Dollhouse #1.12 "Omega"

[Vergon6]

Discuss the season finale of Dollhouse here ;).

[Hopefulsuicide]

I wish I was watching it with you David :( ... will be speaking about it tomorrow thought :D Can't bloody wait!

[Vergon6]

It seems like Alpha has several imprints within him. Now it's a flashback to a few years ago.

----- Added 4 Minutes later -----

Woah, Amy Acker's doctor character used to be a doll, using the Crystal imprint that Alpha took with him (that he imprinted on Echo).

----- Added 12 Minutes later -----

I am guessing that Dr. Saunders is Omega. She was the top doll before Echo. The real Dr. Saunders was a man.

----- Added 14 Minutes later -----

Alpha is stealing some girls life, and going to imprint her. Alpha keeps on shifting imprints.

----- Added 17 Minutes later -----

Alpha has multiple personalities definitely.

----- Added 28 Minutes later -----

Oh man. Alpha had used banzai tree pruning shears to cut 'Whiskey' (Dr. Saunders) so Echo would be the most popular doll.

Alpha is the composite of 48 personalities.

----- Added 29 Minutes later -----

Alpha is going to make Caroline a composite, and he is making Caroline in another body watch the entire time.

----- Added 30 Minutes later -----

He is turning Echo into Omega, that's the composite. Woohoo! His plan back fired. Omega hit him instead of Caroline lol

----- Added 34 Minutes later -----

Alpha was basically Ted Bundy in training in his old life.

[Vergon6]

That was the best episode of Dollhouse. If that is the series finale, that was one hell of one.

[bizzaroboy9]

i loved it! i do hope that dollhouse is back for another season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:D

[darkphoenix21]

I loved Omega. This was what I initially thought the series was going to be about; a girl witth some literal kickass personalities. I wished they had left Echo with all the inprints. Omega is the only one that can match Alpha. Alpha will be back and they'll eventually need Omega too, to match him. So I hope this isn't the last we see of her or the show for that matter.


Dollhouse needs to back for a sophomore season. It deserves a better time/day. The show got better and better, and hope it comes back with a vegence.

[Vergon6]

What I liked was how 'Omega' rejected the name, and actually retained the name Echo as her composite identity. Yeah, it would have been interesting to see her keep the imprints. Alpha still on the loose, Ballard joining the Dollhouse-not to mention him saving 'the girl' after all (well catching the hard drive) and arranging for Madeleine's release, Dr. Saunders true identity revealed...wow.

[darkphoenix21]

What I liked was how 'Omega' rejected the name, and actually retained the name Echo as her composite identity. Yeah, it would have been interesting to see her keep the imprints. Alpha still on the loose, Ballard joining the Dollhouse-not to mention him saving 'the girl' after all (well catching the hard drive) and arranging for Madeleine's release, Dr. Saunders true identity revealed...wow.

Yet, IMHO it didn't seem like a season finale. I mean there wasn't any big cliffhanger. Alpha escaped yeah, but they really didn't elaborate on that. They ended with them going to sleep; Echo calling out "Caroline", which wasn't that shocking. I wanted something to make me want to find out what happens next.

[lAfrik]

It wasn't supposed to be the finale, but we're talking about Fox here. Let's see if it gets renewed.

[InactiveUserID]

So Topher purposely gave Caroline back to Echo?
And she instantly recognized the gift?
Or was she just thankful for the treatment because she semi-remembered the multiple personality mess? Which would mean she wasn't Caroline again at the end but semi-remembered that this was her name.
Topher must also be legitimately concerned about whether he can keep the wedges safe. So making Caroline a sleeper inside Echo makes sense--that way she'd be a walking backup for herself.

And hasn't she been Omega all season long? Maybe her other personalities were only partially awake till now though.


So why was Amy Acker programmed to hate Topher?
I mean, I hate him too, but that's just because of the way he always talks with his hands. Did he program her to act as the dollhouse's conscience? (Since he doesn't seem to have one himself and maybe after the first Alpha attack he sensed the dollhouse needed a conscience.)

Good Acker ep. Go Buffyverse.
There was a Galactica Boys reunion in front of the building during the bomb scare. Go Battlestar!

I liked it. Joss was whispering in the background "It's not a finale, it's not a finale, ...." So it didn't have that finale feel. Still liked it, and I enjoyed this show enough to watch every episode.

[Vergon6]

If they somehow miraculously get a second season, there are so many more things for them to explore. I wonder if Amy Acker would end up being added as a series regular if that happened.

