S01.E03: The Stray

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

Dolores finds herself alone in Sweetwater when Teddy chases a new villain; Elsie and Stubbs go on a mission to retrieve a host who's gone missing in the hills; Bernard tries to get to the bottom of the hosts' hysteria and hallucinations; William persuades Logan to join his latest pursuit.

[paigow]

Elsie and Stubbs pursue a missing host; Teddy gets a new backstory, which sets him off in pursuit of a new villain; Bernard investigates the origins of madness within the hosts; William finds an attraction that he would like to pursue.

[djsunyc]

so umm yeah, why didn't delores die?

[CofCinci]

Ford is a dick who most likely murdered his partner and is the actual villain of the series.

Confirmed:  William is not MIB.  It was fun while that idea lasted.

MIB = Arnold.  He wants to solve the maze to get the hell out of the prison is former partner trapped him in.

Edited October 17, 2016 by CofCinci

[Primetimer]

Who's on top right now -- the bickering co-workers or the robot lovers?

View the full article

[AimingforYoko]

This was the first episode I was having a hard time figuring out the hosts and guests.

So Delores is Barnard's therapy, I wonder if the same is true for Ford and his "narrative".

[SeanC]

1 minute ago, djsunyc said:

so umm yeah, why didn't delores die?

I figure the evolution of her programming is evolving her past the bits of code that suggest she's supposed to mimic human responses to being shot.

It's nice to spend some time with a female visitor.  Though, while I don't object to lesbian representation at all, there's a conspicuous lack of lady guests using the men for sex.  I was initially figuring she was going to indulge herself with James Marsden.

In previous episodes it seemed like the park basically closed down at night, but here we see that storylines clearly do last through the night (and multiple days), since William and his asshole companion were camping out at night.

[djsunyc]

5 minutes ago, CofCinci said:

MIB = Arnold.  He wants to solve the maze to get the hell out of the prison is former partner trapped him in.

i think you're right.

[WaltersHair]

I need more *normal* park before we go on to strange narrative, implanted old memories and figuring out who is host and who is guest.

[dgpolo]

So does this mean the crazy people that surrounded Teddy are guests? since they didn't die when he shot them?

[benteen]

Great episode.  I love this show.

I noticed Neil Marshall was the director of this one.  Always good to see him directing the HBO shows.

So William is engaged to Logan's sister.

I think Ford was putting on a show for Bernard when he cut the robot but apparently he's not since Bernard is the one who is actually interested in seeing how the hosts evolve.

Poor Bernard....the dead kid seemed obvious when he brought him up.  Was that Gina Torres as his wife.

Hey, Steven Ogg played Rebus, aka TREVOR MOTHER******* PHILLIPS from Grand Theft Auto V!  That actually makes him even more of a fit for Westworld.

Ford's new storyline is pretty interesting.  But were they guests since they couldn't be killed?

LOVED getting a look at the history of the park.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for Dolores.

Edited October 17, 2016 by benteen

[CofCinci]

10 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

So does this mean the crazy people that surrounded Teddy are guests? since they didn't die when he shot them?

Yes, I think.  One of them had an axe and we learned earlier in the episode that Hosts usually aren't allowed axe programming.

[Gobi]

A lot to process here, definitely have to rewatch it.

Agree that it seems that Wyatt's men are human.

Love the way we're kept guessing as to who's a host and who isn't. My theory that William is a host was proved wrong.

On the other hand  my theory that the maze is a test for hosts seems to be correct.

More hints that Westworld is not on earth.

Anyone else think that the name Arnold was a shout out to The Terminator?

Edited October 17, 2016 by Gobi
Content.

[WaltersHair]

Why do they never show Delores's mother? I've been waiting to see if she what she looks like.

[BooBear]

12 minutes ago, SeanC said:

I figure the evolution of her programming is evolving her past the bits of code that suggest she's supposed to mimic human responses to being shot.

I though that Dolores was simply remembering the first night she shot the guy and was later killed. I.e. it took her more than one try to break out of her story and she was remembering the previous try when she saw herself get killed. 

This was the first episode I was genuinely lost for a lot of it. I think you guys will have to help me figure out some of it. 

