Dollhouse - 2x11 - Getting Closer
Jan. 9th, 2010 02:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fembuck
OH.
MY.
GOD.
Jesus H. Christ that was an amazing 45 min. of television.
My thoughts are gonna be all over the place on this one cause ...
My mind is BLOWN.
First of all, this was a very, very good episode for lady gay! Every scene between Caroline and Bennett was GHEY AS HALE! From the moment they met, Bennett was totally like:
Yeah, late night sex so wet, it's so tight
A gas of a jet for you tonight
Baby, you could go where ever you like
I said you could go where ever you like, yeah
I was shitting bricks during the hair washing scene. The way it started I really and truly believed that it was a morning after scene and we'd get to see them kiss.
[Caroline gently strokes a piece of hair out of Bennett's face]
Caroline: We're going to make you pop.
Bennett: I'm not sure I wish to ... pop.
Caroline: You're going to pop ... and like it.
[Caroline giggles, and then playfully helps Bennett take off her robe]
Caroline: Get in the chair. Lay down.
Me: 0_o
*laughs hysterically*
Bennett: I'd love to get a look at your amigdala
[Caroline smiles sexily]
Caroline: You'd have to buy me dinner first.
As it is I'm convinced that this really was a morning after scene (or perhaps a before evening scene lol) and the kissing will be on the season 2 DVDs deleted scenes.
Also, HAIR WASHING *swoon*
Honestly, now I'm going to be having dreams about Eliza Dushku gently massaging shampoo into my scalp, while soft light hits us gently and romantic music plays in the background. I already legit love having my hair washed by someone else because it feels heavenly, and add Eliza Dushku into that equation and it's super-awesome-fun-time ... in my pants.
And as if the hair washing scene wasn't gay enough there was this exchange:
Caroline: You're not pissed because I used you.
Bennett: I'm hurt that you won't.
I mean ... UNF!
and then this exchange:
Caroline: I'll make you an offer. You resurrect Caroline Farrel long enough for me to save my friends and I'll let you do whatever you want to her. I will hold the bitch down.
Bennett: Deal.
Me: *feels uncomfortably damp in the undies region.*
Eliza and Summer have AMAZING chemistry together. When they were breaking into the Rossum lab, I was struck by how awesome it would have been to see a show about Bennett and Caroline's Fabulous Adventures in Espionage. Bennett would have been the Oracle to Caroline's Black Canary/Huntress. Oh, it could have been so beautiful.
But the lady gay wasn't confined to just Bennett and Caroline, oh ho no, Adelle had to squeeze her way in there and so did my bb Claire! The scene with Adelle and Echo watching the video of Caroline was fraught with tension. Mmm. And Adelle's backtracking when it finally registered with her that Claire was back slayed me. I think what I loved about it most (besides Olivia's Williams face) was that Claire looked so sad that Adelle had no reaction to her, like she couldn't believe her former lover wasn't even going to acknowledge her.
Speaking of my bb Claire ...
That was honestly so shocking to me. She was all demure, and lurky, and wearing a white lab coaty ... and then all of a sudden BANG GUN BULLET HEAD DEAD ... OMG!
Also, it must be said. As much as I loved the Bennett/Caroline scenes, the Bennett/Topher scenes were really cute as well. Topher is love is really quite charming. Priya and Anthony getting to go off for some afternoon delight was nice as well. I've always liked those two together. And Claire/Boyd was sweet for the 5 min.'s it was on screen.
Pretty much all of the couple-y stuff was good this episode except for Echo/Paul who continue to have no chemistry and be boring as fuck. The whole 'you were the brightest line'/Topher stole their love conversation just left me yawning. I was like, allow me to dredge up some care from give a fuck bay.
But ... BUT ... The ending was legit like:
WTF????
