Dollhouse Episode 2.1 Recap — Vows
Creator Joss Whedon Writes, Directs Second Season Debut
Sep 25, 2009
Dollhouse ended its first season with many questions. Would Echo remember all the personalities from her previous “engagements”? What would former FBI Agent Paul Ballard’s new role in the Dollhouse be? Could Dr. Claire Saunders continue to function after finding out that she was, in fact, active “Whiskey”? And most importantly, would the series even see a second season?
Thankfully for fans, the answer to the last question was “yes”. The answers to the remaining questions begin to unfold in the second season opener, which sees the Dollhouse continuing to operate with a mixture of upheaval and business as usual. What follows is a pivotal episode, made all the more engaging by Whedon’s trademark mix of drama, heartache, and wicked comedy.
New Opening Credit Sequence Better Showcases Series Premise
One striking change for season two is a new opening credit sequence. Like last year’s opening, it showcases series star and producer Eliza Dushku. Unlike last year’s, the credit sequence includes various clips of active doll Echo’s different engagements, highlighting the basic premise of the show — that inside this one body live many different people. As the show’s new tagline says, “Anyone can happen.” The sequence ultimately ends the same way as first season; Echo crawls into her pod to go to sleep, followed by a shot establishing that there are many pods just like hers.
“Dr. Saunders” Gaslights Topher
As expected, Dr. Claire Saunders is suffering identity issues, having found out that she is merely a replacement doctor programmed into an active. Handler-turned-security-director Boyd Langton tries to help her, even suggesting that they go to dinner, because she needs to get out for a while. She refuses, admitting that she is scared of everything, but mostly that house director Adelle DeWitt will fix her scars and put her back on duty. Boyd vows that he will not allow it, telling her that like everyone else, she needs to put aside her excuses and live.
Unlike most people with an identity crisis, Claire can confront her creator as an outlet for her rage: she begins to gaslight her programmer, Topher. She starts small, with his computers, moving on to planting lab rats in his office, suggesting that he “put the mice back in the maze, before they start to bite.” She finishes with a painful seduction-turned-confrontation, demanding answers as to why he programmed her the way he did. He tries to convince her that she does own some of her emotions, that she is human. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she responds bitterly.
Her anger hits a boiling point when Echo admits not only remembering her as “Whiskey”, but also that Alpha cut her so that Echo could be “number one”. Claire reaches for a scalpel, but stops herself as Echo repeats the Dollhouse mantra, that she just wants to be her best. Claire tells Echo that “no one is their best in here.” Later, she leaves Boyd a note that says she is done with excuses and has taken his advice to get out. She is running from the Dollhouse.
Agent Ballard’s New Working Arrangement
Busy as always, Adelle has her hands full. She is overseeing the reconstructive surgery of her pet active, “Victor”; sparring with Boyd over a senator who is threatening the corporation; and dealing with the busy season at the house. (According to Topher, those Jonas Brothers are in back town, and insatiable.) But she still has plenty of time to nag Paul about taking his rightful place in the Dollhouse; she wants him to be Echo’s handler. As the episode opens, it is unclear exactly what his role is —he appears a sort of secondary handler for Echo, who is undertaking a long-term engagement, as we see her taking wedding vows.
But as often happens at the Dollhouse, all is not what it seems. Echo has been programmed as an undercover FBI agent, and Paul is, in fact, the client! He has “engaged” Echo in order to bring down her new “husband”, an arms dealer that he could never get during his time at the agency. All goes well, except for Paul’s obvious feelings for Echo, until her cover is blown and the arms dealer slams Echo’s head down onto the desk, causing an avalanche of remembered personalities inside her head. Having noticed this spike, which Echo’s handler missed, Paul confronts the criminals to try and extract Echo. In a desperation move, he intentionally triggers a specific personality, and she nearly-singlehandedly takes down the arms dealer and several of his henchmen.
Back at the Dollhouse, after Echo’s treatment, Paul admits that he was not his best, and that he should have freed her when he made his original deal with Adelle. For her part, Echo confesses that she remembers every identity that she has ever had, except for the original, Caroline. She wants to find and save all those lost souls, and asks for Paul’s help. He promises, and as the episode ends, his promise fades into the familiar “vows” of a handler and active:
“Everything will be alright...”
“...now that you’re here.”
“Do you trust me?”
“With my life.”
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