*Warning: This post contains spoilers for Westworld season three*
Westworld rarely gives us answers, just more questions.
But season three has sworn to reboot the premise of the show somewhat, and so far, its journey out of the park and into the real-world has gone a long way to shed a lot of its mystique and make it more accessible to the average viewer.
So now, at the half-way mark, we see Westworld finally making good on this promise – The Mother Of Exiles has relented and finally given us some much-needed answers on a mystery that has so far plagued fans since the ending of season two.
But before we get to grips with this revelation – which, of course, is dropped in in the closing moments – there was a lot to love in this week’s episode.
Most notably, of course, was the reappearance of a certain Man In Black (Ed Harris), whose been missing from the fray since the sophomore season, where he was struggling to figure out whether he was still human or a host.
The inner turmoil he felt resulted in the death of his daughter by his own hands, and its clearly a crime that still haunts him – we catch up with William in the gilded corridors of his ruined mansion, on the edge of suicide.
He’s brought back into the fray by Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson), who needs his support to overpower the Delos Board of Directors and stave off a take-over by the sinister Serac (Vincent Cassel).
After last week’s career-best performance, it’s good to see Marvel star Tessa vamp it up considerably again as host-Charlotte, who is now once again firmly in control of the events around her.
The same can also be said for Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) , who this week we see trying to rob a virtual bank with her new side-kick Caleb (Aaron Paul) in a high-stakes sequence that radiates an Olympic pools-worth of adrenaline into a scene that…consists of three people sat at a desk, talking. Once again, it’s a sterling reminder that Westworld’s vision of sci-fi is better than any other show’s out there at the moment.
Episode four is the moment where, for the first time, all of the seasons’ storylines are starting to converge, as we also catch up with Maeve (Thandie Newton) who’s on a mission to hunt down Dolores on orders from Serac.
In a great throwback to her solo episode Akane no Mai (still, in this reviewers’ eyes, the best episode the show has ever produced), she discovers that Shogun World host Musashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) has also been implanted in the human world, imposing as a Yakuza mob boss.
It’s here, after a samurai sword fight (of course) that all the webs that the show has been spinning for the past four episodes finally start to realign.
With some deft editing, we see both Maeve and The Man In Black realise that Musashi and Charlotte are not at all who they seem – they have indeed had their consciousness replaced by another host from the park. But Dolores didn’t save five others, she copied her mind five times over.
These hosts are not people we have already come into contact – be it Teddy or Doctor Ford – they are copies of Dolores.
For a show that has dissected and philosophised about free will and the meaning of true consciousness this another stunning development – it quite literally took our breath away.
Key Moments
- A high-stakes bank heist where Dolores and Caleb don’t have to get up from their chairs
- Ed Harris returns as William, the Man in Black
- That stunning final revelation that Dolores has implanted five different hosts with copies of her own mind
Verdict
Finally giving us some much-needed answers, The Mother of Exiles makes deft work of Westworld’s central mysteries in its third season, while also setting up some interesting theological questions about consciousness and free-will.
With the stories of Dolores, Charlotte, Maeve and Bernard starting to converge, this half-way mark makes sure fans will be satisfied with some of the revelations – but will have to stick around as the impending war between hosts and humans comes ever closer.
Westworld season 3 airs Mondays at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
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