----- Added 3 Minutes later -----


So Topher purposely gave Caroline back to Echo?
And she instantly recognized the gift?
Or was she just thankful for the treatment because she semi-remembered the multiple personality mess? Which would mean she wasn't Caroline again at the end but semi-remembered that this was her name.
Topher must also be legitimately concerned about whether he can keep the wedges safe. So making Caroline a sleeper inside Echo makes sense--that way she'd be a walking backup for herself.

And hasn't she been Omega all season long? Maybe her other personalities were only partially awake till now though.


So why was Amy Acker programmed to hate Topher?
I mean, I hate him too, but that's just because of the way he always talks with his hands. Did he program her to act as the dollhouse's conscience? (Since he doesn't seem to have one himself and maybe after the first Alpha attack he sensed the dollhouse needed a conscience.)

Good Acker ep. Go Buffyverse.
There was a Galactica Boys reunion in front of the building during the bomb scare. Go Battlestar!

I liked it. Joss was whispering in the background "It's not a finale, it's not a finale, ...." So it didn't have that finale feel. Still liked it, and I enjoyed this show enough to watch every episode.
I never got the sense that she remembered every single imprint before. I just figured she had vague memories from a handful of imprints.

Was it Topher's intention that let Echo have some memory that she was Caroline though? I was it just an after effect of her being wiped following having 38 distinct personalities inhabit her body?

David

[Hopefulsuicide]

You know what sucks? That episode in no way felt like the end. It felt like just the beginning.

THEY CAN'T CANCEL IT! especially not before we get to see the attic!

Well done to anyone who thought Dr Saunders was a doll. That was the most interesting part of the episode, seeing Amy Acker's range. I was getting a bit tired of the Dr. so it's nice to know there is more to her character.

I wonder what they will do with Victor now? Maybe Adelle will be able to keep him as her love slave :p

And my god, is Paul going to become a doll? That is just so unexpected! I thought he'd be a handler! I'm gonna miss the Ballard personality, I really liked him. But I suppose that gives me more of connection to the doll, because I hate Caroline still :lol:

Really glad he saved November though, really shows how much he did love Mellie. So sad that they couldn't be together. But does that mean we won't be seeing her again? Or is it a bit more complicated than that?

[Vergon6]

You know what sucks? That episode in no way felt like the end. It felt like just the beginning.

THEY CAN'T CANCEL IT! especially not before we get to see the attic!

Well done to anyone who thought Dr Saunders was a doll. That was the most interesting part of the episode, seeing Amy Acker's range. I was getting a bit tired of the Dr. so it's nice to know there is more to her character.

I wonder what they will do with Victor now? Maybe Adelle will be able to keep him as her love slave :p

And my god, is Paul going to become a doll? That is just so unexpected! I thought he'd be a handler! I'm gonna miss the Ballard personality, I really liked him. But I suppose that gives me more of connection to the doll, because I hate Caroline still :lol:

Really glad he saved November though, really shows how much he did love Mellie. So sad that they couldn't be together. But does that mean we won't be seeing her again? Or is it a bit more complicated than that?
I don't think Ballard was agreeing to be a doll. I think he was agreeing to work for them.

[Hopefulsuicide]

Yeah actually I keep going back and forth on what he was signing up to do. It was the line 'I'm nobody' that made me think he was becoming a doll, but earlier DeWitt says something about being confident in the skills of their new contractor...

[Fat Elvis 007]

That was one of the best, most shocking episodes of TV I've ever seen.

I had already figured out Dr. Saunders was Whiskey because of Victor/Dominic's slip of the tongue in the last episode, but when the dancing girl turned out to be her rather than Echo I was blown away. What a great reveal, it must have been even better for those who hadn't put it together yet. And Amy Acker is so good. I still wish she had been cast as Echo instead of Eliza. I still wasn't crazy about her acting this episode. I just can't stop thinking that she got the role because of her connections and not because of her talent, like the rest of the actors, all of whom I think are superior.

Still, I loved almost everything about this episode. Alan Tudyk is the creepiest man alive. I was scared at so many points during the episode. But I sort of wished he had died in the end. What is there left for him to do? I don't want him to become this show's Spike, or worse, this show's Sylar, so hopefully his next appearance, if it ever happens, is also his last. But the reason he scarred Whiskey--"Let Echo be the best"--was just so chilling and horrible. And yet there were moments of sweetness too, like the kiss--I loved Echo's non-reaction to that. No wonder Topher and Claire freaked at Victor's, um, "tumescence." Love never ends well in the Dollhouse, ironically enough.

