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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Brennen" data-source="post: 4745619" data-attributes="member: 553">Except, I don't think things were rendered moot. We got to see some of the things driving the characters to act even when their memories are suppressed. Some backstory was given, which adds to character development (which isn't necessarily the same thing as character growth, but still important.) The idea that this is who they are, even with their minds wiped. Sure, the dolls were returned to their black state at the end of the episode, but I don't think that in anyway rendered their experience pointless.That's the thing about Dollhouse... in a way it's a examining the idea of the "Reset" in genre storytelling. The whole premise is about "resetting", which, if you loathe, I don't know why you're watching. The people running the Dollhouse think they can just "reset" the dolls after each mission, but it's becoming more apparent that this isn't true.That's the other tricky thing with the premise of the show... how do you become emotionally invested in characters that are never actually themselves. How can you have character growth when growth depends upon learning from, or at least reacting to, your experiences, and memory of their experiences is what the main character is deprived of. Whedon himself noted that it's kind of a crazy thing to do for a TV series. So to keep the show from just being a metaphysical treatise of the nature of identity, there is a assumption that there is a core to the person which cannot be erased, that's present whether the doll is in the blank state or overwritten while out on assignment. That core personality is being affected by its experiences, and thats where you're going to see some of the character growth as well as conflict. Plus, in only the eighth episode of the first season, did you really expect the Dollhouse the show is named for to have all its actives walk out and leave for good?Edit: for the record, I think the spy is Ivy, the assistant Topher keeps behaving condescendingly to.</blockquote>

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