One thing I will say, MY GOSH, what a good job on a young Anthony Hopkins!!

[kokapetl]

I thought Delores didn't die because she was deja vuing how she died previously and intentionally avoiding those outcomes.

I think the roaring cow skull people are androids who've somehow realized the wounds they suffer in storylines aren't actually fatal or crippling. 

[SeanC]

Just now, WaltersHair said:

Why do they never show Delores's mother? I've been waiting to see if she what she looks like.

It seems like Dolores' storyline doesn't involve interacting with her mother.  She gets up each morning, walks right out past her dad, rides off for the day, and then returns home in the evening to be victimized.

[djsunyc]

4 minutes ago, SeanC said:

It seems like Dolores' storyline doesn't involve interacting with her mother.  She gets up each morning, walks right out past her dad, rides off for the day, and then returns home in the evening to be victimized.

as the oldest host, it's a bit twisted and fucked up to have her be raped everynight.  ford obviously has no sentimentality.

[kokapetl]

All Ed Harris needs to do to leave Westworld is get on the train when it leaves town. He'd make it to the visitor's centre at the very least. And Anthony Hopkins' description of Arnold's personality and attitude toward androids makes it really unlikely that Ed Harris is Arnold, he's just too cruel and sadistic. 

Edited October 17, 2016 by Kokapetl

[parandroid]

So what _did_ happen when Ashley was trying to saw off the "strays" head? Things got too dark (I think I need a new TV) and I couldn't make out anything. Can someone fill me in please?

[Ottis]

This one I fell asleep during. It was a yawner. I think it was all the repetition. 

So what's his name the programmer has made a replica of his dead son, I assume? Seems like that's where it is headed.

Isn't Wyatt from the English guy's cannibal narrative that was vetoed by the founder? That's who the roaring cow people are? We're watching the well-oiled machine start to throw off variances on its way to breakdown.

Quote

One thing I will say, MY GOSH, what a good job on a young Anthony Hopkins!!

That was some digital magic, IMO.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Ottis

[bmoore4026]

Oh, dear.  Bernard gave Dolores "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".  Foreshadowing to hell and back because "Little Alice" is waking up, and it looks like Westworld is "nothing but a pack of cards".  Think about it, won't you?  Thank you.

[gatopretoNYC]

1 hour ago, WaltersHair said:

Why do they never show Delores's mother? I've been waiting to see if she what she looks like.

I've been thinking that since the first episode.

[numbnut]

38 minutes ago, Ottis said:

This one I fell asleep during. It was a yawner. I think it was all the inrepetition. 

It had tons of exposition. All that information made me sleepy. The writers need to break that shit up so one ep isn't weighted down by numerous backstories. I heard that reshoots made the storytelling messy so I'm guessing this ep was used to get the plotline back in order. But, yeesh, I now need to rewatch it to get everything straight.

So is the "William = MiB" theory shot to hell? Too bad. That was intriguing. I still think Bernard is a robot (we only saw his wife on a screen; his family memories can be implanted). I totally don't get Ford's motives for the robots. What is he doing and why is he doing it now instead of years ago?

Edited October 17, 2016 by numbnut

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, BooBear said:

One thing I will say, MY GOSH, what a good job on a young Anthony Hopkins!!

I haven't watched yet, but an AV Club comment seemed to claim that we're seeing Hopkins as he appeared in an older movie, "Magic".  Could they have taken shots from that film and used them in WW? 

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

6 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

I haven't watched yet, but an AV Club comment seemed to claim that we're seeing Hopkins as he appeared in an older movie, "Magic".  Could they have taken shots from that film and used them in WW? 

That would make sense. I was thinking it had to be something like that.

[racked]

10 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

I haven't watched yet, but an AV Club comment seemed to claim that we're seeing Hopkins as he appeared in an older movie, "Magic".  Could they have taken shots from that film and used them in WW? 

Imdb lists an actor but I think they had to do some CGI magic there because it looks way too much like Hopkins.

I am enjoying Delores waking up but seeing the hosts repeat their storyline every single day makes me wonder how tedious that is for guests who stay a week or more. Or are some hosts not programmed for such short loops?

