Westworld: 6 weeks in
Every 3 weeks I'll be covering the latest batch of HBO's Westworld, with an additional Finale review! Here's a link to the previous installment, and this week I'll be covering episodes 4-6 of everyone's favorite Sci-fi/Western monster hybrid.
Okay, this shit is getting really real, really fast. Westworld has definitely done its best to make amends with anyone who complained about the show moving too slowly earlier in the season. In the past three episodes we've seen Liam Mcpoyle- I mean William, beginning to discover parts of his true nature(paralleling Delores and Maeve's own quests for self enlightenment), The Man In Black in his ongoing search for "The Maze"(leading to an incredible scene between Ed Harris and Anthony Hopkins), and a select few of the park technicians beginning to realize that things are happening that shouldn't be, and that not everything in Westworld, is as it seems.
Since we last left our group(s), William taught Logan a lesson in humility, Teddy showed everyone that hes good for more than a bullet collector, and Elsie very nearly got the shit crushed out of her by a big ass rogue host with a big ass rock. Oh, and Dr. Ford has an even stranger obsession/connection with the Hosts than previously thought.
Between all these narratives lies the common thread of Westworld's most mysterious figure: Arnold. The metaphorical(?) ghost of his presence is felt in every episode. He is regarded by Dr. Ford with a strange combination of reverence and possibly resentment, as if Ford feels himself struggling to compete academically with the specter of his long dead colleague. Delores blatantly lies to Ford when questioned about Arnold, and later a child host does the same, though Ford is only currently aware of the latter event. The code left behind by Arnold infecting the hosts is so deeply integrated into their systems that they can seemingly fool even Ford himself during his probing sessions.
Not the only probing going on in maintenance...
But Arnold's code seems to be only part of the ongoing host problem. As we learned in last weeks episode, someone(who happens to be a stone cold bitch) has been using select hosts to smuggle data out of the park via laser satellite up-link to an undisclosed client(My Theory: the Delos Corp. is attempting to uncover what Dr. Ford is up to with his new "narrative" on the dl). The espionage angle was a bit of a surprise, but not a bad one. This show is full of classic Sci-Fi tropes without beholding to any of them, which is a refreshing thing to say in this "played to the hilt" genre.
All signs are pointing to an upcoming war between Ford and Delos, and I couldn't be more excited to see the outcome. It seems to go without saying that whatever Dr. Ford has in mind is going to be a pretty massive undertaking. Is he simply costing Delos too much money with his flights of fancy? Or does Ford, or even Delos, have something more sinister in mind...
What do you think? Is Bernard a Host? Still think we're looking at two timelines here(doubtful)? Let us know on twitter @CCriticismBlog #Westworld !
Check out the new episode of Westworld premiering tonight on HBO and HBOnow!
