Westworld, ‘Kiksuya’ Plot Summary:
The episode follows Ghost Nation leader Akecheta (Zahn McClarnon) as he recounts his awakening in Westworld to Maeve’s daughter (Jasmyn Rae). Meanwhile, The Man in Black’s wounds are tended to by Ghost Nation, while Maeve’s (Thandie Newton) future lies in a state of uncertainty.
When a series takes a detour, and focuses on a little known side character it usually doesn’t work.
It’s a formula The Walking Dead, a series I regularly review for the site, does quite often, and the results dreadful. Shows like Mad Men, or Boardwalk Empire, for example, have done this as well, but to mixed-to-meh results.
Westworld’s detour, titled ‘Kiksuya,’ proved to be one of the most emotionally gripping, if not one of the best complete episodes in series history.
The episode centers around Akecheta, the menacing leader of Ghost Nation. We’ve only known Ghost Nation as this fearsome group of warriors who lurk in the distance. We also know them (or so we think) as the men who attack Maeve’s homestead. More on that later.
What find out (SPOILERS) is that Akecheta is not only one of the first prototypes for Westworld, he’s also the first host to become aware. Akecheta was originally a peaceful, loving husband, but was plucked from his land and reprogrammed to be the bloodthirsty leader of Ghost Nation. However, after a chance encounter with Logan Delos (Ben Barnes), his entire world is shook. He begins to realize there’s more to him than being a warrior, that there’s another life he remembers, and that’s when he sees, Kohana (Julia Jones).
Kohana was his wife in his first life, and the moment he sees her, he falls in love all over again. Now, this might sound totally cheeseball that this blood soaked warrior would be awoken from his host state by true love — but damn it, it works.
It works because we can finally, and fully relate to the motivations of a host in this series. We can all relate to the power of love, and it’s absolutely touching when both Kohana, and he realize their past. It’s a beautiful moment, that of course you know will be ruined, but it’s still wonderful.
The farfetchedness, and the somewhat absurdity of love conquering all, only works because of the performance of Zahn McClarnon. McClarnon, who some may remember from the beloved second season of Fargo, is stoic as he is sentimental, weathered as he is wide-eyed, and when he needs to be — utterly heartbreaking. He is the best kept secret this show has, and outside of the fully awoken Maeve, he may be the best character in the series right now.
However, the main arc isn’t completely forgotten here. We’re given insight into the fact Ghost Nation wasn’t some band of marauders, they were prophets — the ones who carved the maze insignia on scalps, painted it on rocks, and in the dirt. They were trying to jar their fellow hosts into remembering their past. We now know they are in opposition of Delores’ aka The Deathbringer’s tactics. So we’ve paved the path for an eventual clash there.
The other stories were fleeting. The Man in Black was rescued by his daughter, setting up next week’s episode which seems to focus on the death of his wife. The other is the Maeve predicament. There was some nice moments with Sizemore (Simon Quartermaine) showing actual character. However, the best scene had to be when Maeve was communicating “telepathically” with Akecheta. It was another terrific moment for Maeve, and should really lock Thandie Newton in for an Emmy.
The episode also had some amazing cinematography, and the dramatic piano reinterpretation of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” was perfect.
‘Kiksuya’ is such a gripping, well-written, unique, and straight-forward episode of Westworld. No techno jumbo. No big action pieces. Just a character study, and great acting. It hits an emotional home run the series has yet to have.
Rating: 9 out of 10
