Seeking much darker pleasures, Logan drags William and Dolores along to find Pariah, a sort of free for all town far out into the wilderness of Westworld. They’re led by Slim, the host they freed last episode. Logan wants to meet Slim’s boss, who in turn will point them to the edge of Westworld where it is rumored that war rages openly and constantly. Logan gushes about how their company ought to buy Westworld, and speaks of rumors about the creation of Pariah, Arnold’s suicide and the early days of the park. While we don’t know exactly who these shadowy investors are, or who sits on the board that Ford is constantly keeping at bay, we know that Logan and William represent at least one of these things.
Pariah itself is something of a rowdy port city full of pirates from all over the world, full of all the rejects and monsters and marginalized ghosts that life on the frontiers of America created. There’s open sex, fighting and murder on the streets, as well as an overall Day of the Dead theme. Pariah is supposedly Arnold’s creation, and William poignantly remarks that whoever designed it must not have thought much of people. He tries to keep a close eye on Dolores, who is oddly not as shaken by the sights of Pariah as one might think. As the trio get drawn deeper into the Pariah storyline, they hijack a Union convoy of nitroglycerin for the outlaw king of Pariah (a repurposed Lawrence), who in turn introduces them to a group of ex-Confederate soldiers who agree to take them to the frontlines of this rumored war in Westworld.
Of course, “Lawrence” double crosses the group and they are forced to fight their way out of a lavish, semi-occult orgy. Tired of rescuing Logan, who has been goading and manipulating him since way before they arrived in Westworld, William leaves his future brother-in-law to his fate when he is overwhelmed by the ex-Confederates. Also tired of being a damsel, Dolores turns a new leaf and blasts her way through Pariah and onto a train, which will take them to the edge of Westworld. It seems Dolores is being guided by a voice that I thought was Lowe, but it seems more and more likely that Arnold is leading her to the center of the maze. That she has been able to hide this from Dr. Ford for thirty plus years is also strangely remarkable.
The Man in Black continues his own journey to the center of the maze and while Lawrence was thought to be an important piece of the puzzle, stumbling upon poor fuckin’ Teddy changed all that. Teddy is on the verge of death so using some good old fashioned frontier medicine, MiB uses Lawrence as a human blood bag to give Teddy a transfusion. While that keeps Teddy alive, he isn’t motivated to help MiB find Wyatt until he lies about Dolores being involved. That gets him up and moving, at least far enough for them to get to the next saloon. There they meet the man himself, Dr. Ford, waiting for them to arrive. While their conversation was cordial enough, Ford has to remind MiB who’s in charge of Westworld. Intriguingly, Ford invites MiB to continue his quest, even granting Teddy renewed vigor to keep going.
Meanwhile, Elsie discovers that the headless host she was denied analysis of had some sort of laser GPS device built in it, which was used to smuggle data out of Westworld. And Felix, one of the techs responsible for Maeve’s little adventure, dreams of something more than being a subterranean bonesaw. He keeps a contraband dead bird and a datapad hidden and when alone, and tries unsuccessfully to code the bird back to life. At the end of the episode he tries once again, alone with Maeve’s “corpse,” when he finally reanimates the bird. His joy at seeing his little bird friend flutter around the room is heartwarming, but as the bird lands on an awakened Maeve’s finger, we know that Felix’s troubles are just beginning.
I didn’t mention it last post, but Maeve is pretty chill for someone that just discovered the truth behind her existence. The custodians of the waking world are nothing more than that: street sweepers and lamp lighters and maintenance men who keep the order of things, not evil or benevolent, just...busy. It parallels our own search for higher powers and purpose, and I think a lot of us would be pretty upset (if not outright horrified to the point of insanity) to find out we’re just puppets in a show, and those who tend to our strings have no answers above what they are paid to know. But Maeve intends to ask, I think, “You’re think you’re pretty fucking clever, don’t you?”
Dolores has her own little awakening, demonstrating she’s frighteningly fast with a pistol, but also that she can keep secrets from Dr. Ford, and presumably Lowe as well. This is potentially much more frightening, but as the park’s oldest host, her mind must be so cavernous that even the deepest diagnostic wouldn’t catch everything. Perhaps she was designed that way by Arnold? Maybe his consciousness, his ghost, lingers on in her programming? Dr. Ford is himself a scary dude who has a deep knowledge of all things Westworld, but his downfall may be in assuming he knows everything.
William may have taken himself deeper into the heart of darkness by leaving with Dolores, but then again he really is quite tired of Logan. In the context of a game, the mild mannered guy like William ought to be able to be the hero, and ought to be able to play according whatever rules he wants, even if they are an exaggerated version of his code in the “real” world. In other words, he should be free to role play. But here’s Logan, a domineering prick in real life and an even more savage asshole in the game, kicking over all the intricacies and immersion just for laughs. When that becomes boring, he seeks the most extreme of what the game offers: trolling, griefing, and open world violence. And when he’s outmatched, he relies on the good nature of the guy still playing by the rules to run by and save his ass. William and Logan are more than just in-laws to be, they work at the same company, and William’s position is contingent on marriage and his lips on Logan’s ass. How many people have had real life relationships ruined by a game?
Which brings us to the Man in Black. I wondered earlier if he was trapped in Westworld for whatever reason, a transgression against Dr. Ford maybe. But maybe he’s trapped by his own need to complete the game. The “completionist” obsession owns him and he can’t leave until he gets to the last level, beats every quest, sees every sight, becomes the most powerful player, or whatever. Or it’s a real challenge he’s looking for. If the center of the maze offers a storyline with real consequences, then that would be the ultimate experience. Or else he’s a friend of Arnold’s, and has spent a fortune to become a permanent guest of Westworld, in order to find out if he really did commit suicide.
Again, Ford seems all too willing to pay for whatever crimes he’s committed while building Westworld.
Written by A Play On Nerds contributor, Jerry Herrera - Lover of horror, sci fi, and fantasy in that order. Semi-permanent Disneyland resident. I'm at least one of the droids you're looking for. Twitter: @FrankenJerry - Instagram: @GeraldoPedro