Episode 6 - The Left Hand
28 March 2012
Synopsis: Adelle and Topher head to Washington to try and scan Perrin’s brain and find out what Rossum’s plans are. Topher and Bennett flirt while he establishes a link back to the L.A. Dollhouse where he has uploaded his personality into Victor. Bennett allows Perrin and Echo to escape and then programmes Perrin to kill her. Perrin kills his wife and Echo tries to convince him to escape with her. But instead he heads to the Senate hearings and clears Rossum of wrongdoing. Echo is out in the world alone and Madeline is sent to the D.C. Dollhouse to be re-programmed.
The Good: There is a lot to enjoy here though for the second episode in a row I question the way things were structured.
The interactions between Topher and Bennett are fun to watch. She plays the role with plausible idiosyncrasies and their flirting seems understandable and believable. The small touches are nice, such as him asking about her arm without giving a thought to the social inappropriateness of that. Why would he? He doesn’t get out much.
Even better is the introduction of Victor (see Best Moment) with Topher’s personality back in L.A. A superb performance from a seriously gifted actor, his mannerisms and voice were spot on. The conversation the two of them have discussing Bennett was pure joy. Finally the mind control technology produced comedy you could actually wholeheartedly enjoy. Seeing anyone have a conversation with themselves would be fun but this was scripted well and finished with a lovely punch line as Victor points out that Bennett might be a doll, a theory Topher has already tested. “You’re so untrusting” he grins.
The fact that he did test to see if she was a doll was another nice touch. The explanation that she seemed so similar to Dr Saunders giving him very plausible cover for his actions.
Perrin and Echo have some good scenes as well. Their decision to cut out their GPS trackers was smart and led to Echo being free, a nice hook for the next episode. Their best moment though was when they discussed the thought of being reprogrammed as if it was murder. Echo confesses that she doesn’t want to be Caroline again, that would mean she no longer existed. It’s understandable existential stuff. In a final lovely addition to this Victor as Topher doesn’t want to be wiped either. Who would?
The Bad: I’m confused. Not how an episode should make you feel. The plot hinges on the fact that Rossum’s plans for Senator Perrin are somewhat hidden from their D.C. employees. Right?
Lipman and Bennett must not know that the Rossum plan was to attack the L.A. Dollhouse with Madeline’s testimony. Otherwise why would they have let Adelle and Topher in in the first place? Just make an excuse and send them home. Ok, so they don’t know, hence allowing Topher in. Bennett then indulges in her own revenge on Caroline. She programmes her arm to go limp and sets her free with Perrin. This is not part of the plan; this is her own personal agenda.
She then programmes Perrin to murder Echo. This can’t be something Rossum have anything to do with because if anyone witnessed it, Perrin’s career might be over. This is where things got even more confusing. Echo overcomes her limp arm suddenly without explanation. Then Perrin, apparently a thoughtless killer, suddenly starts acting like Perrin again. He listens to his wife’s seductive words before he decides to kill her. I suppose in both cases the programming wasn’t as strict as it could have been allowing them to both break it during these intense moments. It’s plausible but far too convenient and confusing for viewers.
Then there is Cindy Perrin using seductive words on her husband. Why bother? She already crapped all over him earlier that day by saying she didn’t love him. And she knows he escaped and so most likely remembers what she said. Why bother trying to confuse him? Just knock him out or direct him at gun point. Again it seemed like a convenient moment to suit the plot. It’s a shame because some of those fight scenes were as brutal and dramatic as any the show has put forward.
When you roll this altogether it made the episode needlessly complicated and unclear. I felt the whole plot relied on the viewer making too many jumps in logic concerning each character’s motives and level of knowledge.
The Unknown: How did Caroline and Bennett know one another? Why did Caroline abandon her? What will happen to Madeline?
Best Moment: The introduction of Victor as Topher, filmed to perfection for maximum comedy value. It wouldn’t have worked if his performance weren’t so good.
Epilogue: A shame. A really enjoyable episode spoiled by some overly complicated writing. With just a few tweaks this could have been quite compelling.
Having said that, the direction of the show is strong and like the previous episode this finally felt like the enjoyable ensemble show it has always wanted to be.
Feedback
Add your comments on this episode below. They may be included in the weekly podcasts.
)