Dollhouse - 1x13: Epitaph One [SPOILER WARNING]

Also Starring LeVar Burton

The following thread is for discussion of the unaired 13th episode of Dollhouse, Epitaph One.

SPOILER ALERT

If you have not already seen this episode, DO NOT read on as this thread will not contain spoiler tags. This is your final spoiler warning - continue at your own risk.



















:eek:

Also Starring LeVar Burton

That episode was EPIC. I was wary at first, but once we actually started seeing the memories I was captivated. It was confusing as f**k, but amazing all the same.

It was like an episode of Lost - raised hundreds of questions, explained pretty much nothing, never knew where in time certain flashbacks/forwards were, and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

So many shocking revelations - Boyd and Dr. Saunders!!! Dominic realesed from the attic!!! Topher going mad!!! Viktor, Sierra & Echo remembering who they really are!!!

I was dissapointed in regards to Boyd's limited presence in this episode and November's absence altogether.

I now officially love Amy Acker - great acting and hot as hell... (I really hope her filming schedule with Happy Town, will allow her to appear on Dollhouse in season 2)

Sherifu

That was very very cool and well done.

Will post more on it tomorrow.

A fair bit to take in and it's late.

iguana

Really great, though if it hadn't been for Felicia Dey I would have been sure I was watching the wrong thing for at least the first 5 minutes. I really can't wait to see where this is going. Obviously, as this was Epitaph One there will be further parts of this story along the way, with the main arc possibly ending when the main cast reach Alpha's "safe haven" (if they do).

Can you imagine how frustrating this would have been if the series had been canceled? :eek:

J-blk

CaptainNegative wrote: »

It was like an episode of Lost - raised hundreds of questions, explained pretty much nothing, never knew where in time certain flashbacks/forwards were, and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

That does nicely summarize it - totally confused as to where in time each flashback stands but overall great at alluding where the story could go. I hope we see elements that were hinted here actually happen in season 2 - I'd hate to see this as a throwaway "alternate" timeline thing that never comes to pass...

A couple of things are definitely short term though and I would expect them to be seen soon: Echo seems pretty consciously wipe-resistant in that scene when she is imprinted with the Russian girl and talks to Ballard in the lift - Topher seems oblivious to that at the time...

I'd say Victor's face (and the Doc) will also be fixed soon to put him back into the field - loved what they did with the Dollhouse head honcho (seemingly) scene but that could happen way down the line...

iguana wrote: »

Can you imagine how frustrating this would have been if the series had been canceled? :eek:

Hopefully the awesomeness of the episode will push DVD sales up - that would be a nice boost for the show even before any season 2 episodes air...

Richard Dower

It was excellent, but as stated confusing....you got glimpses. It took me two full viewings to get it!
The flasbacks were excellent!, you see events before the series started and afterward. I think the main arc of what the Dollhouse is and what happened in the future was well explained, Topher going mad was just shocking!....especially is his derenged state explaining what exactly happened.

Basically is seems Topher developed a new remote imprinting technology, something that could be trasmitted via anything that could transmit a signal. The notion of a rogue nation (such as China) "robo" calling all phones in a city and imprinting anyone who picked up a phone and turning them into an instant army is scary!

But did this take place later?...or was the inital "downfall" that which was explained in the kitchen scene?, as in the tech got "loose" and as such people began imprinting each other, like you're an ugly guy so you grab some male model and imprnt yourself into him, or you fancy some other girl and you imprint her into your wife etc?

The possibilites and twisted things that could happen with such tech are limitless!, i really really liked the overall feel and production values. The handhelll nature a grainy feel really worked, but do you not think we've learned everything we need to know?

We know what the true nature of the Dollhouse is and what Rossom plans, we know the eventual outcome....so what else is left?, for me i think it gave TOO much away, sure it would be nice to see how Topher developed the tech and how it gets out or why Caroline is immune to printing, but much of the eventual arc was laid out in this episode.

It was excellent, but part of me feels i shouldn't have watched it :-(

anotherlostie

Well that was...weird! Stand out WTF moment for me was when the little girl fired the gun, but then again anything is possible in this series.

Kinda a risk for the producers too to show all the characters in the future, because it means they have to keep the cast intact until the fall of the house (whenever that will be). And how they plan to do this with the scarfree Dr. Saunders, I don't know if she's working elsewhere.

I definitely will have to give this a second viewing.

iguana

Did anyone else think that even little Molly from Heroes makes a more interesting Caroline than Dushku?:p

Although tbf, Dushku was better in this episode, maybe because she was in it less, but also when she is just being one character she is better.

J-blk

iguana wrote: »

Did anyone else think that even little Molly from Heroes makes a more interesting Caroline than Dushku?:p

Ah, that's who she was! It kept bugging me where I knew her from but didn't check it out after I watched the episode. The "oh great, puberty again" line was great .

S.M.B.

That was a horrible mess of an episode.

