How Does the Westworld Reveal Impact the show?
Westworld’s biggest reveals so far worked not because it was a surprise.
Every episode of Westworld has been good to some degree. Some have been better than others, but none have been more shocking than last night’s episode. And it’s not the actual reveal that made it shocking, it was the circumstances that surrounded it and how it underlines everything that Westworld is about. This should go without saying, but spoiler warning.
We’ve known for weeks that something was up with Bernard. The signs were on the wall: he had a compelling back story (narrative,) he was positioned to stay close to the enemy (Delos,) and he was Ford’s right hand man. That last point should have erased any and all doubts — how could Ford trust anyone that he didn’t actually create? But Westworld spent six episodes expertly building up Bernard, making him just believable enough. When he can’t see the door in the cabin, and afterwards can’t see the plans that led to his making, the fix was in. And it was thrilling to watch.
You can rewatch the excellent scene below:
More from Show Snob
- The Santa Clauses season 2, episode 6 recap “Wanga Banga Langa!”
- Lawmen: Bass Reeves season 1, episode 7 preview: Non-spoiler thoughts for Part VII
- Goosebumps season 1, episode 6 recap: “Night of the Living Dummy”
- Beacon 23 season 1, episode 3 recap: “Why Can’t We Go on as Three?”
- Upload season 3, episode 2 recap: “Strawberry”
Fans had been waiting for this for a long time, but the payoff couldn’t have been any better. Ford uses his man to kill Theresa, an act that isn’t going to be so easily forgotten. From when we enter the cabin to when we get a final look at Theresa’s broken body stands as the most stunning sequence that Westworld has so far produced. Theresa desperately tries to find a way out, but she can’t, because Ford is omnipotent in his world. What the scene achieves, more than anything else is driving home the point that we can’t trust anything about Westworld.
Everything that Bernard supposedly discovered was supposed to happen. Every move he made was choreographed by a megalomaniac
Anybody could be a Host. Everybody’s back story could be written. William could be a Host, and why not? He’s just as likely as anyone else who we’ve come to believe is human. That constant doubting makes Westworld endlessly compelling even though it frequently wrestles with subtlety. The fact that we all but knew for sure about Bernard didn’t take anything away from the reveal.
Next: HBO has no plans for True Detective.
Westworld is playing a game with us, just as it is with its Hosts. News of a second season couldn’t come at a better time — there simply must be more.