For folks who never watched “Epitaph One” (the unaired, DVD-extra, 13th episode of season one), Dollhouse really ended last week, with “The Hollow Men,” the last episode that took place in the present-day of the original Dollhouse universe.
This week, “Epitaph Two: Return,” set in 2020, wrapped things up in a way I found more effective, even moving, than I expected. I thought the Mad Max-iness of “One” was as derivative as that comparison makes it sound, but “Two” gave “One” context, and really made both of these book-enders cohere dramatically.
Rather than go through a recap of an episode that Dollhouse watchers without benefit of “Epitaph One” may have found baffling anyway, I’ll let you knowledgeable fans discuss it among yourselves in the Comments section below, and instead, I’ll tote up what I think are the Winners and Losers in the great Dollhouse experiment. As Paul Ballard said last night, “This is where it gets interesting.”
Losers:
Joss Whedon He never stops trying something utterly different from what anyone else in television is doing, and he’s always punished for it with a modest-at-best audience. Who does the cancellation of Dollhouse make more wary: him or any broadcast-network exec tempted to work with him again?
Eliza Dushku Given (a) plum role(s), Dushku sometimes seemed not quite up to the task of portraying all the various characters with which she was imprinted. Sometimes they just seemed like a slight variations on either slow-talking robotic Echo, or butt-kicking Echo/Caroline. Where does the failure of this series leave her TV career? Maybe in search of something very different. Bet she’s looking at ABC’s Modern Family and wondering if her agent should get her the next smart sitcom.
Topher I went back and forth on this character, but ultimately (as in last night’s finale), his manic-nerd mannerisms, no matter how many times they were partially redeemed by a subplot showing the real man inside the man-boy, just grated. The challenge for actor Fran Kranz will be to prove he has the range to do something more nuanced than brilliant-but-squawky Topher.
Fox Not a terrible villain at all, but not a hero, either. The network took a chance, it didn’t pay off, which could have made them look gutsy. Instead, by doing things like the reported big-footing interference in the early-panic stage of the series, not airing “Epitaph One,” and burning off the second season on Friday nights, Fox looks a bit squirrely.
Winners:
Joss Whedon He’s free to be courted by cable. FX, Showtime, HBO, AMC — who knows where he’ll take his next project, but who among us will not be front-and-center for its premiere?
Olivia Williams She was ultimately one of the two actors whose performances became richer, more sly and knowing, with each week. I’d love to see her in another series, soon.
Enver Gjokaj And he’s the other one who comes out of this looking like a deft, dexterous actor who could slide into almost any genre and succeed with charm to spare.
David Solomon He directed some of the best episodes, from “Spy In The House Of Love” to “The Public Eye” to both of “Epitaph” hours with flair and economy (both in his sense of atmospheric storytelling, and making do with the budget he had).
So, what did you think of the final Dollhouse? And who do you think are the winners and losers now that the series is over?
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I really wish I had seen Epitaph One, because last night was a little confusing and slight letdown. It ended quickly. The EMP to return everyone to whoever they were before seemed a little easy, and I wasn’t sure how Echo and a handful of others would survive in the old dollhouse for… years?
Would it have killed them to run One belatedly, then Two? The child Caroline really had no purpose. Otherwise, it was a good series, good conclusion and I want the dvd.
also, seeming the suddenly good Alpha was confusing. I thought his last favor would be to have Paul put into his body, but Echo put Paul into her mind instead. what happened to Alpha at the end?
Alpha was able to integrate all his personalities into his being making him sane and emotionally stable. Simply put, Alpha like Echo evolved.
Didn’t Alpha already download Paul into his mind in a previous show? The show where he “killed” Paul and left him practically brain dead?
Alpha could have stayed below with Echo and accessed “Paul” for her at will. I didn’t understand why he would want to go up and be restored to his previous unstable self.
Not Alpha, he is too broken. A better solution would have been to put Paul Ballard’s brain in Whiskey’s body. You could keep true love alive and go all lesbian at the same time. It would have been pure awesome.
In fact, a little more of that type of awesome and the show might have lived another season.
Cheers,
Matt
dollhouse was a great show. why is it being canceled. Firefly was also a great show. I’m tried of good shows getting canceled and bad shows like reality TV. going on. I barely watch T.V. anymore.
