Dollhouse season two has been hit and miss with some seemingly filler (Echo on a mission) episodes mixed in with more mythology based episodes. With the show officially canceled and Fox racing (by airing 2 episodes a week) to the season finale, it's like watching the show on fast forward. This week's episode, 'Getting Closer' reveals a lot of the backstory of the main characters while still advancing the overall mythology of the series.
Fans of any recent genre show (Lost, BSG) are learning that when the writers know the end date of a show, fans will have a greater chance of having their mythology questions answered and seeing their favorite characters complete their arcs by the time show ends. With the end date of Dollhouse set for January 22, the Whedon team is quickly moving to the the events in the future timeline of the un-aired post apocalyptic season one episode, “Epitaph One".
Episode 11, Getting Closer centers around Echo (Eliza Dushku) and the core characters trying to locate Caroline Farrell's original personality imprint, or “Memory Wedge”. In the previous episode (“The Attic”), Echo learned from Rossum Corporation co-founder, Clyde Randolph (Adam Godley), that Caroline was one of the only people to ever meet the current head of the corporation.
This episode further develops many of the mythology details recently revealed this season. We learn the full nature of Caroline's past with Bennett Halverson (Summer Glau) and that Caroline was not a malicious nor as innocent as previously thought. Claire Saunders (Amy Acker), who is now romantically involved with Boyd Langdon (as hinted at in Epitaph One) returns to the Dollhouse. We also learn how Boyd Langdon (Harry Lennix) was injured before leaving the Dollhouse.
In a surprise twist, (**SPOILER ALERT**) Bennett Halverson is abruptly murdered by Claire Saunders to prevent her from restoring Caroline's memory wedge. Also killed in this episode are Rossum executive Clive Ambrose and we learn that Clyde Randolph has been killed while in the Attic.
The real bombshell of this episode is the revelation of the identity of Clyde Randolph's mysterious former partner and the person currently at the head of the evil Rossum Corporation as (**SPOILER ALERT**) Boyd Langdon. This revelation explains just how Rossum seemed to be two steps ahead of any plans to topple the Dollhouse as well as Langdon's suspiciously vague past and lack of a life outside of the Dollhouse.
Prior to the episode airing I was indifferent to the identity of Rossum's leader, but with Boyd as the new villain the show successfully changes the playing field and ups the stakes. The revelations of season two are going to make for a very interesting series finale (“Epitaph Two: Return”) and sequel to “Epitaph One" and we can't wait to see what happens.
