Episode Discussion 2.05 "The Public Eye" & 2.06 "The Left Hand" - both aired 4/12/09 (FOX-US)

Flannen

Flannen

Flannix
Joined
Mar 7, 2009
Messages
3,544
Age
37
Location
UK
Source: Dollhouse Episode Guide - TV.com

Senator Daniel Perrin is on a mission to expose secrets of the Dollhouse and Echo is sent to put an end to his plan. Adelle and Topher meet programmer Bennett Halverson in Washington DC and discover her mysterious connection to Echo's past.
Click to expand...

Discuss the first of the double hill of the latest Dollhouse, right here! What did everyone think? 🙂
 
2.06 "The Left Hand" - Aired 4/12/09 (FOX-US)

Source: Dollhouse Episode Guide - TV.com

Echo meets Bennett Halverson in Washington and both of them receive a shock. Adelle must deal with her DC counterpart, Stewart Lipman. Topher recruits Victor, and Senator Perrin finds unexpected help in his quest to reveal the activities of the Rossum Corporation.
Click to expand...

What did you think of the second instalment of this week's Dollhouse? 🙂
 
It's not as good as Belle Chose and Belonging, in my opinion.

I love the twist that Senator Perrin is a Doll. But I started to get tired of these "Oh, he/she is actully a Doll!" thingy. Again with the absent of some main characters. But we got to see Maurissa Tanchareon. 😀 I hearts Ballard in pricey shirt more and more. He looks much better than when he was an FBI.

At first, I didn't like the idea that Mellie turned against the Dolllhouse because she volunteered in the first place. Plus, she was freed before her time. But when she said she had to live with knowing she killed a man for the rest of her life, it's understandable.

Summer Glau's character is interesting. I think she's scary than every demons in Buffyverse. She's like Dollhouse version of Caleb. Summer always gets that 'dead' face on her. I'm so, so wanna know what happened between Bennett and Echo.

Umm, Eliza and Alexis in the car like in Salvage of Angel. 😀
 
Well, despite this episode getting off to a slow start, it was excellent I thought. I never saw it coming that the Senator was a Doll. I was totally going along with the idea that his wife was one. What a great twist.

Bennet is quite the interesting character. What is her connection to Caroline? Bennet says Caroline was her "best friend." Was the flashback of the night Caroline and her BF broke into the Rossum Corp to free the monkeys? Was Bennet left behind? I think it was a totally different thing. What do you all think? It looked as if a bomb had went off. I wouldn't put it past Caroline to bomb a place. (Summer looks very good, I might add. She plays crazy so well!)

And finally....a girl who Topher is interested in! Yippee! Their awkward dynamic is absolutely adorable. Their initial mutual admiration...loved it. Too bad she's totally INSANE.

Missed Sierra in this episode. Wonder what she's up too?

Also, it's become quite apparent that my suspicions were true about Topher having serious social anxiety issues. He was freaking out in that limo with Adelle.

Question: Do you think Bennet's attraction to Topher was faked, or do you think she is genuinely attracted to him?
 
I'm not going to say too much on this episode, purely because I watched both back to back and now they've merged into one. I don't want to say anything that is actually in the next episode and ruin something for people.

There were a few jaw-dropping moments this episode that I really enjoyed. I see what you mean, Min, about 'who's a doll' but I thought it was a nice twist when it was Perrin who stood up with a bleeding nose. I loved the fight scene where Ballard takes those guys out with his hands tied behind back.

At first I couldn't decide if I liked Bennett or not. I decided quite quickly that I really didn't/don't.
 
AHHHH! First to post, am I? Let me get the discussion going.

First off; Wow. There was so much going on in this episode I had a hard time mentally keeping up!

How funny was Victor's interpretation of Topher? ROTFL. I was laughing so hard.

It was a great surprise to see Ray Wise in this episode. He played the father in Twin Peaks, another on my all-time favorite shows.

I thought Alexis was fantastic. He played the whole breakdown so well when he found out he was a Doll. Him and Eliza look great on-screen together. When Bennet programmed him to kill Echo, it reminded me so much of Wes in 'Billy'!

That scene with when they're cutting their trackers out of each other's necks? EW! Joss, what were you thinking?!

