Dollhouse 1.08 "Needs" review

Echo and the others seem to regain parts of their memories

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NB: This review was originally printed in the Spoiler Zone in issue 184 of SFX and is reflective of our assessment of the show at the time of viewing.

Written by: Tracey Bellomo

Directed by: Felix Enriquez Alcala

Rating:

THE ONE WHERE
Echo, Sierra, Victor and November, along with another Doll named Mike, wake up with fragments of their memories and real personalities restored. Together they plan an escape, but Echo stays behind and forces Adelle to release the other Dolls. It's really all an exercise in helping Echo and the others find closure in the hope that it'll stop them from glitching. Meanwhile, Ballard discovers his apartment is being bugged.

VERDICT
A brilliantly structured and really gripping episode that, following on from Echo's development, really fleshes out the other main players while still generating some new intrigue (what is Caroline's place in the mountains?). And the image of the Dolls walking into the sunlight is very striking. The only negative point is how unresolved Sierra's issues really are. I do hope Nolan will be back, just so something horrible can happen to him.

CHARACTER
The exercise reveals that in her previous life, November had a daughter who died. Sierra refused to sleep with a man named Nolan, so he put her in the Dollhouse as punishment. Victor's need, since he's in love with Sierra, needs to have his feelings reciprocated.

FEATURED MUSIC
The song at the end is "Lonely Ghosts" by O+S.

DID YOU SPOT?
Is that Morena Baccarin standing behind Topher in the meeting at the beginning of the episode?

BEST LINES
Ballard: (about the bug in his flat) "What about scrambling it?"
Jimmy: "Someone put this on you? You're gonna need an RF detector, a smart scrambler, and a frequency jammer. And to believe in God. Because I don't care how big you think you are, they're bigger."

Leah Holmes

More info

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