I\u2019d really been looking forward to this episode. In fact a couple of days before I dreamed that I\u2019d watched it and in my dream I thought \u201cThat was good, but not as much Sierra as I was expecting\u201d. ((I never used to dream about television, but since watching the Joss commentary on Restless where he describes having dreams where you watch movies and they\u2019re weird as, I\u2019ve had dreams like that twice. That Joss is part of not just the content, but the form of my dreams is probably just predictable at this point.)) As we were sitting down to watch Belonging I said \u201cAt this stage my expectations are so high that if this episode doesn\u2019t change my life it\u2019s going to be a let-down.\u201d I\u2019m not saying it changed my life, but it certainly wasn’t a let-down.<\/p>\n
********************<\/p>\n
You know how good this episode was? The fact that it contained 0% Paul Ballard isn\u2019t even on my top ten list of awesomeness. But, before we begin, lets have a moment of \u2018Yay\u2019 for the absence of Ballard. I don\u2019t even need to choose my favourite character of the episode by who insults him the most. ((If you didn\u2019t know who my favourite character of the episode is you a) haven\u2019t been paying attention to my reviews and b) Didn\u2019t watch that episode.))<\/p>\n
Everyone was their best in this episode, including Eliza Dushku. I know some people aren\u2019t interested in the character Echo \u2013 but I always have been. From the first episode I have liked both Echo and Eliza\u2019s performance. And this was a very fine episode on both counts. There are real subtleties in the differences in the way Echo interacts with people now. I loved that they drew out Echo\u2019s growing understanding of language with Topher\u2019s \u2018they\u2019re in my shirt\u2019 line.<\/p>\n
This season she\u2019s been a bit closed off and inaccessible \u2013 as Boyd said she\u2019s learned how to lie. How deep a game is she playing? How much is she conscious of what she was doing. Did she just want to help Sierra, or did she also want to change Topher? Is she using the doll persona as an act? It\u2019s a challenge, both acting and directing, to take this path of her development, but at the moment I\u2019m finding it very satisfying.<\/p>\n
My favourite aspect of it all is that Echo is doing a great job of organising in the dollhouse \u2013 she\u2019s got Boyd and Ballard completely committed to covering for her, Victor and Sierra developing their solidarity, ((in fact she seemed to be working the Anger-Hope-Action technique with Victor pretty well \u2013 not that he needs much proding to any of those things when it comes to Sierra)) and she even seems to be able to get Topher to do what she wants. After her individualism in Echoes and Needs, I\u2019m really appreciating that. Next I\u2019d like to see her actually talk to Sierra \u2013 there\u2019s so much potential just sitting there with that friendship \u2013 make it happen writers.<\/p>\n
Although in this episode, I even appreciated her individual acts of resistance: reading and writing. The leaf as her only book mark, really emphasised how much what is taken from people is the ability to experience time, to grow and to learn \u2013 to read one page and then another. The notes that she left herself on the lid of her pod are heart-breaking. Not just because they\u2019re so simple – the \u2018Victor loves Sierra\u2019 \u2018Sierra loves Victor\u2019 couple could have been written on a school toilet. But because of how hard she\u2019s fighting to retain what was done to her. \u201cFriends help each other\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally liked Boyd again \u2013 give that character something to do other than punch people and pass moral judgements and I start to enjoy him. Although I felt like he was given a little bit too on the nose dialogue \u201cso she can remember\u201d, \u201cnow the lies begin\u201d and \u201cShe does [belong in the dollhouse] now\u201d. From an episode of TV point of view all of this felt unnecessary and a little insulting to the audience. As a character trait it makes him pompous \u2013 which doesn\u2019t go well with morally judgemental (and completely hypocritical). But I\u2019m so happy he got something to do that I\u2019ll ignore it.<\/p>\n
