Free will
I didn't think it was that great of a show to begin with, but Dollhouse is really picking up pace. The premise is that a super-secret, illegal organization wipes the minds of attractive young people, turning them into "Actives" or "Dolls", and then imprints them with all-new personalities for their different engagements (which usually involve...well, eros or thanatos, for the most part). It was kind of a not-so-good show at first, but the storytelling is tightening up and the morally gray areas are widening. I like morally gray areas; they're fun to ponder. Of all the characters, I'm really taken by Mellie. She's a "sleeper" doll, imprinted with the personality of a clingy girlfriend to trail an FBI agent who's on the trail of the Dollhouse. She does everything she can to please him, and if you didn't know she was a Doll, and programmed to do it, you'd think she was kinda of nuts. It's pretty sad, but you know what's sadder? I've been shades of Mellie. For some unfathomable reason, I've tried to please people, sometimes to the extent of me feeling like a doormat. For what? Beats me. I kept getting stepped on, and used, and ignored, until I realized something. I have what Mellie doesn't - free will. So I stepped away and cleaned out my life. I finally got away from a person who made me feel like second-best in the relationship. It hurt like hell, but it's been almost a year now, and I know it was the right thing to do. I feel a little sad, sometimes, because I did have a good time with this person, but I realize now nothing is worth sacrificing your inner convictions for. Especially when that other person doesn't even care enough to do anything substantial to get you back; especially when they let their stupid pride stand in the way of your friendship. I don't need that in my life. I have enough to worry about.
Final thought: Life is not a dollhouse, thank God for that.