Vows

Season 2, Episode 1
Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 25 September 2009

“Every person I know is pretty poorly constructed. Everyone has an excuse for not dealing. But eventually, that’s all they are – excuses.”
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

Jamie Bamber as Martin Klar

GUEST CAST

Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders
Liza Lapira as Ivy
Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin
Zoran Randanovich as Hugo Taubman

CO-STARRING

Eileen Gonzaels as Reporter
Ben Hermes as Handler
Jesue Ruiz as Justice

SYNOPSIS

Echo is in the chair, getting equipped with a new imprint, preparing for an engagement where she is set to marry a wealthy arms dealer. Paul Ballard, now working for the Dollhouse, is uneasy about the mission, but Topher reassures him that Echo can handle it. During the imprinting process, Topher experiences glitches in his system and suspects Dr. Saunders is sabotaging him. Meanwhile, Adelle and Boyd discuss the risks of keeping Ballard on staff, but Adelle remains confident in her decision.

Topher wakes to find rats in his cupboard, planted by Dr. Saunders. Their confrontation reveals Saunders’ deep resentment toward her programmed identity, blaming Topher for her mental state. Boyd attempts to connect with Saunders, asking her out to dinner, but she declines, citing her fear of open spaces – a limitation she attributes to her programming. Boyd challenges her, suggesting that everyone is a product of their own excuses.

Echo’s engagement takes a dangerous turn when her husband discovers photos of her with Ballard, raising suspicions. Struck in the head, Echo begins to recall fragments of her past imprints, including Eleanor Penn. Confused, she struggles to maintain her cover as her husband proceeds with an arms deal. Ballard, using Echo as an undercover agent to target criminals he couldn’t catch as an FBI agent, intervenes. He calls Topher, who notices alarming spikes in Echo’s vitals. Ballard confronts Echo, striking her to trigger her fighter imprint from a previous engagement. Together, they disable the guards and stop the deal.

Meanwhile, Dr. Saunders confronts her identity crisis. She seduces Topher, theorizing that she was programmed to hate him as a way to create a genuine connection. Topher denies this, revealing that he only programmed her to challenge him intellectually, ensuring they wouldn’t overlook anything that could harm the actives. Saunders realizes her hatred was her own choice, not a programmed directive. She breaks down, admitting she refused to uncover her original identity because she feared losing herself.

Victor’s scars are fully healed, and he and Sierra share a tender moment, walking hand-in-hand. Dr. Saunders leaves the Dollhouse, leaving Boyd a note: “I’m running out of excuses.”

Echo confides in Ballard, revealing that she can recall all her imprints and hear their voices, but none of them feel like her true self. She asks Ballard for help, prompting him to accept Adelle’s offer to become her handler.

TRIVIA

Jamie Bamber played Apollo on Battlestar Galactica, alongside Tahmoh Penikett’s Helo.

Of course, Alexis Denisof starred as Wesley in both Buffy and Angel.

Amy Acker’s Dr. Saunders leaves the Dollhouse in this episode, mostly due to Amy Acker’s schedule when this season was filming, although she will return before the end of the season.

CONTINUITY

Topher calls Paul “Agent Ballard” before correcting himself and calling him “Mr. Ballard”. Paul lost his badge in Man on the Street and agreed to work with the Dollhouse in Omega.

Topher recalls the 39 personalities Alpha imprinted Echo with in Omega and claims they’ve all been wiped.

Dr. Saunders’ breakdown is due to discovering in Omega that she is an Active whose mind has been created by Topher.

Victor is still recovering after Alpha’s attack from Briar Rose.

Adelle spends a bit too much time touching Victor’s face, to the point where he himself comments on it. As seen in A Spy in the House of Love, she has been secretly booking him for romantic engagements.

Dr. Saunders comments on how her entire personality has been filled with phobias designed to keep her permanently on duty inside the Dollhouse. Echo questioned her constant presence in the Dollhouse in A Spy in the House of Love.

A resentful Dr. Saunders brings up Alpha cutting her face to make Echo number one, which was shown in a flashback in Omega.

Adelle brings up Paul’s request to free Madeline/November from her contract, as seen in Omega.

Just like in Omega Claire accuses Topher of making her hate him. This time he rebuffs this claim.

Echo as Roma Klar accidentally calls herself “Eleanor Penn,” the name of her persona from Ghost.

At the hangar, Martin Klar tells Echo Paul has been fired from the FBI after a string of failed cases. The firing took place in Man on the Street, while Paul’s other failures were alluded to (and two of them directly mentioned) by Victor as Lubov in Stage Fright.

In the same scene, Echo flashes back to Crystal from Briar Rose and Omega, then to Margaret Bashford from Haunted.

Paul intentionally triggers Echo’s memory of their fight from Man on the Street.

After Boyd assures Dr. Saunders he wouldn’t let Adelle wipe her, she asks what happens if she goes over his head. Boyd’s cryptical answer “I’m very tall” both makes sense literally and could provide an early hint about his actual function as head of Rossum, which will be revealed in Getting Closer.

Boyd’s remark that Daniel Perrin was born into his money but not into his ambitions will be proven to be literally true in The Public Eye where he will be revealed as a Doll imprinted with an altered version of himself.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

EPISODE
Epitaph One / Instinct

STORY ORDER
Omega / Instinct