Before Season 1 of Dollhouse premiered, it was essentially being promoted as The Eliza Dushku Show. While Dushku has certainly proved herself a capable actress and a worthy icon of the series, the hidden strength of Dollhouse is in the stunning ensemble cast surrounding its lead. Just like "Belle Chose" was a showcase for the talents of Enver Gjokaj, this week's episode finally gave the spotlight to Dichen Lachman and the sickening tragedy of Sierra.

In one of the top episodes of Season 1, all of the glitching Dolls got to temporarily wake up as their original selves so they could confront whatever trauma brought on the glitch in the first place. Sierra (real name Priya), who went screwy after being repeatedly raped by her handler, tracked down the sociopathic psychiatrist who used some dirty dealings to trap her in the Dollhouse for his own personal use. Their meeting was cut short by security guards, so there was never really any resolution. In "Consequences" we get the full story behind Priya's capture and a definitive conclusion to her interactions with the villain who facilitated it.

But this episode was as much about Topher as it was about Sierra. Of all the characters on Dollhouse, Topher has been the most surprising with his arc. He began as a forgettable quip-machine and a lot of fans really weren't happy with most of his screen time, but thanks to some masterful developments late in Season 1 and a nuanced performance by Fran Kranz he has become one of the best parts of the show. Topher is a midpoint on the moral spectrum of Dollhouse. He's not an absolute bastard like the higher-ups at Rossum Corp, but he's also not a secret crusader like Paul, Boyd or Echo. Watching Topher gradually shift from his disconnected, amoral position to the tortured realization that he's instrumental in ruining the lives of others is consistently one of the most compelling parts of Season 2.

When Topher discovers (with Echo's help) that Sierra was brought to the Dollhouse under false pretenses, Evil Doc Client pulls some strings to get Sierra released to him permanently. Topher imprints her with the original Priya personality and informs her of what's been going on. When she arrives at the engagement, there's a scuffle that ends with Sierra stabbing Evil Doc to death. Topher and Boyd, using some of the latter's mysterious underworld connections, makes the corpse disappear and brings Priya back to the Dollhouse where she gets put back in rotation.

While all of this is going on, there's a quick, barely-there B-plot about Echo and the book she keeps around to help her remember who she really is. Boyd knows about it and he actually approves. Thankfully, the episode doesn't really spend much time on this thread.

Best Moment: Topher and Priya's closing conversation. The emotional and intellectual complexity of Dollhouse would take a book-length volume to properly describe, but subtle scenes like that capture the essence excellently.

Notes: Flashback cue- When DeWitt has long hair, we're in the past.

Episode Rating: 5/5- I really appreciate the full cast of Dollhouse and it was nice to get away from an Echo-centric plot for a week. This series, based on ratings, probably won't live to see a third season, but I sincerely hope that everyone involved goes on to a busy, high-profile career.