“Trompe L’Oeil,” the seventh episode of “Westworld,” begins to answers a few of the show’s innumerable cliffhangers and provides a genuinely horrifying final scene. However, in many ways, the installment continues to suffer from the problems which have plagued the show throughout its first season. For “Westworld” to succeed, it desperately needs to further develop its central characters. The series is very similar to “Lost” and “Game of Thrones,” featuring multiple narratives, huge ensembles and numerous mysteries. Yet “Lost” and “Game of Thrones” both value their characters more than the story. “Westworld” seems to be less concerned with giving the audience characters to root for and more obsessed with the ideas. This may ultimately be the show’s downfall.
Perhaps the least interesting storyline this episode is the narrative featuring Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and William (Jimmi Simpson). Thanks to the dull, prolonged scenes on the train talking about each other's feelings, these two characters have gone from the most interesting members of the ensemble to the least. Their story does have some interesting turns, but in the grand scheme of the show it feels like a stall. “Westworld” seems to be a show about corporate warfare and a rebellion of the hosts, so William finally deciding to have sex with Dolores seems rather unimportant.
The treatment of Clementine (Angela Sarafyan) in this episode is absolutely brutal. Clementine getting viciously beaten up by the lab tech it is almost too stomach-turning to watch. Later, her lobotomy is a point of sadness, as Clementine had a warmness to her which was rather rare in this show. Ultimately, Clementine is one of the victims this episode to the larger game at play between Delos and Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins).
Intriguingly, Maeve (Thandie Newton) seems to be planning something wild. With her heightened intelligence, Maeve seems to be the character who is going to take everything down. Newton is genuinely scary at this point, especially after watching Clementine get retired. The audience is supposed to like Maeve, and for the most part she has been a very exciting character, yet her sudden change to stone cold seems to take away the empathy which allowed the audience to connect with her in the first place.
The climax at the end of the episode reveals Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) to be a host. While this is not the most shocking twist, the direction of this scene was extremely tense and creepy. Jeffrey Wright puts in an impressive performance when he realizes he is a host who is at the complete control of Dr. Ford. The death of Theresa (Sidse Babett Knudsen) is rather shocking as well, as she seemed to be set up as a larger adversary to Ford.
Theories and Questions
The Bernard host theory was pointed out in a review here a few weeks ago, and now it seems even more likely that Bernard is a host copy of Arnold. Evidence for this theory includes Bernard instructing Dolores to find the maze, which supposedly has ties to Arnold. Hopefully the show begins to reveal the secrets of Arnold instead of just throwing out his name.
After seeing two major characters meet wretched fates this episode, is it possible that Elsie (Shannon Woodward) is also dead?
With the train ride that Dolores and William are on, it seems this park has no limits. Many theories hold that the park is on Mars, and seeing just how ridiculously large this park is, this is seeming more likely.
What exactly is Delos doing? Did they know Theresa would ultimately lose her life for the trick they pulled on Dr. Ford and Bernard? Charlotte (Tessa Thompson) is a nice gender swap from the traditional corporate jerk, but her motives are still very unclear.
Overall, it is actually sad to see Clementine and Theresa leave the series. Theresa was a very strong and complex character and Clementine was a victim of her situation. Both of these characters probably have to die to push “Westworld” forward, but the two characters will be missed.
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