Dollhouse, Vows (Season 2 premiere)

Fox took a big risk when it renewed Dollhouse last Spring. Despite being a huge fan of the show, I was pretty surprised that they did. I'd chalk it up to their refusal to make the same mistake twice. Cancelling Firefly just before it got its feet under it proved to have been a bad call, but renewing may have been equally bad...well financially, I mean.

This episode was perfect, exactly what we Dollhouse fans want. Echo (Eliza Dushku) was on assignment, and married an arms dealer, Martin Klar (Jamie Bamber* from BSG). Klar was not her client. He believed that he had finally me the perfect woman for him, but the entire thing was orchestrated by Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett). That's right, Paul's sort of a client now, using Echo to help bring down criminals he couldn't touch when he was an agent for the FBI. He's working with Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams - whose new short hair suits her very well, I must say), and Boyd Langton (Harry Lennix). Now this is where some things started to get a little odd. Boyd doesn't trust Paul, doesn't know what his intentions are, and is quite worried about exposure. Last season, he was questioning the Dollhouse, but now he's apparently fully invested.

Also weird discrepancy from last season is Boyd's relationship with Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey (Amy Acker). I'd always thought there was some connection there, but apparently Claire never saw it and accuses Boyd of taking interest in her out of pity now that she has discovered that she's also a doll. Joss Whedon's not one to get his story lines messed up, so I'm wondering what all this means. So things are a little messed up, but that is sort of what we expect.

If you didn't watch season 1...just ask, and I'll explain where we are, cause this episode did nothing to help you catch up. And in the time it's been off the air for the summer, it had the time to get a huge fan base...but it didn't. So new viewers, please ask so that we can all get on board and make it worth Fox's wile.

What we can expect from the rest of the season, now that we are going to get more plot lines that connect through the episodes, as opposed to the half and half mix of long term and episodic stuff we got last season, is something to do with Sen. Daniel Perrin (Alexis Denisof* from Angel). He's decided that going after the medical corporation that fronts the Dollhouse is going to be good for his career. He's probably right. And we go back to that dilemma - do we want the Dollhouse to get closed down? Also, Echo is aware of the 40 personalities she's experienced, and Victor and Sienna no longer return to complete neutral - they were holding hands by the end of the episode (oh, and Adelle paid to have Victor's face fixed...she's still totally into who she made him be when she was a client). Plus, Alpha is still out there, and Whiskey's left on a mission to find herself...except she doesn't want to lose herself either.

I'm excited and hopefully. I really want this series to last because I am a huge Joss Whedon fan. And I, like many other, was totally excited about having a big ol' Buffy/Angel/BSG party going on. Faith and Apollo got married! And man I wish Jamie Bamber had been allowed to keep his own accent in BSG; might have made up for the last season of boring Apollo... I also wish that Alexis Denisof wasn't going to be American for his stint on Dollhouse...but what can you do.

For all you actors out there, my obvious advice is get in on the Whedon universe! You'll get work if Joss likes you.

What are you thoughts on the upcoming season of Dollhouse?