Westworld episode 3 ‘Virtu e Fortuna,’ is a little revealing and a lot confusing. Diving into the depths of this episode might get a little weird but let’s work through this together shall we. This week gave us three out of the four story lines to digest, while possibly giving us one more to think about. My only compliant was not getting to see what William/ the Man in Black and his shady ass was up to. But I am sure we will find out soon enough.
Let’s start with Bernard. This guy seems to not be able to pull it together. He is just as confused as the rest of us, but it does seem that he may be getting some of his memory recall back although it’s shall at best. Bernard is caught between the creators of Westworld needing his help, and his search to find who he is and what his place in this world ultimately will be. It’s clear Bernard knows things, and what he knows about Westworld’s secrets is still unclear. The people in charge, or the ones who used to be in charge want and need Peter Abernathy, Delores’ father. Wee aren’t quite sure why, but when Delores asks him to try and help her father who seems to be having a mental breakdown Bernard uncovers even more secrets. It turns out that Abernathy contains some kind of code that the Westworld people don’t want to get out. But Bernard is able to get it extracted from him before they take Abernathy to wherever they are taking him. Now to just figure out what all of that means.
Delores has been a surprise this season. I mean we all knew she was tough but it seems that she is really the only host in the park that has a real grasp on who and what she is and the reality of the situation. Even more so than Maeve. In a discussion between Delores and Bernard she says, “You have never been on the outside have you? Well I have and I know what is out there.” So even if Bernard had actually been on the outside at some point he has yet to recall it. Delores is moving at a fast rate of speed though. William’s biggest mistake was sharing all of the information with her. because she is remembering all of it and it is going to probably end badly for him and a lot of others.
It’s also interesting that she can distinguish between what is real and what is just a narrative that was written for her. She has love for her father but when Teddy doesn’t recognize who he is she says, “You don’t remember do you? He’s my father. My home.” But we get the impression that even though she has an emotional bond with Abernathy she knows exactly why that is. She also gives Teddy the chance to take care of business at the end of the episode but he fails to do so and the disappointment on Delores’ face makes me wonder how long she plans to keep Teddy around. My guess is that he’s too nice to just get rid of but some how he’s going to have to snap out of it.
At the end of season one I thought for sure Maeve was going to be the leader of the revolution. And although she may still be, she seems to be stuck in between what is reality and the stories that were written for her. She made a point last episode when she was told her daughter wasn’t real by saying. “My memories aren’t real? What happened wasn’t real?” So yes in that case they are real but she really hasn’t gotten the full grasp of things like Delores has. She is still on that journey to find her daughter, picking up Westworld employees along the way to help her. It will be interesting to see where she ends up and what happens once she finds her daughter.
The most exciting part of episode three was finally getting to see more of the park. We finally figured out where the tiger came from. So we now know there is an East Indian hunting theme park, where we are introduced to another guest stranded in the park. She look like she is running from something in her real life and hopefully we will find out more about her in future episodes. We also got a glimpse into the world of the Samurais finally! I have been waiting since last season to see these guys. Although it was a brief encounter as we follow Maeve and her crew into their area it was still exciting! So now we know that there is a Sweet Water western park, an East Indian hunting park and city park and the land of the Samurais. I can only hope that in the episodes to come that we will get to explore all of these more!
