Briar Rose

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Briar Rose
Season 1, Episode 11

Air date	May 1, 2009 (US) July 28, 2009 (UK) August 18, 2009 (AUS)
Written by	Jane Espenson
Directed by	Dwight Little
Production no.	1APK11
Dollhouse Episode Guide
Previous "Haunted"	Next "Omega"

"Briar Rose" is the eleventh episode of Dollhouse. It was was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Dwight Little. The episode aired on May 1, 2009 on Fox.

[edit] Production

Production on "Briar Rose" started on January 12, 2009.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ballard's investigation leads him to the agoraphobic designer of the Dollhouse (guest star Alan Tudyk), and the story of “Sleeping Beauty” foreshadows Echo’s future, while allowing her to help a young girl deal with her traumatic past.

**Engagements**
Active	Client	Alias	Personality	Mission

Echo	Topher	Susan	Counsellor	Help a young girl through her childhood trauma.
Echo	Alpha	Crystal	Lover	A familiar identity for Alpha to easily manipulate
Sierra	In-House	Gerhardt	FBI Agent	Investigate a murder linked to Alpha.
Victor	In-House	Laurence Dominic	Former head of security	Find out information sent to Dominic.
November	In-House	Mellie	Paul Ballard's neighbor	Find out what Ballard knows about the Dollhouse.

Adelle looks to the Attic in search of answers, while Alpha reveals himself to set his end game in motion.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Critics

" Built so well, misdirected with skill, setup for next week ideally. This is superb television. More please. "

--The TV Critic's Review

" “Briar Rose” did everything a penultimate episode should do: Threw a lot of good energy on the main plot, sprung a couple big revelations, and sent us hard-charging into the finale. "

--A.V. Club Recap

" In short: color me excited for how this is all going to end. "

--Zap2it Recap

" Smart, packed with witty banter and bursting with tension, "Briar Rose" is another example of what "Dollhouse" can be. Let's just hope Fox give the series another chance. "

--Airlock Alpha Recap

[edit] Ratings

"Briar Rose" reached 3.062 million viewers, a 1.9/3 Rating/Share, a 1.1/4 Rating/Share in the 18-49 demographic and a 1.4/4 Rating/Share in the 25-54 demographic.

The quarter-hour breakdown: