1) As much as I like the episode that they aired for the pilot (and I see why Fox chose that one, it's definitely more...their style) but I liked Echo much better as a start to a series. I found that it explained everything about the actives (their mental state, their purpose beyond sex like being used as companions to people who need help or to get a difficult job done. It explained much more than the sexual aspect of them and why people would want their services) and Rossum much better and I understood just how menacing Rossum could be with Echo's interaction with Ballard. Plus, it showed Echo evolving really early on.

I really wished that they aired Epitaph One though. UGH SO GOOD!

2) I really liked Epitaph One as a season ender especially since when they made it, they still weren't entirely sure that they would be getting a second season or how long it would be. So, I really liked that I was able to see just how everything would have ended if Dollhouse didn't get a second series but they still left enough gaps in the story that they could be creative with how everyone/Rossum reached that stage of events (or if it was even going to come to pass depending on people's actions.) Plus, I loved that everything was told via flashbacks!

But DAMN were Dewitt and Dominic awesome/really hot in that episode. I was kind of expecting that scene to end differently.

What are you talking about, they totally had angry sex on that couch after they polished off the vodka. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

I think the pilot would've been incomprehensible without having an idea of what was going on, so I think the one where Caroline had asthma worked better. Epitaph 1 should've been aired and would've been satisfying as a season ender.

My major problem with the unaired pilot is that it revealed who Victor was. That should have been carried out longer like they did in the actual run of the show. My other complaint is that I love DeWitt's hair in the episode and I'm pissed she never did it in that style in season one. I may or may not be in love with the little lock of hair that falls over her face.

I really enjoy it as a season ender (it's like the endgame of endgames), but now that I've seen the show a few times, I feel like it made season two weaker. If that was where the show ended, I probably would have been satisfied if at the same time immensely disappointed the show just wasn't given time to explore the apocalypse more. If the second season picked up where Epitaph One left off that would have been fascinating. Jump ten years into the future and just deal with it..

If the second season picked up where Epitaph One left off that would have been fascinating. Jump ten years into the future and just deal with it..

They could have done a 'Lost' type of storytelling. They could have set season 2 in the thoughtpocalypse and then set up flashback scenes starting a few months after the end of 1.12. That would have probably been more expensive because they'd need more actors and they'll spend more time outside the set. And it would have probably confused the people who casually watched the show and didn't buy the DVD. lol

Edited 2013-01-27 04:16 am (UTC)

I actually liked the unaired pilot better because the explanation why Ballard is obsessed with finding Echo is better, but I didn't like the Victor reveal in the same episode. DeWitt's wardrobe and hair were a bit more conservative in the unaired pilot than the one we got in the show's run so, that was better. The unaired pilot was better for Ballard's arc, but it also moved way too fast (Victor reveal, Echo mentioning "Caroline" at the end of the episode). I think the one we got was better for the show.

Yes. However, I think it was also a kiss of death for Season 2 because they have no choice but to follow it through?

D/D were seriously hot in Epitaph One. Both the D/D scenes. I had a 3-day high after watching Epitaph One, (but that was probably because of my mental state at that time, lol)