It was all a dream…

… Jack Shepherd awakens, his forehead drenched with sweat, fear gripping his heart like a vice. He can hear the sound of the shower in the distance but in his disoriented state it doesn’t register. Then who should walk out of the bathroom but his father! Thank God, that whole island thing was just a dream…!

Ok, so, it’s not exactly Dallas, but this season is about trying to stop the crash, 27 years before it happens and assuming the 815er’s are successful we could be looking at starting over back at season one next January and if that happens then what? Right then, enough pondering, lets get down to business. By the way, if you haven’t seen this weeks finale of Lost “The Incident.” stop reading NOW, I will be revealing the end of this episode!

This is the second of three posts I will be doing about the finale of season 5, this post will cover island time, you can view the post on Flashbacks here. 

So we open with Kate, Juliet and Sawyer on the sub with Miss  Austen trying to convince Mr Ford to go back to the island… Now, I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure a Submarine is fairly difficult to operate. A few episodes back Sawyer suggested they could commandeer it, how exactly, they don’t have anyone with that kind of experience. Kate warns the other two about Jack’s plan and Juliet changes her mind about a life with Sawyer and decides she needs to return to the island. The three of them get free and hold a gun to the captain’s head, a gesture that might be halfway scary if they weren’t underwater with no way of escape and no possible way of knowing how to operate the sub should they shoot the captain… When will these scriptwriters learn…

Anyway, down beneath the Dharma Initiative Sayid and Jack, following the instructions in Daniel’s journal, remove the plutonium core from the hydrogen bomb and then they shield themselves from the radiation by putting it in a cloth rucksack.  Yup, this is the same bomb that gave plenty of Others severe radiation burns because of the cracked casing and had to be buried but is now perfectly safe. Let’s put it this way, if this was 24, both Jack and Sayid would be dead before the day is out.

Out at the Swan Chang has shutdown construction. Radzinsky shows up and speaks his famous last words, so to speak, “I came to this island to change the world and that’s exactly what I intend to do.” In fact, if what we hear about the energy in the Swan is correct, then Stuart didn’t change the world so much as nearly  bring it to a cataclysmic end.

Meanwhile Locke is still leading his pilgrimage to Jacob and Sun and Ben take some time out to explain things for those who haven’t been paying attention to the last four seasons. “Who is Jacob?” Sun asks. “He’s in charge of this island.” What does that mean? Is Jacob the arbiter of the rules? Or is he merely the King of the Hill? The dictator who runs the island, makes demands, pushes the leader to do whatever particular whim takes his fancy that day? Sun asks Ben what Jacob is like and Ben replies, in the beautifully school boy-like manner he has developed since his dead daughter appeared to him. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen him.” A statement we later learn to be the truth. (Shock Gasp)

Locke and Richard, meanwhile, are discussing Locke’s miraculous return from the grave. Richard still can’t believe it and Locke reminds him that he can’t age so why is he so amazed by a man returned from death? Richard attributes both occurrences to Jacob and I wonder, should Locke kill Jacob and he is responsible for these miracles, would John not just die and Richard not just age (however many hundred years) in that instant? Or are Jacob’s powers one off gifts that do not need to be maintained? Before they set off again Locke tells Richard that when all is done with Jacob they will have to kill the passengers from flight 316.

Cue Ilana and the other Shadow of the Statue-ites rowing across from the Hydra island, the flightcase and Frank in tow. Beaching the outrigger, Bram, Ilana’s number one, asks why they brought Frank along and questions if she believes he might be a candidate. Now, of the four people that Abaddon insisted must be on the freighter only Frank has not been shown to have been born on the island. Which leads me to believe that he was. Also, if the Statue-ites know that John intends to kill Jacob then maybe they think Jacob will be resurrected, maybe in a new body??? Whatever the case Jacob recruited Ilana for something and she is insisting  Frank come along too. The pilot asks them what they have in the flight case and Ilana shows him, “Terrific.” Frank replies sarcastically.

Locke and Ben discuss, very openly, John’s plans for Jacob, loud enough for the random extras walking by to hear I’m sure. Ben confesses that his daughter told him to do everything Locke told him to do without question… Why Ben, why would you tell John that? He has always been so good at keeping things a secret, why would he give the man he surely intends to overthrow, such a hold over him? Locke turns around and smiles, “Good, I wont need to convince you then.” “Convince me of what John?” “I’m not going to kill Jacob, Ben, you are!”

Cut to Richard, Jack, Sayid and Ellie getting ready to exit the tunnels. Richard picks up a sledgehammer in a very menacing way, but only uses it to smash through a wall into one of the dharma houses. Specifically Horace’s house. Interesting that Horace built his house directly over the bomb and would later go on to build Jacob’s hut. Was Horace a secret Hostile? A worshipper of Jacob? Or was it just coincidence? Anywho Richard knocks Ellie unconscious and tells Jack and Sayid he’s done his bit. But what about Ellie? Somehow she must have been banished from the island, was it because she helped Jack? And is she the outsider that Charles will later father a child with? (i.e. Penny)

Hiding in plain sight Jack and Sayid throw on Dharma uniforms and trot on outside with a nuke strapped the Iraqi’s back. Poor old Roger however recognises Sayid and, unwilling to share his punching bag (young Ben), he shoot’s Sayid in the gut. A firefight erupts and Jack begins to shoot completely randomly, in fact the only thing he actually seems to take aim at is the Dharma van that comes to his rescue. With Hurley at the wheel, Miles and Jin pull the Doc and the dying Iraqi aboard and set off for the Swan.

Meanwhile Sawyer, Juliet and Kate are rowing their way to shore and Sawyer and Kate acting like road-trip buddies is not improving Juliet’s mood. They pull the boat ashore and seconds later Vincent comes bounding out of the bushes to greet them, followed by a voice. “Oh hell no!” Cries Rose, followed by Bernard, stealing Sawyer’s catchphrase “Son of a bitch!”

Sawyer can’t quite believe that Rose and Bernard would choose to leave the group. “I had Jin out, searching the island, grid by  grid.” It seems that Rose and Bernard did not want to be found and it also seems that everybody’s favour Korean doesn’t search all that well as he managed to miss the bungalow Rose and Bernard have built for themselves. Eager to get a move on to stop Jack and his insane “blow up the island” scheme, Juliet asks for the location of the barracks from where they are and the group sets out wishing Rose and Bernard the best of luck. 

