Westworld Season 3 Episode 3, ‘Absence of the Field’ brilliantly blended all the best parts of the first two seasons of the series with all the brilliance of the current season.
The series delivered a clever new puzzle box, dig up loose threads left dangling from Season 2, and expanded and advanced the main story through character development.
And it all worked, at least in this episode, brilliantly.
This episode worked because instead of technobabble, and breakneck plot twists, the series kept the story rooted in character in particular Tessa Thompson’s character Charlotte Hale. Hale was initially introduced to the series as this highly intelligent, conniving character; then in Season 2, she like many other characters, became mired in storylines that lacked clarity and continuity.
In ‘Absence of the Field’ Thompson gets to do the most acting she’s done in this series to date. We sometimes forget how good of a dramatic performer Thompson is given her roles in so many Marvel properties and other big budget popcorn flicks, and even in this series. But here, it’s a marvel to watch her at her craft because it’s such a complex role she’s tackling this season. Thompson has to play both the host Deloros (Evan Rachel Wood) that has implanted into the Hale body, as well as a version of Hale. It’s this crazy dynamic where she has to play someone constantly at physical and emotional war with themself.
And this brings us to the new puzzle box — who is in Hale’s head? It’s very intriguing because the answer could be as simple as the man “who belongs” to Deloros — Teddy (formerly played by James Marsden). Teddy is someone Deloros trusts wholly, and that’s mostly because he’s known to do anything Deloros tells her. But let’s not forget we have seen Teddy’s allegiance to Deloros waver in the past.
However, is the answer that simple? Because let’s not forget she’s implanted someone inside of Martin Connells (Tommy Flanagan) as well — could Teddy be in there? But there’s plenty of theories out there suggesting maybe this could be a copy of Deloros’ own program, or maybe a copy of Maeve, or maybe’s it’s another character like Clementine, Deloros’ father, or maybe even a copy of William? The puzzle box, this time around, isn’t some wild and obtuse goose chase through breadcrumbs and dead ends. This is way more straightforward, and the payoff here can be real, and tangible, and more of a payoff than the maze ever was.
While Hale was the focus of the episode, the Deloros and Caleb storyline was a terrific sub-story that firmly and clearly stated the intent of Deloros’ revolution. It’s refreshing to see clear intentions in this series. Too often everything is vague or implied, or ‘didn’t you get it?’ Here, Deloros’ mission is simple — to take down the super computer that is controlling the destiny of humanity — as she wants no one to suffer the same fate she had. Her recruitment of Caleb on the pier was a powerful one to behold, especially when she reveals that this is where the super computer has determined Caleb will end his life.
Wood’s deliver is both calculating yet honest, which is a strange combination. She’s obviously trying to recruit Caleb and play on his emotions, but at the same time she’s also being truthful, and upfront. She obviously seems Caleb as her real world version of Teddy — a sure shot who’s got nothing to lose, programmed to die anyway. Paul’s work in this and the diner scene was all the proof you need that his addition to the cast was a stroke of genius. His lived in performance allows for us to relate and empathize with a man stripped of everything in his life, with nothing left to lose — and he courageously (we think) chooses to help change the world in exchange for his probable for death.
Westworld Season 3 Episode 3, ‘Absence of the Field’ might be one of the most impressive episodes of the series to date. It didn’t rely on jaw-dropping effects, break-neck plot twists, or mind bending puzzles to do so. It was a story driven by characters, and the masterful actors portraying them that made it so impressive. Run don’t walk to watch this one.
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