I love how they've really paralleled Alpha and Ballard, and how they both were creepily obsessed with Caroline, even though they had little regard for her own autonomy or who she really was. I also like that Ballard seemed to have gotten over it by freeing Madeline, even though I would have liked to have seen more of an arc there. Maybe catching the wedge with Caroline in it and Omega telling him he "saved her" gave him the closure he needed to move on from that obsession.

But I mostly liked the Madeline reveal because I didn't want Echo to be free already, not like this. It would have been due mostly to Alpha and Ballard, and I want to see her save herself.

For this reason I would have preferred that the wedge with Caroline's personality actually had been destroyed. It would have been more shocking, and it would have given more dramatic weight to Echo's quest for identity if there was no easy way for her original personality to just be uploaded back into her.

I'm also glad Omega didn't last for that same reason. I want to see her put herself together, not have other people do it for her. Not that Omega was weak. She was very cool. Although it would have been nice to actually have seen how all the personalities we've seen influenced her. Saying "blue skies" or using specific skills that we've seen, like the lie detector or negotiation skills, would have added a lot.

I thought Claire's remark to Topher was just an insult, but there could have been more.

I also didn't think about Topher imprinting Caroline into Echo as a "backup," but that's a very interesting theory. But again, I would prefer Echo achieve self-awareness without any technological influence.

I would have also liked to have seen how they got Echo back in the chair at the end. I'm guessing she chose to because she didn't like living as "nobody," and thought it would be better to just wait and do her time, but she seemed to really hate the idea of the Dollhouse, so it wasn't really clear.

But so much happened in this episode, the little things didn't bother me that much. I loved it, and I really hope it comes back. But if not, at least it was a very good final episode. Not everything was wrapped up, but it addressed so many points and I feel like it at least provided some closure, at least thematically.

[Shadowlord367]

Perhaps Paul is being imprinted with the skills of a new contractor, hence "I'm nobody?"

And does this mean that Miracle will be returning for a potential season two?

I wish Sierra had more to do in this episode, shes brilliant.

Interesting to see a bit of a softer side to Adelle.

And it's interesting that Topher imprinted Claire with the parameter to hate him. Guilt?

[shamville]

I like when echo touch topher look like they going to kiss there. i through ballard like echo.

[Hopefulsuicide]

That whole last scene was just beautifully put together, with Whiskey, Topher, Ballard and Echo all sort of having their little acceptance moments. Whiskey's lollipop was my favourite. Did she remember that from her doll days? Or was it just a nice gesture?

What is Ballard going to be like though. He seems to have gone quite quickly from judgmental morally white man, into the gray morality of the Dollhouse... will he have a hidden agenda to bring down the Dollhouse... will he still keep trying to find out what the Dollhouse's real purpose is?

We won't know any of this unless we get another season (though I suppose Epitaph One may cover it)

[CallMeClark]

I didn't take Paul's "I'm nobody" line was him being a doll, at ALL... I mean, he didn't want to tell November who he was because he had feelings for her. He wanted her to have a completely different life. I am pretty sure he will be Echo's handler next season (if there is a next season).

I was shocked to learn that Saunders was a doll! Way to go, Joss. You got me on that one. I loved this twist. It was amazing. And I really enjoyed the whole Echo talking to Caroline thing. Talk about some deep stuff. It was basically her body talking to her soul! Wow. That whole scene is still racking my brain. I loved it.

I think Paul will do what he has to to protect Echo/Caroline but once Alpha is taken care of I imagine he will cut lose and expose the Dollhouse.

[Vergon6]

I didn't take Paul's "I'm nobody" line was him being a doll, at ALL... I mean, he didn't want to tell November who he was because he had feelings for her. He wanted her to have a completely different life. I am pretty sure he will be Echo's handler next season (if there is a next season).

I was shocked to learn that Saunders was a doll! Way to go, Joss. You got me on that one. I loved this twist. It was amazing. And I really enjoyed the whole Echo talking to Caroline thing. Talk about some deep stuff. It was basically her body talking to her soul! Wow. That whole scene is still racking my brain. I loved it.

