I suppose one of the most difficult balances to strike when writing a serial is the one between stories that advance the masterplot and stories that generally don’t. In theory, a stand-alone episode should give the audience an opportunity to get to know the characters a little better, laying the groundwork for the pathos that arises out of seeing them battle their larger demons at season’s end.

This week’s stand-alone Dollhouse entry didn’t really do that though, because Echo embodied the personality of a recently dead friend of Adelle DeWitt’s. This wealthy lady apparently visited the Dollhouse at regular intervals over the last few years to basically create a backup copy of herself, meant to be deployed in the event of her death. Paranoid and generally unloved by her family, she suspects murder from the moment Topher implants her in Echo’s body.

The notion of a person preserving her own life through the Dollhouse is brilliant, but why did it have to be couched within a silly murder mystery? I’m reminded of Patton Oswald’s software baron resurrecting his wife every year. Why not show the flip side of this scenario, and explore the ways such a use of a doll could be unsatisfying for all involved? For that matter, is Echo really the dead woman returned to life? Do the contents of our mind comprise all that we are? Or maybe the woman does think she’s been murdered, only to discover that no one felt strongly enough about her to go to the trouble. Maybe her death wasn’t as dramatic as she always assumed it would be. That might have been a good story to explore.

How would it feel to attend your own funeral and witness your own corpse lying in a coffin? In the universe of Battlestar Galactica, you freak the hell out and debate the very nature of your existence. In the universe of Dollhouse, you snicker quietly about the mourning losers listening to your eulogy. But I guess that’s how you have to act when there’s a mystery to solve! There’s no time for sober introspection.

When Dollhouse misfires (so far), this is generally how it does it: good idea, weak execution. Then again, you can almost hear the FOX execs saying, “All the sci-fi and philosophical stuff is okay, but give us an episode where Echo has to solve a murder!” So…there you go. And it was hardly terrible. If nothing else, Eliza Dushku gave one of her most convincing performances of the series so far. Credit director David Solomon (a reliable veteran of Joss Whedon shows) with that. I didn’t believe the son would make the connection between the young woman in his mother’s house and the Dollhouse however. That was writing at its most lazy and convenient.

Actually, this wasn’t a completely stand-alone episode, because we got a little advancement of the Paul-November (aka Mellie) plotline. After a night of reluctant, wild sex with Mellie, Paul responds to her questions about his pursuit of Dollhouse clients with the devastating line of the night: “I found one.” I continue to believe that regardless of billing, Paul is the center of the show. When we follow his character, we invariably get good stuff — like looking up November’s fingerprints, and having the computer find multiple matches before realizing it has said too much and clearing the search results. Suddenly Paul’s former FBI colleague is a believer (which means she’s probably doomed).

The third storyline of the week had Topher imprinting Sierra with the personality of a female Topher so he could have a fun evening talking about “science fiction errors” and playing laser tag and video games. When Boyd does his usual “Do you really think this is a good idea” shtick, Adelle declares that it’s important not to get too lonely — which she should know, of course, having previously been one of her own clients with Victor.

If nothing else, this will certainly be the last stand-alone episode we get this season (and possibly ever, if the show doesn’t get renewed). Then again, the “lost” episode 13 will supposedly be of this variety, but FOX has no plans to air it. I find myself wondering whose side Boyd is on. He seems contemptuous of everything the DH does and stands for, but doesn’t care enough to do anything about it. This is something I’d like to see explored more: why do the DH employees work there in the first place? How do they put their ethical reservations aside in order to do their jobs?

So … better subplots than main plot this week, but I expect the next two weeks will be gangbusters.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Comment away, but please no spoilers for future episodes.

Before I get into dissecting this week’s offering, I want to take a moment to explain a theory I’ve been developing about the nature of the island and its many inhabitants (and would-be inhabitants). In particular, I’ve been wondering about the significance of all the Egyptian imagery and considering the possibility that the island exists within the realm of Egyptian mythology. But the more I think about it, the less I’m able to discount all the allusions to other religions and philosophies. Christian Shepherd. The DHARMA Initiative. Rousseau. Locke. Locke dying and being resurrected three days later. Jacob. Benjamin. The Virgin Mary statues. Locke sending Boone on a vision quest (and then taking one himself). And when you get right down to it, the central conflict between Jack and Locke: science vs. faith.

Miles speaks with the dead.

I’ve begun to wonder if — at least on an allegorical level — the show is about opposing spiritual ideas fighting over ownership of paradise. Who has claim over the Truth? Christianity, Buddhism, science, New Age mysticism? Man, that’s sure an eternal struggle (and like the island, a constantly moving target). And the island both saves people and kills people. It separates them into different groups. Some try to harness its power. Others defend it against…the impure? And lastly, some unfortunate souls have been cast out entirely.

 I toyed with the idea early in the series that the island was actually the Garden of Eden. And though I’m not prepared to rule that out completely, I’m now more attracted to the idea that the island is religion incarnate. Maybe those are the same thing.

I also came to the conclusion a couple of weeks ago that Jacob — mysterious man in the cabin with an unexplained relationship to Christian and Claire — is actually our own Jack Shepherd! I don’t know how Jack (which is usually a nickname for John, but I suppose could also be one for Jacob) becomes the apparent ruler of Mystery Island, or what brings him to go back in time again and enter that strange, alternate plane of existence Jacob seems to be on. But I’m going to spend the rest of the series looking for clues that back up my theory. And as Jason Kramer pointed out to me when we discussed this, it would be wonderfully ironic if prototypical “man of faith” John Locke had actually been putting his faith in Jack all along.

As for this week — I wasn’t really waiting with baited breath for a Miles episode. I suppose it’s necessary sooner or later to explain what the hell he’s doing on the show, and I found the episode entertaining enough. I suppose there are two noteworthy revelations I should mention:

1. Pierre Chang (aka Marvin Candle) is Miles’ father. Duh. We figured that out months ago. But I think we can also infer at this point that Miles will have some role in separating his father from his mother (and infant self). Whether he does this to protect them or for some other reason, I don’t know. If nothing else, we know now that being in the same vicinity as your past self does not cause the space-time continuum to rip apart.

2. The guy who was with Ilana when she clocked Lapidus in the face tried to stop Miles from going to the island aboard the freighter. This guy is decidedly anti-Widmore, but it’s hard to believe he’s working for Ben. So how many sides are there to this thing?

I think we’re about to start barreling toward the season finale. Roger is going to want to know where his son is, and someone is going to discover that Phil — and by the way, I can’t get past the fact that Jimmy Barrett has apparently quit doing comedy to work for the DHARMA Initiative — is missing, along with one of the security tapes. As Juliet said, “Here we go.” Things are about to fall apart quickly for our Losties.

And the return of Daniel means…? If nothing else, he’s probably the only person who will be able to get our beloved castaways back to their own time. Or at least get everyone back in the same year.

There were some tense moments this week — I was impressed by Matthew Fox’s subtly growing menace in his scene with Roger Linus — but all in all, this seemed to be about setting up the end of the season. Not a whole lot to talk about, except, “Oh my God, what do you think is going to happen when they find out about … ?” My favorite moment by far, however — and probably the funniest of the season — was Hurley writing The Empire Strikes Back. You know, to make it easier for George Lucas.

Did you know that Empire is all about how parents and children should talk rather than fight with each other? See, with Lost you get action, suspense, laughs, and insightful critical analysis of beloved motion pictures.

Comment away, but please no spoilers for future episodes.