Ilana and the other “Good Guys” as Bram puts it, have reached the cabin, where they note the ash circle that rings it has been  disturbed. It would seem then that at some point Jacob moved out of his residence under the statue of Taweret (Who along with being a protector in Egyptian mythology was also the wife of an evil demon of darkness called Apep. The fact that the statue was destroyed seems to point to the island being no longer under her protection. As for her husband, Black Smoke anyone? Or maybe Apep is the one who destroyed the statue?) to the cabin and the circle of ash would seem to be some kind of protection for Jacob. Against what though? What could be powerful enough to scare Jacob away from the hut and who helped by breaking the ash circle? Inside Ilana finds part of a tapestry depicting the statue, letting the Good Guys know where to go next, but before they traipse off into the jungle they torch the cabin to the ground.

Across the Island John Locke leads the Others to the destroyed camp that had once belong to Jack and company. John plonks himself down with Ben and talks about old times, while Sun roots about in Aaron’s crib and finds Charlie’s ring. John asks Ben about the day he took him to the cabin and Ben tells John that he made it all up. This seems like a cop out to me but I do like the way that Ben’s entire complex network of lies has come crashing down about him. I particularly like Ben’s new, what does anything matter attitude, brought on by his vision of Alex, (shame that it is all a con or so I think, more on that next week! )

The now dying Sayid somehow manages to rig the nuke to blow up on impact, despite his condition and his never having done such a thing before, or having any tools to hand at all and he warns Jack that he has to drop the bomb at the exact moment of the incident or all of it will be for nothing. Moments later Hurley slams on the breaks. “Why the hell are we stopping?!” pause, camera pans round to Sawyer, Juliet and Kate standing in the road, guns drawn. (Lovely shot btw) “That’s why…”

Meanwhile the Others have reached the four toed foot and Richard informs Locke that this is where Jacob lives.

Back at the van Jack and Sawyer head off for a heart to heart. Sawyer tells Jack that he could have stopped his daddy killing his mommy had he left the island the year before, but he didn’t because what’s done is done. Jack disagrees and Sawyer demands to know what Jack had done that was so bad that he wanted to blow up the island for a second chance. “I had her…” Jack replies. “Well, damn Doc, she’s standing right on the other side of those trees!” It’s odd isn’t that Sawyer has become the man of reason and logic, the true leader if there ever is such a thing in Lost. But Jack will  not change his mind so Sawyer clocks him one and after one of the most brutal fist fights in Lost history the Red-Neck Con-Man throws the Spinal Surgeon down and begins to strangle him. And he would have done too if Juliet hadn’t called him off.

It seems Jules has had another change of heart and she wants to blow up the island too. Sawyer, quite rightly, demands to know why and Juliet tells him it’s because he looked at Kate. Over reacting much? Your man looks at another woman and you decide to set of a hydrogen bomb? Sawyer tells her that he is with her, no one else, but that’s not enough for Juliet. Once again Juliet seems to know more than she is letting on here, which leads me to think she knows a little bit about the future, maybe her time on the island gave her some insight into the incident, but she seems to know that something terrible is going to happen and twice she tries to avoid it, getting on the sub and trying to stop Jack, only to  change her mind and eventually accept the inevitable.

Back on the beach Sun asks Ben about the statue. Ben replies “I don't know, it was like that when I got here.” Yet another school boy response, followed by another recognition of his loss of power. “You expect me to believe that?” “Not really…” John, Richard and Ben prepare to head inside and  Richard objects to Ben’s inclusion. Locke ignores Richard, calling him a liar, suggesting that Richard just makes up rules (those damn rules!) and maybe Richard is a liar, after all he is the voice of Jacob, but something about Locke’s behaviour isn't sitting right.

Over at the Swan site Miles brings up the point that we’ve all been making, if you can’t change the future, then, most likely, Jack’s bomb will cause the incident. A thought that had apparently not occurred to anyone else. Phil and the security team show up, locked and loaded, making it impossible for Jack to get close enough to the drill shaft to drop the bomb. Luckily, the others, spurred on by Miles’ speech ride to the rescue, even Sawyer has joined up with team Jack. Good old Jimmy La Fleur takes Phil hostage and effectively brings the fire-fight to an end. (Personally, I think Phil is just as expendable as the other dozen dead guards but what do I know?) Chang tries to shut down the drill but the electromagnetism below the Swan is pulling the drill down. Jack drops the bomb and boom! Oh, no, wait, it didn’t go off…

Instead the whole of the drill gets dragged down. Things start flying everywhere and a toolbox hits Sawyer in the head, causing him to release Phil. Phil, seeing his opportunity to be rid of his rival (The Dharma peeps really need a better screening process, what with Roger, Stuart and Phil all being psychopaths!), Phil turns on Sawyer, only to get a steel bar through the chest, bye bye Phil…

Part of the drilling mechanism drops on Chang’s hand and Miles rushes in to save him, possibly then the future has been changed, from where I was sitting Chang’s injury did not seem severe enough to cost him his arm, maybe Miles changed his father’s fate?

Some chains get whipped up into the maelstrom and wrap themselves about Juliet, dragging her into the pit. Sawyer and Kate do their best but Jules has had it. All too late she realises who exactly it is that Sawyer is in love with, before disappearing down the shaft. Although I had a feeling Juliet might know something about the future, something she didn't want to come to pass, I was still fairly shocked that she would be killed off. Having disliked her since season three for being whiney, she had really started to grow on me this season…

Back on the beach Ilana and the other Statue-ites turn up to speak with Richard and to show him what exactly is in the flight case… And wouldn’t you know it, for the second time on Lost, the contents of a box we’ve not been allowed to see inside, are none other than John Locke’s corpse! And if Locke is dead on the beach, then who is inside with Jacob?! That’s right, Man #2 from the flashback at the start of the episode. (More on this next week.)

Jump inside the statue and Ben is finally realising his dream of meeting Jacob, with the imposter Locke right behind him. “Hello Jacob.” Locke smiles. “Well,” Jacob replies. “You found your loophole.” Locke asks Ben to kill Jacob and you can see it on his face that he doesn’t want to, if anything he wants fall down on his knees and worship, but then Jacob just has to speak up. “Ben, you have a choice.” The same thing he said to Hurley about returning to the island. Jacob, apparently offers freewill, but maybe Ben was always destined to kill Jacob, maybe that is why Alex had to die, why Ben had to get sick, why Jacob brought a woman to the island who looked exactly like his lost love but made her see him as repellent? Is it possible that all of those things happened to drive Ben to this?

“What choice?” Ben asks and Jacob makes the fatal mistake of telling Ben he can leave. After all the years of waiting Ben is finally in Jacob’s presence and Jacob wants him to leave?! Ben objects and stabs Jacob, twice, just for good measure. Wounded but not dead the most powerful entity on the island drops to his knees and whispers “They’re coming…” Locke listens and then kicks Jacob into the fire, where he burns up.

