The Public Eye

The Public Eye is the fifth episode of the second season of Dollhouse and the eighteenth episode overall. It was written by Andrew Chambliss and directed by David Solomon. It aired on December 4, 2009.

Synopsis

Echo is sent to stop Senator Daniel Perrin before he can expose the Dollhouse’s secrets. After being jumbled by Topher's doll-bomb we find out that Perrin is a doll and he and Echo make a break for it. Over the course of the drive Perrin has some doll-flashes that lead him to believing that he is, in fact, a doll. Echo and Perrin are kidnapped and taken to the Washington, DC, Dollhouse where they meet its genius programmer, Bennett Halverson (Summer Glau), a woman with a mysterious past connection to Echo.

Plot

The episode starts with Senator Daniel Perrin, holding a press conference and revealing the existence of the Dollhouse. He also introduces Madeline (formerly November) to the media as a former Dollhouse resident and his star witness for the Senate Inquiry.

Mr. Harding questions Adelle DeWitt about her decision to release Madeline from her contract two years early. Adelle asks Mr. Harding how they should proceed with the Perrin situation, and he responds by saying to do nothing, as they have a plan in place. Adelle merely takes this as a suggestion, and instructs Ballard to prevent Madeline from testifying.

Ballard's investigation leads him to believe that Perrin's wife Cynthia is a doll. The staff believes that she may be a sleeper doll (like November) and may eliminate Madeline. Madeline herself has been convinced to testify against the Dollhouse after being shown photos of herself killing Hearn (which occurred in the episode "Man on the Street"). Topher reveals a way to disable Perrin's wife with a pulse weapon. However, because this pulse works on anyone with doll "architecture," it will affect Madeline as well.

Echo has been sent to Perrin's hotel room as a hooker. She videotapes her activities with Perrin. Perrin believes Rossum would never hire a real hooker to do such a job, and realizes Echo is actually a doll. Perrin takes Echo home so he can use her as further proof of the Dollhouse's existence; however, Ballard is also on the premises at the time, and attempts to use the pulse weapon to disable Cynthia, but it has no effect on her, as it is Senator Perrin, and not his wife, who is the doll. Cynthia is actually Perrin's handler. Ballard is quickly subdued by security.

Echo takes Perrin away with her. The pulse has unlocked the composite that Alpha created in "Omega." Ballard is being interrogated by Cynthia, but gives up nothing. She orders him killed, but Ballard is able to escape. The pulse has also made Perrin confused and disoriented; he starts to remember that he is a doll. Topher manages to figure out who Perrin's original personality was: Daniel Perrin. Perrin really does come from a political family, but was an aimless ne'er-do-well until the Dollhouse stepped in and gave him ambition.

Echo calls the Dollhouse, and Adelle encourages her to come in with Perrin. However, Cynthia arrives. She uses a "neural lock and key" (her version of the L.A. Dollhouse's "Everything's going to be alright. Do you trust me?"). Perrin responds correctly, but remembers the handler imprint process and pulls away. Cynthia pulls a gun and knocks Echo out. She attempts to talk Perrin down again with the neural lock and key. Echo wakes up with all her imprints alive, and is able to knock out Cynthia, using the memories and experiences of her imprints (and footage from previous episodes). Echo convinces Perrin to come back to the L.A. Dollhouse.

Ballard arrives at the airport to bring Madeline in, trying to convince her that the D.C. Dollhouse is just using her. However, Madeline reminds Ballard that after everything the Dollhouse did to him he still agreed to work for them, and demands to be given the choice to leave. He decides to let her go and ignores Boyd when he tries to contact him, choosing to leave the Dollhouse's employment. Echo and Perrin are caught, and are brought to the D.C. Dollhouse. Adelle believes that Perrin is a pawn. He will be used to bring the L.A. Dollhouse down and then disassociate it from Rossum. Perrin will then be able to pass any laws that Rossum sees fit.

The D.C. programmer, Bennett Halverson, recognizes Echo as Caroline, and begins to torture her.

