Last Dollhouse: Part 2 of an Unaired Episode

Jan 30, 2010 by Kelly    1 Comment     Posted under: Whedon Watch

Screen Capture of “Epitaph 2: The Return” ©20th Century Fox

Season 2, Episode 13: Epitaph 2: The Return

I’ve got to be honest: the still unaired Epitaph One, which is only present on the Season 1 DVD, wasn’t my favorite episode. It wasn’t bad and the storyline was interesting, but it seemed like Joss Whedon had watched Termination Salvation too many times and accidentally internalized it, just like how some fight scenes in Season 7 of Buffy seemed inadvertently (or possibly deliberately) influenced by Lord of the Rings, especially the finale.

Epitaph One seemed way out of place and introduced a slew of new characters I didn’t care for while the main characters of the whole series were only present in flashbacks. This is why I chose to skip Epitaph One last night during my screening of the last Dollhouse ever and tried to tune in at 8 pm to see the series closer. We were told after the previous Dollhouse that there would be a 2-hour time slot for the finale on January 22nd, and scenes implied they were going to play Epitaph One first. Yet when I tuned in at 8 pm the series closer had just ended and I had to wait and watch it online this morning. Epitaph One has remained unwisely unaired. This is confusing to anyone watching Dollhouse this season who didn’t buy Season 1 on DVD.

I understand that the time slot must’ve been pushed to the 29th and shrank because of Haiti and rightfully so, but it I would’ve liked some warning! I’m sure many people missed it (since Dollhouse is usually new at 8pm) or flat-out didn’t understand it, if they’ve never seen Epitaph One and that’s discouraging. Fox is already forcing out a great show, but they couldn’t be bothered to keep it from ending on a confusing note? That’s just like their unwise decision of not airing the incredible pilot of Firefly before diving into a show which didn’t have much overall explanation in its second episode, which was about a train heist. What?

But moving on, Epitaph 2 was much better in my opinion, than the unaired Epitaph One. After the opening scene they returned to the main cast which made it gel better and feel more like Dollhouse. But to do this they basically had to hope we’d suspend disbelief since it’s 10 years later and no one has aged. I was certainly willing to do that so it could feel like the show I’ve come to love, but it’s strange that they didn’t even attempt the tinniest bit of age make-up. Yet age make-up is rarely well-executed so maybe we’re better off.

We were also expected to believe that Victor and Sierra’s great love could possibly be broken-up over a disagreement about whether or not to use “tech” around their kid and that “Tony” had resigned to roam around with a band of misfits that looked like they’d missed the casting call for Road Warrior. At least that silliness didn’t last long.

Alpha’s role in this episode was also completely unbelievable, but I’m such an Alpha fan that I enjoyed it. But it’s odd to see so much faith in him after the past. It’s even stranger that he’s the one who basically brought Ballard and Echo together in the end, when he killed Ballard once. Speaking of which, best line goes to Ballard for once:

Ballard: “The world still needs heroes, kid.”
 
Echo: “Did you really just say that?”
 
Ballard: “What? I was being inspirational.”
 
Echo: “You are so corny.”
 
Ballard: “You’re…fat.” (She’s not.)
 
Also speaking of which, yet another beloved character died by headshot. That makes 3 in just the last 3 aired episodes and each one was completely unexpected.

I’m also glad that the young girl imprinted with Caroline in Epitaph One was given less screen-time in this episode. For the most part I think child actors should be avoided. Unless you find a prodigy like Haley Joel Osment from the Sixth Sense, you should write-out any major role that involves a child if it isn’t necessary for the plot. There didn’t really seem to be a need for another Caroline walking around, and if for some reason there was, she could’ve easily been played by an adult.

But at least the little girl didn’t out-act Eliza. I was slightly worried about that; I have this theory that Eliza lies down so much in the show so she doesn’t have to act as much. But Eliza actually did so well in one scene that she made me cry, so perhaps she’s on her way to a higher level.
 
For the ending, I’m not sure how I feel about Echo laying down in the pods in the last scene. She was a prisoner in the Dollhouse for so long that it seemed unlikely she would find peace there. And the exit music was the wrong tone. Angels falling on me? They couldn’t get something better? Does Sarah McLachlan only do pet commercials now?

Overall despite all my objections, I thought this was a good episode and certainly a nice way to tie up a series that ended far too soon. I just hope Joss Whedon has a new show next fall. Without one what will I write about in Whedon Watch, or, more importantly, do for fun?

Watch this episode here.

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