Cut back to the hatch, Kate and Jack drag Sawyer away, who is still devastated after his lost love. However, pan down the shaft and who should we find still alive, that’s right, it’s Juliet, with a rock. Now, the 30ft drop down the tunnel didn't set the nuke off, however, somehow, the near dead Juliet believes that a couple of well timed blows might just do the trick… BOOM!

Right then, so we are none the wiser about anything then… The biggest cliff hanger ever in Lost and we cannot possibly know where it will go from here. Did it work? Did we reset back to the start of season 1? Or did Juliet just kill everyone in the blast radius? Are only Sun and Locke the only two surviving members of the original cast? Whatever the case, my questions and theories are too numerous to discuss here, so tune in early next week for the final part of My Two Cents…

Renewed

Ok, just a quick update, the second part of my Lost blog will go up tomorrow, however I just wanted to post this list. I apologise now if the shows you want to know about aren’t here…

Everything I watch has been renewed!

Chuck has definitely got a third season, however it seems only thirteen episodes have been confirmed and possible budget cuts may see one of the cast axed from the show, no word on who that could be though.

Dollhouse too has been renewed for another 13 episodes, despite the odds and FOX’s other new show Fringe will be returning for a second season as well.

On CW Supernatural will return for a fifth season (Can’t wait for the season four DVD’s so I can catch up with Sam and Dean.) No word yet on Reaper which finishes it’s 13 episode run next week.

CBS have renewed the Unit for its fifth season. Heroes too is getting a fourth season and according to EW NBC will be ordering between 18 and 20 episodes so we can probably expect two volumes ,one in the fall and one in the spring.

ABC definitely have Lost returning for its final season which will probably be around 17 episodes, the same as season 5 and apparently they have also renewed Scrubs (despite the finale of the season 8) with Zach Braff and the other series cast returning for at least six episodes. And with the pilot of a new sci-fi series Flash Forward also airing soon on ABC we may have even more to expect from them next year.

Until tomorrow…

Sons of Isaac?

Ok, it’s been four days since I watched it and I’ve been putting off writing this but I can’t do it any longer, so here goes nothing…  The Lost season finale “The Incident.” Being a double episode I’m going to split it up into three parts, this post will be flashbacks, then in the next post I will cover island time and lastly I will posit my season-wide theories on what the hell is going on!

Flashbacks:

So, we open with Jacob and another man sitting on the beach watching the Black Rock bobbing up and down on the horizon. It seems that Jacob brought the Black Rock to the island and the other man is non-to-pleased. In fact he tells Jacob that one day he  will find a loophole and on that day he will kill him. Loophole? Is this where the Rules stem from? Are these two the creators of the rules? Or are they, like the rest of the islanders, trapped by the rules? IMDB lists the two of them as Man #1 and Man #2, however we know that Jacob is Man #1 and I’m willing to bet that if the other can be given a name it will be Esau, the sons of Isaac.

So the link through the flashbacks in this episode is Jacob and we will follow him as he appears to various members of the oceanic 815 crash. First on the list is Kate. Kate and Tom (One of three Tom’s in the show.) are preparing to steal a New Kids on the Block Lunchbox, however Kate messes up and gets caught, only for Jacob to bail her out, saying “You’re not going to steal anymore, are you?”. Of course Kate does steal, in fact she plans a bank robbery to steal the plane Tom is playing with in this episode. So, she lied to Jacob.

Next up is young Sawyer, just after his parents funeral; it might just be me but I think its a mite odd that they had a joint one, considering Sawyer’s Daddy MURDERED his Mommy! That’s one wake I think I’d avoid. Anyway, we cut to little Sawyer sitting on the steps of the Church penning his letter of revenge to Mr. Sawyer (Another Tom) but his pen wont work, cue Jacob with a fresh pen. “I’m very sorry about your mother and father James.” Almost instantly Sawyer’s uncle shows up and admonishes James for writing the letter and tells him he must move on. James promises he will, again, a liar…! Except that this time was it not Jacob who was facilitating James’ revenge? Is Jacob a believer in an eye for an eye? Or is he merely ensuring that Sawyer does go to Australia to track down the man who killed his parents and in doing so ends up on 815?

After Sawyer comes the turn of Sayid and we finally see Nadia’s death. Walking along Sayid insists they celebrate their anniversary. Now, I’m sure he told Hurley that it had only been nine months… Anyway, Nadia is paying no attention and is searching for her sunglasses as she crosses the road on a zebra crossing. Sayid however has stopped just on the curb to help Jacob find where he is going. Nadia calls out that she has found her sunglasses, the next minute a car knocks her down dead. I had always assumed she’s been shot! Jacob doesn't speak to Sayid after this. I have two theories. The first is that Jacob stopped Sayid crossing the road to save his life, even at the cost of Nadia’s. The second is that, had Jacob not stopped Sayid he could have saved Nadia’s life and Jacob needed her dead to give Sayid the motivation to return to the island. At this time I’m not willing to commit to either theory.

Next is the turn of the only non-815er Ilana. She has clearly been in some form of accident and her face is all bandaged up. Jacob comes to visit her and they seem to know each other. Is this because they have met before or is Ilana the example of the true believer? The one that would recognise her, and I use the term tentatively, saviour, no matter what guise he appeared in? “I’m here because I need your help.” Jacob states and she agrees to. I can only assume then that Jacob cures her, much like did with Locke, Jin and Rose and if that is true then why not Ben? Was Ben’s cancer a test, like Peter denying knowing Jesus or Judas and the thirty pieces of silver? Was it something that had to happen in order for Jacob to be assured of Jack’s loyalty, something, we will see in my next blog, it was imperative to ascertain.

Flashback to Jacob sat on a bench reading a book entitles “Everything that Rises must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor. After some quick research (and I mean quick.) I discovered that this book is a collection of short stories, one of which is called Revelation. The following is quoted from Wikipedia.

“Mrs. Turpin strikes up a conversation with the pleasant woman about the importance of being refined and having a good disposition. They also talk about being grateful and how it is important to be thankful for the good things you have been given in life.”

“Before she leaves, she whispers a powerful message to Mrs.Turpin. Just loud enough for her to hear, she says, "Go back to hell where you came from, you old wart hog." Mrs. Turpin finds this comment very unsettling, and she wonders if it may have been a message from God, who may be trying to intervene in her life.”

