Epitaph Two
Jan. 30th, 2010 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vervet_monkeyOK, first off, how was anyone who hadn't seen Epitaph One meant to follow that at all ever? I know that the ep is about (I've seen it, after all) but for those who watch television on just that, and don't participate in the fandom side of the show, Epitaph Two must just have felt like a jumble of random scenes with people they'd never seen before.
For the rest of us, however, it was an almost fitting end. Almost becuase, well, Joss. He's never going to acutally please us now is he?
The first half was a bit rushed in my opinion. Bit of a kind of random 'We made a fuss about safehaven but don't have the time to draw out how they find it, so lets just drive, get captured and go!' I didn't entirely understand what Echo and Ballard we're doing there, although that may be solved by a re-watch. If they were there only to save Topher then it all seemed a little easy. But then the did have only 40 minutes to fit it all in!
The family scene at 'Neuropolis' was cheesy but sweet. Prya I still love, she is very cute and I can't wait to see what Dichen will do next. Adelle sort of surprised me but not so much that I can't see how she got there.
Victors gang was... a little odd. Not the idea as such, but it all seemed a little too over developed. Like the weird costumes, not exactly practical, and why bother? And the circle thing to swap imprints appeared kind of random. But ignoring the over excitement from the costume and prop departments it made sence. While some have completely moved away from the tech others have altered it for their own battle. At first I will admit to thinking Victor was just being a bit of an arse and abandoning Prya and T, but i think it was saved by his actions in the dollhouse.
The indiscriminate killing when they did get to LA didn't sit too well with me. I understnad the killing in defence, but it did seem like they were killing for the fun of it. Not specific threats. I would have thought that asthey are trying to save the world, killing as few people as possible would be desireable.
Ballards death. Pure Joss. People die. And its not always long and drawn out and full of suspence. Sometimes it just happens, and theres nothing you could have done to stop it. One of the many things I love about his shows.
Alpha running the dollhouse... bit odd, but I'm guessing I missed something/have forgotten something from E1 that woud give some explanation.
I never felt Echo/Ballard. It was odd in the first season when he was all stalker like, and then just didn't really make sence in S2. So the echo's breakdown scene really did nothing for me.
Victors troops revolt once inside the dollhouse took me by surprise (well done Joss again). did not see it coming in the slightest, which always makes it a million times better. And this is the point that Victor redeems himself and makes me (and Prya I think) realise that he was acutally telling the truth, he did it for her and T, to make the world safe for them. And now that he has he is happy to go back, whether Prya still wants him in her life or not. Which as it turns out she does and leads to yet another 2 very cute victor/sierra (or whatever you want to call them) scenes. Who said Joss could never let any relationship end happy?
Topher. I've always loved him, and he didn't let me down. He grew so much in 2 seasons. Just want to give the boy a big hug. And the scene with Adelle was haertbreaking. The dynamic between the two of them is strange, but very well played.
So thats the end of Joss's latest venture. It started off both seasons rocky, but he got there eventually. I wish we had had more time to explore the story, but in the time given they did pretty well.
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no subject
Date: 2010-01-30 08:30 pm (UTC)I really thought that they did--they were laying down cover fire so that the party could get inside unharmed.
Alpha running the dollhouse... bit odd, but I'm guessing I missed something/have forgotten something from E1 that would give some explanation.
At one point, Echo mentioned that no one was wiped at Safe Haven, "and we have Alpha to thank for that." My opinion on Alpha post-apocalypse is that it finally gave him something, besides a creepy focus on Echo, to do. A way to step up as a leader. It's sort of like Tom Zarek in Battlestar Galactica--before the apocalypse, he was an incarcerated mass-murderer; afterwards he became a leader. I always thought Alpha's composite was slightly different from Echo's: Echo was a tranquil individual drawing on the knowledge of other people, where Alpha was sort of ruled by his other personalities and didn't really have a very strong ringleader for the composite circus in his head. The apocalypse gave him the stimulus to find one, IMO.
