Belonging (Dollhouse)
| "Belonging" | |
|---|---|
| Dollhouse episode | |
Topher finds Priya after the confrontation with Nolan.
|
|
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Jonathan Frakes |
| Written by |
Maurissa Tancharoen Jed Whedon |
| Featured music | "Drones" by Jed Whedon |
| Production code | 2APK04 |
| Original air date | October 23, 2009 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Vincent Ventresca
Keith Carradine
Clyde Kusatsu
"Belonging" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Dollhouse and the show's 17th episode overall. The episode was written by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon and directed by Jonathan Frakes, his sole credit in the series. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 23, 2009.
This episode delves into the past of the character Priya Tsetsang/Sierra, showing how she was forced to become a doll, and can be seen as a prelude to the ethical dilemma of permanent imprinting first explored in "Epitaph One". This episode also explores Echo's continuing evolution in her tabula rasa state.
The episode starts with a blurry shot of Topher panicked and covered in blood, repeating over and over, "I was just trying to help her." There is then a flashback to one year before: Priya is working on the beachside selling paintings. Nolan (first seen in "Needs" as Sierra's abusive client) talks to Priya about her artwork, and encourages her to make him a piece. She agrees, with another artist encouraging her to pursue Nolan romantically.
Later, Nolan is entertaining guests in his home, showing off the commissioned piece by Priya. Echo is on the engagement, talking Nolan up, and Victor is programmed as an Italian art dealer to further enhance Nolan's reputation. This backfires: Victor hopes to seduce Priya himself, and Priya falls for him as well. Confronted by Nolan at his front door, Priya rejects his increasingly threatening advances and leaves.
Back in the present day, Sierra is leaving Nolan's place after an engagement. He takes a photo of Sierra with Priya's Polaroid camera, and leaves the picture amongst multitudes of others from prior engagements.
Back in the Dollhouse, Sierra is painting. She paints a bird surrounded by a threatening black shape. Victor points this out, and Sierra says that, although she doesn't like the color black, she uses it "because it is always there". Echo senses something is wrong, and ultimately takes the painting to Topher, telling him Sierra is being affected by a bad man. Topher initially rebuffs this but, at Echo's insistence, decides to look into it.
...
Wikipedia