Holy crap, so it turns out Alpha is …
RECAP DETAILS AHEAD (don’t read if you haven’t watched it yet) …
Somebody I totally didn’t see coming! I know some people out there were spoiled ahead of time, but of those who weren’t did any of you figure out who Alpha would be before the moment it was revealed? Because honestly, that character Alan Tudyk was playing was so convincingly nerdy and paranoid and funny that I was actually hoping to see more of him in future episodes. So color me completely surprised we he pulled a sudden “Keyser Soze” and went from ubergeek to psychotic knife-wielding freak Alpha in a matter of a few seconds. Watching it a second time, I was amazed to find that I didn’t even notice how in-shape Tudyk was when he first put on that Doll t-shirt, because I was still picturing him in the baggy clothes he started the episode in. But as Alpha, in the same t-shirt, with his shoulders back and a menacing expression, he looked every bit a serious, well-toned bad-ass.
Okay, so rewinding … Ballard breaks up with Mellie, who gets so sad the Dollhouse has to recall her, Ballard follows the black van to the Dollhouse, does more research, finds the guy who designed the self-contained underground system, but it’s not really the guy, it’s Alpha pretending to be the guy, presumably because he knew Ballard would come find him and help him break into the Dollhouse, where he cuts up poor Victor’s face, menaces Doc Saunders, then puts Echo in the chair, and loads her with a personality who remembers him and is clearly in love with him, and the two leave the building, while Ballard gets captured by DeWitt and Boyd, who can’t quite figure out what to do with him.
Alan Tudyk as Alpha is damn near perfect casting. And Jane Espenson did a great job with the script. Echo’s mission this week — getting through to a violent young girl by actually being an older, well-adjusted version of that girl — was very intriguing, but seemed out of place with the major Alpha plot. But since it also provided the thematic framework for the whole Briar Rose mythology, I was sold by it. The irony, of course, is that Ballard does not end up being the “Prince” who wakes up “Sleeping Beauty” with a kiss, as we might expect, but rather Alpha … who actually draws a bit of blood in the process of that kiss. Not sure yet what his history is with Echo or with whoever he’s imprinted Echo with, but I’m sure we’ll get to see that next week, in the season finale.
Favourite episode for me – and really the only one I truly liked. Tudyk was great, and I hope this is a sign of things to come for the series. If there is any future in the series, that is.
I just can not stop seeing Tudyk as the pirate in Dodgeball. J/K great casting!