This week we jump right back into that flashback meeting that ended last episode. Harry J. Lennix explains that Rossum has its hands in everyone’s pie. The company is so vast and far reaching it seems impossible to fight. He goes onto to tell Caroline, before she was Echo, that it’s either Dollhouse or the full force of the PATRIOT Act.

Caroline concedes.

Back in the edge-of-dystopia present Victor/Ciccoli and Sierra/Priya return to the Dollhouse after their “last wild night out” at a cheap hotel before the L.A. Dollhouse Rebels were besieged by the Rossum Empire. Naturally, they find bullets in everything and spare weapons just lying around, so they take a look around.

VICTOR/CICOLLI: Looks like the war started without us.

We jump to Helo stomping on his iPhone in frustration. Apparently there’s no app for what they’re doing. He reports to Olivia Williams that the phones are dead, and they are now invisible to Rossum’s tracking. He then has a tender moment with November, who never really got away from being a doll, which is kind of sad. Then they see a vehicle pull up into the parking garage rooftop where they’ve cleverly hidden themselves…from everything except spy satellites and helicopters.

Also, Olivia Williams spitting “Look lively,” and grabbing an M-4 is just great.

It turns out to be Lennix, Topher and Echo-who is having a River Tam Mania moment. Helo thinks it’s time to reevaluate, but Lennix says it’s time to take the fight to Rossum Corporate Headquarters. Topher says Lennix has been shot, and he’s all “I’ve been shot before” nonchalant because that’s the way we like it!

Helo says it won’t work, but Williams-ever the tactician (when dramatically appropriate)-blows off the whole sneak attack thing and says getting in is simple: Rossum wants Echo, they’ll give them Echo.

Back at the Doll House Puzzle Palace Headquarters^TM, Ciccoli, and Priya have found the imprint chair with a post-it note that says “play me”. They debate what they should do, as they swore they won’t bother with this brain-tech crap anymore. Ciccoli gets his way, and volunteers to be imprinted. However, he says that if he comes out evil, Priya should critically wound him… but stay away from his junk, please.

It turns out the imprint in the machine is Topher, but this Topher has no idea what’s happened this season, or really what’s going on at all. How does that help?

Jump to Rossum Headquarters where the Scooby gang, with their warped answer to Daphne, is walking right in the front door-just as Williams said they would.

Doc Whiskey shows up, now imprinted with Clyde Randolph (evil scientist co-founder of evil corporation), and dressed like K.D. Lang.

RANDOLPH: This world is for people who can evolve.

WILLIAMS: Does that include us?

RANDOLPH: Isn’t that what you’re here to find out?

Back at the Dollhouse, Ciccoli/Topher is freaking out because he doesn’t know if he’s dead. Priya assures him he’s probably not, then she fills him on everything he’s missed. They determine Lennix drugged Echo, obviously to keep whatever-his-extremely-convoluted-but-dramatically-interesting-plan-is, a secret.

Williams chats with Clyde/Scars over a Scotch in Clyde’s office, while Lennix pretends to hack his way out the cell where he and the Scooby gang are being kept.

Back at the Dollhouse, Priya tells Cicolli/Topher it’s time to stop sitting around figuring things out, and start kicking ass.

CICOLLI/TOPHER: That is so Ripley!

They then decide to imprint the pair of them with 50 years of being Jason Bourne, or something.

Back in Arizona, Topher proves that he is way sharper than anyone (especially me) gives him credit for, by telling Lennix that Echo’s acting a lot like Priya when she was on those anti-psychotic drugs.

Ciccoli and Priya load up on Mad Skillz, demonstrate them on some conveniently appearing goons, and move out.

Echo, who is dressed like Indiana Jones by way of Cosmopolitan, is still shuddering with seizure, suddenly snaps awake and growls, “Boyd.”

It is-in all likelihood-On Like Donkey Kong.

Commercial Break.

Lennix leads Topher to lab where they’re building the remote wiper deedle, and after he freaks out about it, Lennix says that with it they can get in and get out without hurting anyone.

