Dollhouse: Season 2, Episode 9 – Stop-Loss (2009)

Stop-Loss has a lot going on in it. Primarily it is about love, a love so powerful that it is not fleeting, rather it is within the nature of Victor so much so that even with programming inputted dictating his personality there is still a sense of love for Sierra that is true to a higher degree than the programming can command. This is yet another interesting argument that Dolhouse makes about the existence of a soul, or what makes up the soul. Echo being aware and having a sense of self preservation makes the assertion that the soul is made up of experiences shaping a person. But with the love between Victor and Sierra (be it carnal), the soul seems to be also made up of a deep rooted nature within a person that is not effected by experience. Thus, maybe one’s soul is a combination of both? The episode also sees DeWitt’s dissention into the dregs, seemingly consumed by the moral conflict between her responsibility for the people that populate the dolls and the objectives of Rossum. Finally, we see through the resolution the formation of the true bonds between Echo, Victor and Sierra as a team – which sets up what is to come. Felix Enriquez Alcala directs the episode that feels like Victor is dealing with being on leave (much like the scenes in The Hurt Locker in which Jeremy Renner returns stateside and seemingly cannot wait to get back to the action, as if he no longer fits in to normal society). It makes sense that Victor would want to fall back in with military buddies and action as soon as possible. The idea of group-think is prevalent in business and military. Rossum looking for applicable applications for their tech, it makes sense that this group-think activity would manifest in their military research. The show has been politically liberal in the past, and the depiction of military group-think (and Rossum as an evil corporation almost in the Michael Moore sense) is just another nod in that direction.  The score was quite good in the episode as it has been throughout the show. Stop-Loss is the turning point in the show setting up the final chapter (which looks like it is going to be really good) bringing together Victor Sierra, allowing Echo to make her own mission and DeWitt to make the decision of what side she is on. 8/10

Dollhouse airs Fridays on Fox or can be seen on Amazon.com