For those of you that don't know, Joss Whedon premiered the mysterious thirteenth episode at Comic-Con in San Diego over the weekend. Whedon created the episode entitled "Epitaph One" and when Fox saw the intended Dollhouse season finale, they pulled its air date. No reasons were really given at the time. We assumed Fox didn't like it as an ending and after watching it, I can see why.

Before I begin with the explanation, let me just say that the episode is amazing. The entire audience at the Dollhouse panel was on the edge of their seats applauding with every "commercial break" (there weren't commercial breaks, just the standard couple seconds of black screen to indicate where they would be). It was a daring, jolting hour of television that should be admired for its quality acting, technical brilliance and ballsy story line. I will try to explain everything without being too spoilery but I can't promise anything. If you are really sensitive about this episode, do not read further as I will go into some details.

"Who doesn't love a good zombie apocalypse?" Joss Whedon said when asked about the episode. "Epitaph One" is game changing. It changes everything we know about the characters and everything we thought about the future of the Dollhouse.  For those of you that don't know, an epitaph is a form of commemoration of the deceased. So why did Joss pick this title?

Obviously from the concept (apocalypse), a lot of people die. The episode, set in the future, shows a world where imprinting has gone wireless and horribly awry. The future of our Dollhouse friends, as well as the newly introduced characters, is uncertain. The corruption of the big corporations and the government finally exploded into the end of society.

When asked, "What causes your fascination with big corporations or governments going in and messing with people's minds?"

Whedon responded:

"Have you been in America? I mean, I like to consider myself a great documentarian... The entire structure is designed to mess with your minds. To combine selling you things with entertaining you. To keeping you in line. To you make you think you need the things they want you to need and to stay away from the things they want you to stay away from. To keep them in power. To share none of it. This is all happening. There are lights in the darkness. The art that we get to create because the powerful patrons let us is one of them but sometimes yeah, it's like we're running the daycare on the Death Star. The truth is there is power and manipulation that is controlling almost all of our every thought, and that is why I love this show so much."

So, if you didn't know this is what Dollhouse was about, let's just say that "Epitaph One" makes this perfectly clear in the most epic way. And if you didn't know why Fox didn't want to air it, now you do. Buy the DVD to check out the thirteenth episode, support Joss and Dollhouse, and so that you can watch the amazing first season any time you want.

Check out the clip of Joss Whedon giving this brilliant speech below. It's around the 2:00 mark:



And as Meghan Carlson said, "He just sits there weaving his brain juice into beautiful gold like it ain't no thing." So true Carlson, so true.



- Kim Wetter, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image Courtesy of FOX)