Westworld Season 1 Episode 2 Review

Westworld (2016-)
Season 1 (2016)

Westworld - Season 1 Episode 2 - Chestnut

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
It's been a long time since I've seen a pilot as good as Westworld. (Read my review.) Fortunately we got episode two early due to the presidential debates. It's just as good as the pilot, even better in some respects, as it slowly builds the stories in and outside the park.
Information is expertly meted out, at least thus far. While the main characters in the first episode have lesser roles here, it adds to the scope of this world. As Ed Harris's character says, "Everything adds up to something." Through this episode we better understand how the hosts and operators work in and outside of the park.
In multiple instances the park operators comment on the hosts and in turn comment on what we're seeing. Bernard states how the hosts talk to each other as a form of practice.
A technicians muses how messed up the hosts would be if they could remember what guests do to them, and that is the key. Hosts are remembering brief snippets of past lives. This episode shows us just how many concurrent story lines Westworld could run, both the show and the park.
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.
As I hoped, this episode builds more of the world around the park. We know what it's like to enter the park and we get glimpses of the different operator departments. While we don't get much of a continuation of some of the character specific stories from the first episode, it doesn't matter. The script is so good that the new plot lines are just as intriguing.

William (Jimmi Simpson) is strapping in for the ride of this life.

First time visitor William (Jimmi Simpson) enters the complex on a subway car into a futuristic stop that seems to be underground and carved into stone. As a guide tells him, "Figuring out how it works is half the fun." We see the brief introduction before you enter Westworld. William gets to pick his clothes and then enters a door and happens to be on the train into the park. It seems the only way to enter is on that train. His companion tells him he has no idea what he's about to get into.
William's friend is no stranger to the park and is having a great time. This park is a window into how depraved people can be given the opportunity. William retains a moral compass.

Dolores (Evan Rarchel Wood) is hearing voices.

Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) is hearing a voice, urging her to remember the shootout from episode one. This is something that shouldn't be possible for hosts. She is the oldest operational host, and from the end of episode one, she's sentient.

The Man in Black (Ed Harris) wants to find the deepest level of the game, the maze.

The man in black (Ed Harris) is looking for the deepest level of the game, but does such a thing exist?
The park operators do know about him. A technician asks a higher up if they need to slow him down since he's killing so many hosts. The manager states that guest gets whatever he wants. The man in black thinks an outlaw knows more about this maze. The man in black threatens the man and his family. He dispatches a gang of men easily, because being a guest, they can't hurt him.
Wow! I'm thinking Ed Harris is crazy with the maze nonsense, but then the outlaw's daughter tells him "The maze isn't meant for you. Follow the blood arroyo to the place where the snake lays it's eggs." I don't know what it means, and I don't think he does either.

Bernard is still trying to figure out the glitch. Abernathy is an interesting question as he seemed to have an existential crisis despite being a host.
He seems to live on site, which makes sense with the scale of the park.

Maeve Millay (Thandie Newton) conversing with Teddy Flood (James Marsden).

Maeve (Thandie Newton) is getting a lot of screen time this episode. She remembers what must be a previous story or iteration, and we also get to see her converse with another host..
While technicians repair Maeve, and I'm guessing these guys are the "body shop", she wakes up and threatens them with a scalpel. Everyone else uses voice commands on hosts. Why didn't these guys? Are they too low level? Maeve wanders around the facility, obviously bewildered, before she's sedated.
A quality assurance technician analyzes Maeve and makes adjustments, complaining about how aggressive the story line department made her. It's a subtle reveal at the tension between departments. We've already seen the head of the story department, Lee, can be a primadonna. He's building a grand story line, in his opinion at least, and routinely dismisses that he'll need approval, citing that the old man, Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins), doesn't even pay attention anymore.
When presented with the story, Dr. Ford rejects the grand story line and tells Lee why his story line is garbage. The park isn't about garishness or cheap thrills, it's the subtlety. People come to the park because they discover details they feel no one has ever noticed. This park is to get a glimpse of who you could be.

Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) dismisses Lee Sizemore's cheap thrill storytelling.

Ford takes an elevator to a remote part of the park. He meets a boy that I wonder is his own creation, someone he used to know or even himself as a child. Is it a way to make up for past mistakes?
The episode ends with Ford telling Bernard about a new story line he's been working on, something quite original. I'm willing to bet this intersects with the maze.