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Date: 2010-01-30 08:46 pm (UTC)Yeah, I can see that I guess. I think it was the fact that they weren't killing specific people. Like 'that person is trying to kill me so I'd better do it first' but more 'they all look like they might try, so I'll shoot them all just in case' Which given the circumstances was probably the best way forward, but in my head was the wrong image.
I like your thoughts on Alpha too, although I would be surprised at all of the imprints thinking the same. Alhough I suppose maybe having something to focus on allowed some to get stronger and supress those others that didn't agree so much. Which I've just realalised is exactly what you said... so I guess I agree!
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Date: 2010-01-30 09:18 pm (UTC)I was thinking that all that black leather and metal in the desert couldn't be comfortable! I guess it makes them look and feel more badass.
I never felt Echo/Ballard. It was odd in the first season when he was all stalker like, and then just didn't really make sence in S2. So the echo's breakdown scene really did nothing for me.
I'm with you on the ship. It was too sketchy, what with Ballard's stalker tendencies and then the ickiness of a relationship under the active's handler-trusting imprint. Still, I thought the breakdown scene was fairly effective, and made me sad for Echo. Echo's imprinting herself with Paul, on the other hand, bothered me. Being in love with a personality inside your head is just weird, and not in a good way.
Topher. I've always loved him, and he didn't let me down. He grew so much in 2 seasons. Just want to give the boy a big hug. And the scene with Adelle was haertbreaking. The dynamic between the two of them is strange, but very well played.
I am SO with you on the desire to give him a hug and the heartbreak at the scene with Adelle!
BTW, I am friending you, if you don't mind. Dollhouse, Doctor Who, and ecology are all passions of mine, and you seem interesting.
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Date: 2010-01-30 09:37 pm (UTC)I agree with you that Echo and her feelings for Paul did nothing for me, I just didn't care. She ceases to move me every time and was the weakest link to the end, and you can tell that outburst was written to be her big emotional climax. Fail.
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Date: 2010-01-30 09:50 pm (UTC)Same. I hate when shows/films do that for effect. ESPECIALLY since Echo's huge fuss about "they're still people" pretty much all the way through this season. :/
Ballards death. Pure Joss. People die. And its not always long and drawn out and full of suspence. Sometimes it just happens, and theres nothing you could have done to stop it. One of the many things I love about his shows.
I knew there'd be a Wash moment.
And it's so much better for effect, too. I actually gasped and clapped a hand to my mouth. That's how good Joss is.
Alpha running the dollhouse... bit odd, but I'm guessing I missed something/have forgotten something from E1 that woud give some explanation.
Only something good happened, and Echo says "we have Alpha to thank for that".
I never felt Echo/Ballard. It was odd in the first season when he was all stalker like, and then just didn't really make sence in S2. So the echo's breakdown scene really did nothing for me.
The chemistry wasn't all there for me either. THough I do like Paul/Echo rather than Paul/Caroline, esp after the romantic scene in Jane Doe...
Topher = sob. I adore him far too much.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-30 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-31 05:21 am (UTC)"Are we there yet?" I dunno, it looks different this time out. "we need water and food." OH wait, here we are 10 seconds later.
So the echo's breakdown scene really did nothing for me.
That moment was the first that I actually cared about Echo. It only took 25 eps, but I did care a little. Not a lot, but at least it made Prya realize she needed to give Anthony another chance. I'm all about the two of them. :)
Topher really did steal the show. I hope to see him and all the other cast members in something else soon. (except Eliza who continues to play the same character no matter what she's in!)
Alpha running the dollhouse... bit odd, but I'm guessing I missed something/have forgotten something from E1 that woud give some explanation.
I was a little lost on this one too because I was of the came that Whiskey reset everything. That she didn't kill everyone, but that was just a gas that knocked them out so she could remove them. At first I thought maybe she was there, too and was working with Alpha, but alas. :( I guess I'd want to die as Whiskey after finding out about Boyd, too.
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Date: 2010-01-31 09:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-31 06:30 pm (UTC)But did evolved Alpha really want to go back to being Karl William Kraft, an incompetent serial killer?
I also wish for even a hint of what happened to Whiskey and Dominic.
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Date: 2010-01-31 06:50 pm (UTC)I'm pretty sure that when Alpha put Paul into his head, Paul immediately started mellowing him out and calming him down. So after Alpha gave Paul's imprint back to Echo, he left, way before the pulse was gonna go off - I'm pretty sure he left to make sure none of them were in danger after Paul's imprint was gone, and same for when the pulse took effect and he was wiped. I think it was pretty nice even if it meant Tudyk wasn't onscreen that much.
No mention of Whiskey, which was disappointing, but in my mind, she could be working with Alpha if she's still alive.
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Date: 2010-01-31 07:44 pm (UTC)I think I must have missed/blanked out Alpha putting Paul into his head too. I guess Paul could be quite strong and single minded, which might have pulled all the other imprints into line. What interests me in that is that Echo didn't change an awful lot when Caroline was added to the mix, and i wonder how she would change if imprints were removed, if at all. Yet another differance in Echo and Alpha.
As for why he would leave to be wiped I don't know. Surely he, out of all of them, has an excuse not to revert back to his original personality, or have it added to his mix, as the other dolls hiding from the pulse seem to have done. But then I guess you get the question how do you decide who gets there body back and who doesn't, which is a whole new issue!
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Date: 2010-01-31 07:48 pm (UTC)But it was Saunders that was with Boyd, not Whiskey. As far as I'm aware she wasn't compositing? (Or composting, which is what I first wrote) Unless thats me being fuzzy in remembering again!
I really want to know what happened to Whiskey, not least to see Amy Acker again!
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Date: 2010-01-31 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-31 08:06 pm (UTC)I guess that was the only safe alternative he saw.
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Date: 2010-01-31 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-31 11:39 pm (UTC)THANK YOU! Sorry, totally feel the same :P Also about Echo's grief scene... Although there were a few moments beforehand when I actually did like her character, if I'm honest. What really pisses me off is that she's the main character of a show where she can play with any character she wants to... and yet she makes them all the same. (Although it does make actors like Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjokaj really shine!)
Whiskey - pretty sure she did kill them and herself. I figured Alpha cleared up the mess when he took over the Dollhouse.
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Date: 2010-01-31 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-01 12:13 am (UTC)But true that to Eliza being freakin' boring!
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Date: 2010-02-01 12:17 am (UTC)MMm it's a shame that that role wasn't done by a really talented and versatile actor that could do all the imprints justice... :(
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Date: 2010-02-01 09:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-01 09:37 am (UTC)Half agree also. She wasn't a complete failure, bits did stand out (I'm thinking her performance in Omega) But i could still see Faith in her, which shouldn't be the case!
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Date: 2010-02-01 12:14 pm (UTC)But she is good at what she can do (:P). Like I said - her grief scene completely broke me. Her acting in that was superb. :)
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Date: 2010-02-01 02:38 pm (UTC)Did Echo have Caroline's imprint in E2 or not? My mind is a bit hazy.
I know the little girl was Caroline, but I don't know if Echo had her.
And I think Alpha leaving was more of a written-for-time thing.. maybe Alan Tudyk couldn't stick around for all of filming? These are questions to ponder. XDD
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Date: 2010-02-01 03:25 pm (UTC)Which actually answers my orginal question! But doesn't explain Alpha.
Although you have a point with Alan...
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Date: 2010-02-01 03:30 pm (UTC)Maybe this means he was filming something else and couldn't stay for too long? *really wishful thinking*
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Date: 2010-02-01 03:35 pm (UTC)Definatly the best explaination!
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Date: 2010-02-01 03:46 pm (UTC)