Dollhouse (TV Series) True Believer (2009) User Reviews

The path of the righteous is extremely convoluted!

[Joxerlives · 7/10 · 9 June 2012]

The good; Pretty good story and some nice political campaigning from Adele. The start of Victor and Sierra's relationship is sweet and Topher's reaction to it hilarious. Also like the gag where Ballard asks Mellie to describe the guy who gave her the letter only for her to describe the mailman. Also love Echo/Esther hitting the cult leader with the candlestick.

The bad; Rather odd that Boyd uses his real name when dealing with the ATF?

Best line; Topher (on the phone, upon seeing Victor's 'man reaction' to naked Sierra) "I gotta go, somethings come up" also like Echo/Esther "God brought me here with a message. That message is MOVE YOUR ASS!"

Packing heat; Boyd/Dominic with an SMG. Oddly in an ep full of guns Echo never uses one Echo;3 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 4 Sierra; 1

Kinky dinky; Victor and Sierra, some impulses obviously stronger than brain wiping

Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 2

How'd they get away with that? Can't watch Echoes eye surgery, very Clockwork Orange. It's suggested the cult leader has a penchant for underage girls.

This weeks fantasy; Echo is a blind religious zealot

Total number personalities; Echo; 11 Sierra; 4 Victor; 1 Total dolls;3 Echo, Sierra and Victor

Topher is a bit geeky; Prefers the term 'man reaction' as a euphemism for male arousal.

Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1

Knocked out; Echo by Dominic Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1

Dolls injured; Echo roughed up and slapped around again

Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock

Guantanamo; Big government kicking in the door and storming inside...to discover enough illegal weaponry to take Iwo Jima in the hands of those seeking the end of the world. Hard to know who's right or wrong?

Missing scenes; Very nice dinner scene on the deleted scenes, actually makes the cult members much more likable.

Questions and observations; Hard to know what to make of the rights and wrongs of this ep, the ATF agent plays a dirty trick although ultimately he's proved to 100% right and avoids another Waco. The irony that the cult members have sacrificed their free will much more by choice than the Dolls have (or have they?). The difference is that the cultists pose a threat to the outside with their arsenal whilst the Dollhouse doesn't...yet? Dominic shows his dislike of Echo whilst the affection developing between her and Adele also becomes evident In many ways these eps remind me of early eps of Angel, that it was supposed to be an anthology show with the case of the week but eventually became more a story of Angel Investigations themselves with the cases as incidental. The problem is that with the Doll's wiped every week it's difficult for the characters to develop. Also whilst it's a slick series it lacks the humour and and joi de vive of Buffy and Angel (and even Firefly) it feels too sterile.

Marks out of 10; 7/10, again, enjoyed this more in the re-watch than I thought I would

Congratulations Eliza Dushku (Caroline/Echo) for a brilliant performance.

[maine_310 · 7/10 · 14 March 2009]

Playing Echo's character comes with great difficulty as Dushku has to present a different character in each episode.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

Non the less, she pulled it of remarkably in 'True Believer' where Echo played a blind girl entering what was believed to be a Religious Cult.

Dollhouse has the capacity to uphold it's viewers differently in each installment, but 'True Believer' was on of the best episodes so far this season.

We have reached the fifth installment and so far discovered that Echo presented similar characteristics to Alpha before he glitched. Echo is wiped every time, but she still retains memories of her aliases. Here in 'True Believer', she remembers Laurence Dominic's attempt on her life as Esther in the end, which adds a sense of mystery where we as viewers wonder how much does Echo really retain? It is amazing what technology could accomplish. Placing what seemed like a camera in Ehco's eyes. Making Echo believe she was blind.

I think I really admired this installment, perhaps more than the others. Esther had a different personality compared to previous installments. I actually believed that she was blind, compliments for Dushku's acting here again.

From the moment she stepped out from the car of her protector Boyd Langton to enter the camp, she had me convinced and so did the other believers. I found myself relating to their characters, especially Esther.

'True Believer' also revealed a bit more on the detective (Paul Ballard) as he becomes one step closer to discovering Echo's or Caroline's true identity and/or whereabouts. Occasionally I wonder if Mellie, Ballard's down-to-earth neighbor, is Dollhouse material. Do you think Dollhouse would be aware of the detective's snooping around? Different dots are revealed in each installment as Alpha finds a way to reveal Echo's true personality.