You can read the whole thing here. It is seldom the case that books  in Lost have no relevance and this story certainly seems to indicate that “God” may be talking to the 815ers through Jacob. Also the top quote, about being thankful for what you have, certainly applies to all the characters in Lost and it was because they weren’t thankful that they ended up “Lost” in the first place. For example; Claire not thankful for her baby, Charlie not thankful that his brother was living clean, Hurley not thankful for his millions, the list could be endless.

And so it is that Locke falls from the window behind Jacob, who then gets up and very casually lays his hand on the “dead” Locke’s shoulder and we can safely assume revives him. In effect Jacob gives Locke the gift of life, even though he remains paralysed, but is John thankful, nope, does he end up on the island, yup! (see endless!) It could also be viewed that Jacob gives Locke just enough healing to give him his motivation for ending up on flight 815.

Next, Jin and Sun’s wedding day and yes, you guessed it, Jacob showed up there too! Looking somewhat out of place, as the entire wedding party was Korean. Did Jacob get an invite? Is Mr Kwon in someway embroiled in the island war? Jacob congratulates the newly weds and tells them to cherish their love. It was at this point that I begin to question Jacob’s motives. Kate stole  after he told her not to, Sawyer killed an innocent man, Jin and Sun broke up after their love managed to survive the social/class divide, add into that the fact that Jacob may have allowed Nadia to be killed and you have to wonder if Jacob is really the good guy in all of this!

So it’s Jack’s turn and its the flashback we all know word for word, the one where he counts to five. Only it isn’t as fairytale as Jack made it sound. In fact, it is Christian Shepherd who tells Jack to take a time out and get over his fear. Afterwards Jack goes and punches the vending machine to make himself feel better, before starting on his father for embarrassing him in front of his team. “I know you don’t believe in me, but I need them to.” Jack diggs. “Are you sure I’m the one who doesn’t believe in you?” His father retorts and that’s it, that’s Jack’s problem. He doesn’t believe in himself and that is why he failed as leader on the island. He spent too much time seeking everybody else’s approval instead being convinced that he could do what needed to be done. But by the end of this season he overcomes that flaw…

Anyway, Jacob comes round the corner with an Apollo bar “One of these yours?” Jack responds with “The machine got stuck.” Jacob smiles “I guess it just needed a little push.” Is that what Jacob is doing? Giving the machine a little push? Is he ensuring that 815ers get to the island by visiting them each in turn? If so then do we assume that those he doesn’t visit don’t matter? After all Charlie, Desmond, Michael and many other pivotal characters get no flashbacks here, did Jacob visit them too and  we just haven’t seen it?

Juliet and Rachel are next on the list but there is no sign of Jacob here. Are those destined to be Others not entitled to meet their saviour? Are they in fact like Thomas the apostle? Should they believe blindly without seeing? Through out this episode Juliet has displayed a kind of prescience but I will discuss that more in the next blog. On with the Flashbacks…

And it’s Hurley’s turn. This flashback takes place just after Hurley is released from jail. He grabs a cab and sitting beside him is Jacob. Hurley quickly assumes that Jacob is dead, but he is assured that is not the case. Jacob was sitting in the cab, with a guitar case, waiting for Hurley to tell him “You have a choice Hugo.” something he will later tell Ben. Is it then not imperative that Hurley returns? Is he surplus to requirements? If so then why bother visiting him, never mind transporting him back through time to 1977? Therefore is Jacob offering the illusion of freewill? Making it seem like it was Hurley’s idea? After all, the concept of time travel in Lost is that everything is already predestined, you can’t change the past and therefore by extension you can’t change the present or the future, so Jacob already knows Hurley will return to the island, so, does he have  a choice? Does he have freewill?

As Jacob leaves the cab Hurley calls after him. “You forgot your guitar.” “It’s not my guitar.” Can we therefore assume it is Charlie Pace’s? Is Charlie going to make a dramatic come back in season 6? So far in this episode we have his ring and his guitar, add to that his own personal sacrifice to save everyone else on the island and I think you have a pretty potent case for resurrection!

Anyway, that’s it for flashbacks and that’s My Two Cents worth, hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday I’ll have time to summarise Island Time.

Kill Thy Self

Ok, so I know I promised a Heroes: Fugitives post but I think I should really re-watch it through to really do it any justice, but fret not, here’s the 411 on the finale of Dollhouse instead.

Now, after Jane Espenson’s jovial take on the character of Alpha last week, Tim Minear takes the reins and leads us down a very dark road indeed. Omega opens with Dr. Saunders calling out for help for poor mutilated Victor and in the ensuing chaos the doc stays very calm as if recalling a memory and then states simply “He came for Echo.” A statement that we will come to realise the true meaning  of later on.

Dewitt storms into Topher’s office demanding to know what Alpha imprinted Echo with. Topher doesn’t know and he can’t track her because Alpha has removed her gps tracking device. DeWitt leaves but Dr. Saunders remains. “He asked me if I always wanted  to be a doctor.” She says. “Who can fathom the mind of crazy person?” Topher jests. “The one made him crazy.”

And at last it clicked for me and realised what it was about the character of Dr. Saunders that was out of place, she’s a doll!

Cut to Alpha and Echo imprinted with trailer trash imprints driving a stolen car with a store clerk trussed up in the back seat. Alpha begins to flash, taking to himself in different voice and carrying on an argument in his head, a clue to what a “composite event” actually is.

Flashback time… Now I’m not a fan of flashbacks unless they are  specifically part of the style of the show i.e. Lost. Two actives are missing, one is Alpha and we assume the other is Echo. Alpha has kidnapped the client and is demanding to know who is in the van, the black vans the handler’s drive. Clearly Alpha, a paranoid thief, realised he was being followed and assumed it was a government agency. However the whole thing is a game, a fantasy dreamed up by the client. In the background a girl dances seductively, her features masked by smoke and headlights, still we assume it is Echo. Alpha continues to torture the man and eventually he cracks, telling Alpha that he isn’t real, neither him nor his girlfriend. Not a wise move me thinks…

“She’s real, she’s the last real thing you’re ever gonna see!” Then she comes, walking out of the smoke, Whiskey a.k.a Dr. Saunders. Boom! The doors come flying off their hinges and armed men rush in and take down Alpha and Whiskey and then we’re back to the present.

DeWitt sits down with Paul Ballard and explains the situation to him. Interesting as last week she wanted his brain pulled out and his body dumped in the attic. She explains the man he believed to be Kepler was in fact a broken Doll called Alpha who experienced an unfortunate technical anomaly. Agent Ballard replies with “My God, what have you people done?” to which Angela turns the tables back on him with playground logic. “What have you done!? You brought this thing back into my house!” Interesting how she thinks, no? I mean, they created Alpha but somehow once he was  out of the House he was no longer their problem. Also, considering the fact that DeWitt had been bonking Victor for who-knows how many years, you’d think she might show some concern that he’d just been cut up.

