Another really interesting episode. We get a little peak into a different area of the park.. and I think they did a great job with the scene. Such great reveals and solid acting. Some of the action stuff actually was a little boring.. but enough great back story was introduced to make it really great.
21 Reviews
Tiger ? Really ?
wines_mc19 August 2019
Its Getting so Good.
moviesfilmsreviewsinc18 March 2022
Suffice it to say, Westworld isn't the only world in Delos's massive adult theme park. We've seen the size of the control facility, which looks to be something like 85 floors from available Delos-themed material online. There are six parks, only one of which we have seen a great deal of, but with the chaos in the park in the wake of the hosts gaining their freedom (if not their sentience), there's bound to be chaos. The cold opening of the episode establishes an entire world in only a few scenes, then plunges that world into chaos almost immediately. One of the best things about Westworld is the way the show plants Easter eggs. There's so much background detail that it's difficult to even catch all of it, but when it shows back up, it tends to be memorable. For example, the drowned Bengal tiger host that washes up on the beach near where the Delos assault team lays their beachhead and where Bernard is found unconscious. It's a tie-in with the fact that this park is more than just the Old West, and having that back story filled in makes its appearance more meaningful. If anything, focusing on one big event-the incredible battle between Delos's QA soldiers and the Confederados-gave the episode more drive, and made things more compelling. When you open an episode with a tiger attack, it's difficult to up the ante, but the large-scale combat between hosts and humans did just that. When a programme can satisfy from a narrative standpoint while still peppering in exciting glimpses of what's to come, it makes for satisfying television.
Things go up to 11
jwwalrath-227-854877 May 2018
For those who don't like it when the show is too slow-paced, this is the episode. The action and the fight for survival feel most complete here, including a small battle. We really get to see the various parts of the park fit together. Delores and Maeve take the lead here and their journeys become more surprising.
False Virtue in Troubled Times
theminorityreporter24 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
When the man in black's daughter, Emily shoots a potential lover to ensure he's human it calls to mind a problem. Before, when the hosts weren't self-aware, if they shot a human with one of the park's guns it couldn't kill them. Now it can, but there's no material reason that it should. The whole phenomenon regarding how the guns work is never explained. That's one of the problems. The other problem is that shooting a potential lover is not how to start a romance.The two peacocks framing the opening shot of this elaborate sequence were apparently a bad omen.
Later on, while out on expedition the surviving lover says "What do you say to a night off, before we go hunt the wicked tiger in the morning". There's a fascination with using predatory animals as negative symbols in the media, and in a time when humans are fast encroaching on the existence of all species it isn't useful to associate an endangered species that is under constant threat of poaching with wickedness, and romanticize killing it for sport. Of course, there's the 'apology' that Emily ends up running from the tiger but that's nullified retroactively by the fact that the recreational killing of tigers was made possible to begin with by the show's authors; the tiger need not even be there in that context. Then there's also the retroactive insult that she behaves in the 'love' scene as some stereotypical 'woman-tiger', so we're supposed to forget that it's the tiger that's endangered and regard this as more of a tiger-tiger duel and may the 'best tiger' win. Then there's the further insult that they ultimately do kill it - having her shoot it, fall over a cliff with it into a sea and then wash ashore with it later - woman alive, tiger deceased. Then there's the even further insult that the man in black later appears impressed that she made it from the other park all the way to him in Westworld with "barely a scratch".
In a scene in the woods where outlaw hosts have taken human hostages with the intention of selling them, an outlaw coarsely chewing on jerky says he intends to keep one because he figures "it's high time I enjoy my own merchandise", creeping on a crying female hostage he's selected from the group. The host is then captured by Bernard and Hale and, shakily making a deep cut into the host's upper forearm, Bernard hard-codes the host to be "the most virtuous, quickest gun in the West". The host then returns to camp and 'comically' guns down his crew and the Confederados who were the intended buyers, setting the humans free and then 'comically' insisting on helping to escort a woman to safety as she runs from him. This bit is depicted in a humorous, entertainment-oriented way to distract from the grim reality of human trafficking and the threat of rape so as to get away with it. It's just another BS-clever twist involving recasting a character in a contradictory way to jerk the audience around in another direction immediately after a violation. And, insultingly, the character doing the recoding is one who is constantly being recoded in contradictory ways himself, and who is apparently slated to continue his own pattern of illogical indefiniteness indefinitely.
The touching scene between Dolores and her father, Mr. Abernathy plays like a scene from a soap opera. He convalesces in bed having a nervous breakdown, she's moved to tears that he was able to recognize her, they play through their old lines for old times' sake and talk about better times. Then when she tries to connect with him further and establish mutual understanding regarding momentous current circumstances he sputters that he wants to go home and falls apart mentally. Returning to his upsetting state of incomprehension and incapacitation he lies back down and she breaks down further into tears, leaving in a state of melodramatic distress; emotionally unfulfilled. Since the start, soapy exchanges like this have been alternated predictably with violations, and are intended to be emotive 'apologies' for the many insults and abuses that take place throughout; compensations that push the viewer to empathize with the characters and relate to them more (especially important in cases where empathy/trust was lost) and bring the show into good favor for its 'high drama' façade - past transgressions forgiven/forgotten. As with this scene they rarely advance the plot at all, but then that is not their function. They are instead meant to leave a soapy residue in the mind that gradually builds up to a mucky obfuscating grime, hindering full discernment of the many abuses used to satisfy a viewer segment wrongly perceived by the authors to be of primary importance. They seem to believe they can have it both ways via a process of highly calculated manipulation.
In an underground facility, Maeve and Hector talk about how the Ghost Nation warrior they just evaded is a "wraith" from Maeve's former life and since he's still out there her "baby is still in danger". Holding hands, they solemnly resolve that they will find her and make a new start in the real world. The violins literally stop as Lee (now 'humilified' as Maeve's servant) says "Alright. Exactly what the f- do you think you're doing?" He advises them that they'd never have an actual relationship. Looking at Hector, Maeve says "Well I suppose that means that we shouldn't have f-ed". Lee continues his objection saying that Hector is in love with Isabella (not Maeve).
The word "f-" refers to an obscene or vulgar version of sex and has no direct correlation with love or real relationships; it's very often done with neither. Not to mention the fact that the usage of the word is actually incorrect in Lee's first objection. One problem with "what the f-" is that it's an activity. Saying it this way is like saying "what the jump" or "what the run". It's also out of context (and very often is, in typical conversation) for the same reason; the word refers to a specific activity and it only belongs in a sentence pertaining to that activity. People use the word a lot to be emphatic and impressive, but its usage is almost always incorrect and it's reached such a point of saturation in the media and in ordinary conversation now that it has all the impact of a punctuation mark like a comma or a period, and even less meaning. Yet there remains one definite impact - it's bad for kids for it to be out there everywhere in society the way it is.
So now the female outlaw, Armistice has a flame thrower and is burning people alive with it. Following a victim running in flames, she swaggers coolly onto the scene at the facility where Maeve, Hector, and Lee have just established the falsehood of Maeve and Hector's passionate love for each other. Queue the 90's synth music and major badass attitude. She then takes a pretentiously long time theatrically restoring the pin in a grenade that had been pointlessly tucked under the chin of the bound repair tech, Sylvester. It's all just the usual scripting for a show of 'impressiveness'; immature and uninteresting. (I can't help but notice that the helpful repair tech, Felix is not only past his comfort zone, but is also past the point of orangeness and is actually quite red... shiny and red... weirdly shiny and red... maybe he's embarrassed for having instigated this ruinous outbreak of quick-burning cruelty with his obsequious and uncritical obedience to Maeve...)
In an act of deceitful cowardice Dolores betrays the men she allied with to avoid combatting the park's military force, arranging for all but her own posse to be slaughtered. She then takes the surviving Major's gun and, pointing it at Teddy for a moment (from the hip) as she approaches him, commands him to execute the Major and his remaining men. He ultimately lets them go to her egotistically major disappointment, and she appears to pass hard judgement on him from her vantage point where she's hiding from view. He didn't pass her test.
Later on, while out on expedition the surviving lover says "What do you say to a night off, before we go hunt the wicked tiger in the morning". There's a fascination with using predatory animals as negative symbols in the media, and in a time when humans are fast encroaching on the existence of all species it isn't useful to associate an endangered species that is under constant threat of poaching with wickedness, and romanticize killing it for sport. Of course, there's the 'apology' that Emily ends up running from the tiger but that's nullified retroactively by the fact that the recreational killing of tigers was made possible to begin with by the show's authors; the tiger need not even be there in that context. Then there's also the retroactive insult that she behaves in the 'love' scene as some stereotypical 'woman-tiger', so we're supposed to forget that it's the tiger that's endangered and regard this as more of a tiger-tiger duel and may the 'best tiger' win. Then there's the further insult that they ultimately do kill it - having her shoot it, fall over a cliff with it into a sea and then wash ashore with it later - woman alive, tiger deceased. Then there's the even further insult that the man in black later appears impressed that she made it from the other park all the way to him in Westworld with "barely a scratch".
In a scene in the woods where outlaw hosts have taken human hostages with the intention of selling them, an outlaw coarsely chewing on jerky says he intends to keep one because he figures "it's high time I enjoy my own merchandise", creeping on a crying female hostage he's selected from the group. The host is then captured by Bernard and Hale and, shakily making a deep cut into the host's upper forearm, Bernard hard-codes the host to be "the most virtuous, quickest gun in the West". The host then returns to camp and 'comically' guns down his crew and the Confederados who were the intended buyers, setting the humans free and then 'comically' insisting on helping to escort a woman to safety as she runs from him. This bit is depicted in a humorous, entertainment-oriented way to distract from the grim reality of human trafficking and the threat of rape so as to get away with it. It's just another BS-clever twist involving recasting a character in a contradictory way to jerk the audience around in another direction immediately after a violation. And, insultingly, the character doing the recoding is one who is constantly being recoded in contradictory ways himself, and who is apparently slated to continue his own pattern of illogical indefiniteness indefinitely.
The touching scene between Dolores and her father, Mr. Abernathy plays like a scene from a soap opera. He convalesces in bed having a nervous breakdown, she's moved to tears that he was able to recognize her, they play through their old lines for old times' sake and talk about better times. Then when she tries to connect with him further and establish mutual understanding regarding momentous current circumstances he sputters that he wants to go home and falls apart mentally. Returning to his upsetting state of incomprehension and incapacitation he lies back down and she breaks down further into tears, leaving in a state of melodramatic distress; emotionally unfulfilled. Since the start, soapy exchanges like this have been alternated predictably with violations, and are intended to be emotive 'apologies' for the many insults and abuses that take place throughout; compensations that push the viewer to empathize with the characters and relate to them more (especially important in cases where empathy/trust was lost) and bring the show into good favor for its 'high drama' façade - past transgressions forgiven/forgotten. As with this scene they rarely advance the plot at all, but then that is not their function. They are instead meant to leave a soapy residue in the mind that gradually builds up to a mucky obfuscating grime, hindering full discernment of the many abuses used to satisfy a viewer segment wrongly perceived by the authors to be of primary importance. They seem to believe they can have it both ways via a process of highly calculated manipulation.
In an underground facility, Maeve and Hector talk about how the Ghost Nation warrior they just evaded is a "wraith" from Maeve's former life and since he's still out there her "baby is still in danger". Holding hands, they solemnly resolve that they will find her and make a new start in the real world. The violins literally stop as Lee (now 'humilified' as Maeve's servant) says "Alright. Exactly what the f- do you think you're doing?" He advises them that they'd never have an actual relationship. Looking at Hector, Maeve says "Well I suppose that means that we shouldn't have f-ed". Lee continues his objection saying that Hector is in love with Isabella (not Maeve).
The word "f-" refers to an obscene or vulgar version of sex and has no direct correlation with love or real relationships; it's very often done with neither. Not to mention the fact that the usage of the word is actually incorrect in Lee's first objection. One problem with "what the f-" is that it's an activity. Saying it this way is like saying "what the jump" or "what the run". It's also out of context (and very often is, in typical conversation) for the same reason; the word refers to a specific activity and it only belongs in a sentence pertaining to that activity. People use the word a lot to be emphatic and impressive, but its usage is almost always incorrect and it's reached such a point of saturation in the media and in ordinary conversation now that it has all the impact of a punctuation mark like a comma or a period, and even less meaning. Yet there remains one definite impact - it's bad for kids for it to be out there everywhere in society the way it is.
So now the female outlaw, Armistice has a flame thrower and is burning people alive with it. Following a victim running in flames, she swaggers coolly onto the scene at the facility where Maeve, Hector, and Lee have just established the falsehood of Maeve and Hector's passionate love for each other. Queue the 90's synth music and major badass attitude. She then takes a pretentiously long time theatrically restoring the pin in a grenade that had been pointlessly tucked under the chin of the bound repair tech, Sylvester. It's all just the usual scripting for a show of 'impressiveness'; immature and uninteresting. (I can't help but notice that the helpful repair tech, Felix is not only past his comfort zone, but is also past the point of orangeness and is actually quite red... shiny and red... weirdly shiny and red... maybe he's embarrassed for having instigated this ruinous outbreak of quick-burning cruelty with his obsequious and uncritical obedience to Maeve...)
In an act of deceitful cowardice Dolores betrays the men she allied with to avoid combatting the park's military force, arranging for all but her own posse to be slaughtered. She then takes the surviving Major's gun and, pointing it at Teddy for a moment (from the hip) as she approaches him, commands him to execute the Major and his remaining men. He ultimately lets them go to her egotistically major disappointment, and she appears to pass hard judgement on him from her vantage point where she's hiding from view. He didn't pass her test.
TF?
gretchenw197629 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I am liking this season...only with the hope that Dolores meets her end. I can't tolerate the idea of a creation, going off on their own. The Hosts aren't human. I don't care how much they look it or act it. They aren't human. They don't have a right to stage a coo! It is not the same as HUMAN beings who are being mistreated, enslaved etc. HUMANS have the right to stage an uprising from their mistreatment. After all HUMANS don't deserve to be treated in such a manner.
ROBOTS on the other hand, are just that ROBOTS. While the park is an acquired taste..(some sick idea to give bored rich people something to do). It doesn't take away from the fact that these hosts are ROBOTS that were built to be murdered, raped and whatever humans desire. After all, they are PAYING for the experience and I am sure it isn't cheap. I am not feeling sorry for the ROBOTS at all. They are bugging me. Almost puts me in the mind of DISRESPECTFUL children, who grow up to talk crazy to and mistreat their parents. With the exception that children are HUMAN. The idea is still the same, how dare you disrespect your creator!. People love their children so all can be forgiven. ROBOTS on the other hand.....kill em all!!! IF it was happening in real life I would say drop a bomb on that whole world and that would be the end of it...
One thing that has me confused in this episode is Dolores asking Bernard if he had been out in the real world. We have seen Bernard out in the real world..so I don't get that.
What happened to the writers of season 1?
kalibeans15 May 2018
One reviewer wrote "This show is going south so fast". That is a perfect description. Season 1 was far more cerebral, which could have been continued into Season 2 - even if Anthony Hopkins didn't come back. He was the shows focal point. It has become a bloody hot mess with no direction. I am hoping for a turning point.
Technically good, but incredibly boring.
g-ariel2219 May 2018
I for one think this season is quite strong. This episode just came up as largely uneventful, and felt like filler. Also, definately care more for the Bernard, Old/Young william storyline, or essentially anything other than doloris's story - unless they finally give some more info to stop it from feeling like empty buildup.
The last minute
Br4ve-trave1or11 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was filled with action and I love action for e.g. I love Banshee the series, but this seemed like an episode that was a fight for survival to hold off the men that were coming but just felt dumb. I hope they make sense out of doreles incorporating Wyatts traits because in season 1 their was a scene where they showed him when he was angry with the way he hid face looked. It has the other narrator in it. Now Dolores apparently is him in this narrative when Ford said the new narrative was based on wyatt and they teased him out.
Again, maybe they rewrote what their going to do bu having delores obtain his narrative for the plot and I'm positive theyll explain it good. It just threw me off and the episode with the battle scene didnt help advance the plot really.
We know somethings up with Dolores dad that theyve planned. How teddy still has his character traits (Thank you to the writers for being consistent there bc if he had shot him it would have killed it for me as a huge westworld fan, so it's nice to know they're remaining loyal to season 1 source season) and Dolores sees it and it's pretty obvious how shell handle it. An internal conflict most likely.
This episode just focused on one set of the actors primarily and it is at its worst when it does this I feel. It's a bit jarring. I love when the episode does what it does best. This seemed to abort the format or formula. This was the least mind stimulating episode in the series imo and my least favorite along with the pilot. Episode 2 was just like season 1.
From the ending I can tell where about to visit shogun a world with swords so I'm absolutely looking forward to that.
I can see why people would love this episode and why people would not. I understand. Just like this review will be of unpopular opinion. But I'm really a westworld fantastic and theyve achieved a level of quality that I've come to expect and after episode 2, which people that was slow, though it visited all the questions and some theories to set up for this season as I love, it also came after a jarring premiere. It felt like I could relax again.
This episode was like an action filled filler if that makes sense. Yes, there was information to advance the plot forward technically, but it was a wasted opportunity imo.
Even westworld with one of their bad episodes is still a 8 to me!!! I love this show.
Again, maybe they rewrote what their going to do bu having delores obtain his narrative for the plot and I'm positive theyll explain it good. It just threw me off and the episode with the battle scene didnt help advance the plot really.
We know somethings up with Dolores dad that theyve planned. How teddy still has his character traits (Thank you to the writers for being consistent there bc if he had shot him it would have killed it for me as a huge westworld fan, so it's nice to know they're remaining loyal to season 1 source season) and Dolores sees it and it's pretty obvious how shell handle it. An internal conflict most likely.
This episode just focused on one set of the actors primarily and it is at its worst when it does this I feel. It's a bit jarring. I love when the episode does what it does best. This seemed to abort the format or formula. This was the least mind stimulating episode in the series imo and my least favorite along with the pilot. Episode 2 was just like season 1.
From the ending I can tell where about to visit shogun a world with swords so I'm absolutely looking forward to that.
I can see why people would love this episode and why people would not. I understand. Just like this review will be of unpopular opinion. But I'm really a westworld fantastic and theyve achieved a level of quality that I've come to expect and after episode 2, which people that was slow, though it visited all the questions and some theories to set up for this season as I love, it also came after a jarring premiere. It felt like I could relax again.
This episode was like an action filled filler if that makes sense. Yes, there was information to advance the plot forward technically, but it was a wasted opportunity imo.
Even westworld with one of their bad episodes is still a 8 to me!!! I love this show.
This show is going south so fast
artis-spertals13 May 2018
Within Season 1 this was a unique show, something mysterious. Now it's a blood bath, filled with cruelty and illogical moves. No human being ever (mercenaries) will risk their life ever just trying to kill some robots. And if they will, they will gear up till their teeth and not just die all the time.
The show is getting terrible, im afraid of future episodes.
Lourdes is the worst
astom_2321 March 2020
...outlier in this otherwise great show.
sspureurubin2 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Dont get me wrong, it's still pretty good. But compared to its previous episodes, especially first season eps, it's not up to standards. Acting, set, all good, but that battle scene, my God! I was hyped when they were hinting with an epic battle scene between modern soldiers and basically Civil War soldiers. And what, we got private military company soldiers walking up to the fort without cover and not even an ounce of fear they'd get killed? That battle, in reality, would have been a one minute battle with every modern automatic rifle/SMG ripping through everything in there. My God. They need a better choreographer who actually knows how soldiers act. I'm not a soldier, but I know it's wrong: it's what I would do in a firefight!
Worst episode so far
olavdm7 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The intelligence, ideas and plot died with Hopkins (Ford), and I'm starting to believe that they should have ended it with season 1. Ed Harris is the only reason to keep watching the show at this point. It has been reduced to a complete and utter illogical mess with increasingly bad acting, uinteresting characters and cheesy lines.
And the endless, pointless shoot-out scenes, hailed by some (probably teenagers) as great action, are absolute garbage.
How many times do we have to watch a character pull up his/her revolver and shoot all 3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 (or perhaps 20?) enemies dead with no problem whatsoever? And why are the human soldiers - at least when they're not dying in the background, as they have been doing for 4 episodes in a row - constantly walking upright towards the enemy gun fire like complete idiots?
And the endless, pointless shoot-out scenes, hailed by some (probably teenagers) as great action, are absolute garbage.
How many times do we have to watch a character pull up his/her revolver and shoot all 3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 (or perhaps 20?) enemies dead with no problem whatsoever? And why are the human soldiers - at least when they're not dying in the background, as they have been doing for 4 episodes in a row - constantly walking upright towards the enemy gun fire like complete idiots?
Almost Fan Fiction with the dumbest battle ever depicted!
spiff-1220 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
What is the dumbest way to assault a fort manned by folk with revolvers cannons and repeating rifles? Well my first answer would be a wiffle bat charge in broad daylight. My second answer would be a handgun charge. The third but very well entrenched in the 'Stupid' zone would be a SMG charge in broad daylight.
Of course defense also wants their forces on the outside the walls to catch every bullet fired fired one handed by a running soldier with a SMG otherwise WHO KNOWS how many defenders would have been pelted by crumbling masonry in the FRIGGIN FORT!!! Those 9 mil bullets would have turned that gate to kindling in A WEEK OR SO of constant fire! Oh...and make sure you have 2 guards at the back gate that can't even see a dune buggy drive right up on them. This scene is blatant disregard for physical laws and tactical thinking. The writer altered logical principles for what got in the way of his story and I have no respect for that.
Before all you fanboys get on me for this, I'm a fan of the series. Episode 4 was amazing. It is only because the series has so much going for it that I get passionate about aspects that ruin it for me.
I hate the way in which makes the pretty young women such major bad asses. Maeve I can see. She altered her stats . Dolores? She didn't. She 'Chose' to be good because her will is as epic as her 'youth' and 'Good Looks'...like I said "FAN FIC"! The handsome pretty boy gunslingers are gentle to women but brutal to men like some BS Harlequin Romance. If you happen to be ugly and or old and are not one of the main villains then someone could probably kill a full room full of these guys by throwing a handful of marbles at them. I find the logic of that flawed and worthy of the worst shows and the best trashy novels!
I hate the way in which makes the pretty young women such major bad asses. Maeve I can see. She altered her stats . Dolores? She didn't. She 'Chose' to be good because her will is as epic as her 'youth' and 'Good Looks'...like I said "FAN FIC"! The handsome pretty boy gunslingers are gentle to women but brutal to men like some BS Harlequin Romance. If you happen to be ugly and or old and are not one of the main villains then someone could probably kill a full room full of these guys by throwing a handful of marbles at them. I find the logic of that flawed and worthy of the worst shows and the best trashy novels!
What happened here?
how-6484425 May 2018
When the episode began, I found myself asking "What show am I watching again?" It felt like an entirely new show -- a bad reboot -- lost the plot, pointless killing, lame dialogue, and dry acting. To be fair I gave this episode a chance despite how painful it was to watch. Many conversations or substories were unexplained or poorly executed that you need to google to understand and that's no fun because of the risk of being exposed to spoilers. Overall it felt pieced together unprofessionally and I can't believe it's produced by the same guys.
PC Mess!
hjames-1340515 May 2018
So far, this season has been a real disappointment, devolving into an endless series of mindless cartoonish shootouts, and random acts of violence and carnage, as our intrepid heroines seek revenge and retribution. The fact that all the strong lead characters are females, and the men bumbling idiots is instructive, and reflects the current pc imperative that is seeping into nearly all new media presentations. This heavy-handed approach is glaringly obvious and adversely effects the whole tone of the show. It's now just a vehicle for female empowerment.
What is this?
magnum-ajt30 August 2019
2.0 for the ending
mgidb26 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Actually since the first episode of this season I was expecting more depth than previous season 1 and the season I am really disappointed there is no conflict between real villain and protagonist..
Maeve and logan character path is developing like hell while Dolores and her stupid fellow are totally lost.. Bernard is lost as well..
Come on move on
androseid23 May 2018
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