DOLLHOUSE #12:The Hollow Men /S2/2010

Truth Seeker · Jan 16, 2010

The Hollow Men

Echo and her team travel to Arizona in order to destroy the Rossum Corporation's mainframe.

Mustrum_Ridcully · Jan 16, 2010

Well, it still doesn't really make much sense to me that Boyd would work as a field agent for Rossum for his plan, but the goal itself, finding a "vaccine" against imprinting, certainly does. Rossum might see itself as the inventor of this tech, but that doesn't have to mean it stays in their hands.

[sblock]
In fact, I'd say with Alpha around, the tech is already in other hands. And I suspect that might be a reason why the bleak future hasn't been averted yet.
[/sblock]

The scene where Boyd threatens Ballard with his weapon when Echo surprises them was fun. "What did I miss?
Victor was once again fun to see impersonating Topher.

RangerWickett · Jan 16, 2010

Well obviously they couldn't save the world because Clyde (who really should have had a consistent personality trait that each actor could mimic it) was still around, so Rossum would still be operating.

And the idea that Rossum would only have copies of the schematics on the hard drives in one building is laughable in this day and age. Basically the next several months of the show would have consisted of them going around and blowing up every other Rossum facility, perhaps recruiting a few folks along the way when they explain how the tech can destroy human civilization.

Fun episode, despite some cheesiness. I think the script of the last two episodes could have been improved. Like if when they're yelling at Boyd about 'why did you bring us along,' and he was like, 'because you're my family, I saw you grow,' he could have added something like, "Who do you think came up with 'I try to be my best'? That's not just for the dolls, you know."

I hear that the next episode will be pre-empted due to a Haiti relief telethon, so it might be a while before we get to see the finale.

Blastin · Jan 16, 2010

I thought the same thing at the end when one of them said "did we just save the world?"
My thought was:"Nope, but it was a good start. And if Clyde had multiple bodies all set as backups, why wouldn't Boyd? He was supposed to be the more devious one that tricked Clyde 1.0 and really started it all...

Remus Lupin · Jan 16, 2010

After blowing my mind last week, this week didn't quite live up to my expectations, and I still had some kind of hope that Boyd would redeem himself -- I still do think he was an awesome character.

My favorite moments definitely include Victor doing Topher again, and Boyd's line, "I wanted you all with me because I like you ... Except Ballard. I really can't figure out what you all see in him."

Clyde's personality definitely didn't seem consistant. Clyde 1.0 seemed a decent sort, once he realized what he'd done. The Clyde that confronted Caroline last episode was kind of simpering and low-key, while the Whiskey version of Clyde seemed downright eeeevil.

Another great line: "The evil scientist in me loves the idea ..."

Kobold Avenger · Jan 16, 2010

RangerWickett said:
And the idea that Rossum would only have copies of the schematics on the hard drives in one building is laughable in this day and age. Basically the next several months of the show would have consisted of them going around and blowing up every other Rossum facility, perhaps recruiting a few folks along the way when they explain how the tech can destroy human civilization.

That would have been something for another season if there was one. But I think it's safe to say they did keep backups around in other places, if the Thoughtpocalypse still happened. And besides Rossum is truly multinational, it might be one thing to destroy the facility in Arizona, but once Rossum learns there's a bunch going after them, they're going to manipulate world governments into protecting their assets, like they did with putting the senator in place.

RangerWickett · Jan 16, 2010

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ther; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> The more I think about it, the more I feel this episode is just bad, and most of it stems from the Boyd = villain reveal last episode. Because that was really just shoehorned in, and it requires a massive suspension of disbelief.

It's a constant refrain of mine that good endings are difficult, but having a solid beginning and middle sure helps. You definitely should not have a big reveal at the end unless you've hinted at it. You also should resolve (or at least mention the mystery of) things you've hinted at before.

They could have done better and still have a twist, and so as a thought experiment, I thought I’d see if I could come up with a more compelling ending. By my understanding, the show's cancellation was announced only after the last episode had begun preproduction, so obviously they didn't have much wiggle room to change things. Let's assume that were guessing they might get canceled the whole year, but were trying to stay open ended. And since The Attic was actually a pretty awesome episode, let's assume that everything up to that point remained the same.

What's a good endgame for the plot? Well, here’s my take:

Episode 10 ends the same, with Echo emerging from the Attic and wanting Caroline back. If possible we cut out the line about them ‘taking something’ from Paul, because we don’t have time to have proper pay-off about that.

