Recap / Dollhouse S 02 E 11

Season 2, Episode 11:

Getting Closer

Topher races to reconstruct Echo's original personality and memories when it's revealed they are the key to averting a devastating future.

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Tropes present in this episode:

• Almost Kiss: Topher and Bennett. Interrupted when she asks whom Topher is trying to resurrect (and learns offscreen that it's Caroline, whom she hates). Averted later in the episode.
• Big Bad Friend: Boyd, who is revealed by Caroline's memories to be the head of the Rossum Corporation.
• Blood-Splattered Innocents: Topher when Claire kills Bennett.
• Boom, Headshot!: Bennett is on the receiving end of this, courtesy of Dr. Saunders.
• The Bus Came Back: Dr. Saunders. She is revealed to have been having a relationship with Boyd since she left the Dollhouse.
• Clue, Evidence, and a Smoking Gun
  Caroline: Let me guess... neuroscience?
  Bennett: How'd you know?
  Caroline: Fish. Brain food. Also brain books. [indicates Bennett's neuroscience textbooks]
• Delayed Reaction: Adelle sees Dr. Saunders, walks off... and comes back a few seconds later to stare at her.
• Geeky Turn-On: Topher and Bennett are clearly attracted to each other's technical abilities.
• Insistent Terminology: When the man Caroline uses to sneak into Rossum calls her a thief, Caroline corrects him, "I'm not a thief, I'm a terrorist."
• Kill the Cutie: Poor Bennett...
• Once More, with Clarity: We see more of the context around Bennett's memory of losing her arm, as well as one of the flashbacks (now present events) from "Epitaph One". It turns out that Caroline abandoning Bennett wasn't an attempt to save her own skin at the latter's expense, but to avoid Bennett being punished for helping her.
• The Reveal: Boyd has been the Big Bad all along; he's the head of Rossum, and Clyde's hidden partner.
• Shout-Out:
  • Caroline, upon seeing a picture of Bennett (played by Summer Glau): "Bet you could kill me with your brain."
  • Clyde 5.0 reveals that the name "Rossum" is a reference to a play: R.U.R. by Karel Capek (Rossum's Universal Robots), in which a race of artificial biological automatons exterminate their human creators. Neither of the Rossum Corporation's co-founders is actually named Rossum.
• Skewed Priorities: In an otherwise tense flashback scene:
  Adelle: You have much to answer for, young woman.
  Caroline: I do?
  Adelle: Yes. You forced me to come to Arizona. I loathe Arizona.
• Split-Personality Merge: Echo and Caroline are finally reunited.
• That Came Out Wrong
  Topher: Lab's in here! You showed me yours, let me... show you mine. [winces]
  [Bennett looks disgusted]