Written by Ryan Demarco
‘The Adversary’ Plot Summary:
Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) and Elsie (Shannon Woodward) continue to investigate their discovery of sabotage while Maeve (Thandie Newton) discovers more about herself than she ever anticipated. Meanwhile in the park, Teddy (James Marsden) and the Man in Black (Ed Harris) continue pursuing Wyatt.
This week continued with another jam packed episode with a lot going on. Three moments in particular made this yet another amazing installment in what is the best show on television. We gained more insight on Elsie’s discovery finding smuggled equipment in hosts. This story took a majority of the episode which had Bernard follow his suspicions with Ford (Anthony Hopkins) and Elsie going off on her own, discovering Teresa’s (Sidse Babett Knuden) duplicity, and ultimately getting attacked in that creepy bunker. Although she could have been killed, it seems unlikely. She joins a company of incredibly strong female characters on this show and ending her character there would be a huge disservice. But I’m not worried.
The bigger question is, who snuck up behind her and who is behind all of the sneaky dealings. Is it Arnold? This episode eluded to him multiple times. It was revealed that he apparently committed suicide 35 years ago, while at the same time it is questioned whether or not he implemented some sort of presence in the park regarding unexplained modifications that are too advanced to be just anybody.
Ford and his plans remains to be a huge mystery. I find it fascinating that we have no idea which direction this character is going, whether his plans are beneficial or endangering to the park and its guests. Anthony Hopkins continues to dominate and add that extra enigmatic layer to the show.
Another moment in this episode, and by far my favorite of the series so far was Maeve and Felix (Leonardo Nam) exploring the levels of Westworld, from the inside, seeing first hand how the sausage is made. Maeve, who was always a standout to watch, has finally become the most fascinating character the last couple episodes. Thandie Newton has been absolutely killing it and it’s so good to see Maeve finally getting an episode. Her reactions to seeing everything created in the lab was absolutely priceless. Which also brings me to the soundtrack, which had a really nice touch during the lab sequence playing the piano verse of Radiohead. It added to the impact of that moment, creating a haunting image.
I also congratulate the writers for not including Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and William (Jimmi Simpson) this week. While their absence was noticed, it was a smart move to not include them, allowing Maeve to get a nice amount of time this week.
Lastly, we get to Teddy and the Man in Black, who had some small moments peppered in this week. Coming off of that badass round table chat last week with our Black Hat and Ford, we gained more insight into his goal: to find the deeper meaning of the park and to be a villain the park needs. This week they continued their journey after Wyatt, only to get captured by soldiers, and leading to a nice reveal of Teddy’s nasty side. I’m not ashamed to say I ate up that moment where he goes all Rambo on his captors. Definitely a strong badass moment to end the week.
As the season nears a close we’re starting to see some fascinating story arcs coming to light, but still a number of questions that need to be answered. Each character has a strong story, minus that annoying Sizemore (Simon Quarterman), whom I envision having a conflict with Ford further down the line.
All in all, great stories, amazing performances. Best show of the year.
Rating: 9.5/10