Who will become of Echo? I disagree that she's helpless as Adelle says. I think she can handle herself, and she will prove to us that she is her own person. I think, if she was given the choice, she would not choose to go back to Caroline. Echo is becoming her own person. Paul and Boyd both believe that, I think. Thoughts?

When the Senator told Echo that she didn't seem "finished", he didn't think her imprint had fully engaged - wow, it gave me chills. Great line.

The whole "white knight" theme is becoming a bit heavy-handed, in my opinion. We already saw that played out with Paul - why make it Daniel's safe word? Eh.

It was nice to see Madeline back (she's one of my favorites) but not like this. I don't like where they're going with her character.

Back to my paper. More thoughts when I re-watch it later.
 
I agree, the two Tophers totally stole the show! Enjer was fantastic; picking up every mannerism, every twitch and nailed his voice perfectly.

Yup, so, definitely don't like Bennett by this point. I think she's evil! 😛

I wasn't THAT impressed with Alexis, sorry. I just wasn't. It wasn't a bad performance by any means, but I didn't think it was amazing.

I picked up on the whole Echo wants to be Echo thing that they're moving towards. I think I'd quite like for her to not go back to being JUST Caroline, she's capable of so much more.

I simply adored how Topher reacted to realising what Bennett done and that Echo might be killed. He genuinely felt for Echo and it was his turn to make someone think about their morals, which I really liked.

I think I might be the only who doesn't like Madeline? There's just something about her since she left the Dollhouse that makes her really hard to like for me. Not so much in this episode, but in earlier ones she's so smug, it drives me nuts.
 
I loooooved Victor as Topher, oh, blending memories like Connor in AtS (recurring theme of Joss) only Perrin was troubled where Connor found some peace of mind.
 
I've merged these two threads to save confusion. I don't know about anybody else but I can't determine what happened in which episode, so to make sure no one gets spoiled if they haven't watched them together, we'll have them discussed together and hopefully people will join in when they have seen both episodes 🙂
 
U
ubi4soft
Thank god (I've already messed them up)
F
faeriegrrl27
[No message]
Just when I think I can't love Enver anymore he gives us Kiki and then when I know it is impossible to love him anymore he gives us Victor!Topher!

Possibly the best actor Joss has ever hired, seriously.
 
Gotta agree with Kean about Enver.
Must admit that it took me a while to see it but the guy is brilliant.
Victor as Topher was amazing.

I complained in the beginning of season 1 that it felt that everyone turned out to be a doll, it just got a bit old.
Now they did that trick again. Still, I got mixed feelings about it. It was in the end a quite interesting turn, so I don't want to complain to much about it.

Overall I really liked the both episodes. The show works really great with these kind of episodes.

/SK
 
Thanks for merging it, Lou. I watched them together and I'm almost confused. And Becky, I thought about Wes in Billy too. 😀

Now, about The Left Hand. It's a very good episode. I agree with everyone about Enver. I adored his acting since he was Mr. Dominic.

I also love the interaction between Topher and Bennett too. I think she really liked him. And with her psycho, I started to like her even I should hate her. I think she's funny. I was laughing so hard when she knocked herself on TV. I was "Oh, girl. Show me what else you can do?" 😛 I like when Topher punched her too.

I feel so sorry for Madeleine. She's suffering again. Will she ever be happy again in this life? 🙁
 
I wondered, when the senator first showed up, if he was a doll, but then it didn't make any sense. I got an inkling of it when Echo knocked him out to stage that sex tape thing, and I thought the way they explained it--that he's really him, but different--was pretty much brilliant.

And Victor is the awesomest person on this show. I couldn't breathe for laughing so hard.
 