Anyway DeWitt knows that she can use Ballard to help track down Alpha, but she also knows she can’t just ask for his help, so she plays the guilt card instead. “And now, he’s got Echo, Caroline.” And it’s your fault Paul. Boyd gets a call that a bomb threat has been called in and the building is locked down, meaning no one can be dispatched to follow Alpha. Ballard thinks he can help and offers his services.

Badger is back, (yey) or to give him his Dollhouse character name Tanaka. Mark Sheppard played the recurring  pretty criminal Badger in Firefly and now he plays FBI Agent Tanaka and while the two characters are polar opposites with regards to their legal standing they both share that “pain in my ass” trait. Ballard comes strolling out the front door and tells Tanaka that this is the location of the Dollhouse and that the bomb threat is a hoax. To be honest it’s hard to tell if Paul is actually asking for help because he knows that Tanaka thinks he’s off his trolley but at the same time Ballard’s compunction to bring down the House is so strong that maybe he believes if he keeps trying someone will eventually believe him. That person, however, will never be Tanaka, who on hearing what Paul has to say quickly calls off the bomb squad and heads home. However Ballard has in effect saved his own life. Even if Tanaka doesn’t believe him Dewitt can’t exactly bump him off now because no FBI agent, not even one as clearly prejudiced as Tanaka can ignore evidence in a missing person’s case.

After the FBI leave Ballard turns and smiles for the camera and DeWitt smiles back, in the same way she might look at a small obedient child. Seconds later in comes Topher with news, all of Echo’s imprints, primary and back ups, all gone.

Down in sick bay Dr. Saunders is seeing to Victor. “I’m not my best anymore. I want to be my best.” It’s interesting that the Dolls are somehow imprinted with the desire to please, even in their dormant state. Its eerie, they are too pliable, too ready to serve, slave-like (Caroline calls them Zombies!) and it doesn’t sit well with my conception of right and wrong. In fact, I think its part of the show’s intention, to mess with your moral sense of what is right and wrong, who is good and who is bad. Certainly DeWitt is easy enough to pick out as a bad guy, but what about Topher or Boyd? And if they are the villains then who are the heroes? Certainly not the Dolls themselves, if anything they are the victims. What about Ballard, is he the good guy? Or is it Alpha? Or is there no black and white, merely different shades of grey…

“How can I be my best now?” Victor asks, eye’s wide and innocent, his face cut to ribbons, held together with threads. Dr. Saunders looks away, but subtle hints are not easy for a Doll to grasp and Victor persists. “How can i be my best?” “You can’t Victor.” She snaps her mind trying to recall who she was before she was slashed, trying to reconcile what she knows about her past and how she feels now. “Your best is past… your past you  can’t even remember… you’re ugly now, disgusting, all you can hope for now is pity and for that, you’re gonna have to look somewhere else!!” Harsh words Doc.

Flashback time… Finally the real Dr. Saunders is revealed as old man with a stack of lollypops and to be honest the name suits him better than it does Whiskey. Zoom out to Alpha as he watches Echo being brought in. You can see in his eyes that he is attracted to her, the same way that Victor looks at Sierra, which makes you wonder about the suitability of men as Dolls. An issue which is a minefield of potential sexist comparisons and examples which I shall let someone other than me examine.  

Back to real time and Ballard is trying to be holier-than-thou with the wise cracking Topher. “So, this is where you steal their souls.” “Yes, and then we put them in little glass jars with our fireflies.” (Is Firefly code for something, dreams, hopes, aspirations maybe? :P) “Why is there a tall, morally judgemental man in my imprint room, besides him?” Indicating Boyd. I don’t think Topher much cares for people with morals, he doesn’t have them, or if he does his scientific curiosity overpowers them. Remember back around episode 6 I suggested that an event would occur when Topher’s over confidence would bite him in the ass (I seem to recall a Jurassic Park parallel being used.) Well now I believe that event has already happened, the creation of Alpha.

Cut to evil laboratory, Alpha has the nice, shop assistant lady, Wendy, strapped into the chair ready to imprint her. The lab itself is reminiscent of Mr. Universe’s lair in Serenity. It is this rough and experimental look that I love about Joss’ trips into sci-fi- land. Even inside the Dollhouse which is so pristine and clean, Topher’s lab is still messy, still real. Echo asks what Alpha has planned and he explains. “Wendy is going away, she wont be here in a minute.” and then we’re back in a flashback.

Alpha is stalking Echo, waiting for her to come by so he can surprise her with a kiss. It’s scary just how infantile Alan comes across in this sequence. Around the corner comes Alpha’s handler and catches them in the act. Unfortunately his attachment to his active causes him not to report the incident, not wanting Alpha to be sent to the attic. A failure that would prove fatal. “Just… watch your step.” His handler warns, a warning Alpha takes literally, although you get the impression from Alan’s eyes and gestures that Alpha is a lot more aware than he is supposed to be.

Back in the present Ballard is looking for answers. Topher finally explains the meaning of a “composite event.” It seems that Alpha got 48 complete personalities dumped into his brain simultaneously, which would explain the talking to himself. Paul asks who it was that Alpha went for first, not who got in his way, but the person he went after as soon as he had the choice. Topher slowly realises that Ballard may be on to something. “Himself.” Alpha killed himself, by destroying all the copies of his personality. Ballard takes the next logical step and asks Topher for Caroline’s original self. The self proclaimed genius comes back with a smashed harddrive. “Where’s the backup?” Topher looks guilty. “This was the backup!”

Wendy is gone but Caroline is back. Alpha has imprinted the kidnapped shop assistant with Caroline’s self and Caroline is more than a little shocked to be looking at her own body. “Whose body is this?” Caroline asks. “It’s just a body, there all pretty much the same.” And there it is, Alpha’s take on life, the explanation behind his own self destruction. He is a collection of personalities that need a flesh and blood body in order to operate. It is merely necessary to have a body, it doesn’t matter what that body is.

“I want back in my brain!” Caroline cries out. “You should have thought of that before you vacated the premises.” Again Alpha recognises the truth, that their own selves cared so little about themselves that they abandoned their bodies and from that Alpha surmises they do not deserve to be allowed back. And the problem is that a part of me agree with Alpha and yet he is so twisted that he just cannot be the ‘hero’.

