Warning: Spoilers for "The Left Hand," part one and two.

Well it finally happened--the two episodes that I've been waiting for for so long finally aired last night, and for the most part I absolutely adored them.

First of all, I must say that it was wonderful seeing Alexis and Eliza together again. Ever since season 4 of Angel, when Wesley and Faith pair up to capture Angelus--I've thought that these actors have amazing chemistry. Hell, I would have been happy if they'd just left and started their own The Adventures of Faith and Wesley show. Echo and Daniel Perrin are quite different characters, but again they seem to toe the line between enemy and ally, violence and sensuality. The scene where Perrin cuts the GPS strip from Echo's neck in the second hour is, in my opinion, possibly one of the most erotic scenes of the season--perhaps the show (Paul's dream sequence of Echo in the first season is the only other example I can think of. Despite my distaste for the Paul/Echo ship I have to admit that that was a hot scene). I guess, to me, there is something about being placed in such a vulnerable situation that is really sexy (and Eliza and Alexis with their shirts off don't hurt either).

Obviously the biggest surprise factor of the first episode is when we learn that Perrin is a doll. All the clues seemed to point to his wife being one, but in classic Whedon-style our expectations were completely subverted. I actually loved this. The idea that Perrin was this pedigreed party boy that is being used for an evil agenda hits rather close to home *coughGeorgeBushcough* and I think that it was a believable move on the part of Rossum. Moreover, the Perrin arc plays on classic Whedon themes of determinism (or destiny) and free will.

I was a little bit confused as to why Madeleine was suddenly eager to speak out against the Dollhouse, since she seemed to view the experience as positive when she was last speaking to Paul. Upon second viewing of the episode I can only conclude that she decided to do this after she was shown pictures of herself murdering someone. Which, by the way, was anyone else annoyed when Paul was watching the security tapes of that scene? He seemed to have no problem watching Mellie get beat on (not even a flinch) but he suddenly lost his stomach when she is turned and able to kick some ass of her own. Yeah, I'm guessing that doesn't really appeal to his damsel fetish (which is mocked heavily in this episode with the call and response handler/active dialogue between Perrin and Cindy). Paul did redeem himself slightly for me in this episode though during his last conversation with Madeleine. He recognizes her right to make her own choices. I liked that, even though her choice to testify against the Dollhouse ultimately landed her back in one. And not the warm, cuddly LA one either.

The DC Dollhouse seems to be much more nefarious than the LA branch. Run by Ray Wise (of Twin Peaks fame), the DC Dollhouse has a rather cold, sterile feeling to it. There are no ponds and plants. The programmer is none other than Summer Glau--who sports a dead arm and some pretty strange mannerisms. It becomes clear that Bennett (Glau) harbors some kind of grudge against Caroline, who was apparently her best friend. I think this story could have used a little more fleshing out. When Echo and Perrin are captured and brought back to the house, we get this intense torture scene where Bennett is taunting Echo about being an empty shell. Wouldn't it be more effective to torture Caroline, if that is who she is really mad at? Maybe she just didn't have the file? At any rate, I would have liked to have understood the circumstances behind that subplot more fully. I am not a fan of Caroline (she rubs me the wrong way in the same way Paul does) but I find it hard to believe--based on what we know about her--that she'd leave her best friend to die. Is this a false memory? Perhaps implanted by Rossum?

The moments where Bennett's character really comes to life are in her scenes with Topher. I loved watching the flirtation between them, and I loved that Topher was reminded of Claire Saunders when he saw Bennett's arm--and then assumed that she must be an ex-active because she was beautiful. The conversation about her librarian-esque qualities that the two Tophers had (how amazing was Enver in this episode!?) was particularly awesome.

I'm not sure why Bennett lets Perrin and Echo escape, but once they do they ultimately end up back at Perrin's home. He is activated by Bennett and begins to attack Echo. Luckily the two Tophers (hehe) figure out how to turn this off, but not before Perrin has killed Cindy. Apparently he can't live with the guilt, because in the next scene we see him at the hearing, and he states that there is no Dollhouse. Meanwhile, Echo is shown walking the streets by herself.

I don't know about you, but I cannot wait for next week!