Dollhouse has really stepped things up. I could easily lament the fact that the show has gotten good just when it was ending, but I think it’s much more likely that it’s gotten good because it is ending. Storylines have accelerated, versus what they would has been had the ending not been in sight. At least, I hope they are, because it would just mean a trend of the first half of a season of Dollhouse kinda sucking while the second half really rocks.
It was interesting that Echo found Ballard during her wandering. Sure, Echo in her doll state is much more cognizant than anyone else, it’s a lot more than that now. Her ability to selectively switch through the imprints that she’s retaining is a nice trick. Better, perhaps, than Alpha, who seems to suffer through all of them at once. If that’s the next evolution for Echo, then I’m afraid of where things will end up for her. It seems that this might all be a part of Alpha’s endgame.
I guess I need to go back and watch the end of the first season. It seems odd to me that Alpha’s fixation would move so completely from Whiskey to Echo. Alpha is one jacked-up dude, but Whiskey is still out there (and, on related note, I think still owes us two episodes, if I remember correctly). Did the scars he left her with ruin her to the point that he could move on? I’m sorry that I don’t remember this as I should, but it doesn’t jive with me.
After a season and a half, I’d given up on chemistry between Ballard and Echo. They’d never seemed to really click together, at least romantically. This week, it felt like that changed. First, at dinner, when Ballard proved his love by not sleeping with her, and then later, when Ballard’s imprint showed through in Echo’s fight with Alpha. I’ve knocked this relationship before, but here it really worked.
Too bad Ballard’s now stuck on life support. It can’t just be a matter of his profile being dropped back in, so I wonder what is wrong with him. I hope that he doesn’t go out Anders-style, but is returned to full form by the end of the season
Other observations:
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Dec 12, 2009 @ 23:12 EST5EDT
Pretty sure Alpha has alwys been obsessed with Echo. He sliced up Whiskey’s face because she was, as he saw, an obstacle to Echo being her best.
*POST AUTHOR*
It was mentioned in this episode that Whiskey ‘used to be number one’ but now its Echo.
Yes as Xander wrote, Alpha was always obsessed with Echo hence he sliced up Whiskey’s so that Echo could be number one — as in number one requested doll to clients, not to him (since Echo always had that position in his mind). His slicing of Whiskey’s face made her “inoperable” as an Active.
RE: Dushku’s portrayal of love for Ballard. Believe me, I love this show and want to say that it was a beautiful portrayal of love, but I just can’t. At the end when Echo is holding Ballard’s body and “crying” there did not seem to be any tears, and if I back track to her holding the rock over Alpha, I don’t think there was tears there either. (I’ll have to check for sure).
Disclosure, I did just watch the episode of the Office where Jim is crying when he tells Pam he loves her, and I really felt it, so if https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Krasinski can make me believe it, I’m gonna hold the bar just as high for Dushku.
Other than that 2 more wonderful episodes!
*POST AUTHOR*
Oh, I’m not saying its some epic, wonderful example of love, but its the first time I’ve believed it.
Echo didn’t just find Ballard while wandering, she actually sought him out. I found that to be extremely interesting that she remembered him and found him and not Boyd. Definitely showed that they had a special connection and she trusted him.
I always wasn’t sure if they was or wasn’t a love connection between Ballard and Echo. It definitely came to the surface in these episodes and seemed to appear very naturally which I enjoyed.
Looking forward to what happens next with Alpha.
Yes, it was written well that the relationship is starting to take shape, but go back and look at the rock/Alpha scene and the holding Ballard scene and tell me if you are buying the feeling of those non-tear tears ;)
“Too bad Ballard’s now stuck on life support. It can’t just be a matter of his profile being dropped back in, so I wonder what is wrong with him.”
Well, he’s braindead.
Physically destroyed brain that is.
So, his profile is (probably) still inside of him but the synapses aren’t working.