Dr Saunders was being felt in her absence this episode. We learned that she had projected her own feelings on to Sierra. Claire hated Topher so much, that she missed what was happening to Sierra. In turn, Topher was driven, on some level, by proving the absent Claire wrong, and that desire not to be the bad man took him far further than he knew how to deal with.<\/p>\n
The whole episode was very well shot (and I don\u2019t usually notice that sort of thing until I\u2019m listening to a DVD commentary and Joss tells me that a scene is a oner and I go \u2018oh\u2019 and feel knowledgeable), but the first Topher scene where we saw him through his magnifying lens was particularly brilliant. The dialogue and image worked together to make it clear that he is on the path to Epitaph One. I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing how the events of this week affect him.<\/p>\n
And a special shout-out to \u2018this is your brain on drugs\u2019 ((It makes me want to search out the 90210 scene from the Peach Pit where Andrea is explaining this to Brandon. Television gold that was)) Fran Kranz is just amazing in every way \u2013 to deliver such a silly line so perfectly in the same ep as he signalled Topher\u2019s eventual downfall, and his present uncertainty followed by pain, is skill indeed.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always found the relationships between the staff at the dollhouse fascinating, and I love that they developed Topher by developing his relationships. I was glad that they built on Boyd and Topher\u2019s relationship, it brings out the interesting in both of them. As for Adelle and Topher – I found Adelle\u2019s creepy maternal\/sexual vibe with him just as disturbing as it was supposed to be: \u201cYou have no morals so I\u2019m going to touch your face.\u201d I can\u2019t wait to see where they take that.<\/p>\n
I was unsure, at first, what I felt about our main characters being ignorant about what had happened with Sierra. The end of Needs was obvious Retconned \u2013 when Dr Saunders and Boyd talked about the man who took away Sierra\u2019s power, they meant Nolan. And the new interpretation is a bit of a stretch. But that wasn\u2019t my problem \u2013 I felt unsure about all of them being so clearly anti-Nolan. It felt a little clean, a little artificial, a little like they couldn\u2019t slip below a certain level on the \u2018likeability scale.\u2019<\/p>\n
The more I think about it, the more I\u2019m glad the writers did it this way. I think it was stretching credulity a little bit for everyone to be \u201cI know we took dolls from prison, dolls who explicitly said \u201cI have no choice\u201d and dolls so ill that they couldn\u2019t possibly give consent, but we must do something about Sierra.\u201d But (as Joss Whedon says on the DVD commentary to the Serenity pilot) everyone believes their righteous. Not jut in the dollhouse, everyone who is exploiting or abusing someone is a hero in their own life. To be able to tell a story that shows the range of ways people can react when they discover that they were wrong \u2013 that their abuse and exploitation is just that \u2013 is what makes Dollhouse so great.<\/p>\n
Priya\u2019s origin story (as Adelle and Topher saw it originally), also tells us a lot about the Dollhouse\u2019s view of consent. Of the six dolls that we have any idea why and how they came to the dollhouse three (Caroline, Alpha and the guy from Echoes) were facing jail. The other three all appeared to the Dollhouse to be mentally ill, and not coping with that. We don\u2019t know how lucid either Madeline or Victor were, but it\u2019s clear that they took Priya when she was completely unable to give informed consent. Adelle is used to this, she is the one who give Caroline the contract after she says \u201cI don\u2019t have a choice” She is at least partially aware of the lies she is telling herself. That is why she chose not to fight on this one, even if she couldn\u2019t do it sober.<\/p>\n
Another interesting aspect of the relationship between the staff and the dolls was in the tiny call-back to Haunted. Topher told Sierra she was allowed beer \u2013 on special occasions \u2013 the last time we\u2019d seen her with beer was at his birthday \u2013 when she was his friend. Like Adelle, Topher seems to protect, to care for, to identify with, the dolls that he\u2019s interacted with. Even interacting with an imprint that has been constructed for their needs, makes the workers in the dollhouse see the dolls as more human.<\/p>\n
