Dollhouse 1x02-1x03

[oyceter]

Still incredibly problematic, and yet, it is so incredibly boring that I can't even bring myself to get angry. Dropping it.

For episode 2, we get a ton of eroticized fear with only a little turn at the end. Maybe the trust bit between Boyd and Echo would have worked had I more faith in Joss' portrayal of black men; as it were, I am cynically certain the Boyd-Echo relationship is eventually going to end up echoing the threatening black man/delicate white woman stereotype.

And maybe I would have been more impressed by Echo being violent had the other thirty minutes of the show not been her cowering in fear.

For episode 3, I am not sure it could have possibly gotten more boring or more exploitative. Yay black woman. Boo black woman shown as a suicidal and selfish diva, at Echo (a white woman) calling her a "bitch," at the gratuitous use of gospel music and references to political freedom to refer to personal freedom, women in bikinis dancing in cages, Asian girl getting threatened by white man saved by white girl, and how every woman in the show maximizes cleavage, belly, crotch, or all of the above.

I was spoiled for the Victor reveal, but frankly, I'm not that impressed anyhow. So the guy doll gets to be an informer and play a Russian mobster while the female dolls get to dress in nearly nothing, strip on camera (Echo in the dressing room, and wow that was a completely unnecessary scene), and get threatened.

And did I mention the boring?

Comments

[heresluck]

Yeah, the third ep was pretty much unsalvageable FAIL from the premise on out. What frustrated me so much about the second ep was that, given that premise, there was still no reason for the ep to be as bad as it was. It makes perfect sense for Echo to try to get away from the psychopath, but simply showing her a) in more clothing and b) angry/determined as well as terrified would have gone a long way towards making the episode less dreadful. Still boring, maybe, but less cringeworthy.

I'm sticking it out until the seventh episode and will report on whether the show does in fact magically improve. (God, I hope so.)

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I thought the episode could have been fun-- something light and fluffy with undercurrents of the dark undertones of the show. I spent half the episode hoping the pop star was an Active on permanent assignment, which didn't happen, and the rest cowering as Sierra (who I loved SO FUCKING MUCH someone needs to get her a better show RIGHT NOW) got kidnapped and reduced to Yet Another Victim.

I'm sticking it out (at least for the moment) so I can bitch with other people about it. Plus, I figure it won't last long.