WESTWORLD - Ep 2, Chestnut - A TV Review

'Westworld' slows down a good deal in its second episode, but still finds a way to stay just as compelling. And that player piano is quickly becoming my favorite character. Don't help that beggar up out of the muck, and let's just get started, ok?

SPOILER WARNING - We'll be dealing with explicit plot points, for sure, so read at your own risk.

If the first episode of 'Westworld' focused on the 'what?' of this particular place, then the second definitely geared more toward the 'why?'.

Oh yes, all of the drama surrounding the prostitute Maeve (Thandie Newton) furthered the mystery of what exactly is going on inside the minds of the hosts. Newton giving the same speech three times over with nearly the same (if not exactly) inflection provides another instance where I have to remind myself "this is an actor...not a robot". She becomes linked to Dolores, after the original passes on the phrase "these violent delights have violent ends", which seems to be some sort of contagion that links them both to Bernard, who may or may not be the creator of this problematic glitch. But aside from this furthering of the main plot, we have three distinct storylines that delve further into why the Westworld theme park exists in the first place.

Take William and Logan (Jimmi Simpson and Ben Barnes, respectively) two newcomers to the series. Logan has been to Westworld before and insists it's a place for William to find out who he truly is. While William is still getting used to everything and treating everyone with relative respect, Logan dispatches violence with the same swiftness and ease as ordering a drink. Sure he's talking about showing us who William is, but at the same time, we're already seeing who he is, and he's the same sort of sadist as the Man in Black. Logan is the target audience for someone like Lee, who creates narratives for the newcomers based on the idea that they're after some tawdry combination of titillation, violence, adventure, and little else.

But William might be more the target audience for Ford, for whom the park signifies something much more cathartic, if not outright therapeutic. Immediately dismissive of Lee's proposed new narrative, Ford hints at an idea far more grandiose and meaningful. During one sequence, Ford walks along in the outskirts of the park and encounters a young boy. It's not too long before it becomes clear that the boy is a host, and that he may actually be a young facsimile of Ford himself*. There are moments of revelation about the boy's domineering father, and a glimpse of a dark black church steeple, but whatever they mean, it's somehow incredibly important to Ford's own personal mission. And seeing Ford interact, for all intents and purposes, with his younger self gives us a stronger idea of Ford's overall mission.

*in that way, it made me think of the scene in Captain America: Civil War where Tony has virtually recreated the past as a way for him to work through his grief. So it begs the question, what is in Ford's past that he feels so strongly compelled to correct that he created this entire world.

And then there is the Man in Black who, we know for sure now, is an actual guest with carte blanche (I at first wondered if he wasn't an intruder of sorts, but no...he's allowed to do anything by the park's staff). He's after information about a still unknown "deeper game" within the park, but if Ford is seeking enlightenment through creation, MiB is seeking it through sheer destruction. During his violent spree to find "the maze" we see him dispatch dozens of hosts with such nonchalance it's as though he's only amusing himself by coming up with newer, more creative ways to kill - one scene has him choosing to use a knife instead of his gun. And while we know his violence is only against androids, when it's revealed that his murder of Maeve and her daughter is the memory that haunts her, it brings up a terrifying existential question. If these androids are indeed developing their own genuine consciousness, does the violence become more real? Do we start to feel sorry for Teddy each time we see him gunned down? Is the Man in Black more evil for causing pain among the entire community of hosts, even though he's never killed a real person? And what, in the end, makes a person real?

These are all important issues and questions to get into, and I've no doubt the series will address them in the future. But the most important thing I've yet to mention about this episode is that that player piano rocked again, this time with an old-timey rendition of Radiohead's "No Surprises". Not since Lyanna Mormont first stink-eyed her way into the hearts of viewers the world 'round has HBO had such a breakout star as that kickass piano. Can inanimate objects win emmys? Because Player Piano needs a supporting actor nod.

I kid, but this was a good episode and it shows that in addition to a mind-bending premise about the nature of consciousness within the hosts, this show can be just as much about the minds of the newcomers and architects as well. At this point, I'm really curious which direction the show will head in the future.

FINAL SCORE - 8/10

'Westworld' airs on HBO Sunday nights at 9/8c.