[Maximum Taco]

2 hours ago, djsunyc said:

so umm yeah, why didn't delores die?

She wasn't actually shot. When she rides off there's no blood on her clothes.

She somehow knew what was going to happen; either she had lived the scenario before, or something else allowed her to predict what was about to happen, so she fled.

[mbaywife123]

This show is so WTH? I think Anthony Hopkins character is the last person ( non- robot) on the planet Earth and the maze is the way to leave. (Past,Present and Future rolled into one). This show is really weird and messes with my brain. This is either going to be good or "smoke monster" bad!

[henripootel]

Three episodes in and I don't know what the fuck is going on.  I think I understand all the bits but it's just adding up to a confusing mush, although I do have faith that production knows what they're doing here.  Some faith.  Honestly, they should have used West World's template for their narrative structure - start off slow and simple in the beginning, getting wild and crazy as you travel farther out.  Just figuring out the 'rules' for hosts, what they are and do and don't remember, is taxing my patience.  

[mbaywife123]

This show is like Lost meets the Wild West.

I will give it one more try next week, but if it is too much thinking for a Sunday night (turn my brain off, getting ready for Monday, I want to be numb and dumb on Sunday's) I'm out!

[magdalene]

This is all too convoluted, and slow moving for me.  My only real interest is in Dolores hopefully soon starting to get revenge on her tormentors.  All of the human characters can die for all I care. I have zero sympathy or attachment to any of them.

Maybe everybody is dead already and Westworld is Purgatory, ha, ha.

[arc]

4 hours ago, parandroid said:

So what _did_ happen when Ashley was trying to saw off the "strays" head? Things got too dark (I think I need a new TV) and I couldn't make out anything. Can someone fill me in please?

As best as I can tell, he woke up from sleep mode. Elsie saw the eye opening or something and that's why she warned Stubbs.

Man! All that stuff about backstories being the fundamental driving force behind each host's personality... and then we get Bernard's backstory. I was very skeptical that he's an unknowing host but now I'm back to not knowing what's what.

[thuganomics85]

I don't mind all the exposition and talking since the show is still young, but really, it is because all of these actors are so amazing, that I find it way more interesting then normal.  To bust out a variation of a common phrase, I could probably watch an entire episode of just Anthony Hopkins and Jeffery Wright delivering lines and playing off one another.  There just seems to be so many layers and history between Ford and Bernard, and I can't wait to see more of it.  Same with Bernard and Dolores, which is really becoming my favorite pairs, and Evan Rachel Wood continues to be the stand-out.  She really is nailing down playing a character that is robotic on the surface, but keeps showing small, but noticeable signs; a change in her voice, a movement in her face; that shows there is something going on in there, and it will be huge when it comes out.

Ford finally giving Teddy an actual backstory and not just keeping it a mystery made me wonder if this was a slight dig at the numerous shows that have a character with a mystery backstory and it is clear that they actually have no idea what it is going to be, and it is a scramble, once they finally get around to it.  Glad to get more focus on Teddy this go around, even if it, sure enough, ends with him getting jumped by a bunch of half-crazed guys in masks, who can't be shot, so I guess they're all guests?  Poor James Marsden!

Every time I see the Rebus character, I just see Trevor from Grand Theft Auto V.  But Steven Ogg seems to have done well for himself after that game.  Guest spot on Better Call Saul.  Recurring gig on The Walking Dead.  This as well.  Loved Dolores taking him out.  Although the bit where he briefly turned in The Man in Black was creepy.

William "pops his cherry" (classy, Logan) and kills a host, after Clementine/the other hooker is threatened.  But he still refuses to sleep with her. But judging from his reaction to Dolores stumbling back, I think he won't stay loyal to Logan's sister for too long.

Not as much of Maeve in this one, but her flashing back to the time she saw Teddy shot in front of her and then his body in that glass case back in the real world, was an interesting bit.

Only thing that bored me was the stuff with Stubbs and Elsie.  The actors are fine, but they just come off like the typical jockish solider guy and snarky, computer geek, who hate each other, but likely will hook-up somewhere down the line.

Last, but certainly not least: Gina Torres!!!

