Dollhouse Episode 12 "Omega"
Written and Directed by: Tim Minear
Original Airdate: 8 May 2009
By Alyse Wax

In This Episode…

We've got a lot of body and personality swapping going on here, so stay with me.

First, we finally have Alpha's backstory.  His real name is Carl William Kraft (as Boyd so astutely pointed out, three names is always trouble).  He was in prison for kidnapping and attempted murder – after being held prisoner for three days, his victim escaped.  In the early days of the Dollhouse, prisoners were used for testing purposes, in exchange for commuted sentences.  But for whatever reason, Alpha's wipe never took completely.  Even in Doll state, he seemed conscious of himself.

Back then, the woman we currently know as Dr. Saunders was herself an active, code name: Whiskey.  She was the number one Active in the Dollhouse, out on engagements nearly every day.  She and Alpha had just returned from an engagement when DeWitt was giving Caroline a tour of the Dollhouse, showing her what is in store for her if she signs up.  Alpha is immediately taken by her, even kissing her in the hallway until a handler breaks them up.  Later, in the Bonsai tree class, Alpha overhears a couple handlers talking about how Whiskey was the number one Active.  Alpha is enraged, and wants Echo to be numero uno.  So he attacks Whiskey, slicing up her face.  He is then dragged into the imprint room, a struggle ensues, and he is imprinted with the 48 personalities (not sure if this was an accident or on purpose).  He kills the real Dr. Saunders, a kindly old gentleman who dispenses lollipops, gouges out the eyes of his handler, and proceeds to go on his killing spree.

Okay, now the story at hand.  Alpha and Echo have abducted a young shopgirl and take her back to Alpha's lair, an abandoned warehouse at a power plant.  Here, Alpha has built his own Imprint Room.  The shopgirl, Wendy, is put in the chair and imprinted with Caroline's original personality.  Wendy/Caroline sees Echo and recognizes her body.  Alpha's plan is to dump 38 personalities into Echo's body, then have her kill Wendy/Caroline in a symbolic move, to punish Caroline for abandoning her body when things got tough.  Echo is successfully imprinted, but she is too smart now.  She doesn't want to be a "new god" like Alpha.  So instead of killing Wendy/Caroline, she attacks Alpha.  Echo is about to put Wendy's mind back into her body, when Alpha shoots Wendy in the neck and threatens to shoot Caroline's hard drive. 

Their fight takes them to a chase outdoors amongst the power paraphernalia.  Echo wants her Caroline mind back.  Alpha throws the hard drive, it perches precariously on a beam, and Echo creeps out to get it.  The hard drive slips… and falls into the waiting hands of Ballard below.  Aw, he finally saved the girl.

Status

Alpha has escaped.  Wendy's family have been paid off generously for her care and their silence.  Dr. Saunders has looked up her original file on the computer, but did not actually open it.  She does ask Topher why he would have programmed her to have such a strong dislike for him, a question he never answers.  Victor has had his face sliced up, and he now resembles Heath Ledger's Joker (hey, it worked for Chris Nolan).  Interestingly, Ballard has agreed to sign on with the Dollhouse as a "contractor," but under one condition: Mellie/November be let out of her contract early, with full pay and benefits.  DeWitt agrees, and "Madeline" leaves the Dollhouse. Echo has been wiped clean, but as Topher does it, there is a strange sadness about him.  As Echo is being tucked into bed, she whispers, "Caroline…"

Dig It or Bury It?

As far as season finales go, this was a good one.  All the pertinent questions were answered satisfactorily, and the door was opened for a second season – though not too wide that if they don't get picked up, you will have lingering questions.  As far as episodes go, it was okay.  Generally I find the "conspiracy/mythology" episodes stronger than the stand-alone Engagement episodes.  This one had some good back story (though absolutely nothing was a surprise, even though, judging by the editing, it was supposed to be).  But there was an awful lot of screen time devoted to Echo flapping her gums about what makes a person a person, etc.  I zoned out a few minutes of that

Persona Non Grata

I don't know the name of the personality that Alpha initially put into Echo, but she played a white trash idiot with charming stupidity.  When Alpha dumps 38 personalities into her, he dubs her Omega, but insists she is still Alpha.  Sierra and November have one scene where they are imprinted as bounty hunter.  I imagine it is so they can aid Ballard and Boyd on the hunt for Echo, but aside from them stepping out of the chair, their alter egos never pop up.  Maybe it was some contractual obligation.

Whedon-esque

Topher has some good lines in this one.  When Ballard is in the imprint room, Topher asks of DeWitt, "Why is there a tall, morally outraged man in my imprint room who isn't Boyd?"  When Topher is later chastised in DeWitt's office, he gets grumpy and says, "That's fine.  I'm smarter than everyone in this room."  He quickly qualifies that statement after DeWitt gives him a look: "But I am far less scary."

When Wendy/Caroline sees Echo and recognizes Caroline's body, she says, "The wrongness of this is so large."  Sarah Michelle Gellar could not have delivered the line better.

Prophecies

As hit-or-miss as this show is, I see it having a decent chance at getting a pickup, though probably only for a half-season, and likely as a mid-season show.  This decision is based largely on the knowledge that the Fox drama slate does not look strong for next season.