Hils's journal

This episode was brilliant - I love "who dunit?"'s, they're puzzles your meant to try and solve. I did work out it was Dominic when he sent Sierra in to retrieve the document... it was too easy. Person matching her description, with access to a specific room, and specific set of files within that room? Dominic knew precisely where it was - yet he didn't know there was a mole, and as far as I can see that document only had Ivy's details on it. So it was either Dominic or incredibly piss poor Saturday matinee time style writing.

For what it's worth, I think it's a double bluff (or should it be triple?), I believe that Dominic did give over the identity of an NSA agent, one he handles, in order to save himself, as per mission parameters of course. Why? Well it's all well and good Dominic being a spy within the Dollhouse, but he hasn't get the faintest hint of the scientific/technical workings of the Dollhouse, he couldn't reprogram an imprint - I find it doubtful that many people other than Topher could, maybe the person that created the technology in the first place, but that's a reveal for much later on I imagine). No, Dominic had to be working with someone, and it has to be Ivy, I think the plan was to give her up, give Dewitt a win she could take back to her bosses, and placate them. Then the NSA would see to it another operative was found to work with Topher, and once again learn from him the skills needed to manipulating the imprints.

Now the NSA have a whole new off plan problem, their assett is all alone in the Dollhouse, no longer having anyone in the upper echelons to handle her, and the Dollhouse being on more stringent security. She's going to be desperate, I suspect a few more missions will take pauses for mysterious messages to be passed among certain characters, namely Ballard, who is seen as someone dedicated, and honest enough, and ultimately incorruptible by the Dollhouse to keep an external threat for the focus to fall on.

So with Dominic's fall from grace, Boyd has been co-opted to new head of security. This is a big mistake on Dewitt's part, she struggles to control Boyd as much as they struggle to control Echo. He's a paragon, he has lofty notions of right and wrong, and already he struggles with the work they do there. However as long as he was handling Echo, that they had the bond, his focus was on protecting her, his vision fairly narrow. Thus Echo was the tool to control him - now he will have oversight of every operation, of every client, and all he has to do is drum up security grounds to put a halt to an operation. He's a danger to the revenue scheme, and therefore to himself, because Dewitt won't be able to handle it. She plays it cold, but really she cares too much, and he will be caring on her turf.

On to Victor, he was really cool in this episode - the persona created for him for his liasion with Dewitt was very smooth, and knew all the right things to say - though obviously he lacked the knowledge of his existence that Dewitt had. One wonders at the abuse of power Dewitt showed, is it fair for her to recruit people who will be there to please her? I also wonder at how she managed to arrange it all, I mean he has to be programmed to go from the old woman's house - so Topher must surely know, right? Or is it a special favour from Ivy? Also the handlers track the dolls, so they must have had instructions not to follow him. We saw none of this - which I think is sad, we're just meant to assume she did it, and clearly did it carefully so the upper echelons would not bring it against her.

Anyway, I was hoping that Dewitt would reveal to Victor that he was a doll, while he was imprinted - his reactions would have been very interesting. Alas, wasn't to be.