Yes, the Dollhouse was a weird place all right, "The Attic" most of all. After Eliza Dushku's doll Echo has caused more trouble for the company than her handlers can stomach, she's placed in an induced dream state in which she's forced to live the same frustrating, violent dreams over and over again for the rest of her time in the facility. That is, of course, until she tracks down other people connected to her dreams via the attic's network of minds who help her come up with a plan to stop the mysterious assassin who's killing prisoners in their dreams. Directed by comics artist (and Joss Whedon's collaborator on Astonishing X-Men) John Cassaday, the episode naturally has a striking visual sensibility, from the sleek corridors to the beautiful, gigantic tree that occupies one floor of the Dollhouse in Echo's mind. A weird and wonderful late addition to the show's final season, "The Attic" is a potent reminder of the vibrant creativity and ballsiness that could be put into episodes of Dollhouse when the crew were at their A-game.
