11. Briar Rose

Complete story — includes the ending

Echo helps a young girl deal with her traumatic past, using the fairy tale of Briar Rose ( Sleeping Beauty ) as a vehicle; a corpse apparently slain by Alpha turns up in Tucson, Arizona, with Sierra imprinted as an FBI forensics expert to investigate; and a thumb drive arrives for Dominic, who is imprinted onto Victor's body for questioning. Ballard's investigation leads him to the Dollhouse's agoraphobic, pothead architect, Stephen Kepler (guest star Alan Tudyk ), and with his forced assistance manages to sneak into the Dollhouse. Though Ballard finds Caroline, Boyd manages to detain him; he takes Ballard to DeWitt for questioning, where they learn from Sierra that the Tucson corpse is that of the real Stephen Kepler. Ballard's helper is actually Alpha, who reveals himself by attacking Victor and Dr. Saunders. Alpha imprints Echo as someone who recognizes him; with Sleeping Beauty now awakened, the lovers escape the Dollhouse together.