Blog 7

For me, this episode really creates a convincing example of why people would go to the Dollhouse. From the past episodes, we’ve seen Echo being used as a sex toy, an art criminal, and a blind girl to investigate a cult. This week, Echo is used as a memory of Joel Mynor, a post-geek (the ones that get picked on at school, but then grow up to be extremely successful). Joel uses Echo as a memory of his wife who had passed away right before he could have showed her their new, perfect house. For Joel, this moment of showing his wife the new house was a symbol of their life turning around. His wife was the one carrying the two, but Joel hit it big with a technological advancement that led him to becoming a billionaire. He never got the satisfaction of seeing his wife’s reaction, which is where Echo comes into play. Every year, Joel achieves this satisfaction of being with Echo, which allows him to have the memory of being with his wife for a day.

Living in the real world versus living in the dream world.

Agent Ballard says to the client, Joel Mynor,  that he’s living in a fantasy world and that he himself is okay with living in the real world. “If you could have somebody be the perfect person, the moment you wish for that you know you’ll never get… and someone signed on to do that…to help you…I think, that could be okay. I think that could be maybe… beautiful.” In Joel’s case, I think Echo being a doll is beautiful. To be able to bring him this memory…but in all the other instances I’ve seen her in, she’s been ugly. This girl that said the quote above in the interview obviously wasn’t thinking about the thieves needing help…or the men that wanted a sex bunny. She is the naïve optimist. She is the one that is blind to all of the bad and corruption. She is the girl that I could consider myself as.