And so we return to flashback and the actives are clipping their bonsai trees. Interesting Alpha’s is more erratic and one sided than the others. Further indication that he is not following the same programming, that he is “evolving”? “Whiskey, let Echo be number one.” Alpha calls in his child-like way that is so very very creepy, before he slashes her face apart with his pruning shears. Security grab Alpha and dump him in the chair. DeWitt wants answers but Topher has none. He is running a full diagnostic, bringing up every imprint to see if something matches… oh dear… Alpha’s handler gets knocked into the computer and the  composite event occurs. Alpha’s handler is the first to go, his eyes squished out, followed closely by a rather foolish Dr. Saunders. But Alpha didn’t go for Topher… why? After all it was Topher who enslaved him? But it was also Topher who created him…

Back in the secret lab Echo is in the chair and Alpha is about to help her “ascend”. And so, with the immortal words “Alpha, meet Omega.” the composite begins and Echo is reborn. “I get it.” She whispers, ironic really as it’s actually Alpha who gets it, where it is a pipe to the head. “Now I understand everything.”

Ballard comes before DeWitt demanding to know “Who is Alpha?” After some debate DeWitt hands over a file. Carl William Craft and DeWitt reveals that Alpha, along with other Dolls, presumably, were volunteer prisoners and they wonder why Alpha went slasher happy! How thick are these people, I mean, honestly! So Ballard and Boyd set out to find the girl Craft almost killed. When she answers the door and they see her face, it becomes apparent that Topher is wrong, that whoever the actives were before still  exists below the imprint.

In the evil den Alpha and Echo debate philosophy. Alpha believe they are Gods, “Perfected, objective, something new.” Objective? I think not, Mr. Alpha. “I get it, I understand it, I’m experiencing 38 of them right now but i somehow understand that not one of them is me… There is no me, I’m just a container.” Caroline pipes up. “There is a you, she’s sitting right here.” When will people learn to keep stum around crazy god-like beings? “He may be crazy, but he’s right, you left me alone.” Cue Alpha with pipe. The two of them slug it out. Alpha has given up on Echo now, realising she is not the person he thought she was. Echo knocks him down and proceeds to untie Caroline, who requests to be put back in the wedge. Echo asks “Why don’t you come home?”  and after a little ummming and arrrring Caroline agrees to go get back in her own body and is promptly shot! “Now… Do as I say, or I will blow your brain out.” Alpha sneers, pointing his gun at the wedge with Caroline’s personality inside.

Meanwhile Topher realises that Alpha was using an old Whiskey imprint on Echo, but way too late to be of any use, except to confirm the address for Ballard and Boyd. However Dr. Saunders is becoming self aware too and she wants answers.

Alpha, spurned by Echo, explains his evil plan for revenge. To imprint as many girls as possible with her personality and keep killing her over and over. See what I mean about him being too unhinged to be the hero? But Echo wont lie back and take it. Alpha warns her “I’m not fooling, he’s not kidding, we’re not bluffing! I’m bluffing… But the rest of us, we mean business.” (brilliant!) Alpha shoots Echo in the shoulder and makes a dash for it. After a brief chase Alpha throws the Wedge away and Echo goes after it, but it falls, straight into Paul Ballard’s well placed hands. So, he  did save Caroline after all… awwww.

Topher catches Whiskey on his computer, she turns to him knowing now that she was once a doll too. “I think you gave me more computer skills than would be required by a medical doctor. I understand, why hire a new physician when you can just imprint the broken doll.” and without a pause “But why did you decide it was so important for me to hate you?” And why did he? Is it that Topher feels responsible for what happened? Whatever the case you definitely get the feeling that he goes deeper than what we see on the surface. 

So Alpha escaped and now Ballard is working for the Dollhouse on the agreement that November is released from her contract. An interesting but not entirely unpredictable change of heart. Echo is returned to herself but we can’t assume she has come out of the whole ordeal without some kind of damage, in fact as her glass lid over her bed slides into place, she breathes a single  word… “Caroline!”!

So that’s it, the first season is done and dusted and it seems I had a lot more to say about this episode than i first realised. However the series is in a position where it could easily stop without too much of a problem, no cliff hanger or major unsolved issues to be dealt with. Ballard found the Dollhouse and saved the girl. Topher and DeWitt were humanised. We discovered the spy in the House was Mr. Dominic and we know who and what Alpha is, even the quirkiness of Dr. Saunders has been resolved. However there is certainly room for the show to grow should it find itself renewed. Echo will have to deal with her ever growing sense of self. Ballard will have to work out where he fits in the grand scheme of things and then there’s Alpha…

So Favourite Episode: This award has to go to Briar Rose or Man on the Street, the former purely for Alan Tudyk’s performance and the latter because, it was, for me, the turning point when the series went from good to great.

Favourite Moment: This award goes to Topher in Haunted, when you realise that he had no one in his life and that once a year on  his birthday he is allowed to make himself a friend. *wipes tear* Beautiful, brilliant and yet so incredible sad all at the same time.

Right, well I’ve gone on long enough, this has been My Two Cents and hopefully I’ll be writing about Dollhouse again soon…

The Others Follow the Leader in Lost…

So, following Daniel’s death Jack swaps roles with John Locke and  becomes the man of Faith, while Locke takes on the role of Sayid as the man of Action and poor old Richard gets stuck between them both.

Down on the beach in 2007 Richard Alpert is finishing construction on a ship in a bottle. I’m assuming its a model of the Black Rock, possibly a hint to Richard’s own origins? Locke comes down the beach, a boar slung over his shoulders and tells Richard they have an errand to run. This is new for Locke, the new spiritually enlightened Locke is telling Richard what to do, where as the old Locke looked to him for answers. Richard comments on the change in Locke and John replies “I have a purpose now!”

John has a purpose? In 2007? Doesn’t that suggest that whatever Jack Kate and Sawyer are doing back in 1977 has no purpose?

Sun and Ben approach keeping their distance and proceeding to give a little exposition for the benefit of those who haven’t quite been keeping up. “His name is Richard Alpert, he’s a kind of advisor…  and he has had that job for a very very long time.” Realising what he means Sun dashes up to Richard hoping that he has seen her husband. “Yes I was here 30 years ago and yes I remember meeting these people because I watched them all die!”

Really? All of them? Well as we will see later in this episode at least three of the people in the photo get off the island before the incident, however I can’t think, offhand, when Richard has ever been anything but truthful, so why would he lie now? Also having recently re-watched season 4, in particular “Cabin Fever” where Horace admits to having been dead for 12 years in 2004, we can safely assume that the purge didn’t happen until 1992, so did Richard see them all die in 1977 or 1992 as he was likely present at both events?

