

Season 2, Episode 7
Written by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon
Directed by Dwight Little
Original Airdate: 11 December 2009
“You need to take this house back.”
Boyd Langton
REGULAR CAST
- Eliza Dushku as Echo
- Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton
- Fran Kranz as Topher Brink
- Tahmon Penikett as Paul Ballard
- Enver Gjokaj as Victor
- Dichen Lachman as Sierra
- Olivia Williams as Adele DeWitt
SPECIAL GUEST STAR
- Keith Carradine as Matthew Harding
GUEST CAST
- Philip Casnoff as Clive Ambrose
- Liza Lapira as Ivy
- Jonathan Del Arco as Mr. Caviezel
- Jeff Doucette as Store Manager
- Kevin Linehan as Deputy Merrick
- Glenn Morshower as Sheriff Rand
- Ana Claudia Talancón as Galena
CO-STARRING
- Maurissa Tancharoen as Kilo
- Denice J. Sealy as Myra
- Leslie Stevens as Cashier
- Ido Ezra as Talik Raj Amin
SYNOPSIS
Topher is shaken. His encounter with Bennett in D.C. still haunts him, leaving him bitter and distrustful. Meanwhile, Adelle and Boyd search desperately for Echo, even if the outcome is grim. Echo herself, worn and hungry, is caught stealing food for a Spanish-speaking woman whose food stamps are rejected. When confronted by the police, she fights back and escapes, but the woman is arrested.
Three months pass. Echo, now clean and composed, has taken on the identity of Jane, working as a nurse in a hospital. During one of her duties, she visits the imprisoned woman, now suffering under the same system that rejected her. Echo promises to help, secretly giving her medication. As she prepares for her next move, she returns to her apartment where Paul is waiting. Their interaction is tense but familiar – they are playing house, training together, preparing for something bigger. Echo explains that she has gained skills from the countless personas she has inhabited, allowing her to act as a doctor, a linguist, and more. However, this arrangement is temporary; she plans to return, claiming she is ready.
The Dollhouse has changed. Harding has taken control, reducing Adelle to a subordinate role and shifting their services toward a darker clientele – people who seek violence rather than companionship. Topher, promoted to research and development, works on dangerous new technologies, with Victor and Sierra imprinted as his assistants. Harding notices their connection and decides that Sierra will be transferred to Dubai as part of a new operation.
Echo proceeds with her plan, visiting the imprisoned woman and administering a shot to slow her heart rate to near-death levels. The guards believe she has died, allowing Echo to transport her out, but the drug wears off too soon. The woman gasps awake, drawing suspicion. Echo is questioned just as Paul arrives, posing as an FBI investigator to distract the guards long enough for the escape.
Back in the Dollhouse, Adelle learns about a dangerous project being developed across various locations. Topher has discovered plans for a device capable of imprinting anyone – not just specially prepared Actives, but ordinary civilians. He has unknowingly created the missing piece for the weapon. Adelle seizes the blueprints and betrays Topher, handing them to Harding in exchange for control over the Dollhouse once more.
Echo, having successfully freed the woman, bids her farewell. She tells Paul that she is ready to return, but he warns her that the real challenge lies ahead. Their relationship is layered with conflict, as Echo tries to embrace her autonomy while Paul struggles to reconcile his feelings for her and what she represents.
Boyd arrives to escort Echo back. Meanwhile, Topher realizes his work has been stolen, accusing Adelle of the ultimate betrayal. Furious, he lashes out, but Adelle silences him, reminding him that the house belongs to her and she will tolerate no dissent.
Echo is introduced back into the system under false pretences. Paul and Boyd claim that they only recently found her and helped her recover, though Paul voices concern over Echo’s worsening condition. Topher offers treatment, but Adelle refuses – Echo will remain in solitary, unmedicated, until Adelle decides otherwise. With a chilling final remark, she welcomes Echo home
CONTINUITY
Paul reminds Echo how she tracked down his cell in Needs.
Echo starts falling for Paul, but he turns her down. Their complicated relationship in the future has been brought up in Epitaph One when Claire commented that Echo and Paul are still together and Echo replied “jury’s out on ‘together’.”
Echo mentions that she has been made “blind and, at least seven times, gay.” She was blind in True Believer and a flashback from Vows showed her and Whiskey as what seemed as gay lovers. Dr. Saunders also stated in A Spy in the House of Love that same-sex engagements were very common.
Topher mentions that the imprinting process takes minutes thanks to him. A flashback in Epitaph One shows that on his first day he offered ideas to cut the two hours it previously took down to five minutes.
After stating that such technology is risky and untested in Gray Hour, trying and failing to use it in Belle Chose, and creating the disruptor by reverse engineering it in The Public Eye, Topher finally manages to create a remote wipe.
After using Kilo as a test subject in The Public Eye, Topher uses her again.
Echo flashes back to Taffy from Gray Hour before using her knowledge to escape from the holding cell.
Echo conjures her memories of how to ride a motorcycle. She rode motorcycles during her engagements with Matt Cargill in Ghost and Echoes.
Topher comes up with technology that would allow to imprint anyone and Adelle gives it to Harding to get the L.A. Dollhouse back. This explains their shared guilt for the end of the world caused by said technology in the future, as seen in Epitaph One.
Paul is rendered brain dead, despite being alive and well in the future of Epitaph One. He will indeed be revived in The Attic.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
EPISODE
The Left Hand / A Love Supreme
STORY ORDER
The Left Hand / A Love Supreme









