems to be #1 priority. I would have liked for him to have some more on-screen time with Echo, but I suppose they'll be moving away from that as the story progresses (to allow more scenes between Paul and Echo). And as a sidenote, I thought he and Paul got along last season? Why all the suspicion with each other now? I was looking forward to seeing them all ex-cop-buddies. Apparently I was very much mistaken!
Topher: It's great to hear a little bit more about him and his thinking behind "programming" Saunders. When he said "you don't know me", I couldn't help but wonder if we as an audience really have him figured out, either. He seems to slowly be coming apart at the seams which, although not an ideal state of mind for anyone, is showing us a more vulnerable side to him which I can appreciate. Out of all the characters I think that I had the most misconceptions about him, and maybe he's not so cocky/uncaring towards the actives as I may have thought last season. And he's afraid of rodents: can I just say ADORAMABLE
🙂
Saunders: So she's going a little off the deep end; definitely not acting like the wholesome, kind Saunders from last season. It was GREAT to see her getting more screen time though, and her breakdown in Topher's room was heart-breaking. Acker I think did a brilliant job with her this episode, I hope we'll see more of her as the season progresses. I wasn't sure about the ending, if that was her leaving the dollhouse permanently or....? Maybe someone can enlighten me :silly:
Paul Ballard: Wow big day for him, becoming a handler and all! At first when Adelle offered it to him I wasn't sure how I felt about it (I still wish Boyd could fill those shoes again!), but after seeing him make the promise to Echo it makes sense for him to take on the role-- and at least we'll see her interacting with a handler again (I mean really, did we even see that other guy since he became her handler? At all??).
The airport scene was surprising, I remember reading somewhere that Paul hit Echo and being really shocked-- but I can really understand why. It was smart of him to tap into her other personalities, although I'm a little surprised that she didn't go into a meltdown when she started remembering everyone. Hopefully we'll learn more about the extent of her self-control with these personalities later on in the season.
In a way I really liked the scene at the beginning too, where Paul is waiting for Echo to return from her wedding night. He's anxious, jealous; not traits we saw a lot of in him last season. Again, as was the case with Saunders and Topher we got a glimpse of a very "human", perhaps flawed or vulnerable side of him. This is why I love Joss' writing so much, he shows you that there's always more to a person than meets the eye.
Echo: Again, I'm really interested to find out how much control she has over these personalities, and if she'll be able to keep them hidden for long. It's nice to see her developing as her own character though, rather than just as whatever personality she happened to be imprinted with that day. I think that's something that was very much lacking in her character last season-- a personality of her own. We saw the stirrings of one, but now even in her Doll state she's becoming her own person which should make the show much more enjoyable, I think.
And I was suprised in Eliza's performance this episode-- for me anyway she's definitely improved since last season. Switching in the airport scene from one personality to another couldn't have been an easy task, but I think she pulled it off.
Ivy, Victor/Sierra, Alexis Denisof: None of these folks played huge roles this episode I know, but I thought I best not leave them out. It was nice to see Ivy in the lab a little bit more (her scene with Sierra was PRICELESS
😀), and the Victor/Sierra scene at the end was very cute. Didn't see a whole lot of Alexis' character either, but it was nice that they introduced him. And I found it to be
really wierd hearing him speak without the accent, wow!
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edit:
laianna said:
Great season premiere, I thought. Amy Acker, as always, completely shined in this episode. Her conflict with being Whiskey/Dr. Saunders and not wanting this part of her to "die" is a very relatable conflict. I'd never really thought of that angle before, but it's so awful to consider being in her position.
Very well said, I totally agree. And on your Echo point: I can see where you're coming from, but I think that's ultimately how she is going to find herself in the end. Maybe I'm wrong (obviously I have no idea where the series is going!), but I think that unless something major happens, for at least another 3 years Adelle won't be imprinting her with her original personality. So maybe Echo will become a person on her own after all, like you said through taking bits and pieces of her engagements over the course of the show.
I thought it was interesting too that we saw an active who wants more than anything to find her "real" self (Echo), and then we see another active who had the chance to do just that and has turned it down (Whiskey/Saunders). It makes me wonder that if this Echo personality does develop in the end, will she really want to give all that up for a chance to become Caroline again?