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depressedDay 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
Yes, I'm doing two today, because I failed and missed a day a while ago. And because I love this one.
At first, I thought this was going to be an impossibly difficult one to do, because how in the world is someone expected to pick a single scene from their entire television-watching career and chose that as their favorite? Then i thought about it, made a list of the top five, and realized there was only one that I really wanted to write about here that I'm not going to write about for any other category. I think that establishes it as my favorite pretty firmly. The scene? Topher's breakdown from Dollhouse, "Epitaph One."
Let's take a moment to just absolutely appreciate every single Topher scene in both Epitaph episodes. Actually, let's take a moment to appreciate every single Topher scene, but in particular the ones in the Epitaphs. Through all of the first season, I kinda had mixed feelings about the show. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. Then this scene came around and my mind was completely changed.
If you didn't want to hug him in this scene, you have no soul.
I adore Topher. Like, "would gladly bear his children" adore. So, I'm a little biased towards any scene he's in. Still, I'd like to know one person who doesn't think that this scene was among the best. Both Fran Kranz and Olivia Williams are amazing in every scene they are in, but both of them, especially Fran, absolutely kill here. Since most of Dollhouse is strongly character-driven, it would make sense to latch on to the pivotal scenes of your favorite characters and recognize those as the best - this scene is that for Topher. Two quotes in particular ("I know what I know" and "If I think I can figure things out, is it curiosity or arrogance?" ) really set the themes for his character, and if you remember them, you'll recognize them continuously coming back.
The importance of this scene aside, what really makes me love it is how absolutely beautiful it is. It's heartbreaking to see him like that, and though it is a radical change from the Topher we know, you can still recognize where he is coming from and how he got that way. His interactions with Adelle were perfect. I had always loved the almost motherly affection Adelle had for him, and here you can really see how far that's gone. These two very difficult to understand and relate to characters are fully established as flawed, broken human beings, and it's both sad and beautiful.
Honorable mention goes to, from the same episode, the scene at the end where Mag and Zone find Adelle's office and see the wall with the pictures of everyone who had worked at the Dollhouse. The "To Remember" wall. It was a beautiful, bittersweet reminder of what was to come of the place and the people in it. Emphasis on the "people." The Dollhouse tended to dehumanize the Dolls, and I thought it was really great and really sad to see that finally they were recognizing them as people.
Basically, what I'm saying is I think that the entire "Epitaph One" was amazing, but those two scenes in particular. And that one scene in "Epitaph Two" that contained everything I loved about these two scenes - Topher, the To Remember wall, and beautiful, beautiful tragedy - but I don't really like to talk about that scene. It still feels a little too soon.
The importance of this scene aside, what really makes me love it is how absolutely beautiful it is. It's heartbreaking to see him like that, and though it is a radical change from the Topher we know, you can still recognize where he is coming from and how he got that way. His interactions with Adelle were perfect. I had always loved the almost motherly affection Adelle had for him, and here you can really see how far that's gone. These two very difficult to understand and relate to characters are fully established as flawed, broken human beings, and it's both sad and beautiful.
Honorable mention goes to, from the same episode, the scene at the end where Mag and Zone find Adelle's office and see the wall with the pictures of everyone who had worked at the Dollhouse. The "To Remember" wall. It was a beautiful, bittersweet reminder of what was to come of the place and the people in it. Emphasis on the "people." The Dollhouse tended to dehumanize the Dolls, and I thought it was really great and really sad to see that finally they were recognizing them as people.
Basically, what I'm saying is I think that the entire "Epitaph One" was amazing, but those two scenes in particular. And that one scene in "Epitaph Two" that contained everything I loved about these two scenes - Topher, the To Remember wall, and beautiful, beautiful tragedy - but I don't really like to talk about that scene. It still feels a little too soon.
nerdy
tired
melancholy
blah
nostalgic
geeky
cynical
lethargic
