‘Westworld’ Slowly Unveils Its Wonders (TV REVIEW)

[rating-8.00] “Chestnut”

The pilot episode of Westworld directed us into HBO’s latest foray towards sweeping universes we were never meant to be a part of, immediately followed up by “Chestnut,” a brutal reminder of the duality in which we have been asked to imbibe on a weekly basis. It’s an exciting prospect; essentially we’re getting two very different shows rolled into one terrifying experiment. How far can a sentient being can be pushed before shit goes awry? What does this mean for the titillated audiences of the world? From what we learned during this week’s episode, a whirlwind of emotions followed by shocked silence at least once a week.

After meeting Delores in the pilot, we learned that she was the oldest “host” at the park. Part of her charm was the consistent ability to look passed the horrors being committed by guests, never responding poorly to the constant updates and program changes being pushed onto the AI. After truthfully revealing that she had never hurt a living thing, we see her starring wistfully into the sunrise, ready for another innocent day to begin in her seemingly meaningless life, when suddenly she kills a fly that lands on her neck.

Now, obviously this is some serious foreboding. After being celebrated as ol’ reliable, Delores suddenly succumbs to the same changes that began plaguing her once happy “father.” What changed? Where does the glitch come from, and is it evolving in the AI, or placed there as a nefarious game within the game? This seeming glitch continued this week as Delores has stopped sleeping, and instead wanders into the night in a trance of sorts.

I have to admit, I was excited for James Marsden to finally have his moment as a leading man, only to watch his character Teddy be executed time and time again. It’s almost poetic, considering his track record of characters that tend to not get the girl, or play second fiddle to someone less deserving than the blue eyed hunk of a mostly great actor. I go the poetic route as Teddy has now been primed to take on the role of the explorer as given to him by a group of shit head guests. As we go deeper into Westworld, there’s only going to be more opportunity for Teddy to stretch his legs and achieve ultimate “not the third wheel” status.

Thandie Newton’s Maeve gave us an insight into the memories a host AI can hold onto. While they’ve been designed to be wiped, she’s having PTSD flashbacks to a time where she lived out on the plains with a daughter. We see her constantly on the precipice of getting murdered by the “Man in Black” (Ed Harris), a memory she considers a nightmare. Now, we know they’re not human, so why is it that both Maeve and her girl Clementine are having trouble sleeping and flashing back to times where they were unceremoniously murdered by the guests of the park? Again, we’re still in the early stages of world building, but these flickers of what once was are indicative of where we will find our plot careening.

Maeve’s life on the prairie is also a look into what the creators mean when they say things get scarier the more you move away from town. If this little snippet is telling, then we know we can expect terrible things to come. What was really shocking was Maeve’s awakening during her checkup. Knowing what we do now about her ability to hold onto memories, one can only hope that she’ll eventually lead the charge into taking over the reality from which she was born. What better leader of the AI army, than a woman who has seen “atrocities” against her people firsthand.

The duality of reality and Westworld is terrifying. These guests wander into the world knowing they will not be harmed, shamefully destroying what are essentially mirror images of humanity just for the fun of it. On the flip side, we see the same from the AI as it evolves within the world. There is no hope, there is only the destructive of what is known. So where does that leave us?

While I can confidently say that at some point the machines will triumph (this is sci-fi, after all) one has to wonder why man insists on playing “god” in the first place. Creators Jonathan Nolan, Joy Nolan, and of course Michael Crichton have weaved this map of humanity at its highest and lowest points, gainfully playing into the fears I imagine all inventors, creators, and parents harbor when it comes to their creation. Where will this go, and how much control do I have over it? Since both fictional and non-fictional history has told us the answer is “none”, we can only sit back and watch the carnage ensue.