Episode two “Chesnut” can be considered part two of the pilot. This is my Westworld Recap of season 1 episode 2 “Chestnut”. Major spoilers ahead. Read episode 1 “The original” here.
Episode two of Westworld was released early this week on Friday instead of Sunday. This is because they didn’t want the show clashing with the next presidential debate which was set to air at the same time.
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The episodes opens up Delores waking up in the middle of the night and walking outside. With the way the first episode ended, viewers are already wary of her, and this atypical action only cements our theories. However the episode then quickly cuts away from Delores and focuses on two new characters.
Enter William (Jimmi Simpson) and Logan (Ben Barnes). William is visiting Westworld for the first time with his friend Logan who’s a repeat customer. In this way the audience is introduced to the Westworld from a human’s perspective instead of the robot perspective of the first episode.
William is a good guy, polite and timid. He picks the white hat. Logan is aggressive, sexual and choses a black hat. William turns down the offer from a very hot host played by Talulah Riley further cementing his boy scout honour.
I like these two characters a lot. I think we’ll be able to see more of how guests interact and experience Westworld through them. Logan claims he’s taking William to find out his true nature, and I think it will be interesting to see if William falls for the various sins Westworld offers. Can you be good and honourable in a world where sex and violence are free with no repercussions?
Or will he fall into actual danger? We see him taking an interest in Delores so there’s a real possibility that he’ll get caught up in whatever shenanigans she’s going to stir up. It feels great that the character’s story lines are already crossing paths.
Is it contagious?
Back in the lab there’s a rumour going around that whatever is making the robots malfunction could be contagious. Due to Delores whispering to Maeve(Thandie Newton) “These violent delights have violent ends,” she is triggered into having flashbacks of a previous life in Westworld.
Maeve continues to have flashbacks in the form of nightmares, and learns a trick to wake herself up from them. It’s during one these nightmares that she sees the Man in Black (Ed Harris) before waking herself up on an operating table. Confused and dazed, she takes a scalpel which terrifies the two workers before making a run. We get to see more of the behind the scenes work of the Westworld, as the bodies of killed hosts are cleaned up in a glass box. Maeve is captured and returned back to Westworld.
The Man in Black and the maze
In the fist episode we’re introduced to the Man in Black. He seems like your typical villain, killing and raping as he pleases. Firstly his torture and scalping of a host at the end of the first episode did not paint him in a friendly light. However his hunt for this mysterious “maze” and deeper level of the game seems to be justified. After killing an entire town, he forces a host in the form of a child to give him the location of the entrance to the maze.
Yet it’s entirely unknown what the maze holds or who created it, however there’s a part of me that’s already rooting for the man in black. Ed Harris gives an amazing performance, and his lone wolf story line is a nice break from the chaos of the town. As a result his storyline is one of my favourites so far.
Westworld continues to amaze
This episode has really solidified Westworld as one the series to watch. It has all the same elements that made Game of Thrones a success. Boobs, check. Violence, check. Multiple character plot lines, check. Fantastic actors and a well written script, check. Like all good shows, more questions were asked than answered this episode.
Finally the episode ends with the same scene of Delores outside at night, but we see her uncovering a gun. One that probably can hurt humans. Despite her hardly being in this episode, we’re all transfixed with her.