Continuity

Episode connections

Past episodes

• The crowd's reaction at Perrin's first mention of the Dollhouse can be explained by the news report from "Man on the Street" in which Dollhouse has been presented as an urban legend, very widespread in L.A.. It is possible that the rest of the country is aware of it.
• Perrin presents Madeline as his witness and claims she lost three years of her life to the Dollhouse. She indeed was released from her contract early in "Omega."
• Madeline accuses the Dollhouse to have preyed on her at her weakest, referring to her grief over losing her daughter, which was revealed in "Needs."
• Matthew Harding reminds that Madeline was released as a condition for preventing Paul from exposing the Dollhouse, as seen in "Omega."
• Paul is shown the recording of Mellie being triggered by Adelle and killing Hearn, which happened in "Man on the Street." In the next scene, Madeline learns about the same events and realizes she killed a man.
• Madeline says Paul was "kind and gentle" last time she was at the Dollhouse. Their most recent meeting happened in "Instinct."
• Topher based his disruptor on Alpha's remote wipe tech, which was used by Alpha in "Gray Hour" and, unsuccessfully, by Topher in "Belle Chose." Paul is quick to remind Topher of Echo becoming a serial killer after the attempt.
• Echo as Brie becomes self-aware by flashing back to the events of "Vows," "Ghost," "Instinct," and "Belle Chose."
• The reveal that Perrin is a doll imprinted as an altered version of himself and Topher's comment that "his ambition, somebody else gave it to him" mirror a similar comment by Boyd in "Vows."
• After Cindy hits Echo, she flashes back to other times she got hit: "Gray Hour," "Vows," and "A Spy in the House of Love." She also flashes back to "Gray Hour" when she hits Cindy, "A Spy in the House of Love" when she takes cover, to "The Target" when she tackles Cindy and starts beating her up, and to "Man on the Street" after Cindy gets up.
• This episode marks the first time that another Dollhouse facility is seen onscreen, expanding upon earlier references (for example, in "A Spy in the House of Love" and "Haunted") that there are at least twenty similar facilities worldwide.
• Paul tells Madeline about Mellie. Her engagement as Mellie was introduced in "The Target" and lasted until "Briar Rose."
• Adelle figures out Rossum's plan to trump up Perrin's reputation, then use him to pass any laws or regulations they want. The idea of Rossum eventually gaining enough political power to write laws was introduced in the Victor-as-Ambrose flashback from "Epitaph One."

Future episodes

• Topher's disruptor will be used again and enhanced in "The Left Hand".
• Topher's test subject of choice, Kilo, will serve him again in "Meet Jane Doe."
• Paul learns that even after an Active finishes their contract, their brain remains in an altered state, outfitted with the Active architecture. This will cause most of the main cast to go underground for a year in "Epitaph Two: Return" for fear of getting reset to their pre-doll state and losing a decade of their memories.
• Bennett is revealed to have history with Caroline. It will be hinted at purely from Bennett's point of view in "The Left Hand" and told via flashbacks in "Getting Closer."

Cast

Main cast

• Eliza Dushku as Echo/Bree
• Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton
• Fran Kranz as Topher Brink
• Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard
• Enver Gjokaj as Victor (credit only)
• Dichen Lachman as Sierra (credit only)
• and Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt

Recurring roles

• Summer Glau as Bennett Halverson
• Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin
• Stacey Scowley as Cindy Perrin
• Miracle Laurie as Madeline Costley
• Keith Carradine as Matthew Harding

Guest starring

• Nelson Franklin as Burt Styne
• Maurissa Tancharoen as Kilo

Also appearing

• Jillian Armenante as Grace

Background Information

Production

Joss Whedon's letter

When a screener copy of "Belonging" and "The Public Eye" was sent out to TV critics in October 2009, the following letter from Joss Whedon was attached to it:

We're back! With two brand new, never-before-sent-to-reviewers episodes of DOLLHOUSE, the show that's sweeping an unbelievably tiny portion of the nation. This is the year we all just get to have fun: twist the premise, go farther, darker, sillier ... make the whole world our Dollhouse. It's a party, and you're the first to arrive, which means the food's not ready and we're not dressed and who shows up to a party on time anyway? Losers. I mean, best friends ever. ... We really hope you enjoy these. ... Thanks and see you on TiVo! --joss

Reproduced by Sci Fi Wire

Reception

""The Public Eye" was a very solid episode, hampered just a little by having to do a lot of table-setting for more thrilling episodes to come. Moving the show outside the L.A. Dollhouse and into the wider conspiracy means establishing new conflicts and new characters, all of whom are several times nastier than the somewhat ambiguous figures we’ve come to know in the regular cast."

―Scott Tobias, A.V. Club

"A good start to the story arc which will take us through the rest of the season. The episode structure needed some tweaking though."

―The TV Critic review

Goofs

• Apart from the very last shot, the recording Paul is shown of Mellie killing Hearn has obviously not been shot from the camera installed in his vent (heavily implied up until now to be the only camera installed in his apartment) but instead seems to be a direct reuse of footage filmed for the episode, shot from a completely different angle and unobstructed by the vent.

International titles

• French: "Tempête médiatique" (Media storm)
• Italian: "Il complotto" (The conspiracy)

Promotional Photos

Trivia

• Keith Carradine is billed as a Special Guest Star.
• Summer Glau made her acting debut in Angel playing the Prima Ballerina in the episode 'Waiting in the Wings' before coming to prominence in the role of River Tam in Firefly and its movie spin-off Serenity, all of which were Joss Whedon productions.
• Eliza Dushku and Alexis Denisof had previously worked together on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
• This is the only episode set in the present that does not end with the usual zoom out effect. Instead, it ends with the POV of a security camera which Bennett shuts down.