But this story wasn\u2019t about Echo, or Adelle, it wasn\u2019t even about Topher or Sierra, it was about Priya. We\u2019d only seen snippets of her before, but they\u2019d been very compelling snippets, particularly in Epitaph One. From the very beginning of this episode, with the jewelry selling scene on the beach, Priya seemed so real. When she said to Nolan: \u201cI don\u2019t have a work visa \u2018do-do-do\u2019\u201d \u2013 it was such a silly, little, normal moment. It made the rest of the episode even harder.<\/p>\n
When I mentioned that this episode was going to be about Sierra, my friend was all \u2018Does she get to kill Nolan?\u2019 ((One of the things I\u2019ve loved about this season is the consequences for the Johns. Of the people we know have, or planned to have, sex with an active, we\u2019ve had two stabbings and one jailing. That\u2019s the sort of ratio which is fun to watch, even though it throws the profitability of the whole operation into more than a little bit of doubt.)) Dollhouse is, among many other things, a story about the nature of fantasy. This episode didn\u2019t have an engagement, but it did have a fantasy \u2013\u2013 the fantasy of killing your rapist. Or, in the case of the viewer, watching someone else kill their rapist. Dollhouse has given this before \u2013 the fact that Mellie was being controlled by Adelle didn\u2019t make it any less satisfying when she broke Hearn\u2019s neck. But that was the fantasy of killing a rapist \u2013 we didn\u2019t watch Mellie dealing with the body, the police, or the effects on her of killing someone. ((Buffy, of course, was designed around fantasy killing rapists. The bodies went poof \u2013 there was no stress no trauma, and when men got really misogynist she cut them in half from the balls up))<\/p>\n
Belonging wasn\u2019t the fantasy of killing a rapist, there was a body and it traumatised Priya even more. The fight was messy, Priya had a normal person\u2019s strength and was lucky. Although I\u2019m sure I wasn\u2019t the only one who shouted at the screen \u201cTopher couldn\u2019t you have helped by providing her with Kung Fu skills. But it wouldn\u2019t have worked if he had. And after there was blood, a body, and very few options. There were still fantasy elements \u2013 Boyd arrived on cue with body disposal skills, but it was the reality, not the fantasy that we were left with. The scene, or story, didn\u2019t end with her stabbing him.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s not satisfying to watch women killing rapists, because it is. But it fills an emotional need, an expression of our anger, life doesn\u2019t work that way. I was really glad we saw just a bit more of the picture.<\/p>\n
In an episode this brilliant, there was only one moment missing. Why did Priya go back to the Dollhouse? When I think about it, I can see why she would feel as if going back was her only option. But as I was watching it for the first time, I kept get pulling out of the story and asking why?<\/p>\n
I think there are lots of answers to that question \u2013 actually that\u2019s the problem, there are too many reasons (she was coerced by Topher and Boyd, she didn\u2019t feel able to go on the run, she wanted out of her life). When I first watched the episode, it felt disjointed and unsure. When I thought about it (and rewatched it a fourth or fifth time) I put myself in Priya\u2019s head, and going back made emotional sense to me.<\/p>\n
I think conveying to the audience that Sierra was going to go back to the dollhouse in a conversation between Boyd and Topher was a mistake. We should have learned that with Priya \u2013 then her reasons would have been our reasons, and I think it would have made more sense. It could have been as simple as Topher telling Priya that she was microchipped \u2013 we only needed a beat, but the beat they gave us didn\u2019t work for me.<\/p>\n
Which isn\u2019t to say Priya going back was simple, or should have been portrayed as such. The scene between Topher and Sierra at the end was so powerful, because thre was so much going on (and both Fran Kranz and Dichen Lachman kicked their incredible performances up a notch for that scene). She wanted her memories gone, and she didn\u2019t care about the price (\u2018if<\/i> you wake me up again\u2019), but there was also determination, and even hope. In the end her story was about the complexity of survival.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t \u2018empowering\u2019 (how I hate that word). But it was real, which is far more important.<\/p>\n