I also think Tru Calling was a cool show.
I agree! I really liked that show!!
I agree. The episode was rushed and too fast. This episode should have been made into 3 hours. If this is the direction Joss Whedon was taking the show, I wish he would have had a chance. Watching epitaph 2 made me want to see how it got this point. It would have made a great show. Too bad we will never see it. I don’t see them making a “Serenity” type movie ever for the Dollhouse. It was a show that had potential, but never delivered.
By design there can’t be a Serenity type movie, since the story has been resolved altogether.
marjo, take a look online as there are several sites where you can buy/download epitaph one. I did that prior to watching epitaph 2 and am very glad as I don’t think the episode would have made sense (to me) otherwise. Personally I was a bit sad by how they left things with most of the characters. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t need everything to be wrapped up in a nice pretty little bow but for pretty much everyone but a couple characters the ending was depressing as hell
The series finale was brilliant. It left me completely shell-shocked and sadden. Once again, Joss Whedon decided to separate lovers by death; once again, i didn’t see the moment coming. There is some much to digest from the finale. What does become clear from watching Epitaph Two is that Joss was weaving a brilliant series underneath all the Echo as whore stories. While the series went out with a bang figuratively and literaly-thanks too Topher- fans will be left to ponder what nuances
could have played out by Olivia Williams and Enver Gjokaj if given more expansive story lines had the series gone on. Another point or two:
While Eliza Dushku often seemed to phone in her performances, she acting was on par last night. However , everyone would agree the lead would have been better with someone with wider acting skills.
Unlike Ken Tucker, I thought Fran Kranz played Topher thoughtfully considering he went from being a worm to being a tragic torture person wracked with guilt.
I think Eliza Dushku is a great actress.
I agree about Topher. I’ve never understood the large amounts of hate thrown his way. I think people expected him to fill the Xander/Wash role and I think that’s what Whedon was trying to avoid. I thought Fran Kranz played the tragic hero in Epitaph 1&2 brilliantly. I also thought the mother/son relationship he has with DeWitt in the future was very well-played.
I also completely agree with Gregoire about Enver. He deserves his own series after his performance on Dollhouse. Victor sits solidly in my top 3 Whedon characters along with Wesley and Wash.
Hollywood, please hire Enver Gjokaj! I also love that he didn’t change his name.
Marjo, it was already established that Alpha was a serial killer in prison before becoming a doll. He wanted to be alone after the EMP explosion because he wasn’t sure what his state of mind would be immediately afterwards–he didn’t want to risk hurting anyone.
I think Marjo was asking why he wanted to be reverted back to his previous state after he had evolved. Marjo was pointing out he could have stayed beneath the pulse and remained his evolved self like echo did.
According to the explanation, Alpha left because he wasn’t sure what would happen to him when the pulse hit him. Would he forget everything? Would he go insane again and be violent? We never saw him change from violent to civilized, but apparently something happened (if something specific was mentioned in either Epitaph episode, I missed it) that made him work for the White Hats. He wanted to be where he couldn’t hurt anyone.
Okay, but surely if he stayed below he wouldn’t get hit by the pulse…of course it could be the case that he didn’t want to live with the guilt of all that he’d done, perhaps he couldn’t bear to spend a year with an Echo who would never love him, perhaps he just thought the original “him” had a right to exist again, but frankly his character just hadn’t had enough time to develop for us to assume or invest in any of those ideas. It was a very weird plot conceit overall, and too confusing for the short time they had to confuse it. The one jarring note in an otherwise very moving episode.
sorry, “for the short time they had to introduce it”
i like Eliza Dushku’s work and that “her agent should get her the next smart sitcom” is such bad advice. I don’t watch “smart sitcom’s” . I enjoy off center writing that makes a person pay attention to the story. Give me more of Joss Whedon’s type of shows.
You wouldn’t describe “Arrested Development” (the archetype for all smart-sitcoms) “off-center writing that makes a person pay attention to the story”?
