The Future of Identity Theft

Another Joss Whedon series wrapped up, another emptyish hole in my heart that only the Whedonverse can fill. As far as Whedon projects are concerned, Dollhouse was largely viewed as the redheaded step child of the bunch, but in spite of some logistical issues that plagued much of the series, I thoroughly enjoyed it pretty much since day one--well, more like from since episode two, but who's counting.

The series finale aired on Friday and I have to say, in spite of a rocky start to the second season, it ultimately turned into the kickass series I always knew it could be. My brother, who foolishly gave up on the show after just a couple of season two episodes, realized the error of his ways and had an unintentional marathon of the last ten episodes all in one night. I had promised him the show had gotten insanely awesome, but he didn't really believe me until 6 am rolled around and he realized he's just stayed up all night. That'll learn him to abandon Joss Whedon. If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that Joss will always come through in the end. Even after Buffy flew off the rails in the last couple of seasons, it all ultimately came together in the end (even if I didn't totally love the "we're going to tap all the potential slayers" storyline, I have to admit he pulled it off). Sometimes he just needs time to fix things. Like with Angel. I broke up with Angel after Connor made his way onto the scene and that whole storyline with Zoe, er, Jasmine came into being. But, upon hearing that they were basically going to write a couple of entire seasons out of the show and that Spike was being added to the cast, I renewed my commitment. And thank god I did. The last season of Angel was far and away the best season of the show and was home to several of the best episodes of any Whedonverse production ever. "Smile Time" stands apart as probably the best thing to ever happen anywhere ever, but I think the series finale places pretty high on the list as well. After the heartbreak that was Fred, it was all the more satisfying to see Angel and company kick some serious ass. Incredibly well thought out, balanced, poignant, exciting, and meaningful, the series finale pulled together all the awesomeness into one episode. It was a fitting end that wasn't really an end at all. Which was really the best part. I loved that the show came to a close on the few remaining heroes charging into certain death. It just felt right for a show like Angel and I think that's what makes it my favorite Whedonverse finale (I don't really take Firefly into account, since it didn't really get a finale--except for Serenity, but that's a different story). Here's hoping he managed to slay that dragon.

**SPOILER ALERT**

Dollhouse's finale needed to be something different. Dollhouse had always had a more sobering tone and more authentic apocalyptic flavor (given that there were no vampires, demons, or other mythical creatures to deal with) and needed a more grounded, finite ending. The truly committed fans went through a whole hell of a lot for this series, and even though season two was a lot more Whedony in the traditional sense, it was still a heavy emotional road to tread.

I think the reason the show truly came together and became the awesomeness that it became after the first few season two episodes was that the writers knew it was ending. With that knowledge, they were able to throw out the stand-alone stories, largely axe the unnecessary A-plots, and put together one cohesive story which just so happened to be the story we all had wanted all along. My main quibble with the show had been A-plots that didn't really matter in the grander scheme of things, so when they eighty-sixed that quibble, the show got awesome. Add to that the fact that the principal dolls finally got their identities back and started remembering what happened last week and all the things that held the show back were finally lifted. Given the freedom to do basically whatever the hell they wanted to do, the show really came together for me and managed to assuage all previous concerns I had had with the base concept and logistical issues.

Indeed, they turned the basic conceit into a very cerebral experience for viewers who suddenly had to look at the implications Dollhouse technology in a whole new way. When you watch as much television as I do, it's not easy to find a dynamic that's unexpected, storylines that are unpredictable, and consequences that are unforeseen. Dollhouse delivered in spades. I don't want to belabor the specifics of everything or analyze the minutiae, because in all honesty, it feels like I, too, have survived the Thoughtpocalypse (or some sort of harrowing ordeal), but I would like to briefly address the show that was.

