Internet rumors about Dollhouse have been going crazy for the last few weeks. Most of them are inspired by Wheadon himself. Though I don’t think a review is the proper place to explore them, it does seem as though the interest in the show has coincided directly with the uptick in quality. Ao the show itself has improved, so too has the interest in it.

A rich older woman is killed in what appears to be a horse riding accident. Margaret is a former Dollhouse customer and a friend of the icy Ms. DeWitt. So much so, that Margaret is imprinted onto Echo giving her another shot at life. Essentially making Echo a ghost. Margaret in Echo’s body ghoulishly attends her own funeral and after seeing her family in mourning, Margaret decides to solve her own murder.

The fsuspects include her son, daughter, brother and her far younger boy toy.  Margaret spends much of the episode trying to come to grips with her family’s real feelings toward her. Apparently, her reputation as an unfeeling dictator was lost on her in life. I suppose that’s a fear we almost universally share, to discover that your loved one’s weren’t as loved as you thought.

Not a whole lot went on back at the actual Dollhouse. Topher gets permission to use Sierra for a “diagnostic” but in truth just wants a playmate. Interestingly enough its the first time I remember seeing a doll used as a plutonic friend. Which seems hard to believe considering Topher. The two spend their time playing laser tag, video games and drinking beer.

Margaret’s investigation finally come to a head when her son guesses her real identity. Its a bit silly because regardless of how much she might act like his mother, its hard to believe that he’d figure that out. The son killed his mother by drugging the horse that threw her to her death. Not surprisingly, the murder centers around her fortune. After a tussle between the son and the boy toy, the son is exposed and  Margaret has some closure.

This week’s episode really showed the potential built into the Dollhouse concept. As has been said on other websites, the concept of imprinting a mind into a new body was one of the ideas that made Battlestar Galactica successful. The device is full of traps and surprises that could make for very compelling television. This week’s episode really worked that concept and made it interesting.