levertovfan | Assorted thoughts on the finale of Dollhouse

What a body count, even for a Joss Whedon show. I think about half of the main and recurring characters must have died? Let's see.. Topher, Paul, Boyd, Mellie/November/Madeline, and Bennett are dead. That leaves Echo, Adele, Sierra/Priya, Victor/Anthony, and Alpha. Dominic may be somewhere in the attic and the Dr. Saunders print we know has presumably been wiped out of existence. Of course, in Joss Wheadon shows, characters have to die to redeem themselves, and almost all of the characters on this show were morally compromised in some way.

Only in a Joss Wheadon show could there be a happy ending with the implication that the heroine will eventually become involved with a former serial killer. (But of course, the heroine is part serial killer herself.)

I'm sort of disappointed that Adele didn't turn out to be a doll. At one point in the episode where Echo goes undercover as a matriarch going to her own funeral, Adele asks Echo-qua-the matriarch why she assumes that she (Adele) is wearing her own body.

Overall, it's sad that we didn't get to see all of the shows that would lead up to the finale, the process of Priya and Victor breaking up, the various missions that Echo and Ballard would have taken into Neuropolis, the development of the Adele/Topher relationship, the development of this whole new post-apocalyptic world, etc. Nevertheless, I'm glad we got to see the finale.