I felt compassion towards Mellie though as she broke into Ballard's home to retrieve his pain medication and to drop off the mail she received for him. Does he notice how oddly attached she is to him? Also Victor's character has a step up as he shows feelings towards Sierra's character. It leads us to wonder, can we really wipe man's mind completely like a computer chip? We aren't robots. Probably that is why Dollhouse coincides on the same day of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

This is what I want to view in Dollhouse, this is the mystery I admire and Dollhouse is finally putting it's foot down.

The excitement Dollhouse receives is finally building up, which leaves an extra dose of anticipation for next week's 'Man on the Street' installment.

Until then, we wait anxiously as television becomes our new best friend; for some more than others. Still if Dollhouse keeps this up, it might just live up to all the hype.

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Four out of Five Stars

Grade B

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Blind in a cult

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 5 October 2017]

The ATF are taking an interest in what appears to be a cult led by Jonas Sparrow, a former criminal, in Arizona. When a member apparently slips a note to a shop keeper saying 'Help Me' that is just the excuse the agent in charge needs to seek a warrant. Rather than sending in an agent, who would certainly be spotted, Dollhouse is approached and it is decided that Echo will go in. So that the ATF can see what is in there Echo is given a treatment that means the ATF can see what her eyes are looking at… and leaves her blind. She turns up at the compound saying that God called on her to hitchhike there from New Hampshire and upon touching the face of Jonas immediately recognising him. As she is interrogated by Jonas it becomes clear that the room contains a large arsenal… just the excuse the ATF need to stage a raid. Boyd wants to extract Echo but the Laurence refuses his request; it is almost as though he wants something bad to happen to Echo. Meanwhile Agent Ballard is still trying to find out more about Caroline (Echo) and is rather surprised to see her on TV during footage of the events in Arizona. Back at the Dollhouse Topher notices that Victor is aroused in the presence of Sierra; Dr Saunders initially suspects it is because he has been given the same imprint many times… but observing recordings suggest he has been attracted to her for some time… something that shouldn't happen.

I enjoyed this episode; the story-of-the-week, presumably inspired by the infamous events in Waco some years previously, was interesting. Having Echo go in literally blind added to the tension even if having the ATF see through her eyes was a little bit too sci-fi even for this show. When we learn the identity of the person asking for help it is a bit of a surprise. Topher's 'discovery' provided some good laughs as he tries to explain the situation to Dr Saunders as well as suggesting that the Dolls aren't as childlike and emotionless as their controllers think. Overall I wouldn't say this is the strongest episode to date but it was certainly entertaining enough for me.

The weakest episode so far

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 7 October 2010]

And that's mainly because of a rather mediocre script, with a few too many (intentionally) pseudo-religious speeches, though most of these are delivered creepily enough by Brian Bloom. But the story as a whole is even more unremarkable than that of, say, "Stage Fright", without bringing much that's new to the table, apart from finally giving Ballard visual confirmation of Echo's present existence, and turning Dominic from "obnoxious authority figure" to "potentially murderous authority figure". Highlights are probably the humorous Topher - Dr. Saunders scenes, and also the final shot, with a "wiped" Echo spotting Dominic in the Dollhouse, is well done. **1/2 out of 4.

Little Dollhouse on the Prairie

[igoatabase · 4/10 · 14 March 2009]

It's only the 5th episode and I'm almost bored by the show. I mean it's not interesting anymore when you can see behind the curtain as the same patterns are applied over and over. A new mission and side story, a few minutes about the main one… The episodes almost feel like fillers. I don't mind as long as the screenplay is catchy and original but this one… Its ending was as disappointing as the one from Stage Fright and Gray Hour because after The Target it's obvious they all end up the same way, with Echo remembering something after waking up and saying "Did I fall asleep ?". The Sleeping Beauty effect has its limit, even for Eliza. Of course the cop's investigation advanced but I don't really like that story arc. What happened to Victor was funny but I'm not really fond of the programmer. His scene with the Doctor wasn't as hilarious as it should have been. The worst part was the writing and the whole cult idea. I mean it's so old ! Considering Echo's character it almost felt like watching Little House on the Prairie.