Westworld Season 1 Episode 1 Review

Westworld (2016-)
Season 1 (2016)

Westworld - Season 1 Episode 1 - The Original

Created by: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy Nolan, Michael Crichton (1973 movie written by)
Starring:  Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro
Rating: TV-MA 

Plot: 
A futuristic theme park recreates the wild west for visitors, but bliss doesn't last forever.

Verdict
This is an impressive pilot episode. It sets up an intricate plot, introduces the characters, and provides an oft used conflict. Just like in Jurassic Park (1993), life finds a way. These mindless hosts seem poised to become self aware. It's not novel, but that's okay. I'm excited for what this show can be. The setting combined with the sci-fi elements and ensemble cast have the makings of HBO's next hit.
Watch it.

Review
Westworld is a western theme parked stocked with androids, this show calls them hosts, that fully recreate the experience for visitors. The creator wants to make the most lifelike experience possible, continuing to perfect the core program even after thirty years. A recent software update has introduced a glitch.
We're introduced to a few of the parks characters, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Teddy (James Marsden) as well as a mysterious visitor in black (Ed Harris), a top programmer Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), and the eccentric creator Ford (Anthony Hopkins).

I'm left with the basic question of how the plot continues, but I hope the show gets into some of the science and general operation. What are the boundaries of the park and how are they enforced? How are the hosts tracked, if at all? How do the guns work exactly?
We could also get some really neat side stores about side characters.

Let's get into this episode!

The series opens with Teddy on a train, returning to the park with a voice over between Dolores and a programmer questioning her self awareness. I immediately wondered what kind of park this is and is there real danger. The show pulled a fast one. Teddy is a host. Each day repeats over and over. We get a glimpse of the creation process. We see a horse starts as some kind of 3d print, then organs are added, it's reshaped, and then it's lifelike and human. This facility manufactures humans.

It seems to be setting up the loving doctor who thinks the hosts are his kids, his creation. Bernard Lowe states they haven't had a critical failure in thirty years, but the armed guards are taking no chances when an android in cold storage is "restless." Cold storage appears to be a derelict shopping mall. Of course when you claim no failures, it's a clue that's exactly what will happen.

Never trust the man in black.

This does a great job of slowly filling in the picture. This world that's make believe is filled with hosts who have their memories purged at the end of each day. Their sole purpose is to fulfill fantasies of paying customers. Not all of those fantasies are cheerful, as we see with Ed Harris's man in black character.

Hopkins chatting with a rather bland robot.

Hopkins reminisces with one of the first hosts, recounting how the first iteration were prone to repetition and how easy it was to spot the seams of the illusion. Now, not even we can tell as the show made us think Marsden was a visitor at first. While the program repeats, it's not verbatim. The script changes on the fly with so many variables at play. Slight deviations are part of the design.

We don't know the year, but that is one high tech table.

How deep will this get into the science? How do the hosts get back to their starting positions? How do they account for damage to the bots? Do they switch around story lines and pull others as needed when repairs are required. Is that work just done at night?
The sheer scale of the story and plot is impressive with all of these interlocking and interweaving story lines. These story lines could have a massive sprawl if we explore all of the different viewpoints.

Wright does a great job as a scientist more interested in how humans react than what humans have to say. With a new update on ten percent of the hosts, and one of them malfunctioning, the top brass is wondering whether they'll have to stop the simulation. Wright's character assures them they don't need to stop it.

Heavy foreshadowing indicates the simulation could go awry. A fly landing on the face of the hosts seems to be a clue. These androids don't notice a fly landing on their face. They aren't that aware.

Programmer Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) suggests the updates are a mistake. The park is becoming too real. Murder, sex, and blood lust are crossing the line from simulation to reality. Where is the line?
Hosts are programmed to not harm guests but are the guns real? Could visitors harm each other?
Ed Harris's character seems to take depraved joy in pillaging the city. He knifes a host, but couldn't he just as easily knife another guest. Is it just an invisible legal line he doesn't dare cross? How does he run amok with no one noticing?

And now we get to the real problem. A host that's shot but not dead. The programmers shut the malfunctioning host down quickly, but how far away are they from the action? Is there just a painted veil at the edge of town?
The issues seems to be the recent code added by Ford (Hopkins). He continually adds "reveries", small movements and tics to better simulate realism.

Wouldn't the programmers know what's going on with the host Ed Harris has kidnapped and is bleeding out? There has to be an alert when a host doesn't return to its spot.

The saloon robbery sequence with Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro) is high energy with the gang leveling the town, though it ended prematurely due to a visitor. This show can do action very well.

He seems a little too human.

Dolores voice over from the beginning returns, though we don't see all of it. The conversation between a host and Hopkins is chilling. This host is seemingly self-aware. Hopkins attributes it to the host accessing previous builds, but we can guess it isn't that simple.

The fly returns, landing on Dolores, and it is indeed a clue. She swats at it. It's a great closing scene. I can't wait for next week's episode.