Dollhouse Season 2 Instinct

Instinct starts out with Ballard, ever the detective, trying to put himself in the position of the victim, in this case the Active. He's intrigued by the technology and the people behind it so he circles the imprint chair in fascination and disgust. Ballard is now firmly in the Dollhouse, although both he and Echo have made their pact against it(something which Dewitt seems to be partly aware of with respect to Ballard's motives). Topher comes in and is in full on narcissist mode, after his feelings of guilt from Vows. Both characters engage in a dialogue about Echo's latest assignment (which includes a great line from Topher comparing a bad imprint to post David lee Roth Van Halen) which shows how these two characters at least on the surface view this idea. Ballard is slightly shocked, if again fascinated by what the Dollhouse is doing, and Topher again is being a massive tool despite what we know about his underlying character. Dollhouse is at it's best when it shows how the characters that are protecting/programing the dolls, view them as their subjects, and even more so when they use them from their own interests. Watching these caretakers respond to the fantasy job for all its implications opens the episode on a strong note, but it's quickly matched by what follows.

Last season when a concept was introduced, say a doll being an imprint of a dead woman or becoming temporarily blind, the idea was conceptually interesting, but mostly underdeveloped in execution. Right off we get a substantially realized idea, both effectively dramatizes and thematically interesting, that the science of Rossum/Topher is getting more reckless by the leaps and bounds of their discovery's, and that the human mind won't adapt and sometimes in Echo's case it will.

Instinct is the first standalone to effectively dramatize the implications of mentally/biologically altering a person (previous standalone s merely used the alterations to move the plot along). Here Echo is imprinted as a mother, but instead of just making her care for the child, the Dollhouse has given her the overwhelming biological desire(and the biological ability) to nurse the infant. The opening credit sequence chillingly shows Echo breast feeding the child, taking what amounts to the Rossum's experiments(as well as monetary source) to a new disturbing level. The episode then presides from the POV of Echo's imprint as she sees suspicious signs all around her that everything is not all right. It should be noted as well, that the client here is portrayed in a more sympathetic light then most of the Dollhouse's male clientele and although it at first appears that the character may be using Echo for more unsavory purposes, it is revealed that he's merely trying to construct a relationship for his son and not for himself. Of course this client can't adjust to the situation and leads to Echo's going off on a motherly freak out. Eliza Dushku in this episode, Vows and in the best eps from last season is really putting in some strong work. Her critics once stated she played a blank slate each with different occupations(or outfits), but now despite her limitations she is convincingly playing these imprints as characters and not as types. Of particular note should be her final confrontation, with her character having emerged from her treatment with her primal instincts intact but also her burgeoning self awareness of her status as a doll(and all the baggage that entails.)
The episode like Vows ends on a lyrical moment with Echo and Ballard reaffirming their pact to find Echo's Caroline identity. What's constantly fascinating but both these episodes is how Dewitt and the Dollhouse seems to be fascinated by Echo's developments, her mess ups a product of her evolution. In the end as scientists playing god, they're probably getting more value from watching her engage in each individual scenario. So to the individuals who complain as to why the Dollhouse would allow Echo to keep going out on these missions when she keeps "breaking", it seems to me that it was established, back in mid Season 1 that this organization would be more then willing to make some risks in order to see what happens to their favorite lab mouse.

On the other hand the November subplot was handed just right as well, showing how this character may never truly be out of the Dollhouse's sphere, and also underscoring how Ballard is becoming slightly complacent in the actions of the Dollhouse as an exploiter of human beings. The Senator subplot was effectively laid out, showing us a man with a loving wife, who is not as icily cold as his initial appearance would have us believe, but a crusader, who political motivations aside wants to do the right thing. If the episode had a flaw it was the predictability of Echo's break in to the house with the lightning and the lighting going out, as well the actor playing the client was bland at least initially until his final scene with Echo. I should also say that I missed both Harry Lennox and Amy Acker (who apparently will only be making two more appearances this season...sniffle). No where near as strong as Vows, but Joss Whedon has already given us an episode that is a marked improvement over haft of Season 1(mostly the pre Man on the Street eps). Two good episodes in and I'm already expecting a great season( at least based on Whedon's stellar track record with the standalone/arc format).