Westworld Season 1 Episode 5 Review

Westworld (2016-)
Season 1 (2016)

Westworld - Season 1 Episode 5 - Contrapasso

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 episode doesn't provide many answers. We get more information, but it just makes everything more confusing. It's an intriguing episode all the same that makes the excitement for a or the final revelation all the more overwhelming. It could just be that all paths lead to one point in this strange confluence of events. Solid episode, and better than the last one.
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. Read my previous episode reviews.

Ford (Anthony Hopkins) is talking to an outdated host, the same one from the first episode. He tells a story of a racing dog that caught what it was after but didn't know what to do with it once it had it. I assumed he was talking about a host, maybe Dolores, but by the end of the episode maybe he's referencing the man in black.
Why is it Hopkins prefers to talk to an old host with repetitive responses. Is it that it makes him feel better than talking to himself?

That same voice as before is urging Dolores to "Find me." It's a safe bet she has a few more clues than what we're aware. It's Arnold, but what is he doing and why has it taken this long? Arnold has been long gone. These voices and memories seemed to be triggered by a change Ford made, but that hasn't been referenced lately.

As we learned in episode four, Logan's (Ben Barnes) family is looking at purchasing a stake in Westworld. He is William's (Jimmi Simpson) boss. Logan's hedonistic behavior is widening the rift between he and William.

The man in black is the villain he thinks the world needs.

The man in black (Ed Harris) runs into the same boy Ford spoke to in episode two. The man in black seems certain that fate and destiny are intertwined. His goal is the maze, but he seems to think this is more than a game or theme park.
The hosts can bleed out too. How real it seems, and the man in black laments the fact. Humanity is cost effective. That is the reason this park has made hosts more realistic.

Ford sits down with the man in black. The man in black asks Ford if he's getting any closer. The man admits he always felt Westworld lacked a villain. That is his contribution, and he hopes Wyatt is a worthy adversary, someone to stop him from finding the maze.
The man in black boasts he's the reason the park didn't die when Arnold did. Is it just coincidence that the man in black's quest for the maze coincides with hosts waking up?

Ford asks Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) if she remembers the man he used to be. He asks if she remembers Arnold, the man that created her. He's sure she does. He knows she hears voices, but she denies it. She states her last contact with Arnold was thirty-four years ago. Ford remembers it was the day Arnold died. Once Ford leaves she admits to the voice that is Arnold that she told Ford nothing.
How do they take her out of the park to talk to her and put her back without William or anyone else noticing?

From Lawrence to Alonzo without a hitch.

William (Jimmi Simpson) and Logan meet Alonzo (Clifton Collins Jr.), formerly Lawrence of the Man in Black's care. Logan is convinced they're onto a big game. William feels certain Dolores is prescient.
They're robbing a stage coach for Alonzo and William has a big moment where he kills a couple of Union soldiers.

Is it cliche to say she holds the key?

Dolores is having strange visions. She keeps seeing herself, and she even sees a psychic with a "maze" card.
Alonzo double crosses the Confederales and Dolores urges William to chase Alonzo. William ignores helping  Logan and witnesses Dolores displays some keen gun slinging skills.
She and William both are defining their own stories.
Evan Rachel Wood does an amazing job in this. She deserves recognition.

Elsie discovers yet another plot point.

Elsie (Shannon Woodward) was told to not investigate the defective host from episode three, but she can't leave it alone. She finds an implant in the host's arm. It's a laser based satellite uplink, and she tells Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) straight away. Someone is using the hosts to smuggle data out of the park.

One of the body techs, Felix, is working on bringing a host bird to life to secure a raise. He's laughed at by his associate. There is no way to climb the ladder at Westworld. This seems like an unnecessary story, where there are so many stories being juggled.
It turns out this does have a point, or at least a lead in to another plot point. Maeve (Thandie Newton) wakes up and tells Felix, "It's time we had a chat" She can wake up at will and knows his name.