Dollhouse: Epitaph One

“Kids playing with matches. And they burnt the house down.”

Er, What just happened? I’m completely disorientated and struggling to make sense of the non-linear and fractured narrative that I’ve just seen. Hopefully it will make more sense after the second season, but for now I can do nothing but look for minor points that I am able to discuss. Please don’t ask me for an opinion about the episode as a whole.

It’s the future. I’m guessing, given both the position of the episode at the end of the season and the fact that it is written and helmed by Joss Whedon himself that it’s the “actual” future as oppose to a possible one. There are at least two time frames, the later of which is set ten years on, after society has collapsed and ordinary people are seemingly outnumbered by actives. Society seems to be descending to a lower level of technology. Science and culture are ephemeral. The only character we recognise is Whiskey, unscarred and with no self-awareness, alone in an abandoned Dollhouse.

The other scenes are more fractured, confusing, and of uncertain timeframe. We see Dominic again, we see Boyd Langton plotting with Doctor Saunders, with whom he is very close. We get glimpses of ever-more unethical use of actives by the Rossum Corporation against DeWitt’s wishes. Sierra is an Aussie again. Topher has finally gained a conscience and lost his noodles!

There’s not a lot more I can say about this. I may refer to it later if it comes up in the next season, which I suspect it will. Until then, I hope I’ve managed to say enough about it to not seem too stupid.