[Quilt Fairy]

Orion. The only constellation I can recognize, at least without double-checking a star chart. When we first saw it it was upside down so I thought it might have been the Big Dipper, especially when the same image was shown on the carved bear since the Big and Little Dippers are known as the Big Bear and Little Bear in some cultures. But if they're meant to head towards Orion (ala a host version of the underground railroad) they're going to be going South rather than North. Maybe towards that town where the mountains meet the sea that Teddy mentions?

ETA: Great line from Stubbs: The only thing that keeps the hosts from killing us all is one line of your code. So yeah, I sleep with my gun.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Quilt Fairy

[scrb]

The lesbian chick was losing her shit.

Ford wanted to traumatize Teddy by uploading the Wyatt story line, so he'll have memories of being hacked to death?

And if a guest gets some PTSD out of it, since the hosts bleed pretty authentically and tend to die in grisly ways, so much for collateral damage?

I think at $40k a day, the business would need repeat customers, because there aren't that many people who can blow that kind of money on a vacation.  So if you scare the living shit out of them, will they still come back?

[CofCinci]

4 hours ago, numbnut said:

So is the "William = MiB" theory shot to hell? Too bad. That was intriguing.

Yep, shot to hell. But now we have the theory that MIB is Arnold. 

[arc]

1 hour ago, scrb said:

I think at $40k a day, the business would need repeat customers, because there aren't that many people who can blow that kind of money on a vacation.  So if you scare the living shit out of them, will they still come back?

That host in ep 2 said her orientation questions were to help calibrate so William wouldn't get anything he couldn't handle. And as for just being scared in general, well, I'm told in real life some people go to those crazy extreme haunted houses for Halloween, like the kind shown in season 2 of You're The Worst.

[Izeinwinter]

The people hacking up teddy today were hosts that were part of the new Wyatt plot, They've just been programmed to ignore pain, and may be wearing hillbilly body armor. Elite mobs, basically. Teddy explained this on the ride out, all but holding up a sign saying "You are now entering a challenge area, this content is intended for groups, not solo play" but the only newcomer that stuck around was the queer lady who had been running bounty quests with Teddy, so the encounter ended with her having to run off and gather a party of people that aren't complete noobs. 

 

I liked her, by the way. She was doing a white hat run and having lots of fun with it, and the little touches were all just right. The bit where she put three rifle rounds center mass and then went "is he dead?" was just hilarious.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Izeinwinter

[Gobi]

9 hours ago, djsunyc said:

as the oldest host, it's a bit twisted and fucked up to have her be raped everynight.  ford obviously has no sentimentality.

That's not what has been happening to Delores. Her storyline had her arriving back at the ranch with Teddy, who takes down the bad guys. So, unless there was a guest such as TMIB, with different ideas, that's how it always played out. With Teddy now detoured  into a different storyline, she is at greater risk; or would be, if she hadn't learned to defend herself.

[kay1864]

What was going on with the gun in Dolores' drawer?  One minute it's there, the next minute it's not?  For a second I thought there might be a WW employee behind the mirror confiscating the gun from the other side.

[Gobi]

I am intrigued by the comparison of TMIB in the series to the original. In the movie, Yul Brynner's MIB was an unstoppable killer who couldn't be beaten in a gunfight. In the series, Ed Harris' MIB is the same thing, as seen by the  hosts. He haunts their nightmares.

[bmoore4026]

8 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

I haven't watched yet, but an AV Club comment seemed to claim that we're seeing Hopkins as he appeared in an older movie, "Magic".  Could they have taken shots from that film and used them in WW? 

And, ironically, it gave off more of a creepy Uncanny Valley vibe than any Westworld Host. 

[dr pepper]

Well, this week on Do Androids Dream of Incomplete Memory Wipes, we discover that using a robot as a confidant while in admin mode is a bad idea. Oh, and if you're thinking of trying to recreate your lost child, you should be figuring out how you're going to keep your work a secret instead of agonizing over it. Also, traumatic memories can neutralize the First Law. Also if you've switched an existing character to give a visitor a bounty hunter ride along, remember to turn off the previous response to the dropped can plot hook. Also, when you realize that your old dead partner and Julian Jaynes fan has become the ghost in the machine, you should immediately remove all his subroutines from your core programs.

