I've come to expect more from a Joss Whedon production than predictable drama. That's why I found the main plot of "Haunted" to be so boring. A high-society murder mystery with a sci-fi twist is still just another high-society murder mystery. By the same token, dime novel plotlines are made no more intriguing just because they're in the context of Dollhouse. That's the central weakness of this show. At its best it can be a thrilling exploration of identity, but at its worst it's little more than tired TV tropes strung together with a self-conscious conceit.

So, the only thing I'm really going to say about Echo's plot in this episode is that it felt like filler. That and it was a total waste of an idea that has been hanging over Dollhouse since the beginning. If any personality can be imprinted on a Doll, it's just a hop and a skip to virtual immortality. That this wonderfully creepy concept was used for a "solve my own murder" mystery is just disappointing. The son did it. End of story. Yawn.

Luckily, there were two other, however minor, plots running through "Haunted". The first found Topher enjoying his birthday present from his employers. Once a year they let him imprint an Active with a custom-designed dream date for any geek. Sierra is the (lucky?) recipient of this imprint. It was nice that their play-date remained innocent. Topher doesn't design a nerdy porn fantasy, he designs the friend he seems incapable of meeting in real life. Their little interludes were part comic relief and part fan-service, not to mentioned 100% welcome next to the weak mystery plot.

In an unlikely twist, the best plot of the night went to this week's episode of Paul Ballard: Scowling (former) FBI Agent. Now that Paul knows that Mellie is just a spy constructed by the Dollhouse, his relationship with her has entered a mire of psychological drama the likes of which would make David Lynch giggle like a little girl. Paul manages to run Mellie's fingerprints by sneaking into his old office, but any information about her real identity gets erased the second the files are accessed. The good news is that the vanishing files make a believer of Paul's friend at FBI forensics. The real gem of this thread, though, was watching Paul give in to his disturbing ridsidual desires for Mellie. The darkness of his character is quickly becoming one of the most enjoyable parts of this show.

Best Moment: The look on Paul's face when he implicitly refers to himself as a client of the Dollhouse. As should be the case, nobody here can really be a hero without acquiring some crushing irony in the process. I knew there must have been a reason why they cast somebody from Battlestar Galactica for this show.

Biggest Shock: Not really a shocking episode. Sorry.

Episode Rating: 2.9/5- The mystery plot was pretty dire, probably the worst of the series so far. The fact that it was surrounded by two interesting threads saved the episode, but not by much.