Dollhouse 1x06 Man on the Street

Go live in your real world. If you ever did.

We open up on a local news report on the urban legend known as the Dollhouse. A reporter type is walking the streets of Los Angeles, asking people he meets what they think about the whole deal. Interviewee #1 is a sketchy looking dude in front of a convenience store, looking all paranoid. He believes.

Reporter states that the rumors started surfacing in the late '80s for anyone who ends up trying to put a time line on the Dollverse. I don't know if that corresponds to any scientific discoveries of our world or not; probably not important.

Interviewee #2 is a black woman who believes in this new form of slavery and that it can't be voluntary. "Only one reason that someone would volunteer to be a slave; if they is one already." Interviewee #3 is a lower class white woman with an apron and name tag. Not sure if she believes, but she wants to sign up to party with the rich and famous.

The reporter is saying, "Like every good fairy tale, the story grows more intricate and more devisive every decade," as we move out of the tv and into the FBI office where Agent Ballard is running the news story along with the cult footage from last week and the Caroline yearbook footage. He's in Agent Tanaka's office, I think, looking over his files for the kidnapping case from Ghost. Sheppard's been showing up in so many things I watch lately that I had some cognitive dissonance of my own for a second there, trying to remember who he is on this show. 

They trash talk for a bit, Tanaka makes a crass joke about Caroline and hand cream that made me think of Of Mice and Men, then the tussle and Ballard roughs him up and tosses him out. This is the first mention of Ballard being particularly obsessed with Caroline.

In the DH, Echo and Victor are eating together, and Sierra pointedly doesn't join them. Victor goes to invite her over, touches her shoulder, and she screams loudly as if terrified. If that's not creepy enough, cut to her in a gyno chair with Doc. No way this is going to be good. Doc asks about Victor and Sierra says he likes to pretend they're married. Sierra's had sex as a Doll. Ew. And I called the perp right away on this one, but still was very interesting how it played out because it could have gone several ways.

Hearn is all agro about not wanting Victor abusing Sierra, and links him to Alpha, all very realistically played. Boyd and Doc discuss Victor; apparently she or Topher told Boyd about the man reaction, or maybe there was a memo. Hearn didn't seem to know about it until right then though. Doc: "There's a difference between being attracted to someone and hurting them." Yeah, that's more about love than attraction right? And this seems to comment on the Dollhouse in some indirect way and on the case of the week and Ballard, but it's subtle and I'm not sure all that it means yet. Anyway, Echo has been following some of this from the door and offers up that Sierra has been crying at night in the sleep pods. Echo's the Barbie with the glasses and lab coat that came about after the '70s.

Ballard is talking his one friend in the FBI into doing some warrantless searches of an Internet mogul who has a connection to the DH. He's had a break in the case from following the money trail. The DH hedge fund in this case is called Mayfair. I don't know if it's significant that that's the name of an area of London in Westminster or not. Maybe that's Madam's thing. Q-Field and Redwing were the companies linked to the Internet guy, Joel Minor, creator of Bouncy the Rat. (I'm very sorry there's no made-up Internet page of Bouncy. Missed opportunity there.)

Anyway, Ballard has "liked this guy for a while." "You ever thought of asking him out?" No, but maybe champagne and strawberries could enter the picture at some point? Ballard convinces the other agent to help him out using the patented Helo-puppy eyes. He thinks this is his way in since they'll have buried Caroline where he can't find her. Dude, their opinion of your talents is not that high.

Ballard is now at home, eating Chinese take-out with his neighbor (Mellie, who I was calling Ellie) and talking over the case with her because he has no one else to talk to who doesn't think he's nuts. They're getting closer and it's nice. They also talk about her old boyfriend. She makes the second observation about how obsessed he is with Caroline.

Joel Minor is Patton Oswalt! He's awesome in this role. He's waiting in front of a nice house in the suburbs as Rebecca (Echo!) drives up. Ballard's taking out the cute Asian security guard as they meet up. He enters the house and follows the voices to the kitchen. And sees the not so buried Caroline. Wha?! Credits.

Interviewee #4 is an old Jewish? guy wafting poetic about Ida Lupino. He thinks if DH exists, all veterans should be able to have a night with Ida. I don't think he gets how it works. It's not L.A. Confidential's "modeling" agency. Interviewee #5 is a female office worker type who gets giggly at the idea of hiring a man to -- well, she's not going to tell you what for.

Ballard gets over being gobsmacked and tries to tell Rebecca her name is Caroline. She's, of course, playing this in character and thinks her husband did something illegal. "You didn't just break in to impress me?" "It's porn, isn't it?" "My husband does porn." "Is this a porn man?" It's pretty hilarious. Those who think the show isn't funny, take note. Then Ballard's tasered and down, then he's back up and takes out three security guys. He's the energizer bunny of badasses. While he's fighting, Boyd sneaks in and grabs Echo for her treatment. Then Ballard settles down to talk to Minor in this empty house that looks like a dollhouse.

This conversation is brilliant but I won't copy it word for word. We get Minor's story, his very cogent take on reality and the need for fantasy, and his instant understanding of Ballard's focus on Caroline. Obsession mention number three and it's starting to hit home with Ballard. Minor plays out the scene he wanted to enact with his wife when he finally hit it big, but she got killed just before she could find out and he could give her everything he always wanted to give. He thinks Ballard wants to play out the rescue scenario, or the hurt/comfort scenario so prevalent in fan fiction, which is what the Dollhouse is, fan fiction brought to life. Create your own character, be your own Mary Sue, all for real. I just got that connection. That is awesome. And these two actors were both so good here. Wow.

Back at DH, Doc and Topher are questioning Victor about Sierra. He thinks she's beautiful and different, and she makes him feel better. Boyd is talking to Bicks, a fill-in handler for Victor (I wonder what's up with the regular guy). Bicks is freaking out that he's going to be in trouble or he's worried about Victor maybe. But he gives Boyd the clues he needs to put it all together. He talks about how everything is taped and the Dolls couldn't be getting it on without it being seen. And he asks why, when the Dolls are smiling all the time, Sierra only cries at night. Means and opportunity right there. Then they talk about how the Dolls are all broken. That's not what Boyd told Echo after the vault job.

Minor is finishing up his story and Ballard unbends enough to have a strawberry but no champagne. Ballard listens to the story and appreciates what Minor lost, but he's not buying the good guy angle. He talks about how the house is empty, just like he thinks the fantasy is. The upshot is a sideways argument in favor of the DH that sneaks up on you. For a moment you wonder who is the good guy and bad guy here, or if either one fits either role. Is it a matter of what fantasy is better or less selfish? What part does reality play in all of this? By the way, I loved Helo muchly, but it wasn't until DH that Tahmoh began to totally OWN me. He's brilliant and beautiful and I love this character. And for some reason I'm getting a Harrison Ford in Blade Runner vibe off him this week that just makes it more intense. Okay, no more gushing.

Minor convinces Ballard that the cops are coming for him as the crazed trespasser, not innocent property owner guy. Ballard leaves with this: "This is all going to come apart. You might not be punished and I might not be alive, but this house will fall." Like Usher. Which is a story about a girl who was buried alive and who eventually broke out of her tomb. Great.

Minor replies, "First hurdle in my business is that people will not accept the change that has already happened." "Go live in your real world. If you ever did." Much food for thought. 

Interviewee #6 is a hot California blonde. She says that if you could figure out the perfect person you needed, who signed on to help you, it could be okay. "I think that could be, maybe, beautiful." Interviewee #7 is a young woman on an old bike who says it's human trafficking, end of story. Repulsive.

Boyd is in the sleeping area, mapping out the camera dead zones that Victor would have no way of knowing about. He figures it all out and sets a trap by pulling in Victor and Bicks. Victor is so sad. He says he did something bad but no one will tell him what it is. Innocence. Echo asks Boyd where he's going. Hearn is all, "Why don't you go paint something?" (Which she does at the end of the show.) Boyd says he's protecting Sierra.

Ballard is at his apartment with Mellie, getting patched up. Yes, it's a shirtless scene. He had me with his face. Says he would have been able to write the great American arrest report if he hadn't been surprised by Caroline. He remembers his talk with Minor about there being no real girl in his life and he's obsessed by fantasy Caroline. Then he kisses Mellie. Is it for real? Is it proving a point? Does he like her? All three? She doesn't think it's real because she's not all Hollywood model perfect body girl. They agree to just be neighborly neighbors.

At bedtime, Sierra peels off from the rest of the group to enter the dead zone, where mothereffing Hearn is there, using his handler unconditional trust implant to abuse her. Evil son of a bitch! But Boyd not only catches him, he punches him through a pane of glass! Yes!! He's protecting more than just Echo now. And this is showing that there's levels of exploitation involved in all of this, and different people in the organization are involved at these different levels. Anyway, Madam is not happy he didn't let her in on the plan, but happy he figured it out. She gives him a bonus he doesn't ask for, I think not as what she needs to do as boss, but what she needs to do as a person.

Boyd exits and Madam and Mr.D move on to the Ballard sitch. They have a camera in his place, and they start watching it at exactly the point we left them.  Mr.D thinks that the situation is out of control and is wondering if Madam has an exit strategy for when all of this stuff blows up in her face. She's not packing yet, and decides to send Echo out after Ballard. It seems like an assassination thing, but from what we learn later, they don't want him dead, probably because at least they know him and have him covered. They just want to mess him up a bit and show them they are taking an interest and don't play around. 

Interviewee #8 is a genial redneck standing next to his wife, talking about how it might be cool for some guys to be able to do it once with a guy and have it forgotten. Wife is trying to keep smiling. Man on the street is very Springer.

Topher is putting together a persona for Echo. I like the visuals they used of different brain centers melding together into one. It's a nice and simple conceptual way to touch on the much more complicated blending he's doing. He sends his assistant Ivy out for food instead of giving her any chance to help him with the actual work. Ah, life as an intern. He finishes and goes to upload the file and is interrupted by Boyd. Spoiler alert, this is where someone comes in and changes one of Topher's parameters. So is it an accident of timing and opportunity, or is Boyd involved? He could be the man inside, but that would necessitate there being more than one. Ivy is the obvious suspect. Last time she was around I wondered if she was working with Alpha, but this is supposed to be different. Or it could be someone else entirely. And for all we know, there could be other sleepers involved who don't know what's happening. It's a puzzler.

Anyhow, Topher lies to Boyd about Echo's assignment. They obviously don't think that Boyd will be down for the job, which makes sense whether it's assassination or what it actually is. Topher goes back into the lab to imprint Echo and says to her, "Ready to play?" Which references Hearn's game with Sierra and highlights the parallels and different levels again.

Madam interrogates Hearn and is visibly amused when Mr.D causes him some pain. Hearn says, "You put her under some fat old emir. It makes it better because she thinks she's in love for all of a day? We're in the business of using people." Madam: "You understand less about this business than you think." Then she sends out Mr.D and tells Hearn he'll get out of this without going to the attic if he kills Mellie for her. Interesting that the handlers also get sent to the attic, not just the Dolls.

Mellie and Ballard did it! They have sweet post-coital talk that's not annoying, then she tells him that what he's doing is important, and he asks her to look over the case file. I love that while he is playing the stereotypical obsessed with the case to the exclusion of all else detective riff, he's still a nice guy. It's very noir, but also he seems real. Driven, but not completely out of touch or something. I don't know; just love him.

Ballard goes for Chinese, splitting the two of them up when we know badness is coming. Cool shot of Echo reflected in the round glass of the restaurant kitchen door. Alice is through the looking glass. Ballard sees her and goes to the kitchen. She pistol whips him to the ground and does a nice power pose.

Interviewee #9 is a male office worker type. He believes. If you don't think they're controlling you, "Don't worry about it. Just sit back and wait for them to tell you what to buy."

Finally, less typing. So much happens in these episodes. Ballard and Echo have a kickass, very realistic and painful as all hell looking fight that includes another glass door getting smashed. Is this season 1 Smallville? They end up in the alley behind the restaurant. He finally gets the upper hand and she goes all don't hit poor me on him. He lets his guard down and she head butts him to the ground. Then it gets good. Gooder?

"The Dollhouse is real." This was not an assassination attempt! They just sent Echo to get him off the case. "We have a person inside," who corrupted the imprint behind Topher's back. And she says it's not the person who sent the tapes, Alpha, but this imprint parameter is their first communication. She won't tell Ballard where the DH is, but says he's doing it all wrong. "There are over 20 Dollhouses." And he had no idea. Of course, it just occurred to me that this could all be a lie, and Madam is playing a loopier game with Ballard than we know, but that seems stretching it a bit too far. 

Anyway, "The Dollhouse deals in fantasy; that is their business, but that is not their purpose." Eeee. "What is?" "We need you to find out." Oh my god! "You have to let the Dollhouse win; make them back off. You have to trust me," she says, handing him the gun. And then, as a cop runs up, making him shoot the cop and ruining his career. That's just ballsy.

"They don't want to kill you, but they will protect the information." "They don't want you dead, but anyone else..." Which leads him directly to Mellie, knowing she's in danger, which is what the DH wants him to know right? What does that mean about what the inside man knows? Who knows Hearn's mission? Or is that a guess? And what does it mean that his mission is different than we think? OMFG.

So now we get just the creepiest scene of sexual predator Hearn breaking in and attacking Mellie, who's just in a Paul's shirt and underwear, to a classical music score as Ballard is running back to his apartment, dialing on his phone. Disturbing as hell. They struggle, and Hearn has her on the ground and is throttling her when Madam, watching on the vid tap, calls and leaves a message on the machine. "There are three flowers in a vase. The third flower is green." Bam! Sleeper made Active! Damn! I had forgotten that I had wondered if she was a Doll by this point. She beats the crap out of Hearn and kills him. Yes! Then Madam switches her off with a yellow flower, she becomes Mellie again and freaks out as Ballard finally gets there.

Dude, a sleeper Active! So she's Doll, programmed to be Mellie, the neighbor with a crush on Ballard, with a secret imprint of assassin? Totally parallels Echo's assassin Active with a secret imprint of double agent. Totally awesome. This episode made me love her character so much more than I thought I could when she was so pathetically making "leftover" lasagne for Ballard. That's Joss. Make you love them, then give them hell.

Interviewee #10 is a college professor type. "Imagine this technology being used on you. Everything you believe, gone, Everyone you love, strangers, maybe enemies. Every part of you that makes you more than a walking cluster of neurons dissolved at someone else's whim. If that technology exists, it will be used, it will be abused, it'll be global and we will be over as a species. We will cease to matter. I don't know. Maybe we should." Bummer, dude.

Then a sad scene of Paul turning in his badge with no talking, only music. Did I mention the scoring this week has been legen-wait for it-dary? Don't know if this is score or the beginning of the end song. Somehow Tahmoh still conveys that he's not out of the fight, even as he does the head high walk out with some degree of false humility.

Mr.D tells Madam that Ballard is suspended. And apparently Hearn is thought to be a Russian so that they make it all seem to be about the Borodin fued. Neatly done. He congratulates her on her winning hand, and she claims to have played a bad hand well. They're going to do a diagnostic on Mellie to make sure she's okay. I wonder what her name is, this girl programmed to love Ballard? Madam is adamant that they contact the other DHs to warn against handler abuse, which I would have thought would have occurred to somebody before now, given the circumstances they operate under are pretty much what Hearn claimed. Madam seems sad for Sierra, saying Topher's been helping her. "Ignorance in this case truly is bliss." Madam identifies with this particular crime, which is interesting, and reflects the levels again. What is she in this for?

Sierra and Victor have a nice moment of bonding over a picture book, watched by Madam and Mr.D and Boyd and Doc, as always. Madam approaches Echo as she's painting a picture of a house with a man and woman in front of it. Rebecca and Joel Minor? She says it's not finished. The picture? Madam: "You'd like it to be finished?" Then we cut to Minor's fantasy finally being played out with no words, while the beautiful Sweet Dream by Greg Laswell plays. The music is killing me. Minor gets his ghost closure and the show ends on their hands entwined together, pulling out with the memory wipe graphics. This is so dense.

Just a ton of thought-provoking stuff about what the DH is really about, whether what they do is good or bad or neither, what the whole crux of the show means, along with an awesome bunch of plot twists and an ever-deepening mystery. Does TV get any better than this?