I basically agree. It seems trendy to trash Dushku, but I found her acting more than adequate. She didn’t show the flash of Gjoka (whose highly varied personas were amazing) but her acting never bothered me. She mostly did modest variations on the same character, but, hey, that works for Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Julia Roberts, and many others. Anyway, the ideas are really the star in a Joss Whedon project and they were first-rate. The only mistake was not having enough in the first several episodes.The smart viewers, to whom this type of show appeals, tend to be smaller in number and busier. Attracting enough of them quickly enough requires a bit of luck (or a huge marketing budget). And the Friday time slot was another boat anchor dragging the show down. I’m looking forward to the next Whedon project!
Let’s not forget that Dushku also was the executive producer for many episodes. She has cultural cache as Faith/Echo and producing credentials. She has lots of opportunities ahead.
I like Eliza just fine, but she is definitly not a great actress. And I do not say this because her characters are too similar, but because she too often let’s her own personality shine through, and because she too often seems exactly like she’s acting.
I agree with most of these points and hope we see Enver and Olivia on TV soon. Amazing actors. Hope Joss gets a cable show asap. Maybe he can bring them on?
Oh except Topher…I thought he ended being one of the best characters.
Second that.
Third. I thought he did a very good job as the series continued, and I liked (most of) his story line, even in this last episode.
Fran Kranz was amazing last night. Topher’s downfall was so heartbreaking and his sacrifice to dissolve his tech was so well done.
I agree with the original comments, I hated Topher! Incredibly irritating smart arse though most of the show and tortured genius in the later eps but he was still irritating!
BTW, the death of Ballard was totally pinched from Sarah Connor Chronicles almost identical killing off of Derek in the penultimate episode.
Agree on Olivia Williams and Enver Gjokaj, they were excellent.
Really a huge plot hole with Topher’s demise. He could have engineered a remote control or timer to detonate the device rather than stand right next to it.
Topher wanted to die, that’s why he didn’t build a remote.
I would also list Amy Acker as a winner. As on Angel, she demonstrated her incredible range and versatility. Now, she needs a role worthy of her abilities!
Agreed, Amy Acker is AMAZING! Ever since she flexed her true acting muscles on Angel with the whole Fred become Illyria thing I have loved her range and ability to morph into whatever she needs to be. I think she could have easily been the star of this show.
see, now while i didn’t think poorly of her on dollhouse i thought her work on angel to be utterly lackluster at best. Illyria couldn’t have been more difficult to play then the Terminator and Fred was just not a convincing southern belle/genius. At least, in my humble opinion.
Totally agree. While I didn’t love Fred, I think Acker is a stellar actress. She probs should have been cast as Echo. Think about it. How much better for it would she have been?
I enjoyed the finale, it felt rushed (would it have killed FOX to give them two hours…it still would have been a lot to wrap up in a little time, but sheesh, it’s Joss Whedon, have some respect FOX!) and it revealed so many interesting story threads we didn’t get to explore…making you resent the pop star ep in season one even more : ). Losers? The audience. For all the noise about accepting audience fragmentation, the most loyal fragment TV audience- Whedonites, continues to be teased with a taste of interesting and innovative storytelling followed by the inevitable premature cancellation. Whedon’s next big idea needs a different venue…Internet, basic cable, pay cable..whatever. Regarding the broadcast networks, we should all remember the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result : )
I agree with everything you wrote Ken, especially Dushku’s limits, except for Fran Kranz (Topher). I think he succeeded ultimately with the role; especially when working with Olivia Williams.
I am glad it ended the way it did, and gave closure to Epitaph One. The only weakness from start to finish was Dushku. The little girl who portrayed Caroline was a far superior actress, and she was by no means outstanding.
Absolutely. I loved the scenes with him and Olivia Williams. They always had a great chemistry together–whether it was in the harsh boss/put-upon employee mode or in the almost mother/son vibe they had at the end.
I think last night’s finale had its moments, but it did not, in my opinion, compare favorably with “Epitaph One,” which managed to hit a lot of strong notes while dropping us into the middle of a totally different arc and set of characters.
It took a while for me warm up to this show. I hated more episodes (the aired ones, that is) than I liked in the first season, but the second season was pretty solid. I agree that Dushku didn’t quite have the spark to make this show revolve around her successfully, but I was very impressed by the supporting cast. Enver Gjokaj blew me away with his performances, and I think one of the best episodes of the series, which focused on Sierra, was made even stronger by Dichen Lachman’s performance. We have certainly not seen the last of these actors.
