A Spy in the House of Love

General Impressions: This felt like a season 2 episode. Perhaps it's the same pieces falling together with a touch of descending into hell, that leaves you with a feeling like someone ripped a hole in your soul and you want more. But it's not just that. Echo in this episode was Echo – really season 2 Echo, so very close to what Echo was in episodes what we now just saw last friday.

Heh, it's funny how Dollhouse wanted to end Echo with giving her a sense of closure... but she's even more Echo. People are like talking important stuff before her and she's listening and thinking along. It was just so crazy. I'm doing Topher's body language here. The thing with the hands, the head and the stuttering. Echo's amazing.

Really amazing episode. The way it starts... you know something dark is going to happen... but to whom?

You know, a lot of these things that have now happened in past 4 episodes... much of that was hinted by True Beliver. Miss Lonelyhearts got it's first mention there. First signs of Victor/Sierra romance. And of course Echo's "I see perfectly" when looking at Dominic. Speaking of Dominic... very powerful stuff. What he said through Mellie, that Dollhouse deals with fantasies but that's not their true purpose. So true. That Rossum is going to destroy the world. So true. He's right. And he helps Ballard in his quest. But he despises the dolls. He can't stand them. He's mean. He didn't smile when Sierra was talking about killing Topher.

Let's look it from Echo's perspective. There's this guy who walks around and yells a lot and then everyone is unhappy. Tragic really.

And Ballard. This was the moment when I was really starting to fall for Ballard. This obsessed desperate guy. I like that sort of thing. And then his only attachment with reality turns out to be unreal. Damn. I wonder, Ballard hasn't met Dominic, right? I wonder if he will... I mean Dominic sort of helped him and everything.

Lot of pain in this episode. Very intimate look at Adelle. All that Miss Lonelyhearts fantasy. And then Dominic. Total breakdown. And concluding with Boyd's slight pain with Echo getting a new handler. Now it's time to look this episode from Echo's point of view.

Echo's Journey to Enlightenment: As I already said Echo is very season 2-ish in this episode. She walks around, she notices things, she listens to what people say and even thinks along. It's crazy. And very cute. Eliza might be a slutty sexy type, but Echo's all cute.

From her perspective, there's this guy who once tried to kill her and now that guy walks around and makes everyone sad. Then there's November who she just said hello to. Then she waves at her when November's on the balcony, but November is different. Then mean guy takes Sierra and she follows them and suddenly Sierra's different. It's also funny that Echo's hearing is rather selective. She tunes in to Boyd's and Saunders discussion when they are talking about how the system is flawed. And she hears changed Sierra talking about killing Topher. So she goes to Topher. For some reason she's thinking of Topher as part of her flock. And she states it very echoianly clear. Change me so I could help you.

And then when she's programmed with her mad spy-detector skills, she's again doing Echoian observations. She's interviewing those people and making all those small meaningful observations. She really made Saunders pause.

In Grey Hour Echo makes a statement "I'm not broken." Dominic calls her a broken doll. They fight. Echo wins. And then she says "I'm not broken."

Dominic: After you beat me to a pulp, they're gonna erase me. But first they're gonna erase you.
Echo: I can take care of myself.
Dominic: I know. That's why I'm smiling. Because one day you'll be erasing them. Even after all this, they still won't see it coming. Sooner or later everybody gets theirs.

Also when they're programming a new handler for Echo, Echo looks at Boyd.

Foreshadowing: Dominic's rant could be rather prophetic.

Grading: Perfect.