Dollhouse Review: Season 1, Episode 5: "True Believer"

Dollhouse: Season 1, Episode 5: “True Believer”
Grade: 6.8

This was a vast improvement over “Gray Hour” which while addressing some of my favorite aspects of the show failed to actually come together to makes good episode. Granted this episode still had flaws but it was to me the most accomplished episode the series has come up with so far although I must say that “The Target” is my personal favorite of the 5.

This episode continues to heavily address the morality issues involving the Dollhouse It does this on a number of ways but never by really knocking us over the head with the comparison. The religious cult and the Dollhouse both have people who have essentially been brainwashed and who have volunteered to commit to the society or organization. While we are seeing everything from the Dollhouses point of view, these people are basically the wrongdoers in this story which makes for an interesting twist on the perspective we are seeing the story from. The two major plot oriented way in which the morals of the Dollhouse are questioned in the episode are by the surgery that the Dollhouse performs on Echo which is questionable in how right that is. Saunders clearly had issues with it. The second way is the story involving Victor and the fact that he is getting erections when he looks at Sierra and is not supposed to be. When we see the reaction that the people have when such a natural things occur and he has to be scrubbed and the “problem” has to be fixed, we see just how messed up the Dollhouse actually is. The other reason that I liked this story is that it allowed for a bit of humor to enter the show without making what was happening pointless or irrelevant. I know this show does not have the humor aspect; Whedon flat out has said this but it was still nice to see that it is possible for the show to allow humor to make its way in sometimes. I love Saunders so much. Topher I still hate hate hae but I found him a little less annoying in this episode than I have in previous ones. I think its interesting to see that these little flaws in the organization’s system is trickling through from Echo being able to adapt and remember things to Victor having “man-reactions” and so on.
We did not learn enough about the religious cult. I guess it was just supposed to be a typical religious cult that happened to be a hoax that was a holding place for guns but honestly I thought we could have learned a bit about the cult to understand what is making these people stay, what is the foundation behind it. Also I really liked that nobody within the cult wrote the “save me” note. Creepy.

I also am excited about the subplot with Dominic and the fact that he actually attempted to leave Echo for dead in this episode. Obviously this is going somewhere. And also as the end of the episode showed…Echo remembers this! Great end of the episode.

Eliza Dushku did a really decent job in the episode. I cared for Esther; you felt that she really believed. Even though I can still see those mannerisms I thought she did a good job with a different character.

What is the deal with Mellie? I think I hate her as much as Topher. Obviously they are going somewhere with this and I know that she was originally cast as another Doll but ugh…she’s awful and uber creepy. I’m sure she will have an eventual purpose but I hate her. Making him food, calling it leftover and bringing it into his work is creepy teepee.

Why did Boyd sign up for this job in the first place? And Saunders too? They both seem totally apprehensive about the whole thing although with Saunders I can understand why; Alpha’s attack on her.

Okay so…when Ballard coud not find any information on Caroline it made me wonder what happens to these peoples records when they sign up for this. I guess they disappear but what about friend and family? What do they think happened to the person? I want to know this because if they file a missing persons report that should be in the system.

So Esther hadn’t read since she was 9. But she can pronounce Nebuchadnezzar. Right.

So the episode even though I said in the video blog was great it was not. But it was quite good for the show’s standards so far.

Next week should bring what is supposed to be THE episode to watch. The one that Joss writes and directs. The one where FOX began to back off. The one where the plot starts coming together. Hopefully its great; it has a lot of buzz behind it. Let’s hope.