Episode 11 begins sorta the same, with them discussing how to get Caroline back into Echo, and what the consequences would be. Plus, how to win. Logically it’s impossible to take down a large corporation, or even to stop the tech from getting out and causing destruction, but Adelle has an idea. The group asks what it is, and Adelle looks at Topher, but at that point we cut away. Reveal that Caroline’s wedge is missing. Roll opening credits.

Show flashback stuff between Bennet and Caroline. Keep the Bennet-Topher stuff (though we could cut the rescuing of November). When Boyd goes to get Claire/Whiskey, the scene’s a bit longer. Claire asks if they’re going to kill DeWitt, and Boyd laughs, explains that actually she’s a good guy, but it’s still dangerous. Claire wants to go back, Boyd tries to convince her not to, but she kisses him and insists. Commercial break.

Topher and Echo talk about Bennet, and about Paul and how Alpha copied Paul’s personality. Then Claire and Boyd show up, and there’s still tension between Topher and Claire. Have the flashback to Caroline washing Bennet’s hair and looking at her Rossum security card. Keep the scene with Boyd telling Echo how much he cares for her, but with an undercurrent that he’s nervous about something. She asks, and he claims it’s nothing. (Skip the scene where Echo gets Priya and Tony out, and let’s keep Mr. Dominic in the Attic, okay?) Instead, end on Mr. Ambrose showing up with his goons – they’ve come to take Adelle and Echo. The shoot-out occurs, and Boyd gets shot. Commercial break.

Put the flashback here where Caroline and Bennet plan a bombing (skip Adelle and Mr. Dominic). Adelle and Boyd decide that Boyd should run, and he seems very unhappy, but he agrees. Adelle announces all the actives are to be let go, since now it’s obvious they can’t keep up the charade. Topher nervously asks, what about Dr. Saunders, and Adelle considers, then sees Claire coming down the stairs, supporting Boyd on her shoulder, and Adelle says no. Keep the flashback with Bennet helping Caroline sneak in, find the weird

, then blow the place. Commercial break.

Farewell scene between Boyd and Claire. Funny scene of Topher letting clueless doll go. Bennet and Topher work together on repairing Caroline’s back-up wedge, get all cute, kiss, and then Topher leaves. (Slight change here in that Bennet should finish repairing the wedge before she dies.) Claire shows up, shoots Bennet right as Topher comes in the room. Commercial break.

Flashback of Caroline getting captured in Tuscon (by random security folks, not Mr. Dominic and Adelle), and sending her up the elevator. New scene of Paul and Echo dragging Claire toward the chair. Adelle’s overseeing, with that furiously dispassionate face she can manage, and she tells Ivy to load Whiskey’s original wedge. Echo doesn’t understand why it happened, and Paul says she must have been a sleeper. Claire, voice full of scorn, says that she’s not a sleeper. She just knows Topher can never atone for all he’s done.

Adelle starts to order them to wipe her, but then flashbangs as the Rossum strike team burst in. Stuff goes a little crazy. Paul goes and runs for guns, while the rest hunker down in the control room. Topher’s too crazy to help, so Ivy sets Caroline’s wedge in, and presses ‘enter’ just before a flashbang goes off.

We cut to the flashback of Caroline in the Rossum headquarters. She meets Clyde 2.0 (with a British accent), and then she sees the head of the corporation. No big twist, just the awesome fact that Joss Whedon got Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy) to play the big villain. Mr. Rossum plays appropriately evil and tells her her options are execution or life sentence for terrorism, or give them five years of her life. Afterward she’ll be free to go, and she’ll never remember they existed. Caroline scoffs, and attacks. She scuffles with Clyde, ends up killing him, and is shocked at what she has done. Mr. Rossum calls for ‘security!’ And then Caroline convulses from a taser. She drops, revealing Boyd shot her.

Mr. Rossum sighs, shakes his head at Clyde, and says, “Thank you Mr. Langdon. Put her some place where she can think about what she’s done. And tell the lab to pull up Clyde’s wedge and prep a new body.” Comedic pause. “He’s going to be so embarrassed about this.”

Pop back to the present, and Echo snaps out of the machine, sees several spec ops guys in the room. She’s about to get up to fight, but they all point guns at her. A few head to the others, and are about to shoot them, when Boyd booms out, Hold your fire. They knock out and tie up the others, then grab Echo. She shakes her head at Boyd, in denial like Luke when he found out who his father was, too shocked to fight back. From a nearby hallway, Paul listens, but he hides instead of fighting. Boyd orders everyone out, and they leave.

The POV lingers on a spot in the wall, then cuts to a closer look, revealing a tiny camera. Then we cut to Alpha in some junky secret lair, arguing with himself as he plays Solitaire, when he notices his video feed, and he goes, “No, no, this won't do at all.”

