When fans of Dollhouse mourn its inevitable cancellation this month, we will point to three episodes as evidence of what might have been. “Briar Rose”, this week’s excellent entry and the penultimate episode of the season, will be one of them.

So much of Lost is about destiny: the impact our decisions have on our lives, the lives of those around us, and the lives of people we’ve never met. So this week’s developments are both surprising and baffling.

When Dollhouse misfires, this is how it does it: fascinating philosophical and moral questions tossed between the type of storyline we’ve seen a thousand times before. But at least Paul Ballard remains a wonderfully tragic character.

I found the episode entertaining enough. I wish there was more to discuss about it. I have been considering some other ideas about the series however.

This was easily, without question, the best episode of the series so far, and revealed a tremendous richness in the premise that wasn’t immediately apparent from the stand-alone episodes that aired back in February.