Spoilers for "Belonging."

I didn't have time to review last week's episode, so I will just say here that I enjoyed it immensely. Probably even more than "Vows" and "Instinct." The fourth episode of the second season, however, completely stole my heart. I literally wept like a baby while watching this episode, and that's saying something, since I am generally pretty heartless reserved in my emotional responses.

One of the key reasons I enjoyed this episode was that it finally answered the question of how Prya (Sierra) came to the Dollhouse. Ever since "Needs," I have been partially reserving my judgment of certain characters who work for the Dollhouse (particularly Adelle), and a lot of that had to do with the fact that I did not know whether or not they had had a hand in forcing Prya into being an active. In "Needs" we clearly see that she has been placed there against her will. It turns out that Adelle and Topher did not know the true reasons behind Prya coming to the Dollhouse, and it makes me like them more. Topher, especially, has become one of my favorite characters.

The episode starts with Topher covered in blood, muttering to himself: "I was just trying to help her." Before we can really think about what's going on the scene changes to Prya selling art in Venice beach. She is a free-spirited bohemian kinda gal, and when the creepy Nolan tries to pick up on her, she resists. However, she does agree to let him give a showing of her paintings. It turns out that Nolan has hired a bunch of Dolls to stage an elaborate seduction. Things start to go wrong for him, however, when Victor (playing an Italian art critic of some sort) starts chatting up his would-be conquest. Nolan interjects himself into the scene, and things turn dark pretty quickly when he won't let her leave.

Meanwhile, in the present day, we see Sierra running into his arms. Back at the Dollhouse, however, it is obvious that something is bothering her -- and Echo notices. Sierra's paintings all seem to feature a dark shape -- a mess of black paint that tarnishes her otherwise whimsical and pastel scenes. Echo takes the painting to Topher, claiming that it is the "bad man." Topher starts investigating, and realizes that Prya had been drugged when she'd been admitted to the Dollhouse. When Adelle finds out, she has a "conversation" with Nolan about it, which includes some of her best lines to date: "Given that you're a raping scumbag one tick shy of a murderer I can't recall, do you take sugar?" Olivia Williams seriously rocks this role.

Unfortunately, Nolan is a powerful man. He basically insures that Adelle will lose her job if she does not comply with his wish to have Prya imprinted and sent to him permanently. Adelle caves to the pressure, telling Topher that they have no choice. Topher's reaction is heartbreaking. You can literally see the realization in his eyes when Adelle tells him that he was "chosen" for the job due to his complete lack of morals. As I've predicted, his character arc is proving to be my favorite. He has two faces. One that he shows the world -- the geeky, snarky, devil-may-care persona, and the private one -- the one that apparently does want to help people. He had always thought that he'd been helping Prya. When he found her she was a paranoid schizophrenic. He thought that he was ending her pain.

His moral dilemma (a first, according to Boyd) ends badly. He imprints Prya with her real personality, and sends her to Nolan so that she can confront him. The scene that follows is powerful, and difficult to watch. One of the most disturbing aspects of it is that it touches on the subject of rape fantasies: "You know, this is a scenario I never thought of. You resisting. The struggle is a turn-on."

Chills. Down. My. Spine.

One only wonders if the Dolls have been hired out for these kinds of fantasies before. The whole "informed consent" angle of the show's premise has been dicey territory for many feminist viewers. But one thing has always been apparent. When imprinted, the Dolls do not experience this rape "traumatically." That is, they are programmed to enjoy it. It begs the question -- if one doesn't experience the trauma of rape, is it still rape? I think it is. But I also think that the traumatic aspect adds a new level of horror.

Fortunately (for my sanity, not for hers) Prya fights back, and she ends up stabbing Nolan (repeatedly). One of my favorite shots of the entire episode is when she stands, bloodied, in front of the bird painting -- a dark figure in front of the pastel lines. She has become the dark shape that she has feared.

Topher finds her, and Boyd soon shows up as well. Boyd orders Topher to cut the body up, so that they can disintegrate it in acid. The level of expertise that Boyd shows for this line of work is deeply unnerving, and one can't help but think of Shepherd Book from Firefly. There is definitely a past there that we don't know about. I pray that we do get to find out about it in future episodes.

After they clean the mess, they take Prya back to the Dollhouse. She asks Topher if the dolls are happy, something he admits he does not know. When she sees Victor, she declares that she is in love with him. When she asks Topher if that feeling is real, he says that it is, and that Victor loves her back. The sight of Victor sitting exactly where he said he would wait for her earlier in the episode made me weepy. They are just the cutest couple you could possibly ask for, and knowing Joss Whedon, it's all going to go horribly wrong.