I think Paul will do what he has to to protect Echo/Caroline but once Alpha is taken care of I imagine he will cut lose and expose the Dollhouse.
I agree with most of what you said, especially why Ballard said what he did and the Echo handler speculation. Although, I think in the back of my mind, I suspected that Saunders might be a doll. There was definitely something up with her from the start.

[Who]

It was a good season finale. Hopefully not a series finale. Still many questions unanswered, such as who in the Dollhouse contacted Ballard?

[CallMeClark]

It was a good season finale. Hopefully not a series finale. Still many questions unanswered, such as who in the Dollhouse contacted Ballard?

I am pretty sure that Alpha has been playing him the whole time. I think he just needed the right situation to manipulate Ballard into how he wanted things to play out. Although an exact conclusion on this matter has never been clearly addressed. People are confused if it was Dominic or Alpha. Alpha seems like the illogical choice since this seems like the first time he broke in? Or just the first time he was able to do what he did, with Ballard as a distraction.

[WickedSusi]

That was a fantastic episode of Dollhouse, The best so far...
I didn't see that coming with Dr. Saunders being a doll and the top doll at that...
I hope this comes back next season can't wait to see what happens next...

[Welling_is_pretty]

This episode was much better than i thought it would be. I don't know why but I went into it with not very high expectations so I was pleasantly surprised.

I liked how Echo/Caroline saved herself (rather than having the "prince" save her, very nice).

The reveal on Whiskey was well done (Dr. Saunders was a man? Interesting that they gave us proof that you can imprint one gender into another.).

Saunders scenes with Victor (wah! Only 1 Victor scene! But what a doozy it was!) was amazing. What now happens to Victor, i wonder? There's been speculation that he will be taken out of rotation and given an imprint much like Whiskey being turned into Saunders (perhaps security or a handler?).

And Ballard working for the Dollhouse? That's a big switch. Going from wanting to free them all and save them and bring down the Dollhouse to working for them? Very Angel...
And no I didn't take that to mean that he was a Doll, merely that he's working for them. He and Boyd do work well together, don't they? (BTW, what will Ballard say when he sees Victor next, with the cuts? Hey, there's an idea. Victor could work with Ballard!)

a very good episode that I can only hope was not a series ender!

[wooosmallville]

I am pretty sure that Alpha has been playing him the whole time. I think he just needed the right situation to manipulate Ballard into how he wanted things to play out. Although an exact conclusion on this matter has never been clearly addressed. People are confused if it was Dominic or Alpha. Alpha seems like the illogical choice since this seems like the first time he broke in? Or just the first time he was able to do what he did, with Ballard as a distraction.

I don't think its so illogical to think it's Alpha. Remember when Echo was remote wiped? Alpha might have done the same thing (assuming Alpha was responsible for the remote wipe). So he may have remote reprogrammed Echo and November to serve his purposes. He is certainly bright enough to do it.

[j-peezy]

I love Amy Acker. Good choice on Joss's part to have her in. I hope she becomes a season regular. I like the fact that she was a Doll--I knew she'd have a good back story but wasn't 100% sure she'd be a Doll. If this show stays on the air I expect more goodies on her history. And I loved her line at the end to Topher, "I know who I am." That was awesome. And, did anyone notice the weirdness with her and Topher? She asked him why he imprinted her to hate him so much. That was interesting to me.

[Novak Fan]

Ok, I finally catched up and wow the episode was great. The best one in the whole season imo
It sucks that they gave it only 12 episodes btw :rolleyes: but well...this finale is the best one I have seen of all my favs shows so far.

----- Added 2 Minutes later -----


And I loved her line at the end to Topher, "I know who I am." That was awesome. And, did anyone notice the weirdness with her and Topher? She asked him why he imprinted her to hate him so much. That was interesting to me.


Exactly. That was what let me thinking the most. Maybe they were a couple before the Dollhouse and/or he's in love with her and he did it to keep her away from him? Though if didn't see to me that he like her that way but well, who knows

[lorenzovanmatterhorn]

OMEGA

The good;
Got to say I didn't see the Whiskey twist (is that a drink?) coming at all. Utterly brilliant, this storyline lifts the series up and helps it go off on a high. Such a dumb gag but it always makes me laugh out loud when Alpha 'watches his step'.

The bad;
How stupid must the Dollhouse be to use criminals as Dolls? Although wouldn't it be wonderful if we could reprogramme paedophiles and psychopaths so they were no longer either?