Topher and Adele: I'm going to show my hand here and conclude that their evolution and their interpersonal dynamic was the most fulfilling of the entire series. I have a feeling I'm in the minority in that opinion, but for me, there was none better. Watching them go from completely amoral and unfeeling to part of the emotional core of the show was extremely satisfying. More so than anyone else in the resistance, they hold the Thoughtpocalypse (or Brainpocalypse, if you prefer) squarely in their hands, and even with their skewed moral compasses, the gravity of it all was inescapable. I loved their portrayals in "Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two" and thought their emotional progression (and borderline insanity) was beautifully constructed and the natural, logical path for them to take. In and of themselves, Topher and Adele were probably the loneliest characters on the show. Even though they both had love interests of sorts, I think the bond between them outweighs any of that. When faced with sharing such a burden and such culpability for the state of things, it only makes sense that they would band together as the only two who know what the other is going through. The obvious affection and protectiveness between them at the very end was one of the most powerful aspects of the show's culmination. As Topher's plan to send the pulse comes together and it becomes apparent that he'll be killed in the process, Adele lets him go not only because it's what has to be done, but because after all he's been through, it's finally a way out. Having caused the Thoughtpocalypse in the first place, he couldn't leave without fixing things, so the pulse is his chance to make things right and also end his pain. I loved that Adele offered to go with him--together in guilt, together in death--but that Topher acknowledges that in its own way, death is the easier way out. Adele has the tougher job ahead. Always the shepherd, she has to undo the social destruction once Tohper undoes the mental destruction. I always enjoyed these two characters more than most, so seeing such a fitting and devastating end for them really made the finale for me. At the end of the day, they're my favorites.

Sierra and Victor: While Topher and Adele were the real core of the show for me, it's hard to contend that the heart of the show belongs to anyone but Sierra and Victor, er, Priya and Tony. Throughout the course of the series, they proved much more of a draw than Echo or Paul ever were, but I have to admit, the finale left me a bit underwhelmed with this particular pair. To be fair, however, touching storylines involving characters having a child together pretty generally underwhelm me. It's just never really struck me as the means to a happy ending and the strain it put between the two of them seemed illogical and unwarranted. Priya's resentment that Tony went all Mad Max in the fight for humanity was off-putting at best. I suppose I can understand it and do believe it would be in character for her, but after all the carnage and bloodshed, I'm hesitant to agree that's how it would play out. I suppose Priya was trying to hang onto whatever miniscule piece of normalcy she could and his willingness to use the tech that made them dolls in the first place was decidedly contrary to that pursuit. It was nice to see them come together in the end, and they really did make for a pairing I reveled in, but again, the whole kid storyline just didn't really do it for me. In the back of my mind, I like to think that this is an extension of where Joss wanted to take Zoe and Wash in Firefly. It's a god awful miserable world that no child should be brought into, but what if one was? I'm never of the opinion that bringing a child onto a show is good move, but it's certainly something to think about, especially as the planet is melting and the whole world is going to hell. Zoe may want to meet that child, but I'm not sure the child would want to meet the world (even if the world includes Enver's kickass Topher Brink impression--amazing).

Echo and Ballard: I couldn't not talk about them, now could I. As anyone who follows my Dollhouse-related blogging knows, Echo was never really the draw for me. The same goes for Paul. I generally viewed the two of them as facilitators of other things. Their relationship never had me on pins and needles and as far as a romantic pairing was concerned, I could have taken it or left it. But, in spite of all this, when everything came to a fiery end, their relationship captured me in a very different way than I expected. They never really worked as lovers, but as allies and friends, they made for a solid, captivating duo. They relied on each other on a level well above a flighty romance and in many ways, that's a lot more satisfying. I had a feeling Paul would be one of the casualties of the finale (Joss has a well-known tendency for bloodbaths at the very end--I think Wesley's was the most devastating finale death to date (but only because Fred died several episodes prior)), but with Dollhouse, we all know that no one is ever really dead. There is no one essence, no one consciousness for people to hold onto. It's not that Paul died, it's that the imprint of Paul died. It's hard to know how to feel about that... This show really threw into question a lot of basic actualities of life. So long as someone exists on a wedge, is he or she really dead? It's clear that all we really are is a collection of memories, so even if some time is lost with a reboot, that person never really died. The finale sought to return life and death and identity to their normal states, but I can't help but think that Topher's wedge is still out there somewhere and may someday accessed again... much like Paul's--even if he only exists in Echo's head. It was only fitting that in the end, Echo be left alone with her thoughts, because if there's one thing we've learned from this show, it's that thoughts are all we really are, even in seeming death. I think the conceit of the show made gut reactions to horrible events more muddled than in other shows. Speaking of Angel, once again, Fred's death was so unbelievably heartbreaking and devastating when Illyria took over, but in spite of Illyria's ability to recall Fred's memories, Fred was dead and we all felt it. In terms of Dollhouse, I'm not sure that's exactly true... It makes Wesley's assent to allow Illyria to lie to him (i.e. assume the guise of Fred, where heretofore Wesley had never allowed it) even more poignant.

