A Fight for the Future


"Westworld" began its second season on April 22. The series, created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, is based on the film from Michael Crichton, and is poised to be HBO's next big dramatic series. Each week I'll be exploring the episodes through recaps of season two.

 "I did see you, Teddy. These past few days, I've seen you so clearly. And I've seen you're not going to make it." — Delores, "Westworld."

As we've reached the half-way point of the season, pieces are falling into place in "Westworld." Sunday's episode was fascinating for a few reasons, but it did only a little to advance the overall arc of the season — or so it would seem.

Much of the hour was devoted to Maeve (Thandie Newton) and her crew moving into Shogun World. There we saw that the writers frequently recycled stories (or at least key personality traits) in the other worlds. And we got to see a new society, and some new powers for Maeve, who is becoming quite scary.

She can now tap into the parts of herself that allow her to rapidly learn languages (or, rather, re-discover languages), and now she can control other Hosts not only with her words, but simply with her thoughts. It will be interesting to see how that develops.

The storyline was also good for remembering what's driving Maeve in the first place — love. It's love and connection that would seem impossible for the Hosts, at least Love and Connection in a real, honest way. Yet, Maeve was driven by a deep and abiding love for her daughter, and that was what helped drive her to a waking state. And it continues to drive her. It's also not unique to her. Maeve recognized that trait in her mirror in the Shogun World, Akane (Rinko Kikuchi), and it will be interesting to see how that develops in the back half of the season.

The other major development was between Delores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Teddy (James Marsden). In a middle section, Delores presented an ominous scenario about sick cattle. Teddy offered a noble solution. Delores offered a practical one, but one in which sacrifices have to be made. And she told Teddy she'd think about what he said.

We've seen in previous episodes that Teddy has a weakness — compassion — that Delores thinks will ruin her plans. And in last night's episode, she admitted she loves him. But also, in the end, admitted that she doesn't think he's going to make it.

She enacted a plan to change his core personality. She was warned it might not take. And we'll have to see what happens (though we know that Teddy doesn't survive since we saw him floating in the water in the premier).

Either way, I'm curious to see how the back half of the season plays out. What will happen when Delores reaches the promise land. What will happen when she clashes again with William? Only five episodes left to find out.

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