It was certainly a shocking reveal and one I would never have guessed (though I guess it does answer that series long question, "Why does Boyd stay with the Dollhouse if he finds what they do so reprehensible?"). Still, I feel kind of like giving Mutant Enemy this face:
Because Boyd was like my TV Daddy (because he is tall and huggable and protective like my real Dad) and so I don't want him to be a criminal mastermind.
Still, that reveal is going to make for a hell of an explosive ending for the series. Like I cannot wait to see what is coming next week!
GRR ARGH! I'm so mad this show got canceled! Just like T:SCC the second season of this show started off kind of slow but by the end of the show it had gotten so fucking awesome that I just wanted more, more, more, more, more!
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Date: 2010-01-09 08:29 am (UTC)Every scene between Caroline and Bennett was GHEY AS HALE!
Seriously. The only thing that would have made it better is if they made Caroline actually seducing Bennett text instead of subtext. And, really, why not? They knew the show was canceled before they made the episode.
Caroline: You're not pissed because I used you.
Bennett: I'm hurt that you won't.
OMG!! How on God's GREEN EARTH did I miss this exchange!?! Yep, Caroline totally seduced Bennett. Like, took her virginity and everything.
And Adelle's backtracking when it finally registered with her that Claire was back slayed me.
Lol, I loved Adelle's look, it totally screamed - 'hrmm, if I weren't in the middle of trying to stop Armageddon I'd totally take you to my office for some sexy time'!
And can I just say I *loved* the wigs they used for Adelle. Usually when shows pull out the hair pieces it's 'please make the lambs stop screaming'. But her hair looked *good*!
She was all demure, and lurky, and wearing a white lab coaty ... and then all of a sudden BANG GUN BULLET HEAD DEAD ... OMG!
What that scene left me wondering was is Claire a sleeper agent or was shooting Bennett the re-manifestation of her psychosis? Like, she *really* hates Topher. It just makes more sense to me that she would kill what Topher loves after losing Boyd. And why she would want to remain in the DH and wait for his return.
I don't buy that TPTB intended for Boyd to be the Big Bad from the beginning, but I'm just gonna go with it.
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Date: 2010-01-09 01:43 pm (UTC)This is so twisted and black and amazing that I really wish it was the case. Plot-wise it would be infinitely more interesting.
I do not understand how Claire could hate Topher so much though.
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Date: 2010-01-09 06:20 pm (UTC)I have a theory but it's more fanwank than anything. Which is how, lol, I enjoy the majority of this show - through fan wanking.
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Date: 2010-01-09 06:55 pm (UTC)This! I mean, killing a relatively innocent person just to get back at Topher is some evil shit, and I don't know if I could love Dr. Whiskey after that.
If she hates Topher that much then she should take it off on Topher, not drag a bystander into it.
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Date: 2010-01-09 04:57 pm (UTC)I don't buy that TPTB intended for Boyd to be the Big Bad from the beginning, but I'm just gonna go with it.
i was thinking the same thing. i think this is a real testament to acker's acting ability. and even though i don't think it was the original intention to make boyd the big, i think it makes it that more interesting and when you really think about it, it isn't that great a leap so if you had to wrap up things quickly, it would be both compelling yet coherent w/in the context of the series as a whole.
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Date: 2010-01-09 06:53 pm (UTC)Oh, I know! When Claire come on screen my eyes were glued and I was riveted. I think she really might be my favorite show on a show fill of interesting characters. The last few episodes of Dollhouse have been good, but this episode showed me how much more I love the show with Claire on it.
The only thing that would have made it better is if they made Caroline actually seducing Bennett text instead of subtext. And, really, why not? They knew the show was canceled before they made the episode.
Like, took her virginity and everything.
That's hot!
I loved Adelle's look, it totally screamed - 'hrmm, if I weren't in the middle of trying to stop Armageddon I'd totally take you to my office for some sexy time'!
Yes, exactly! It was so speculative. I could practically hear the "Mmm" in her gaze.
