Dollhouse's Dushku: Echo's Not a Kid Anymore

Echo is growing up on Season 2 of Dollhouse(Fridays, 9/8c, Fox), and her new mission means no more acting like a 4-year-old for Eliza Dushku.

Of course, the childish character Dushku played last season was like a child who could kill you with her bare hands. This season, Echo will learn to unite all the personalities that have been imprinted into her character — and to use her new strength to take down the dollhouse and save a few fellow dolls, says Dushku.

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"She had all of the personalities downloaded into her in one swift punch, and they're not going away," she says. "Overall, she's really absorbing things from her engagements, and from the dollhouse, and she's really becoming self-aware. Not necessarily as Caroline, but as Echo.

"Last year, it was from dumb-down doll to this singular imprint, and it was always different," Dushku adds. "This year, there's — you never know, but you always know that there's something going on inside Echo that's not just what you're seeing on the surface. ... She's starting to gain control of the personalities, and there's something grounding about that and something really strong about that.  There's more going on besides just blank-slate doll and engagement-Echo."

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Echo's original personality is still very much intact, though. "Caroline is in there, but I think [Echo] starts to realize there are things about Caroline that she's discovering are unsavory or that are not Echo."

Tahmoh Penikett sounds off on Echo's changes, the new faces in the dollhouse and the special connection between Echo and Paul in the exclusive clip below: