Last Updated on August 2, 2021
This recap/review of Westworld is written with the expectation that everyone who reads this and comments below will have seen the episode already. Thus, if you've yet to see the episode in question, DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER. SPOILERS!
EPISODE: Season 1, Episode 7: Trompe L'Oeil
PLOT: Charlotte (Tessa Thompson) demands Theresa (Sidse Babett Knudsen) make a “blood sacrifice” in order to hold on to her position in the company. Little does she know, that demand wasn’t metaphorical.
REVIEW: As we move to the end of “Westworld’s” first (and hopefully not last) season, the show is moving along like a freight train. Everything that we thought we knew is being proven incorrect, with characters being revealed as hosts, and most unsettlingly, the seemingly paternal Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins) hiding a blood lust that comes out spectacularly before the closing credits roll.
It’s interesting that as the show goes on, what’s happening in the park has become secondary, with the behind-the-scenes maneuvering being far more interesting. Most of what happens in Westworld is devoted to William’s (Jimmi Simpson) adventures with Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), with him seemingly falling in love with her, although as we know now, these scenes take place earlier in the park’s history. Is he The Man in Black (Ed Harris)? That’s still unknown.
The big twist is that one beloved character, Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) is shown to be a host. After being fired by Charlotte, he brings Theresa to Ford’s cabin to reveal what he thinks is the smoking gun, only for her to realize her lover has been a machine all along and that she’s been playing into Ford’s clutches. She’s simply part of his larger narrative, with his use of the words “blood sacrifice” suggesting Charlotte is also a host.
Most shockingly, Ford is shown to be a psychopath, having Bernard brutally murder Theresa, who seemed like a lead up to this point. Is this the end of Knudsen, or will he make a host version, now that it’s shown he can make his own via his hidden lab. In terms of violence, this is a harsher episode than usual. The body count is low, but the violence is unsettling, especially when Clementine (Angela Sarafyan) is violently assaulted and provoked into brutally killing her attacker, which leads to a decommissioning in front of a horrified Maeve (Thandie Newton) who swears to get even, now that she’s no longer bound by Westworld’s rules. However, is she simply part of Ford’s narrative?
Whatever the case, this is another great episode, and now that the first run is ending, the show has proven itself to be well-worthy of a renewal provided the bean-counters at HBO are keen. Lets hope so, because this show could wind up becoming a phenom if given the time to grow.
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