Westworld 02.02 ‘Reunion’ recap

The second episode of Westworld puts aside the present to explore the sinister origins and secret purpose of the Delos company and the Westworld park.

Meanwhile, the host rebellion rages on as the different factions gather their forces.

Arnold shows Dolores their world, which she at first takes for a dream. She asks, “Have you ever seen anything so full of splendor” referring to the city outside. Ford (an off-camera appearance by Anthony Hopkins) disapproves of Arnold’s favoritism toward Dolores when he wants to use a different girl for a presentation.

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Arnold connects with her, senses something different in her, but is disappointed when in the midst of a profound conversation she repeats her phrase about the splendor of the city. However, it does seem like she’s learned something from Arnold — some of his ideas and philosophy.

You hear echoes of it in her own beliefs and ideas.

The Argos Initiative approaches Logan Delos to give him a private demonstration of Westworld. Presumably, this is the same night Arnold pulls Dolores from the presentation. They challenge Logan to pick out the host from a room of people. While he chooses the statuesque Angela, everyone in the room is actually a host – astounding and impressing Logan.

William later talks his father-in-law James Delos (Peter Mullan) into investing in Westworld, saying that its the only place on earth where you get to see people for who they really are, and that having that knowledge is a good business to be in.

Dolores plays piano at Delos’s retirement party and overhears an oblique business conversation between Delos and William, saying things are progressing but maybe not fast enough for the apparently terminally ill Delos. Logan drunkenly complains to Dolores, calling everyone “fools fiddling as they watch their species start to burn,” saying that they even lit the match that starts it.

Intriguingly, he ends his rant by saying “may your forever be blissfully short.” Have they found a way to transfer consciousness from human to host? We’ve seen evidence of Ford still living within the network. Perhaps Delos was hoping for the same before he died.

William is really bitter about having fallen in love with Dolores, saying that she’s even less than a thing, that she’s merely a reflection of those who use her. But he still needs to talk to her and to show her what he’s building.

He believes there’s an answer in Westworld to a question that no one has ever thought of asking. He shows her a mysterious construction site, never dreaming that she’d remember ever seeing it.

During the host rebellion, Dolores infiltrates the Delos labs and has lab technician Phil show Teddy his history – all the deaths he’s experienced just for the fun of others. Poor, gentle hero Teddy is overwhelmed and assaults Phil.

Dolores learns that Delos forces will meet at a rallying point and then secure one sector at a time from there. She taunts the guard about not knowing the real purpose of what he was protecting – but she does. Westworld is more than what it seems.

Dolores sends a resurrected Confederado to sniff the rest of them out. While she waits for word, she encounters Maeve and tries to get her to join her army. Maeve has no interest in following anyone’s lead but her own and goes her own way.

Dolores tries to convince the Confederados to follow her, but when they refuse she shoots them all and has Phil resurrect them to show them her power. She’s trying to get to Glory, also known as the Valley Beyond, and its where everyone is converging. Its the place that William showed her long ago, a place she believes to be a weapon.

William recruits his favorite host Lawrence to help him get out of Westworld. He has his first near-death experience in this new high-stakes game. Ed Harris gives a chillingly good performance as he levels with Lawrence, telling him what and who he is and revealing that everything that anyone has ever done in the park has been watched, every sin tallied and recorded.

William means to get out and burn the entire enterprise to the ground, but he has to go through Pariah to do it.

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When he gets there he tries to recruit an army but encounters Ford again in the guise of El Lazo (Giancarlo Esposito). He makes all the bandits kill themselves, telling William that he must finish the game alone, then shoots himself.

William wants to get to the Valley of Judgement, a place that he built and considers his greatest mistake – the same weapon that Dolores wants to use to destroy them all.