Anyway, Locke asks Richard for his compass back and then Richard and Ben head off into the jungle. However not before Locke promises Sun he will help find a way to save Jin. The problem I have here is why Sun stayed in 2007? Why was she not dragged back in time like everyone else? Is it because she was not supposed to be on flight 815? Was she supposed to leave Jin because their destinies lay apart from one another?

Jack and Kate are brought before Ellie, who, having read the message future Ellie wrote, realises that Daniel is telling the truth and that he is her son. I’m also thinking that either Ellie is pregnant with or has already given birth to baby Daniel by this point. Before Ellie questions them, Jack and Kate discuss just exact what will happen if they put things right. “Our plane never crashes, flight 815 lands in Los Angeles” Jack says. “And everyone we lost since we got here, they’d all be alive.” (That’s the self sacrificing Jack we all know and love.) “And what about us?” Kate responds, selfishly. “We just go on, living our lives, because we’ve never met.” Jack has just told her they can save the lives of everyone, all three hundred and odd people and all Kate can say is “What about us?” The same Kate who told Jack she didn’t want to see him again?

Ellie enters and demands to know what Daniel planned to do with the H-bomb, codename “Jughead”. Jack tells her that Daniel had figured out a way to change things and that if she helps him she wont have killed Daniel, that she can take it all back. Ellie turns to Kate and asks “Does he know what he’s taking about?” Kate replies “He thinks he does.” And with a season to go and the need for a finale I'm inclined to agree with Kate, Jack is wrong. Daniel has always insisted that you cannot change the past, but he has realised that they are an integral part of it, that in order to  preserve things everything must happen as it did before, including his own death and to ensure that happened after he died he gave Jack hope that he could change things. Thus I think that Jack will echo John Locke’s words at the end of season 2 “What have I done?”

Back at the Dharma security station Sawyer and Juliet are being interrogated by Radzinsky, Horace and Phil. Sawyer refuses to talk and Radzinsky beats him. Horace tries to stop him but Radzinsky has taken charge and refuses to acknowledge Horace’s authority.

Hugo, Miles and Jin are making their plans to escape when Chang  catches them. Troubled by Faraday’s “We’re from the future” talk he confronts Miles and Hurley and quickly breaks down Hurley’s alibi “Who is the president of the united states?” “Alright dude, we’re from the future.” Chang inquires about the incident and Miles tells him that if Daniel warned him he should listen.

Meanwhile back in 2007 Locke and Richard prepare for Locke’s jump forward in time when Richard will give him the compass and tells him he needs to bring everyone back to the island. They arrive at almost the exact moment, a point which is commented on by Ben. “Your timing is impeccable John, how did you know when to be here?” Locke replies “The Island told me.” Something it had never done with Ben, maybe because Ben was never meant to be in charge and that his usurpation of Charles’ position was in someway against the island’s wishes, which brings into question Richard and if he really has the islands best interests at heart. After all it was he who healed Ben and he who instated Ben as leader.

Chang comes into the security station and tells them to evacuate, but he stops in his tracks when he sees Sawyer and Juliet. Stuart Radzinsky turns on Chang and asks him why he isn't at the Swan. Chang replies that he believes there will be a cataclysmic event  should they continue drilling. Stuart replies they will drill and on schedule. Chang turns to Horace “You’re in charge.” but Stuart cuts him off “He’s not in charge anymore!” Is that why Radzinsky ends up in the swan, his penance for ignoring the warning is to push the button? Is it because he feels guilty for all the lives lost that he blows the back of his head off all over the ceiling of the Swan?

Sawyer realises the danger they are all in, and unable to save anyone else, he chooses to save himself and Juliet by turning the Others in for a place on the Sub. A tactic he had admonished Michael for only last season.

Richard and Ellie have brought Jack and Kate to the river where Sayid meets up with them. Kate is appalled by the two men and there way of dealing with things and so once again she storms off into the jungle. Does that girl ever stick with anything? She spends more time traipsing across the island from one group to the other than she ever does actually in the group.

Hurley, Jin and Miles spy on Chang as he demands his wife gets on the sub with baby Miles, yelling at her so that she will leave, giving Miles closure, letting him know that his father really did love his mother and that he made her leave to save her. Juliet and Sawyer are loaded into the sub as well and before climbing down inside Sawyer turns around long enough to mutter “Good riddance.” Is it really though? Is that it for Sawyer and Juliet? If  they are off the island in 1977 can they make it back to 2007? Sawyer and Juliet have a touching moment where each says “I love you” only for it to ruined moments later as Kate is thrown in as well and the sub sets off in some of the worst CG on Lost to date.

Jack, Richard, Ellie and Sayid swim under the river to the tunnels where the bomb is. Sayid points out that Ellie is only helping them because she wants to wipe out the Dharma Initiative and Jack replies he knows, but still trusts her… I wonder if Ellie gets herself kicked off the island before Charles, for helping Jack and Sayid maybe, because right now it looks like she is charge not Charles yet later on he definitely is. That make me wonder if she is Penny’s mother, that it was her that Charles left the island so frequently for, that eventually got him kicked out too?

Back on the beach John has rounded up the Others and is taking them to see Jacob. Richard is not happy about this, remarking to Ben “I think John Locke is gonna be trouble.” Ben replies “Why do you think I tried to kill him?” As they march off down the beach Ben lets Locke know Richard’s reservations, maybe because Smokey-Alex has told Ben to side with Locke or maybe because Ben is playing Richard and Locke off against each other in the hope of regaining power. Ben tells Locke that he is here to help and if Jacob can help Locke get back to his people then… but Locke replies, a mite too quickly. “I’m not interested in being reunited with my people. That’s not why we’re going to Jacob. “ “Then why?” replies Ben. “So i can kill him!” Wyyyyoooo Doof “LOST”

So that’s it for another week. Richard really has “Lost” control  hasn’t he? I’m guessing he couldn’t stop Jack back in 1977 and now he has Locke to contend with in 2007. Of course there are other questions to contend with too. Is there really a Jacob or is Richard the man behind the mask? Is the concept of Jacob just a way to keep the Others in line or is there really a greater power on the island? And if there is, can it be killed?

And what about this for a theory? I think that it may have all happened before. Jack’s dad, Christian Shepherd, was responsible for Jack and Anna being on the plane and in a lesser way for Claire too, all of whom have had a major influence on events on the island. He, like John, was dead and like John is now walking about  the island. So I pose the question, did Christian have to die to return to the island, like John too? Was Christian Shepherd a part of the Dharma Initiative or an Other?

I just thought I'd throw it out there. Anyhow, that’s my Two Cents until next time when I will bring you my take on Heroes Volume 4: Fugitives.  