Victor is amazing. Him as Topher has me laughing out loud. The laughing turned hysterical when Topher and him started going back and forth about Bennet!
Summer Glau was very pretty! I am now shipping Benphor 😀 They were so awkward in a cute way.
Never saw Perrin being a doll. Great twist. Along with Madeline doing the press conference.
The episode was very intense, had me drawn in in the first five minutes after seeing madeline, and yet still had those hilarious moments.
It was very cool to see Maurissa as a doll as well. I jumped up and yelped when I saw her!
Its a bit bittersweet there were two episodes. I would have been going crazy wondering what was going to happen if it ended on the first. On the other hand, both episodes were insanly brilliant and maybe if Fox had just waited a little longer...
AHH! I won't think like that or I'm gonna go crazy 😛
 
Wow, I'm blown away. There's just something about these episodes that I really, really loved. I'm a fan of "After the end" kind of scenarios and this felt like a HUGE step towards the world portrayed in "Epitaph One". I can't even pin-point exactly what it was, I just... wow. You're seeing me speechless here, folks.


So, details:

What a brilliant actor Enver is! Agreeing with Kean and sk73 when I say that I believe he's the best actor I have seen in any of Whedon's shows. He was just Topher. Completely down to every mannerism and speech pattern. I never saw the actor portraying the character like I do with Eliza, I just saw... Topher. Amazing.

Really loved the two Tophers interacting, that was brilliant and how he just got sick of himself in the end. xD

I liked the twist where we find out that not Perrin's wife is the doll but Perrin himself. I had my suspicions from where he passed out (don't really know why, his wife just seemed too easy.) but the element of surprise was still there for me when we find out he's really Perrin but not really. You get what I mean, right?

Flannen, I don't much like Madeline either, there's just something really loathable about her. I'm also not a huge fan of Perrin's wife. I like her handler-persona but her wife-persona makes me want to vomit. Good thing she's dead.

I really liked the Bennett character, she's kind of a dark side of Topher (wow, there's something I never thought I'd say), someone you just love to hate. I wonder if she's going to return? Her connection to Caroline seems to indicate so.

Finally, the end - I was afraid they'd do some kind of as*pull to get Echo back to the Dollhouse but the fact that they didn't shows the big steps the show is making. I just wished they had started this sooner.

Yes, that was me being speechless. I still babble. xD
 
Great episodes, i really liked Bennet and i do genuinely believe she likes Topher. I though they were really great together, very cute stuff.

Alexis wasnt that great acting wise, i dont know what it is. Maybe its just that being british makes you seem like a better actor, i dont know. The twist with him being the doll was great though, i never saw that one coming. Enver as usual was unfrickenbelievable!!

Anyway, really good solid eps. I really like how its (hopefully) no longer standalone eps, and i seriously have a feeling it will only get better form here.

And PS, i hate Miracle Laurie with a passion, no matter what character she plays she is truly horrible. The worst actor on DH by far, i'm just hoping she gets killed off because all of her scenes are really painful to watch.
 
F
faeriegrrl27
Being British does add a little *umph,* doesn't it?
I really loved this episode. The two Tophers made my life!!!! More and more the guy that play Victor is impressing me. He does such great impersonations. I find the expressions he makes so admirable... when he was Mr. Old Head of Security (I'm bad with names...) and when he was Topher... he got them *perfectly.*

Summer Glau was awesome. At first I was a little unsure... Joss had said that she would be playing a different role from the previous ones but it didn't seem like it. But it evolved and she became not just some crazy, semi-monotonal chick, but this girl who had all these layers. I absolutely think she had a real thing for Topher. I hope so much that she's going to come back... and that they reach a reconciliation. And I totally loved that she wasn't a doll. 🙂

I thought Adelle was great. It was nice having her stand up to someone *and* get her way. Normally the latter doesn't happen. I loved her saying "They're all special."

I kind of had a small inkling that Perrin might be a doll, but the shocking part, I thought, was that his wife was his Watcher... er, I mean handler. 😀

I was a little confused at the end, though. What with all the stuff he was saying, I wasn't sure if Rossum had gotten to Perrin or not. I'm guessing they did, though. But clarification would be nice.
 
I only watched the first episode, and plan on watching the second tomorrow night.

I really love Bennett already, and look forward to seeing more of her!

I can't believe Perrin is a Doll! Though, if Joss uses that again, I might get a little sick of it. First Saunders, and now the Senator. 😛
 
F
faeriegrrl27
I know... isn't everyone a doll these days? But I did like Saunders being a doll.
They made Perrin a doll? Boo! That makes me not want to watch the show anymore. I'm gonna go watch Angel instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom