November, portrayed by Miracle Laurie, is a recurring character of Dollhouse. She is one of a group of men and women who can be imprinted with identities, personalities, skills, and memories in order to be sent into the world on engagements. Between engagements they live in the Dollhouse with no memory of their pasts or knowledge of their futures.
Origins
Early character descriptions for the show described November as a "a hopeful child in the house and everyone else you need her to be outside. A comforting, radiant presence, who tends to get fewer of the criminal gigs and more of the personal ones."[1]. She was intened to be a recurring Active, however during the retooling of the show in the Fall of 2008, Joss Whedon commented that "November has fallen out of the mix, because the show simply moves too fast now for me to do what I wanted with her,"[2] also saying that Miracle Laurie got another role, Mellie. The sixth episode, "Man on the Street", revealed that Mellie was in fact November. The episode "Omega" revealed that her name before entering the dollhouse was Madeleine Costley.
Character description
Background
"Needs" begins to explore November's past. It is revealed that she once had a daughter named Katie. Later in the episode, she is crying at her daughter's grave. What happened to her daughter is unclear, but it may indicate why she is in the Dollhouse.
Dollhouse
November is a sleeper Active, as revealed in "Man on the Street." She is engaged as Mellie, Paul Ballard's next door neighbor, programmed to surveil and seduce him.
Her killer imprint is activated by the phrase "There are three flowers in a vase, the third flower is green," and is deactivated by the phrase "There are three flowers in a vase, the third flower is yellow."
In "Echoes", a viral drug breaks loose across Freedmont College, November is called to the Dollhouse to be tested to find an antidote. But the drug slowly causes Mellie to have frequent memories which render her, and the other Actives, DeWitt, and Topher mentally unstable. After the drug eventually breaks on its own, Mellie returns to her apartment and is shown to be leaving her apartment and Ballard, and hinted to be returning to the Dollhouse.
In "Needs", November is one of a group of Actives who awaken with their original personalities but not their memories, and try to escape. Her recovered memories eventually lead her to her daughter's grave, which the Dollhouse hopes will help the Doll find closure and prevent future glitching. From "Needs" onwards, November appears to sleep in the same pod room as Echo, Sierra, Victor and Mike.
In "A Spy in the House of Love", November is engaged as Mellie. But, like Echo in "Man on the Street", her imprint was tampered with and she was used to give Ballard a little information on the Dollhouse. It was then Ballard found out that Mellie is in fact a doll used to spy on him.
In "Haunted", Ballard has Loomis run November's fingerprints through the FBI database, revealing a number of arrest records under several aliases. The aliases that appear onscreen are as follows: Annabeth B., Polly Keller, Amanda James, Heather B., Jane H., Michelle S. These records vanish from the database moments later.
In "Briar Rose", Paul breaks up with Mellie and tells her he's moving away. Saddened, Mellie walks to a freeway overpass and appears to consider suicide before a handler picks her up and drives her to the Dollhouse. On the way, Mellie tearfully talks about trying to make Paul love her. Unknown to her, this was Paul's plan to follow her to the Dollhouse
With "Mellie" wiped, November sleeps in the same room as Echo and Victor. When Paul infiltrates the Dollhouse, he opens November's sleeping pod first, but doesn't help her. Instead he looks for Echo and wakes her up.
In "Omega", Ballard agrees to work for the Dollhouse and keep its secret in exchange for releasing November. Now restored to her original identity, Madelaine Costley, she briefly speaks to Paul on her way out.
Engagements
| Episode | Client | Alias | Personality | Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x02 "The Target" to 1x11 "Briar Rose" | In-House | Mellie | Neighbor | Live next door to Agent Paul Ballard and find out what he knows about the Dollhouse. |
| 1x06 "Man on the Street" | In-House | Unknown | Fighter | Kill Joe Hearn. |
| 1x08 "Needs" | In-House | Madeleine | Real personality | Find closure for November's old life. |
| 1x12 "Omega" | In-House | Fritz | Bounty Hunter | Track down Alpha and Echo |
Notes & references
- ↑ DarkUFO (2008-03-03). Dollhouse - Casting News. spoilertv.blogspot.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-24.
- ↑ Whedon, Joss (2008-10-26). What happened when the lights went out.. whedonesque.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.