Why is it always the bad guys who try to convince us that there really aren’t any heroes or villains? It goes beyond a simple state of de-motivating any would-be heroic challenger but a deeper need for self-justification and acceptance. There is no such thing as amorality in the presence of humanity because we're not machines capable of denying our emotions. Not matter much they seem to enjoy them, deep down, all bad people know they are doing wrong and will seek some level of empathy to stave that, whether that’s justifying their actions for the greater good or convincing us that morality doesn’t exist in the first place. It’s not surprising that someone in Westworld would make that argument. Even in a place where you can get away with anything, you still need to convince some people that you should.... Although that doesn’t end particularly well for someone this week.
Contrapasso – Logan, Will and Dolores arrive in the decadent down of Pariah where Logan talks them into working for legendary outlaw El Razo in the hope of getting onto the infamous War narrative. Elise makes a shocking discovery while the Man in Black pushes on towards The Maze, but he’s not the only one seeking it out.
Our in-Park action almost entirely centers on Logan, Will and Delores this week but it brings with it a strong sense of adventure. While the mystery elements stay in play, it’s very enjoyable for the episode to play more along the lines of a Park narrative. Not only does this result in some fun Western action, it still allows for character progression among all 3. Will is the meta-commentary, seeing through the forced moves of the story but still walking away from his real self as he instinctively kills to save Delores. We see Logan fulfilling his desires to experience the juicier, further out, features of the Park, only to get more than he bargained for. For both men, this culminates their development over recent episodes (Will especially) with the idea of people discovering their true selves in the Park. Logan is the powerful man of upper management in their company ultimately revealed as weak when he meets hosts that fight back. Then by contrast, Will is the quiet and humble man discovering his inner strength. It’s a very well laid out dynamic between the two that even lets us sympathise with Will abandoning Logan. Then most interestingly of all, we have Dolores whose costume change personifies her very character in her desires to become more than her given programming. In many ways, we see her treated like a guest rather a host as she starts to act more upon her own desires. The set piece location of Pariah is definitely the best in Park location to date and justifies Logan’s elation at discovering it. From the Day of the Dead style street parade and attire to the elaborate “classy orgies” going down in the Roman -ike brothel interiors, it really brings a sense of imaginative creation. Like this kind of secluded location was built more to indulge the minds of the creators than satisfy the guests that find it. The location also plays well into Dolores’ trippy dream-like hallucinations, especially the fortune teller scene.
Very quickly into the episode, we get some deep insights into the mind of Director Ford that suddenly cast his actions into a whole new light. Firstly, his greyhound story with the old storage host has a clear theme, “What do you do when you’ve achieved your purpose?” as he talks about the greyhound finally winning the chase. Then while entering Pariah, Logan elaborates the business nature of bringing Will to the Park as their company is considering buying out ownership to the Park based on its vulnerable financial position, and even mentions the original partnership of Ford and Arnold. Now, if we make the reasonable assumption that Ford knows or at least suspects this is coming, we suddenly see his position for the first time. He’s the mayor of a town besieged by an insurmountable force. Does he accept defeat and yield gracefully ownership to the invaders.... or does he burn the town to the ground rather than hand it over? Ford knows his days in charge of Westworld are numbered but with his new narrative, is he making sure that he bows out with something they will never forget?... Maybe even to the demise of the Park? The latter is even an addressed subject as it’s revealed that Ford’s ill-fated partner Arnold’s last desire was to end the Park but was thwarted before completing it. Or at least that’s what Ford and others have been led to believe as we see more actions from certain hosts implying some deep-rooted coding of Arnold’s is worming its way into earning him a Rolo Tomassi (a checkmate from the grave a la LA Confidential).
The maze symbol cropping up everywhere is starting to feel like the Dharma Initiative logo in early Lost seasons; it’s placed everywhere to imply a deeper mystery without always but doesn’t always feel relevant. The show needs to start addressing it but as The Maze becomes a more central focus of the overall story it feels like that will be saved for the finale. The “butcher”/patch up doctor’s story also felt like filler sections of the episode. We’ve already seen plenty of their human asset repairmen style role in action so watching them work some more adds nothing. Granted, the end twist is good but the scenes before it don’t feel like they’re going anywhere.
Overall, this midway point in Westworld is a well-executed and balanced episode, delivering plenty of immediate gratification while dumping wagon loads of mystery and reveals towards longer running stories. It even gives the most unlikely yet brilliant character meeting imaginable for a sense of Dungeon Master meeting legendary player. Now that we’re halfway through the game, expect the levels to start getting harder.