Episode 8 - A Love Supreme
28 March 2012
Synopsis: Alpha begins killing all of Echo’s former lovers. He hired Sierra to carry a signal back into the chair. Adelle wipes all the actives as a matter of protocol. Joel Mynor is brought into the Dollhouse for his own protection but Alpha finds a way in anyway. He then activates a new programme in all the Dolls so that they begin killing their handlers. Alpha reveals his true target is Ballard and he wants to know why Echo loves him. He takes on Paul’s personality and leaves him brain dead.
The Good: Just like his entrance into the Dollhouse in season one (111), Alpha brings the best out of the show in more ways than one.
The first is the simplicity which his character brings to the show. He is an unadulterated villain and so he forces everyone to drop their squabbles with each other and work together to beat him. It’s a simple formula which really does work in the art form of TV. Credit to the direction here which makes use of the quick moving, shaky camera style. The effect is to add an extra sense of urgency to several strong fight sequences. But the key to Alpha’s stories working is that he doesn’t look week. Everyone is scared of him. Adelle doesn’t attempt to hit him, trick him or sound the alarm. She knows the only way to survive is to cooperate. Echo can not defeat him in a fight. She can put up strong resistance but ultimately no one can stop him. That is what makes him such an effective bad guy. Just think how much more interesting these fight scenes were than any of Echo’s victorious fights with forgettable guest stars. Between the fight scenes, the sense of great consequence and fear surrounding Alpha, this is an object lesson in how to make a certain kind of TV. A lesson Heroes and their presentation of Sylar and fight scenes has failed to heed time and again.
Alpha’s desire to get to Ballard made perfect sense. Echo is the only thing he seems to care about and so he wanted to know what Paul Ballard had that he didn’t. The writers seemed to save their best lines for Alpha too. His joking demeanour fits well within his psychopathic persona but there was more than that. When Paul tries to argue that Echo’s feelings aren’t really love, Alpha simply responds “Is an acorn a tree?” He knows how she feels and won’t let Paul derail him with semantics. He tells Echo “Get over it babies” smoothly referencing their multiple personalities.
And not just Alpha gets the good lines. Only in this show could Topher and Echo be introduced to one another for the first time, twenty one episodes in. Then when Echo leaves her new friends to face the army of dolls she says “Try not to hurt them, they’re people.” That could be the moral tagline of the whole show. Echo’s new constant personality gives the show a whole added dimension. Suddenly her overwhelming grief at Frank’s death was actually poignant and sad because a real person was feeling it.
The return of Matt Cargill, the first client we ever saw (101) was a nice touch. The entire scene where Alpha murdered him was excellent. Again the nice fast paced direction and filming style, Alpha showboating like a Bond villain but with a real sense of danger, a tense standoff, a beautiful shot of the LA skyline. That whole scene was a superb way to make a scene gripping which was actually nothing more than a scene setter for the real drama to come. That real drama later was excellent too. The sight of all the actives turning on their handlers was another dystopian nightmare (which Epitaph One hinted at) come to life.
Adelle too has a good episode. She knows immediately when Boyd and Ballard are working behind her back which is a refreshing change from the usual TV show deceptions.
The Bad: The moment which didn’t ring true was of course Paul Ballard using his own voice from within Alpha. It’s difficult to know how else he could have convinced Echo that it was him but it seemed like stretching reality for the sake of making that dramatic point. It also makes Alpha unkillable, in Echo’s eyes I assume, until she can retrieve Paul’s personality. Not that that in itself is a bad idea.
Boyd seemed naïve for trusting that Echo would be fine to go out on engagements as “herself” after what happened with Alpha. But then I have been complaining about her glitches since they first happened so that is nothing new.
I suppose it’s worth asking why Alpha needed to break into the Dollhouse to get to Paul. Surely abducting him while he was at home or on the street would have been easier? But let’s assume the technology at the Dolhouse was also necessary for his plan as I assume the explanation would be.
The Unknown: How did Alpha get into the Dollhouse this time?
Best Moment: Probably that roof top scene. An excellent setup to get you fully absorbed in the episode.
Epilogue: This episode was about simplicity. Alpha is a pure bad guy and he brought a great sense of excitement and urgency to the episode.
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