What that scene left me wondering was is Claire a sleeper agent or was shooting Bennett the re-manifestation of her psychosis? Like, she *really* hates Topher. It just makes more sense to me that she would kill what Topher loves after losing Boyd. And why she would want to remain in the DH and wait for his return.
I'm torn over what I want right now. I honestly do think that Claire is a sleeper agent. When she heard that it was Caroline on the burnt out wedge it set off her programming. Boyd knew Caroline was the only one would could identify him and needed to make sure that wedge wouldn't be fixed. Plus, she was so empty, so Doll-like afterwards.
Also, I don't like the idea that Claire would just kill some relatively innocent person to get back at Topher. I mean Topher is a twatsicle most of the time and has done horrible things, but killing someone else to make him sad is some evil shit.
I think you're right about her staying in the Dollhouse to wait for Boyd, which is incredibly tragic. Poor, poor Whiskey.
I don't buy that TPTB intended for Boyd to be the Big Bad from the beginning, but I'm just gonna go with it.
This is my feeling. It was definitely WTF, but I'm invested and I want to see it through.
Yeah, I'm really surprised they kept it as subtext instead of just going there and making it text. I mean, Caroline CLEARLY DID seduce her, so why not just take it to the next level. It certainly would explain Bennett loathing of Caroline more than "my roommate betrayed me". Dollhouse I am disappoint by this.
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Date: 2010-01-09 10:41 pm (UTC)It's weird because Claire killing Bennett to make Topher hurt makes me love her more. Like, Saunders wasn't there to see the (little) character growth Topher went through. As far as she's concerned, he's the same monster he was when she left. Even when she was having her identity meltdown and revealed her loathing of him, Topher still paused to be amazed at his own genius.
I see Claire as someone who's cast Topher as Frankenstein and herself as his monster. Unlike Claire or (pre Big Bad) Boyd, people who were reluctant about their role and voiced criticisms about what was being done to/with the Dolls, Topher has always gleefully dived in head first. Never once thinking about the consequences of his actions or the damage he's inflicting on others. Killing Bennett was Claire's way of making Topher have real and tangible consequences to his actions.
Hrmm, so I'm gonna go with Claire's a sleeper. The programming was to stop the resurrection of Caroline but killing Bennett was Claire's way of fulfilling her program *and* effectively sticking it to Topher.
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Date: 2010-01-09 10:50 pm (UTC)This I can get on board with.
As far as Claire knew Bennett was the only one who knew how to get Caroline back so she had to die. And she waited until Topher was in the room and would see to pull the trigger to get back at him.
Bennett had to die, so Claire did it in the way most painful for Topher.
Ouch.
Oh, Dr. Whiskey Saunders you BAMF! Seriously, that is one woman I would NOT want to piss off. Actually, all of the main female characters are women I wouldn't want to piss off. Even Priya will kill you dead, she'll just cry about it afterwards, lol.
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Date: 2010-01-09 09:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-09 06:56 pm (UTC)This episode was such a mind fuck on so many levels!
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Date: 2010-01-09 09:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-09 06:56 pm (UTC)Oh, River.
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Date: 2010-01-09 01:33 pm (UTC)If stuff like this had been going on since season 1, I'd feel a lot more satisfied with the series, but as it's the ending, I can't be as gracious.
Stuff like suddenly killing of a central character (at least how I saw Bennet, Caroline's friend and also very important to Topher, also an employee of a Dollhouse.) .. requires a lot more building. It requires that there are consequences after the event. Long consequences. Like the episode "The Body" in Buffy. The whole thing just felt really, really cheap.
Boyd being the head of Rossum makes absolutely no sense to me because there was absolutely no foreshadowing. Or perhaps those with higher mental capacity saw it, but I certainly did not.
These all feel like final moment changes, as I think they are.
