Epitaph One Theory (contains spoilers)

[Otaku Mike]

Alright, after I posted my thoughts on this episode and how, despite it being amazingly good, it would reduce my interest for season 2, I got a chance to think about it more.

As I said, I don't see any time travel occuring in DollHouse. It's just not that level of scifi. So it would seem that what we saw in Epitaph 1 (E1) is the actual future, and nothing can be done to change it.
But Joss Whedon is not stupid. I think we all agree here that he's a very talented writer. So why would he spoil the end of the series like that? Because... drum rolls... It's not real. The Epitaph episodes series, I suspect, are only imagined or dreamed by one of the characters. And when the time is right, that dreamworld will be revealed as such. So that all we thought we knew about the end will be swept from under us in a very Whedon-like twist.

My theory is that this is all imagined/dreamed by Alpha. Clues that lead me to this conclusion are:
- Caroline says they have Alpha to thanks for the Safe Haven: I could very well imagine Alpha dreaming himself to be the hero that saves the world.
- Caroline is the hero: this would seem normal as she is the series main character, but she is also the one that Alpha wants the most for himself. To be worthy of him, he would want her to be as essential to humanity's survival as he is. He would fantasize that they team up to save the world, and leave Ballard for him (Caroline says they aren't together anymore).
- Whiskey has a tragic fate: Alpha hates Whiskey. But he's so twisted that in his imagination, he would want her to suffer a very long time before dying. In E1, Whiskey has her heart broken, lose her sanity, and then commits an unnecessary suicide (she could have stayed in the safe room where she activated the gaz release instead of coming out to the balcony).
- The episode's structure is jolted, with several flashbacks that are not in chronological order. Even the way the episode is directed and filmed is different and more "jumpy". That could very well represent the chaotic mess of thoughts that are in Alpha's head.

So, why make this false future if it's all a dream? Because Whedon wants us to fear the Imprint technology. He wants us to be scared and support even further Echo's struggle to retrieve her personality and fight the DollHouse. He also wants to show us how bad it could all go, so that when Caroline succeeds at foiling the DH's plans, it feels like an even grander victory.
And because it would be such a Joss Whedon thing to do to mislead us for several seasons, until the truth is revealed in a big twist...

So, what do you think? Am I onto something, or just grasping at straws?

Mike

 

[caritas08]

Good theory. I like the idea that the flash forwards could be the manipulated/partly false memories of one of the characters. The future of the dollhouse is definitely not as cut and dry as Epitaph 1 might seem.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

I think Joss said that the events depicted in E1 are in fact memories rather than actual events, so they might not be perfectly reliable. Of course, that explanation is probably just a way to escape having written themselves into a corner. Maurissa said when they wrote this ep, they thought they had zero chance of getting a second season.

 

[Pulse]

What's the most compelling thing to me about Joss' comment about how these memories may not be reliable therefore means that these memories are from an even later period (logically it would be more than days, at least months or years in my opinion) so who knows if the main characters have even seen the worst of what the world will become. Also, if our main characters heads are getting played with, therefore I ask.. WHO? WHY? WHEN? This episode was CRAZY in my opinion, so I am really excited for the possibilities of next season.

Joss pretty much also was like "@%#@ it, I'm going to do what I want from now on" so I hope he heads toward the storyline in this episode quite quickly. I really would like a season 3, but I'd also like this storyling wrapped up just in case we don't.