Other than that, great episode!

[tpel]

5 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Only thing that bored me was the stuff with Stubbs and Elsie.  The actors are fine, but they just come off like the typical jockish solider guy and snarky, computer geek, who hate each other, but likely will hook-up somewhere down the line.

 

5 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Great line from Stubbs: The only thing that keeps the hosts from killing us all is one line of your code. So yeah, I sleep with my gun.

I actually quite liked these two. They seemed to be dropping hints that maybe Stubbs is a host -- he mentions his "backstory" and she questions whether security has cleared him to carry that big knife. But I don't think that could be true. It would be unwise to trust a host with keeping things in order.

[Ottis]

Quote

This show is like Lost meets the Wild West.

I think it is like Lost meets The Island.

Quote

What was going on with the gun in Dolores' drawer?  One minute it's there, the next minute it's not?  For a second I thought there might be a WW employee behind the mirror confiscating the gun from the other side.

I wondered the same thing. If the show had a more consistent narrative POV, we would assume Dolores was "frozen," the gun removed by humans minders and then she resumed her "scene." But then the gun showed up in the hay stack. Did she "black out" and move it to where she knew she would be attacked?

[teddysmom]

I'm woozy from staring at James Marsden. Hoochie Mama. Oh, Teddy & Dolores.

[BooBear]

12 minutes ago, Ottis said:

I think it is like Lost meets The Island.

I wondered the same thing. If the show had a more consistent narrative POV, we would assume Dolores was "frozen," the gun removed by humans minders and then she resumed her "scene." But then the gun showed up in the hay stack. Did she "black out" and move it to where she knew she would be attacked?

Just like her vision of being shot later in the episode, I thought that the gun was -- day one -- and the non gun was day two, but on day two, she remembered finding the gun yesterday.  Not at all sure why the gun was showing up in the first place but it could have been the suggestion to allow Dolores to break out of her story line.  I thought the hay stack gun was her would be rapist's gun that she grabbed when he threw her into the hay. Otherwise he would have just shot her with his gun. She had his gun.

[Ariah]

This is just my pace: uber arch of mystery + small crumbs of adventures, scattered along the way. We have been spoiled by Netflix and want it all at once, but I keep telling myself that patience is a good thing. As long as the pay-off is worth it (here's looking at you, LOST).

- - -

What makes me wonder this episode:

Walter, the milk-drinking homicidal host.

We saw him decommissioned in the Pilot, this time he was along for the ride to victimize Dolores.  Is it another model with his face? Was it another timeline?

Bulletproof Cultists

Are they guests or are they hosts programmed by Ford not to take bullet wounds too seriously? Having guests roam wild like that, armed with knifes and axes is dangerous to other guests, so I'm thinking Ford-programmed hosts. The old man is up to something.

Also, I believe Teddy's not dead - he may be strung up a tree like those previous cult victims we've seen before. Someone may find him next episode :)

Timeline itself

How is Dolores able to leave her storyline to have a chat with Bernard and then come back? 

Battery life

Are hosts running on batteries? Was Dolores so exhausted at the end, because her battery was running low and needed recharging, or was that just because she was physically and psychologically exhausted?

Do hosts eat or drink? 

Business model

It seems that some guests stay for longer periods, some come in just for a day.

Maybe you can buy a package of 1-day / 5-day experience? Most hosts run on 1-day stories (like Dolores and Teddy), but some have larger arcs (like Rodrigo Santoro's character from the Pilot). So, the richer the guests, the better the experience (even if some of the days are repetitive).

I can easily imagine a twisted guest who spends a week in Sweetwater and rapes Dolores night after night. It's terrible that her sole purpose in the narrative seems to that - to be the gunslinger's girlfriend whom the guests can harass. 

Edited October 17, 2016 by Ariah

[Paws]

I have so many questions, luckily most of you raised them above.  MOstly  I am very irritated that they never show women trying to have their way with James Marsden because holy smokes he is just way too good looking.

also, why didn't they put the guy they'd were tracking into sleep mode immediately? They wouldn't have hadn't to chase him around so much.