Boyd: Wait, what? There are a lot of things that should be said about Boyd, but I'm pretty sure, "Wait, what?" sums it up the best.

Alpha: From schizophrenic day one to psychotic end of days, Alpha was seriously and devilishly badass. I loved him in his evil days, but it was still damned delightful to see him teamed up with the resistance in the end. I would quibble that that's a little too convenient, but really, it just makes sense. Alpha and Echo have always been kindred spirits in their own very special way and it's only fitting that they'd come together in the end. As far as a big bad is concerned, he always made for a much more fabulous foe than Rossum itself, but he was never the root of the problem. Merely a symptom. One badass symptom. He may have started out as the exemplar of tech going bad, but after all was said and done, he and Echo were the evolved ones. The ones most equipped to deal with the end of the world. Even as everything was winding down, he didn't opt to hide-out underground for a year or two. He took his evolved brain, stepped outside, and took his chances with the thought pulse. Doesn't get more badass than that. And yes, Alpha, I loved the suit.

Dr. Saunders/Whiskey: If the show left me a little disappointed, it would have to be here. From the minute Dr. Saunders was revealed as Whiskey, she was instantly one of the most compelling characters on the show. Along with Adele and Topher, hers was the mental and emotional progression I cared most about. In particular, her relationship with Topher raised so many mind-bending questions that I couldn't wait to find out the answers. Much to my dismay, they were largely answers that would never come. Amy Acker's commitments on her new show didn't allow for very many episodes in season two, and I have to assume that this dictated the course her character would take to great extent. Season one set up Whiskey in the most tantalizing of ways and I refuse to believe that things would have turned out thusly if the writers had had more than three or four episodes to work with. In its own way, it was a proper send off, but that doesn't mean I don't want to know the answers to all the questions I've had for oh-so-long. I'm not saying that shows need to wrap up every detail in a nice neat little bow, quite the contrary in fact, but if the show was picking and choosing what to answer and what to leave hanging, I would rather they gave us a few hints about Whiskey over other things. Amy Acker can do heartbreak like nobody's business (as is clear from the extensive and largely unintentional discussion of Angel in this post) and I would have loved to have seen some of her secrets be revealed if only to see how Acker played it. In the end, I suppose it's fitting that she never found out any more of her secrets than we did. She decided to accept the identity she had because as far as she was concerned, that's who she was. When she opted not to find out her real identity in season one, she chose a path--a path that fortunately for her, although unfortunately for us, left a lot of questions unanswered. I can understand the impulse that sometimes you'd rather not know, but for me? This isn't one of those times.

And there you have it. I've run across more than a few reviews that have settled on "All's well that ends well" for Dollhouse, and I can certainly appreciate the sentiment, even if part of me wishes the show were still alive. While not my favorite Whedonverse project, it turned into so much more than I ever anticipated early on. That I can so lovingly talk about it in terms of other Joss Whedon projects confirms for me that redheaded step child it is not. It won't likely grace any Whedon fan's top spot, but it's a solid addition to the family. At the end of the day, it tried to be its best, and did a pretty fine job.

I'll miss you, Dollhouse. I really will.