Best line;

Packing heat; both Boyd and Ballard (the latter switching to a Colt 45 for some reason) plus November and Sierra
Echo;6
Boyd; 8
Dominic; 8
Sierra; 4
Victor; 2
Ballard; 9
November; 1

Echo kissage;2

Kinky dinky;
Lovely though she is I never really thought of Amy Acker as turn-your-head-gorgeous in the same way as Eliza Dushku, Charisma Carpenter, Sarah Michelle Gellar, (they tried to make her into AI's glamourpuss in season 5 but it didn't really work which is why we got more Mercedes McNab as Harmony who IS turn your head gorgeous),but here she is a revelation, I was firmly convinced that it was Eliza doing the slinky dance to Roy Orbison's dreams but WOW! Also Echo's push up bra and Daisy Duke denim short-shorts as part of her white trash princess look. Bounty hunter Sierra seems to have an instant attraction for Ballard.

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost;
Echo; 3 definite, 1 possible
November; 1
Ballard; 1
Victor; 1
Adele; 1
Sierra 1 possible
Topher; 1 possible

How'd they get away with that?
Killing the girl implanted with Caroline's memories is hideous. Alpha's idea of kidnapping a string of girls, implanting them with Carolines' memories and then killing her over and over again is too horrifying for words. Meeting 'Alpha's' first victim is also very disturbing but not half as much as his bloody rampage in the Dollhouse, especially how he kills his handler. He also refers to Crystal being a 'woman at 13'.

This weeks fantasy;
Sierra and November are bounty hunters, Echo is Crystal and her composite personalities

Total number personalitites;
Echo; 21
Sierra; 10
Victor; 6
November; 3

Total dolls; add some Whiskey to the mix!
8-Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango, Alpha, Whiskey

Addy is a bit British;

Topher is a bit geeky;
He refers to Solyent Green (Angel also a Charlton Heston fan)

Subverting the Hollywood cliche;

Bondage;
Sierra tied up; 1
Ballard; 1

Knocked out;
Echo; 2
November; 1
Sierra; 1
Victor; 1
Topher; 1

Kills; poor Wendy is killed by Alpha
Sierra; 2 kills
Echo; 1
November;1

Dolls injured;
Echo winged by Alpha's bullet.

Capt subtext;
We finally learn November's real name and she is released from her contract (love Adele's very genuine hug for her). I guess whatever was between her and Ballard was quite real for him to pick her over Caroline? The heartbreaking scene where Dr Saunders tells Victor he's broken and no one will want him any more hardly needs explaining (thankfully the lollipop scene makes up for it). Why did Topher programme Dr Saunders to hate him? Perhaps because of his own self-loathing? Or did the original Saunders already hate him?

Happy hookers

Know the face?
7 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock, Gregg Henry, Alan Tudyk

Guantanamo;

Fanfic;

Missing scenes;.
Very important, if you have the DVDs be sure to watch them to find out what happened to bounty hunters Sierra and November and how Alpha got away.

Reminds me off;
Echo/Crystal and Alpha/Bobby on the run are very Badlands/True Romance/Bonnie and Clyde. But above all they remind me of Spike and Dru whom Angel once described as "Bonnie and Clyde if they had 100 years to get it right" The idea of violent prisoners being 'cured' by brainwashing sounds a bit 'A Clockwork Orange'? Ponder the fact that this series has a character called Ballard (and indeed Dawn was reading 'Empire of the Sun' for school in the later seasons of Buffy). Alpha digs out the tracker on the back of Echo's neck much like Dark Angel. Caroline refers to Return of the Living dead as Xander did in Buffy. Topher talks of souls in jars which may be an Angel ref. Alpha's madness is similar to Glory whilst the way he kills his handler is reminiscent of Buffy killing Gnarl in season 7. The track 'Dreams' which Whiskey dances to is also used to good effect in Blue Velvet.

Breaking the programming;
Echo as a conglomerate of her personalities breaks away from Alpha's crackers plan, possibly because most of her imprints (Margaret from Haunted, the Dominatrix, Esther from True Believer etc) were good people mixed with her base personality of Caroline. By contrast most of Alpha's imprints were bad people mixed with his underlying personality of a psychopath.

Questions and observations;
Ballard's plan to get rid of the bomb squad is truly inspired. Interestingly despite the bad blood between them Tanaka doesn't arrest him. Great double bluff, we think that Caroline is being let go but actually it's November whose real name is Madeline Costly. More episodes like this and Dollhouse would be a far superior series to what it was.
Marks out of 10; 9/10 really good
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