A Spy in the House of Love

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A Spy in the House of Love
Season 1, Episode 9

Air date	April 10, 2009 (USA) July 14, 2009 (UK) August 4, 2009 (AUS)
Written by	Andrew Chambliss
Directed by	David Solomon
Production no.	1APK10
Dollhouse Episode Guide
Previous "Needs"	Next "Haunted"

"A Spy in the House of Love" is the ninth episode of Dollhouse. It was written by Andrew Chambliss and directed by David Solomon. The episode aired on April 10, 2009.

[edit] Production

The working title of this episode was "Four Engagements."

[edit] Synopsis

**Engagements**
Active	Client	Alias	Personality	Mission

Echo	Unknown	Unknown	Dominatrix	Fulfill a client's sexual needs.
Echo	In-House	Unknown	Spy-hunter (detective)	Investigate mole from within the Dollhouse.
Sierra	In-House	Unknown	Spy-hunter (field agent)	Investigate mole from NSA headquarters.
Victor	Miss Lonelyhearts	Roger	Suave Englishman	Sex and emotional support.
November	In-House	Mellie	Paul Ballard's neighbor	Find out what Ballard knows about the Dollhouse.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When a traitor is discovered inside the Dollhouse, Echo and Sierra are programmed as spy hunters to uncover the culprit. Meanwhile, Ballard receives surprising news from Mellie, and Adelle harbors a secret.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Critics

" Dollhouse is in such a difficult position. Trying to impress a network looking to make money from advertising with a show about how the world is full of big controlling corrupt organisations trying to manipulate people. "

--The TV Critic Review

" Dramatically packed and emotionally charged, "Spy In The House Of Love" remains another shining example of the potential "Dollhouse" carries - this series could very well be the next big hit for the genre. "

--Airlock Alpha Recap

" “A Spy In The House Of Love” (..)offered many reasons why Dollhouse deserves a second season, not all of them having to do with Eliza Dushku strutting around in dominatrix gear. (...) After last week’s revelation-a-thon (...) the writers have decided to hit the gas and the result is another one of the most exhilarating hours of the season. "

--A.V. Club Recap

" If anything, this is the episode that feels like it could cure my lumbago, pay my mortgage and cook me a Spanish omelet, it was that good. "

--Alan Sepinwall Recap

[edit] Ratings

"A Spy in the House of Love" reached 3.503 million viewers, a 2.2/4 Rating/Share, a 1.4/4 Rating/Share in the 18-49 demographic and a 1.6/5 Rating/Share in the 25-54 demographic. The episode was watched by 2.891 million viewers Live, 3.505 million viewers Live+SD and 4.399 million viewers Live+7. The episode averaged a 1.08 Rating in the 18-49 demographic Live, a 1.39 Live+SD and a 1.87 Live+7. Overall "A Spy in the House of Love" had 1.503 million DVR viewers. 34.2% of all viewings of "A Spy in the House of Love" happened via DVR, that's the sixth greatest percentage of DVR viewing for broadcast TV shows of that week.

The half-hour breakdown showed 3.63 million viewers and 1.4/5 Rating/Share in the demo between 9:01 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and 3.49 million viewers and a 1.3/4 between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

The quarter-hour breakdown:

Time Period	Rating/Share	Rating/Share (18-49)
9:01 PM-9:15 PM	2.3/4	1.4/5
9:15 PM-9:30 PM	2.2/4	1.4/4
9:30 PM-9:45 PM	2.1/4	1.3/4
9:45 PM-10:00 PM	2.2/4	1.4/4

[edit] Cast

[edit] Main Cast

[edit] Recurring Roles

[edit] Guest Stars

Valerie Cruz as Ramirez
Tim Chiou as Nikoden

[edit] Trivia

Paul Ballard's t-shirt appears to say 日本 (or Japan) on the back and appears to say 東京 (or Tokyo) on the front shoulder.
When "Ms. Sato" is entering the NSA building, the information displayed on the security screen when her stolen id card is swiped lists her name as A. Saito. The name plate on her office door in a later scene lists it as Sato, matching the credits above.
Toshiko Sato is the name of a field agent in Torchwood whose backstory involves her stealing classified information from the Ministry of Defence in a similar manner.
When Boyd enters Dr. Saunder's office at the beginning of the episode, she quickly runs across the room to close a webpage on her computer. It was a fictional website meetcute.biz, assumedly a dating service. This may indicate the doctor attempting to develop some kind of life outside of the Dollhouse.
During her escape from the NSA, Sierra pulls off her wig, and throws it on the floor. In the long shot down the corridor showing the pursuing guards, the wig has disappeared.
Victor's tie magically changes from green in the Dollhouse garage to purple while in the van.