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| Edited By: Rucha Sharma |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Oct 31, 2016, 09:07 PM IST
The fifth episode of Westworld featured an elaborate orgy, kind of an ode to Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. This is all I am going to say about it because, in my opinion, it doesn't do much as a thing to look at. It's how the situation changes William that matters to me.
'Contrapasso' goes deep into questioning human psyche, the quest for finding the centre of the maze and possibly the back story of Arnold, Lawrence, and Dr. Robert Ford.
To keep the track of what is going on let's go section by section.
It's another town in the Westworld and it's the exact opposite of Sweetwater. If you thought Sweetwater had no rules, Pariah will show you what it means to dial it up to eleven.
Logan, William, and Dolores follow Slim into Pariah. While exploring the town which looks inspired by 'The day of dead' scene from Spectre, Logan mentions one of the partners of Westworld who was opposed to making the park open to the public. That's him referring to Arnold. The way this set has been made, it should be HBO's submission for all the technical categories in all the awards shows. Makeup, costumes (on some people), props, you name it, you can see how much attention has been paid to the details.
They meet El Lazo. The boss of the bandits playing for whichever side, Confederates or Union or anybody else who will pay their price. This is when, for the first time, one of the hosts tries to tame Logan. This triggers a voice inside Dolores' brain. Talking about Maze, Logan and William agree to partake in a robbery to get nitroglycerin for El Lazo which shall make them friends with Confederate mercenaries and take them to riskier adventures. Dolores accompanies them. The most noticeable thing here is Dolores talking about change. Her lessons from Bernard have stayed with her and now she seeks to change. Doesn't blank out when William talks about 'real world.' When waiting for Union soldiers to come by, Dolores changes into trousers and cowboy boots. You can see how Alice from Wonderland is ready to become the Jabberwocky slayer. The blue tint of her dress follows her in the form of the colour of her shirt.
During the robbery, Logan gets cocky and attacks Union soldiers who had already surrendered. This prompts a fight between robbers (Logan, William, Slim, and Dolores) and host soldiers. Upon watching Dolores being attacked, William rises to the occasion again and shoots the soldiers. Meanwhile, Slim is dead and Logan is being choked to death by the remaining soldier. William saves Logan too. But the question of how a host can choke a guest to death remains unanswered. What bothers me is how Logan is not even thinking about it.
Anyway, explosives are delivered. Orgy is in full swing. And the hero of the hour, William, refuses to go further in the quest. Logan and he get into another fight about William's domestic nature in the real world and Westworld. During this time, Dolores manages to rip another layer of her revery and discovers that she too has to find the centre of the maze. That voice in her head is now messing (or unravelling?) with her memories. This makes MiB and Dolores unlikely allies, given he raped her time and again. After discovering El Lazo's different plans, Dolores wants to bolt with William because the voice in her head tells her he is the key. A bit of pause here. If the voice in Dolores' head is something Arnold put in 34 years ago, how is it possible for him to know William will be the one helping Dolores? This gives me the understanding that there is someone else trying to unfurl the twist of Westworld. This, combined with what I will write about the puppetmasters' discover,y sort of strengthens my theory.
Unpause. Dolores and William leave Logan behind. That mysterious smile on Logan's face when hosts are dragging him, opened up a door for a whole lot of theories. Leaving Pariah, Dolores and William manage to get on the train only to find out El Lazo is Lawrence, the same host MiB has been trudging along all this while. He too is probably on his way to find the centre of the maze or to get back on his loop of being found by some other bounty hunters apart from MiB.
MiB is still travelling towards the centre of the maze with Teddy Flood and Lawrence when we first see them in 'Contrapasso.' Teddy needs blood refuel and MiB sends younger, host version of Dr. Robert Ford to fetch some water. This is where MiB's knowledge of the park amazes me. Engineering mixed with butchering technique. He slits Lawrence's throat and drains his blood to feed Teddy! Gruesome jugaad. This also sort of answers my earlier question. The blood in the bodies of hosts probably works as a power supply. The lengths Ford has gone to make it all so real!
One man lighter, he meets Ford himself next at a tavern. This is Ford intimidating MiB. He is not deterring him from seeking what he wants but when Teddy stops MiB even from pointing a knife at Ford, you get the sense of God complex in Ford. It's a chilling reminder of Ford's power as we saw in the last episode during the conversation with Theresa. One gesture and the whole park will turn against you. This is the scene where acting students must pay attention to Sir Anthony Hopkins' expressions. Expressionless face, death in the eyes, and a slightly open mouth, teeth grinding, indicating that he is tasting lead with every word MiB utters. Simply marvellous!
Master of them all, Dr. Robert Ford is seen talking to old Billy in one of the underground levels. Telling him a story about his pet greyhound and how after breaking his loop of catching the hare he did not know what to do with his life . This is Ford foreshadowing the loops all the characters have either broken or are striving to.
He has his own secret sessions with Dolores. He is digging into her interactions anyone apart from him. He knows Arnold designed Dolores to destroy the park. But he doesn't know whatever was the trigger to wake up Dolores' destructive side has been pulled. That voice in Dolores' head is definitely one step ahead.
The staging area of the drama that goes on in the Westworld is expected to run like a clockwork. But Elise's discovery of external manipulation with the host that was trying to kill her, tied with Dolores' discovery in Pariah hints at a new game player coming into light.
In another incident, one of Maeve's caretaker in decon suits is trying to climb up the hierarchy by trying to code the life of a stolen dead bird from the park. In between these attempts, Maeve has made a few rounds of decon areas. This gives the sense that time is passing differently in all the stories taking place in Westworld. Once the caretaker succeeds in resurrecting the mechanical bird, the joy of creation on his face talks volumes about how Arnold and, to some extent, Ford must have felt upon creating something on their own. It lasts for a short period until he comes face to face with an awake Maeve who wants a little chat.
Does in-the-nude, awake Maeve mean she too has finally unlocked whatever layer Dolores has? Seems like Maeve and Hector's little heist of their own has got them some answers and made them hungry for more. This is possibly a 'Maeve on her way to joining maze quest' moment.
Westworld airs in India on Tuesdays at 10 pm on Star World Premiere HD
