Briar Rose (111)

[GateWorld]

DOLLHOUSE - SEASON ONE BRIAR ROSE EPISODE NUMBER - 111 Ballard finds the man who designed the Dollhouse, leading him into the heart of enemy territory. To help a traumatized girl, Echo is programmed with a grown-up version of the girl's own mind. VISIT THE EPISODE GUIDE >

[Amalthea]

That was awesome. I cannot wait to find out who Alpha imprinted Echo with and why.

Poor Paul... he had a bad, bad day. And poor Victor! He was so nice looking too!

Craziness, I loved it! Can't wait for next week. Praying for season 2!

[ShadowMaat]

I kinda wish I hadn't known Alan was gonna be Alpha, but it was still awesome.

"Medicinal carrots." LMAO! And the thing about tentacles grabbing you from under the stairs? SO did not need that paranoia. And then they proved it by having Echo grab Paul's foot. HA! Good call.

I hope Victor is OK. I figured he was dead until Alpha kicked him. Poor, poor Victor. And poor Victor's pretty face. *sigh* Enver did a particularly awesome job tonight. And a good vocal exercise, too, with all the screaming. LOL! Victor-as-Dominic was interesting to see, particularly with Dom knowing exactly what was going on and being appropriately freaked. And doped to the gills. And then someone goes and smashes through Victor's pod, making him scream again. And then ALPHA goes snicker-snack on his face? Damn, it was just NOT Victor's day!

Not sure I like Ballard as much as I once did. His fixation on Caroline seems... convoluted? And his reason for only wanting to rescue her and NOT Mellie/November/Wossname just did not hold water, IMO. Great fight sequence with Ballard vs. Boyd (with an occasional assist from Echo) and I did love seeing Toper get zapped, but Ballard is no longer a sympathetic character in my book.

Can't wait to see how this all plays out next week!

[kharn the betrayer]

damn that was awesome

-Ballad went off the deep end
-Echo remembering her bond with Boyd and helping him out
-Boyd was awesome
-ZOMG poor Victor
-ZOMG Alpha
-ZOMG ebil security guy waking up in victors body
-medicinal carrots lol

[pjt]

If Fox axes the show it'll only prove that the most inept people in television are handpicked there.

This episode was awesome.

How'bout Echo's question:
- You're hurt, Paul?
Then remembering fighting with him, too.

[huntress]

I wish I hadn't known that Alan would play Alpha. The surprise element got unfortunately lost but otherwise it was a great episode. I wonder with whom Alpha imprinted Echo and also how he survived. Poor Victor but I loved the scene in which Domenic was in his body and Boyd kicked ass. Can't wait for next weeks episode =)

[knowles2]

Wicked episode. Alpha was awesome

[Nero_200]

Wow did not see that one coming as i was execting to see alpha at the end of the season but wow what a shock and poor victor lol.

the fight between boyd and ballard was great and i wonder what will happen to echo now that alpha imprinted a new personality on her, will she continue to have flashes to remind her of past events.








im so glad i didnt know before hand who alpha was gonna be.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

If Fox axes the show it'll only prove that the most inept people in television are handpicked there.

It's got nothing to do with the quality of the show. There just aren't many people watching.

[Xanderic]

FRAKKKKKKK. That was the best damn episode ever!!! NSA Security guy in Victor's body. Victor's poor pretty face. ALPHA!!!! It'd be amazing if Echo was imprinted with her actual self, Caroline, with a whole bunch of sweet bells and whistles (aka sweet ass ninja fighting moves). I love how Ballard thought he was the prince lol. I hope they don't attic Ballard and Ballard will work with (not for) them to find Caroline and Alpha.

[LoneStar1836]

Even though I had been spoiled about Alpha, I was beginning to wonder if the spoiler was true (and purposefully planted) because AT was really playing it up. I was still rather shocked when he slashed poor Victor.

Whiskey? Dominic wasn't asking for a drink. I'm pretty sure this episode confirms that Dr. Saunders is a doll/ex-doll. Especially when Alpha asked her is she had always wanted to be a doctor.

Great episode. Great fight sequence. Too bad that there is only one ep left.

[ShadowMaat]

Whiskey? Dominic wasn't asking for a drink.

YES! I wondered about that. Whiskey is so obviously a doll reference, so why play it off as something else? To hide something from Boyd, I guess, though he should have twigged to it anyway.

I'm pretty sure this episode confirms that Dr. Saunders is a doll/ex-doll. Especially when Alpha asked her is she had always wanted to be a doctor.

That definitely seemed suspicious and it'd back up the earlier mention of her not having left the Dollhouse since the attack, but... I dunno... Suddenly I'm wondering about Boyd, himself. It'd be all kinds of weird to have a doll play handler to another doll, but this whole show is weird.

Boyd is now head of security, so why are they keeping Whiskey's identity a secret from him?

[sparklegem]

So my brain basically short circuited on this episode. IMO this episode is how you do epic without doing War of the World epic, if that makes any sense.

Once Ballard got into the Dollhouse and got in a fight with Boyd, the thrill that I felt was exactly like when there's a really good crossover between two fandoms that I like. That's what it felt like because we've so far learned about Ballard in his world, and the Dollhouse staff in their world, and having them collide was really something.

Loved Topher cursing "frack".

Poor Ballard. It's bad enough when you have to get past the kick-*** head of security, but then when the girl you're trying to rescue turns against you too...

I loved, loved, loved the Victor/Dominic scene. This scene, in condensed form, basically illustrated the horror of the Dollhouse and the perspective of one of these digital consciousnesses that is self-aware. It was chilling and angsty, and I loved every second of it. Topher's squimishness was great, and the actor that plays Victor did a great job I thought.

But the best thing about this episode was Alpha and Alan Tudyk who played him. So AWESOME and crazy and intense. Just incredible acting that just blew me away. I can imagine that could be Wash after Reavers tortured him and drove him insane (Firefly reference). Echoing some of the other people here, I'm so glad that I wasn't spoiled ahead of time. Looking back, though, it makes so much sense. While I was watching the episode, I thought to myself 'How can he be such a genius civil engineer if he's a recluse? Reading the industry's literature is not enough. You have to be intimately familiar and keep up with the technologies and materials of the field. There's got to be a practical component, it can't all be theoretical.' Also, after Ballard gave Alpha the doll shirt and they encountered Topher, Alpha ducked behind Ballard to avoid being seen by Topher. At the time I was just annoyed because he wasn't even trying to blend in as a doll by shying away, but now it makes so much sense.

Whiskey? Dominic wasn't asking for a drink. I'm pretty sure this episode confirms that Dr. Saunders is a doll/ex-doll. Especially when Alpha asked her is she had always wanted to be a doctor.

I agree. This pretty strongly indicates that Saunders is a doll. Interesting that she's not glitching like any of the others as far as we can see. Shadow Maat, in response to your question, maybe the reason they are keeping it from Boyd is that Saunders doesn't know herself and only a select few know so that people's behavior around her doesn't give it away. Or maybe Boyd does know.

[ShadowMaat]

Shadow Maat, in response to your question, maybe the reason they are keeping it from Boyd is that Saunders doesn't know herself and only a select few know so that people's behavior around her doesn't give it away. Or maybe Boyd does know.

Yeah, I had forgotten that she was in the room, too. Makes a lot more sense now.

[Killdeer]

Someone posting in the comments to Ausiello's interview with Alan Tudyk suggested that maybe Alpha killed the real Dr Saunders so they imprinted her memories on a doll - Whiskey? What do you all think?

Do you think they're going to make Ballard a doll? And poor Victor!!