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Date: 2010-01-09 05:15 pm (UTC)take bennett for instance,here you have a character that was brought in for what seemed like a 2 ep. arc w/ possibility for further development. so you have these elements that are introduced that are integral to the over all plot, but not necessarily central to the plot, so how do you tie those in in the least amount of time and still make it work?? and though it's a bit of a cop out in many ways, i still think it holds the over all story together, much like duct tape. i don't think it's a fair comparison to something like the "body" because not only because that ep. just an exquisite piece of television, but also because they simple lacked the luxury of time.
to be honest i'm amazed that they were able to get so much exposition and foreshadowing in this ep. because if you've seen "epitaph one" a lot of stuff makes sense including why topher goes nuts. i think suspends just enough disbelief to make you stick around to see how all ends.
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Date: 2010-01-09 07:07 pm (UTC)That's a really good point about how it does seem to be explaining the things we say in Epitath One. Ghost-like Whiskey wandering around is pretty much covered, Topher going nutty is explained, the crazy-ass world we saw is being explained, Paul being up and about is explained ... so far so good.
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Date: 2010-01-09 06:31 pm (UTC)The biggest waste, imo, was the confrontation between Echo and Bennett.
For me, Dollhouse has always been a show where the individual pieces were greater than the whole. I am appreciative that FOX gave them enough of a heads up to actually finish the show but feel *way* too much time was wasted on 'Doll of the Week' storylines, when it should have been more about the internal machinations of the Dollhouse to begin with.
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Date: 2010-01-09 07:05 pm (UTC)I've really come to like the Bennett character, but honestly with like two episode left there was no way that they were going to be able to explore all of the possibilities with her. And she's only been in two episodes so we couldn't really expect a Joyce Summers style impact on the show/the people around.
Boyd being the head of Rossum makes absolutely no sense to me because there was absolutely no foreshadowing. Or perhaps those with higher mental capacity saw it, but I certainly did not.
This, I really do doubt was their plan from the beginning, but I think they could make it work. It really never was addressed WHY Boyd was working at the Dollhouse/stayed with the Dollhouse when he seemed so disapproving of them.
But, there were houses out there at were far more morally bankrupt than Adelle's house (which is a scary statement) which makes me wonder why he was so focused on maintaining the quality of Adelle's house and making sure her dolls were okay as opposed to looking after changing ALL the houses. I'm sure Echo being a unique, special snowflake has something to do with it, but it is kind of 0_o.
I'm interested to see what they do next though.
These all feel like final moment changes, as I think they are.
I think you're right. I think they had a lot of things that they wanted to do with the characters before the show ended, but they're had to really, really move up their timetable and make some large shifts. I just don't think they've done a terrible job with it. I wish we'd gotten to see things fleshed out, but I'm happy that the show is getting a chance to close things out, that the PTB were had enough time to come up with new ending, and that the ending they're executing is pretty interesting and kick-ass (to me at least).
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Date: 2010-01-09 02:28 pm (UTC)The gay in those lines was enough to get me interested.
Then I realized the Caroline/Bennet you mentioned is played by delicious Eliza Dushku and Summer "second terminator I have wanted to bang" Glau! OH the possibilities! Oo
Thank U fembuck.
ps: you are my hero ;)
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Date: 2010-01-09 07:09 pm (UTC)You should watch it! The show isn't perfect, but it's often very good and entertaining. And at least this show is getting a proper ending so you won't feel completely cheated when the end rolls around.
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Date: 2010-01-09 04:19 pm (UTC)Loved the overall gayness!
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who went with Claire offed Bennet to get back at Topher. Although, that's not to say Boyd wasn't involved, she easily could have been manipulated by him. It would have been nice if they had delved more in to why she hates Topher, they touched on it earlier this season, but with Claire MIA there was not more on it.
What really hurt this episode is that they're trying to condense everything from a series with a 5 year plan into the remainder of this season. Boyd as the big bad came out of left field which is made worse by the fact the even when he's revealed it still doesn't make all the blocks fall into place.
Am I the only one who hates Paul? Like was really happy when Alpha scrubbed the hell out of him.