Don't think I'll bother with season 2 after that, it just isn't good enough.

iguana

Richard Dower wrote: »

We know what the true nature of the Dollhouse is and what Rossom plans, we know the eventual outcome....so what else is left?, for me i think it gave TOO much away, sure it would be nice to see how Topher developed the tech and how it gets out or why Caroline is immune to printing, but much of the eventual arc was laid out in this episode.

It was excellent, but part of me feels i shouldn't have watched it :-(

I think Epitaph One just makes everything more epic, sort of like a Shakespearian tragedy. We know Caroline and Ballard will formulate some sort of plan to bring down the Dollhouse, but that they fail. So we will see them work out a way to block the programming and try to bring the house down, but we will know they fail. It will make it more poignant.

And beyond that we know events will overwhelm what they can currently imagine. And because of that they will have to become something more. It's fantastic - like Hamlet and the the third series of Babylon 5 rolled into one.:D

Quilly

how did everyone not think this episode was Awsome. It opens up season 2 to be able to jump into loads of different directions. Also i hear Jamie Bamber (battlestar galactica) and Alexis Denisof (Buffy/Angel) will be joining the cast for season 2

Nevyn

I enjoyed it but

again with a % of the populous gone mad and just slaughtering people, it's a re occuring theme in JW's work I can do with out for a while.

matrim

I know it's a bit late but this episode has just started on Sci-Fi for anyone who hasn't seen it yet

ziedth

OMG, I just watched this there now and to put it mildly JW sure knows how to shift the story arch. I have to say I MUCH prefer a storyline such as Epitaph One, Sure you can suggest thats its perhaps not as original (I mean Lost and the Revers from Firefly spring immediately to mind) as maybe the inital concept of Dollhouse but jesus I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Richard Dower has a point there but I think there are enough things going on to flesh out a season or two. I have been a fan of dollhouse from the get go as I think anyone who suffered through that mess of first number of episodes but IMO this storyline could make it epic.

TheIrishGrover

I really really enjoyed that. As someone said before, if it wasn't for Felicity Dey being in it I would have assumed I was watching the wrong program for the first few. This was supposed to be a capper really if it didn't get picked up for a second season though, right?

I wonder, now that it's gotten another season (Hands off Fox, let J do his thing and you'll get the ratings..... and hopefully Season 3) how will they proceed with the show. I'm assuming that they would have eventually followed this story arc as we've already seen the programme-over-the-air plot device before. I'm also assuming that they will go down some variant of this story arc now. It will be interesting to see where

River I mean Summer Glau and Michael Hogan and Jamie Bamper

fit in to the series.

It's a whole Whedonstar galactica thingie

.
.
Plus, since SMG's going direct to DVD these days I can imagine it's only a matter of time before she and James Masters turn up. And, Damnit Chuck, how cool would Adam Baldwin be as a doll minder?


Oh, and whoever that was? Good spot on the kid from Heroes

Also Starring LeVar Burton

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Plus, since SMG's going direct to DVD these days I can imagine it's only a matter of time before she and James Masters turn up.

SMG is filming a new series for HBO, so it's doubtful she'll be showing up anytime soon. I don't know what JM is at these days, so he could possibly appear.

iguana

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Plus, since SMG's going direct to DVD these days I can imagine it's only a matter of time before she and James Masters turn up.

SMG is currently leading and co-producing a new HBO series, I don't think she's desperate for the work. She's also expecting a baby and Veronika Decides to Die will very likely have a cinema release considering the popularity of Paulo Coelho and the early reviews from the Brazilian screenings.

She's a great actor but Buffy was such an enormous character that she's finding it hard to break out of her shadow.

TheIrishGrover

iguana wrote: »

SMG is currently leading and co-producing a new HBO series, I don't think she's desperate for the work. She's also expecting a baby and Veronika Decides to Die will very likely have a cinema release considering the popularity of Paulo Coelho and the early reviews from the Brazilian screenings.

She's a great actor but Buffy was such an enormous character that she's finding it hard to break out of her shadow.

Ah, didn't know she had a new show. It really must be tough alright following from such an icon. Just ask Christopher Reeves (No bad taste jokes please, ye know what I mean)

J-blk

CaptainNegative wrote: »

I don't know what JM is at these days, so he could possibly appear.

He apparently is going to be in Caprica but not as a series regular, so not sure if he'll be free to do anything else, but maybe a brief appearance:

Now comes news that Buffy the Vampire Slayer vet James Marsters is joining the show for a sizeable arc.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/08/19/buffys-james-marsters-joins-caprica/

lostexpectation

what was with the killing of people?

Richard Dower

Killing who?.....you mean the kid?....there was an adult imprinted into a childs body. Obviously alot of the others have been imprinted to just kill people, by rogue nations and such.

Stark

It was a warfare thing. A rogue state found a way to imprint people remotely so it imprinted them to kill other citizens in the target state.

lostexpectation

well usually in the whedonverse, you don't kill humans, but you see your man at the start get up on the car and shoot loads of people, i know these people had the minds warped and had turned into kllers, but im sure they might have been abled to be cured.