I have to disagree about Topher. I thought Fran did such a great job of evolving him this season. I knew Joss would kill characters off in this ep but Topher hurt almost as much as killing Wash in Serenity. Even though it’s just a show you want the characters you love to live on.
Eliza Dushku by no means a ‘bad’ actress. Granted she’s not the chameleon Enver is she can still deliver stellar performances, just like season two Echo and especially Epitaph Two. Although, I remember you referred to her in early season one (paraphrased) as if she had her head hit with a shovel, so it doesn’t surprise me you’re still bagging on her.
I’ve become a fan of all involved. Including Eliza. I’ll be watching whatever they do next in a heartbeat.
Besides making a complicated show and airing it on a network, I think the biggest mistake was creating a show to showcase Dushku’s range. She has none. I can’t believe Joss can’t see that. She is great as Faith. She is awful as vulnerable, Her big scene last night was laughable.
Really? I thought her breakdown scene last night was one of the best ones she’s had in the show.
I wasn’t a big fan of Eliza’s acting, but I do agree that she really delivered, surprisingly, in Epitaph Two. Her breakdown about Paul almost made me cry.
I don’t particularly have anything against Eliza, but I found the breakdown scene thoroughly predictable. though that could’ve been the writing. I wanted to be touched, I really did, but I just wasn’t.
The problem with Dushku isn’t that she is a bad actress, just a limited one. Some actors have a facility with accents, for example. Some have the ability to vanish in a role. Some actors are good at one type of character, but they’re pretty darn good at it.
I thought Enver Gjokaj and Dichen Lachman (Sierra) both were impressive at changing characters, as was Amy Acker. I was surprised by Gjokaj and Lachman, because they were not given much to do, so they seemed like “eye candy” casting.
spot on, Enver, Dichen and Amy were just brilliantly versatile on this show.
Eliza Dushku’s acting on Dollhouse was as good as Sarah Michelle Geller’s on Buffy! Both were the leads of a show where the supporting cast were better.
Cath, your delusional
When it came time to program the Dollhouse recording I found that I just didn’t care anymore. I didn’t record it, didn’t watch it and don’t miss it.
That’s too bad for you. Dollhouse has become more amazing since it was given it’s death sentence and last nights episode was so awesome. It had comedy, tragedy, redemption, the ever present theme of guns are useless (love that Joss Whedon shows really try to drive this point home). It was amazing and I’m so sad that this is the end.
I totally agree, Liz. I noticed the episodes got better and better after its cancellation announcement. Joss went out with a bang, literally and figuratively. Though I was heartbroken over Paul’s death, I’m so glad Joss kept Tony and Priya together. Also, Ken, we need to start a campaign for Enver! He needs more work now that Dollhouse is over and he’s got the talent to do it!!
Chappel, I think this makes YOU the BIGGEST WINNER of all.
I say good riddance to a terrible show (that I admittedly watched every episode of).
I’m SO glad I’m not the only one who thinks this show deserved to be canceled. I love Joss’ other stuff, but a stinker is a stinker, and not everything he does should automatically be considered “brilliant.” Nor should Fox get all the blame: It stayed with the show longer than anyone else, probably solely out of some Firefly-related debt to him. I’ve watched every episode but the finale, and came here to see if it was even worth watching. Truth is, except for Victor I don’t care about any of them anymore. Paul was poorly conceived from the start, they made the one consistently likable character the bad guy ONLY to shock us, and they killed off the only truly innocent (Melly) for what exactly? Eliza Dushku pleasantly surprised me with her acting. I was totally there with Echo/Caroline … until her character(s) no longer made ANY sense. And the only time Topher wasn’t annoying was when Enver was playing him. That guy is brilliant!
Longer than anyone else WOULD HAVE, is what I meant.
I enjoyed the finale, although, I agree, it should have been longer. And, I also agree with some other posters in that I was disappointed in Dushku’s performance overall.
I hope Joss finds a proper venue for his next project. I’ll be there.
I’m hoping that the DVD will have a full unrated complete version over the hack job done to the finale.