Episode 2.
It's hard to top the pilot, but this episode definitely moves the story along. There's a few revelations (including something about a staff relationship), and more exploration of the trauma being inexplicably experienced by a few of the main androids.
Tallulah Riley shows up in this one -- she's the one who introduces the "good guy" newcomer to Westworld, shows him the dressing room, offers to be with him, etc. I don't remember that actor as well, but I know he was the hacker on House of Cards; I just don't remember if I saw him elsewhere.
Okay, here's something about the show that's different than most: The conflict is internal, not external. To explain, due to the western scenes, most shows would rely on gunfights and violence, etc., as a major plotpoint. But here there's no suspense to these things; humans always beat androids (because androids are programmed to not kill humans), humans can't kill humans (generally -- you'd suspect they could if they didn't use guns), androids can kill each other. But note who comes out the worst here: Androids. They're total pawns; their only benefit is that they're typically not permakilled, but they're still just victims waiting to happen. The episode highlights this on a few occasions, and they are viscerally brutal.
And that's the space the show is exploring -- potentially the transition of androids as victims to creatures of free will and able to protect themselves AND pursue their own goals versus their programming. And how that interplays with the human beings who didn't expect that. They're essentially an enslaved race that might be coming in to their own... and what happens when they do?
There's a horrific scene in the episode involving Maeve, where she wakes up, and .... well, you'll know it when you see it. Seeing the world through her eyes is terrifying, if you can imagine having NO context for it. Wow.
Also, the Man in Black is advancing his play, trying to solve the game under the game. It's interesting -- what is he looking for, and what will he find? But there's an interesting twist in that scene as well even if the outcome seemed foreordained.
I find the Hopkins character interesting because he truly IS the magician -- he is god (as he said last episode) to the androids, and he has power over them, this old man puttering about. He waves a finger, things respond. Does God care about his creations? He seems less callous than some of the other staff, having more insight into what the guests want and WANTING his creations to become more alive and real. I wouldn't be surprised if some of what is happening is part of his plan.