As well as having just the right amount of Paul Ballard, this episode had almost enough Victor and Sierra. I\u2019m obviously on record as a Victor\/Sierra Shipper (Vierra? Sictor?). But my one concern has been the way the relationship was set up. It seemed to rinforce men as desiring\/women as desired dynamic. I always believed that the relationship was reciprocal, but there was little textual evidence of that. There had been a scene of Sierra enjoying looking at Victor in episode 4, but they cut it out. ((If you ask me it\u2019s worth buying the DVD just to see that scene. I\u2019d have cut the scene of Echo being remote wiped, before I\u2019d have cut that))<\/p>\n
Which was what made the art gallery scene so glorious. It became clear that Sierra been attracted to Victor, just as long as Victor had been attracted to Sierra. ((There may have been a call from the cheap seats \u2018You can ask me many boring questions. It may have come from me)) Everything about their interaction was charming, without being ridiculous \u2018love-at-first sight\u2019.<\/p>\n
But, sweet as it was, that was nothing compared with what followed. As I said during Man on the Street, one of the most powerful aspects of Sierra\u2019s storyline is the portrayal of institutional abuse. Even more importantly, Sierra\u2019s pain would have remained invisible if she didn\u2019t have friends. The role that Echo and Victor played in making Sierra\u2019s experiences public ((and the fact that that publicity didn\u2019t result in unmitigated improvement for Sierra\u2019s life was very realistic)) and supporting her was beautiful.<\/p>\n
Echo wasn\u2019t the only one who had a plan; Victor saw the black paint as something he could deal with (and probably his plan was less likely to have negative effects of Sierra than Echo\u2019s). The scene in the shower was lovely in so many ways, his earnestness \u2013 their playfulness. ((Small quibble the \u2018indian chief\u2019 line rang a bit false to me. So far we haven\u2019t seen dolls have any cultural references. So far dolls comprehension seems limited to the idea that Dr Saunders is nice, and they should try and be their best. Victor didn\u2019t understand Echo\u2019s metaphor. The idea of \u2018an Indian Chief\u2019 that Victor and Sierra seemed to share was far more specific than that)) Then we saw Victor\u2019s vulnerability as well, and Sierra comforted him.<\/p>\n
They have such an equal, reciprocal relationship (particularly now they\u2019ve shown us the origins). I really like that. Just like I was relieved when Victor didn\u2019t \u2018invent rape\u2019 I love the idea that in a world that doesn\u2019t use gender as a system of control, relationships would look different.<\/p>\n
But what was most powerful about this episode was it\u2019s depiction of love. What I think is so beautiful about Sierra and Victor\u2019s love is it\u2019s simplicity. \u201cI\u2019ll wait here\u201d and he does, and until she comes back every time the camera cuts to him it breaks your heart. They like being together, they want to help each other, they make each other feel better. On some level love (and I don\u2019t just mean romantic love or love paired with sexual attraction here) is that simple.<\/p>\n
In real life, the simplicity of love is often only really apparent in times of great stress, or absolute relaxation. All the rest of the time messy life stuff gets in the way. But the feeling is still there. The feeling that you would get the black paint pots of your friends, families and lovers and wash them out if only you knew how, the desire for someone to wait about the bottom of the stairs \u2013 those are the reasons Victor and Sierra\u2019s relationship resonates.<\/p>\n
The episode is incredibly sad, but the ending is beautiful. The way the dolls walked into their pods at the end of Needs was heartbreaking. They\u2019re not doing that anymore. Their acts of resistance are intimacy and retaining information. It won\u2019t be enough \u2013 the dolls won\u2019t bring down the dollhouse this way. Like most institutions they\u2019ve learned if they loosen their control it makes it easier to maintain their power. But in the meantime, it keeps Echo, Sierra and Victor strong enough to keep fighting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019d really been looking forward to this episode. In fact a couple of days before I dreamed that I\u2019d watched it and in my dream I thought \u201cThat was good, but not as much Sierra as I was expecting\u201d. ((I … Continue reading