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Date: 2010-01-09 07:13 pm (UTC)This. They've had to shave down their master plan a lot.
Boyd as the big bad came out of left field which is made worse by the fact the even when he's revealed it still doesn't make all the blocks fall into place.
Well, it was only revealed in the last few seconds of the episode. I'm pretty sure they'll explain it in a plausible way in the episodes we have left. I doubt Boyd was their original plan for a Big Bad, but if they chose him I'm sure they chose him because they knew they could make it work with what they had already established and with what they had planned to end things.
Am I the only one who hates Paul? Like was really happy when Alpha scrubbed the hell out of him.
No. Paul has always been a complete drip. I've never really liked the character. Occasionally he could be somewhat amusing, but most of the time he was just a boring waste of space. When Alpha scrubbed his brain I was happy because I thought that would be the end of him. And him going back to his season 1 levels of asshole-y-ness definitely didn't do him any favors.
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Date: 2010-01-09 04:51 pm (UTC)so so so so good. so much love for summer and amy...swooning over henry as boyd and was thinkin' damn, he's like the best boyfriend/daddy...did not see that coming yo...dude if i were oprah rich i'd totally buy a network just so i could keep joss whedon and bryan fuller employed for life. fuckin' FOX...
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Date: 2010-01-09 07:16 pm (UTC)I know! I kept on jumping and yelling that throughout the whole episode!
so much love for summer and amy..
They're amazing. I didn't even realize how fully I missed Amy's presence on this show until I saw her again. It was like seeing an old friend. Damn, I love Claire. And Summer totally made me love Bennett this episode. I always kind of forget how good Summer is, and then it's like BLAA-BLAM!
dude if i were oprah rich i'd totally buy a network just so i could keep joss whedon and bryan fuller employed for life. fuckin' FOX...
I want to find a genie lamp and make you Oprah just so this can happen now. That would be the best network on earth! For reals.
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Date: 2010-01-09 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-09 07:17 pm (UTC)This. Olivia Williams is amazing and stunning no matter what, but I do love the long hair on her.
She looks like Caroline's mum with it, which made it funny when she stepped out the elevator during the backflash. :D Or maybe I'm just easily amused.
lol! Caroline was just trying to avoid being grounded after the worst/best house party ever!
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Date: 2010-01-09 07:49 pm (UTC)Especially the hair washing scene. omggggg
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Date: 2010-01-09 08:25 pm (UTC)Eliza and Summer were on fire in them. They had mad chemistry together. This episode was actually the first time that I LIKED Caroline because she was so charming while seducing Bennett!
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Date: 2010-01-09 08:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-09 10:52 pm (UTC)Hello! *waves*
Seriously. Died with laughter at the captions as well as your description of what was going on. Just because of this livejournal post, as soon as I haz $ and its available on DVD
I glad the post was entertaining instead of overly spastic like I feared. The episode was just SO GOOD!
And you should totally get the series on DVD. The pilot is a bit humdrum, but once you get to the third episode it starts to get good, and by the fifth you will be hooked!
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Date: 2010-01-10 04:46 am (UTC)Sincerely, Allaine
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Date: 2010-01-10 06:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-10 07:57 am (UTC)Seriously, I was so sure Bennett was going to say something like "You bitch, you said you'd always love me! I was a virgin when I met you! Backdoor and front!" That's the only reason she could be so pissed off at Caroline, because the only way Caroline could've been more blameless in that flashback is if she had to run off to save a box of kittens from a fire. And then brought the kittens back for Bennett to pet.
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Date: 2010-01-10 10:52 am (UTC)HOLY CRAP.
MIND? BLOWN.
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Date: 2010-01-10 11:16 am (UTC)So there's only one thing left to say:
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Date: 2010-01-21 11:43 pm (UTC)Totally agreed with everything you said. I really hate Fox for cancelling this show -___- But yeah. Loved that little recap teheh.