Episode 12 would start with Mr. Rossum and a new Clyde discussing Echo’s mental resilience, and how it would let them safely become immortal if they figure out how. Clyde mentions that all the other captives are being prepped for the Attic. Waste not, want not.

Echo has a brief moment to talk to Mr. Rossum and argue about what road he’s taking. We find out Rossum has back-ups of himself that will go online if he dies, but he doesn’t want to have more than one of himself at once, to avoid a power struggle. Then Boyd shows up to take Echo away, and Mr. Rossum asks him about the search for Paul Ballard.

Cut to a scene of Paul on the run, in trouble, but then Alpha shows up and saves him, then offers to help rescue Echo. Fade to a new scene, with the caption “One month later,” and Alpha and Paul are cooperating in some awesome fashion (both in character as someone else?) to sneak into where Echo is in Tuscon. Opening credits.

After that, I’m not quite sure. We’d dabble occasionally in scenes in the Attic, which is actually where the events of Epitaph One took place. First a couple new scenes, where we witness what the beginning of the thoughtpocalypse would be, and when Mr. Dominic ‘gets out of the Attic’ (though he’s still in the Attic) and attacks DeWitte. Then we see the old scenes of the prayer circle, and Anthony and Priya taking care of each other, and we figure out that they think it’s the future, and the world has ended, and they’ve gathered many people in the Attic to the safety of the ‘LA Dollhouse.’

Then Paul and Alpha rescue Echo in some appropriately cool way (maybe they have Men In Black style neuralyzers?), and she tells them that they’ve been developing two architectures, one where you can imprint anyone, another where you can only allow an imprint in if you want it. Alpha looks at some data and figures out how they could use the remote imprint gun to innoculate people. Of course, that won’t stop Rossum, but Echo says she has a plan. It just happens to require rescuing the others, who are all being kept in the Attic of the LA Dollhouse.
They find out Mr. Rossum will be inspecting it (very Emperor Palpatine-esque), along with Senator whats-his-name, so this is their chance.

They sneak into the LA Attic, and one of them has to keep watch on the outside while the other two go in. They don’t trust Alpha alone, so Echo and Alpha will go in, but since the people inside won’t trust Alpha, he adopts Paul’s appearance and personality, which explains the hostility between the two of them that we saw in Epitaph One.

They rescue the team, which probably involves some action sequence. Then they get Topher to hack the Attic, to unite all the servers and give the people inside a chance to reach the LA Dollhouse to escape.

Then we get the showdown. Not a fight-y showdown, but an identity showdown. Echo intrudes on Rossum and Clyde and the senator and some other folks we’ve seen before (other operators of houses, for instance), and tells them she’s there to stop them. A bit of philosophical banter occurs, and then Rossum says that they have what they need from Echo. He asks two doll bodyguards to kill her.

But meanwhile, the others have shut down any signals out of the building, and they are about to flash a blanket imprint upon all the dolls in the house, when Boyd finds them. But he doesn’t shoot them, and they press the go button. Suddenly all the other dolls in the house are Echo. They all rush the leaders of Rossum, and subdue them. Then the good guys wipe the leaders of Rossum, and imprint them with nearly identical personalities, but who are, y’know, not evil.

There would need to be more, like Boyd dying tragically, or Alpha getting his final come-uppance, but in the end they narrowly avert the catastrophe, and save the day.

How’s that?

Blastin · Jan 16, 2010

not bad. Not bad at all.

LightPhoenix · Jan 17, 2010

RangerWickett said:
<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRYANZN%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRYANZN%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRYANZN%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><style>  </style> The more I think about it, the more I feel this episode is just bad, and most of it stems from the Boyd = villain reveal last episode. Because that was really just shoehorned in, and it requires a massive suspension of disbelief.

I have to agree, about this episode and the previous. It seems readily obvious that these two episodes were quickly thrown together to wrap up the series. While there are some awesome parts, the whole just doesn't work at all. The main reason for that is the absolutely ludicrous "Boyd as villain" twist that makes almost no sense at all.

However, since they were quickly thrown together, and the rest of the season has been pretty good, I'm mostly willing to chalk it up to the deadline and not to Whedon.

DOLLHOUSE #12:The Hollow Men /S2/2010

Truth Seeker

Adventurer

Mustrum_Ridcully

Legend

RangerWickett

Legend

Blastin

First Post

Remus Lupin

Adventurer

Kobold Avenger

Legend

RangerWickett

Legend

Blastin

First Post

LightPhoenix

First Post

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