Helo and November, on the other hand, hurt the hell out of some mook and get some guns. They have nice talk about identity and Paul admits he’s now comfortable with his doll-hood and he didn’t want to die without November. Awwww.

Topher fixes the doo-dad and right before Lennix reveals himself to be “The Man Behind the Curtain”, Echo Drop kicks him-WWE style-and then starts beating the Shakespeare right out of him. This isn’t really a fight, because Lennix is totally outmatched. However, Clyde Scars shows up all full of weapons training, and holds the the good guys at bay with John Woo-Fu. This leaves Lennix to monologue his master plan, and explain that they are all his family, because. . . why, exactly?

LENNIX:  You’ve proven yourselves in so many ways. I-I wanted you all with me…Except for Paul [Helo]. There’s always one relative you can live without. And frankly, I never understood what you saw in him.

You know what? All of a sudden Lennix is just this kooky person who doesn’t seem like he could actually do everything he’s supposed to have done.

Helo, on the other hand, wants to shoot his way through Rossum HQ, and you can’t really blame him. November suggests they just unplug the cooling system and fry the servers that are the backbone of the corporation. Oh, yeah, that too. Helo is looking kinda dumb, but agrees.

Lennix tells everyone that he has pushed everyone to such a point to make them tougher. And also he’s crazy. He’s going to use Echo’s cerebral spinal fluid to make a vaccine against imprinting, because she is Anakin Skywalker, unique with a higher midi-chlorian count than anyone else. Although how a vaccine against bad science would actually work is beyond me.

Lennix puts her out with The Scrambler ($29.99 Rossum’s Fall Catalog)

Helo and November wander into the server room. November’s SMG dangling lazily from one hand. Helo holds the damned thing correctly, but he still points the barrel at November more than once, and once is already too many. They smash some control box and wait for the mooks. Helo then sets her up with her SMG (and thank god it’s an MP5, those things are like cheating) .

Lennix plays the Manchurian Doll soundbite over the loudspeaker, and November tries to kill Helo! Oh noes! But she then overcomes the program just long enough to kill herself. Love conquers all, but only bullets can really stop brainwashing.

We jump to Echo being assured by Lennix that it’ll all be okay, and that having her spinal fluid drained won’t kill her. I mean, I guess not in and of itself, but isn’t that like running an engine with no oil? Lennix leaves and Ciccoli and Priya show up, get Echo out of the Count Rougan machine and they roll out to where Williams and Topher are being held.

The Dynamic Duo interrupts their pity party to rescue the pair.

Echo fights Doc Scars, and it’s a little brutal, while Lennix pulls one last ruse on Helo. Of course Echo wins, but gets sucker punched by Lennix, leading to another showdown between the two. But Topher shows up and just wipes Lennix using the new apocalypse tech. This was…pretty anti-climatic, actually. They then load  Len-Doll up with explosives, and destroy Rossum’s technology. An awful way to end it for the character.

One thing: They set off numerous high-yield explosives that blew up several floors of an office building, but there’s NO external damage to the building? After all’s said and done, Helo and Echo/Caroline have a moment…

HELO: So did we save the world?

ECHO: I guess we did.

Jump ahead 10 years, the world has still gone to hell, but at least this time Helo has a trenchcoat and an M249.

Roll credits!

SUMMARY

• This episode was just a mess. It reminded me of Highlander: Endgame. There’s one scene where you realize that they ran out of money AND stopped caring.
• Having Harry J. Lennix actually be evil was just heartbreaking. Plus, the way they did it was a little insulting. On one level, it explains everything, but on another level it’s like finding out Spider-Man runs a dog-fighting ring on the side.  That and it also appeared like he was suddenly an incompetent kook, like Hannibal Lecter how was really scary until he pulled out that slide-whistle.
• I’m going a little “Queer Eye” here, but why would you put Amy Acker in slacks that are tight around the ass and thighs? I know it’s fan service-but that’s outside the context of the show, where it’s a man using that body. I don’t think Clyde would have gone with that style just because he was in a chick’s body. That’s just me.
• By the way, L.A. Dollhouse Rebels? Great name for a band. . .