Wash is Back… And This Time It’s Personal!

It seems like forever ago since I last wrote about Dollhouse and during its week off I missed it like I’d miss a limb, well maybe not, but I still love the show. I know I should have probably done this on Friday but this weeks episode is currently #10 on the iTunes chart for Drama, interesting two places below fellow endangered Tv show from CBS “The Unit.”

Anyway, as you probably guessed from the title of this post old favourite, Alan Tudyk is back on our screens in this latest episode of Dollhouse and I know I say this every week, but Best Episode Yet! I have an unfortunate habit of completely ignoring any credits that flash across the bottom of the screen when i watch Tv, I like to think that this is because i don’t like to have the plot ruined for me by knowing who will be in the episode, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. So I didn’t know that Alan was going to be in the episode until recognised his mug shot and got very excited!

So, this weeks episode begins with Echo reading the story of Briar Rose, which as far as i can tell is Sleeping Beauty. One girl, Susan, reacts badly to the story, destroying the book. In particular she objects to the Prince coming to save Briar Rose, presumably because no prince ever saved her from her abusive father. Through some creative programming on Topher’s part he has given Echo the same life experiences as the little girl, except that Echo is now a well adjusted woman who uses her life experience to help others. The intention being that Echo could show Susan that it is possible to move on.

Meanwhile Paul Ballard, the focus of this weeks episode, breaks up with Millie, unable to live the double life with her any longer. Topher’s anti-breakup programming kicks in and Millie begs Paul not to go, telling him that she will do whatever necessary. Paul however has made up his mind.

Back in the Dollhouse a flash drive arrives for Mr. Dominic, the ex- head of security who now resides in the Attic, a brain dead body. Fearing they need his help to open the drive DeWitt authorises Mr. Dominic’s personality to be taken “off the shelf” and imprinted into Victor.

Millie, consumed with grief at losing Paul after fighting so hard to be with him go down to the motorway bridge and prepares to throw herself off. November’s assignment as mild mannered Millie, it seems, is finally over and her handler takes her back to the Dollhouse, suicide averted, while Paul follows behind, hoping to be led right to the front door.

Finally free of the Dollhouse and active November, Agent Ballard makes a stop at the FBI HQ to chat with his “woman on the inside” Loomis. He has a theory that for the Dollhouse to be invisible it must produce its own power, water etc. Which is where the environmental systems consultant comes in… a.k.a Stephen Kepler (Alan Tudyk.) Loomis responds with “It’s good thing I’m relatively sure you’re not crazy.” the line that qualifies why she is still helping him, despite the risk to her career.

Back with Susan, Echo is finally making headway. She tells her to look back at the story of Briar Rose and to think of herself as the Prince. “The Prince shows up at the last minute, takes all the credit, that means that Briar Rose was trapped all that time, sleeping, dreaming of getting out, the Prince was her dream, She made him, she made him fight to get her out.” Pause. “Prince.” She finishes, pointing at Susan. However the story of Briar Rose is not all that different from Echo’s own, the only question is, who is Echo’s prince…

So Ballard turns up at Stephen Kepler’s apartment and hilarity ensues. Kepler, a pot addled systems engineer is growing “medicinal carrots” throughout his apartment, a fact that Agent Ballard uses to enlist his help in breaking into the Dollhouse. Alan is brilliant as the twitchy engineer, he had me rocking with laughter and its so very good to see him back with Joss once more.

Victor a.k.a Mr. Dominic is now under the influence of a kind of truth serum and Boyd manages to get the password to the flash drive from him, a single Greek character… Alpha . The drive opens with nothing but a single image of a statue in Paris. Quickly DeWitt and Boyd learn that a body has turned up dead in Paris with Alpha’s signature face slashing and they send Sierra in to investigate.

Meanwhile Ballard and Kepler break into the Dollhouse, tazer Topher, steal a couple of Doll outfits and begin to wander around looking for a computer terminal. Commandeering Dr. Saunders office Kepler sets to work disabling security. Ballard sets off to find Caroline/Echo, unfortunately for him, he finds Boyd too.

A fight breaks out which awaken Victor, worried about his health Dr. Saunders takes him back to her office, where Kepler is still disabling security. Now, this is where i began to wonder, why? Alan’s character had been looking for a way out of the Dollhouse as soon as they broke in. He was worried that if he was discovered he would be killed, why, then, would he stay behind once Ballard had gone?

Doc and Victor walk into the office, no sign of Kepler, then bam! Kepler appears slashing Victor’s face and we realise at last exactly who we’re dealing with… Alan Tudyk is ALPHA!

Boyd orders Echo to run and finally takes Ballard into custody, bringing him before DeWitt for sentencing. She makes it very clear that Ballard wouldn’t be missed and she turns to Boyd and asks “Shall we put him in the chair?”

And that's it… Paul Ballard’s fate remains undecided, Sierra calls in with news that the body in Paris is Stephen Kepler and he was murdered in LA and then shipped to France. Instantly DeWitt checks the security feed and sure enough Alpha is in Topher’s office reprogramming Echo. Echo awakens and smiles. “I remember you… My Prince.”

So Alpha is back and Echo is leaving with him, Ballard is in custody and possibly facing the chair, it’s all very exciting with only one episode to go. However I can’t help wondering if it wasn’t Alpha that Lawrence Dominic was working for all along. Certainly Alpha’s goal seems to have been to get Echo out of the Dollhouse, a goal that ties in neatly with Ballard’s. If it wasn’t then how could Alpha be assured that Ballard would come looking for Kepler? Revealing November as a Doll caused Paul to break up with her, which in turn led him to the Dollhouse and to Kepler. If Alpha was merely an opportunist then who is behind the messages from within the Dollhouse?

And what about next week? Will Victor be ok? Certainly he can’t continue to work as a Doll if Dr. Saunders is anything to go by. And what about Ballard, will DeWitt really send him to the attic? Or will Boyd’s moral code kick in and force him to go rogue in order to save Paul? And what about Alpha and Echo? Is Alpha really only after the girl he loves (who presumably is not Caroline but probably some dream girl Alpha cooked up in Topher’s lab.) or is he going to try and take down the Dollhouse with Echo’s help? Also with the next episode being entitled Omega, the opposite to Alpha in that it is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and thus commonly associated with “The End”, will it be the End for the show or for Alpha? Or is it the name of a new Active brought in to bring down Alpha and Echo?

Whatever happens I’m right there with this show, on the edge of my seat, just waiting to find out. Anyway, that’s my Two Cents, until Saturday when I will have a Lost update for you.