Watchers and Watches

The latest Dollhouse episode, A Spy in the House of Love, saw Echo being handed over to a new Handler. Boyd, her former handler, was promoted, that’s why. I can’t help but see the parallel of the Active-Handler relationship in Dollhouse with that of the Slayer-Watcher relationship in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s the same thing - a strong young woman being guided by an older, wiser man. In BtVS, the Watcher is responsible for the physical training of the Slayer as well as training her mind with studies about her trade (well, studying about demonology, history of vampires and big bads, and the likes; you get the drift). He also gives advice on how to split her time between being a normal girl and a hero. Not that he looks at rotary watches and gives her a strict schedule or something. It’s more like a father-daughter relationship actually. But that’s fiction for you. In the real world such mentor-student interactions are mostly strictly business. The difference with the Doll-Handler dynamic in Dollhouse is that the girl (well, it can be a boy, too) does not have her consciousness to fully participate in the relationship. Echo is already an aberration in that she’s realizing that she trusts Boyd implicitly, although she cannot fathom why. Boyd, on the other hand, have this strong desire to take care of his charge, despite that fact that his rotary watches will dictate when an engagement is complete and Echo will return to her child-like state, unable to feel anything except for the “bliss”of literally knowing nothing. 

It’s a compelling story. To watch a friendship form between two unlikely people. I’m probably bound to favor Buffy and Giles on BtVS over Echo and Boyd, but I’m hoping Dollhouse will continue to explore this interesting dynamic in future episodes. But, heck, I’m only hoping the show will get renewed for a second season for now. It still has a lot to tell. Better set your ROTARY WATCHES because episode 10 will be aired in 2 days’ time.