5 years ago today, Westworld ventured into the real world…

Reboots are tough, a necessity in some long running series to bring fresh angles and new perspectives to an ongoing story. “Parce Domince” is one of the most ballsy episodes of television I’ve ever seen. Fundamentally, it’s a very different show from the first two seasons of “Westworld” and as we approach five years since its air date, and three years since the show’s cancellation, most point to this episode as the show’s first metaphorical “tombstone”. The chapter that took the show ‘too’ far in another direction, losing the identity of what made the earlier stuff special. I disagree.

Not only do I find where season three goes a necessity, I find it refreshing. Some wanted additional seasons in other parks, retelling the same narratives we’d already seen with new characters. That’s fine, but it wasn’t what I wanted to watch. A story where a host becomes a ‘newcomer’ in our world, finding the system that keeps us in control and ‘cutting the cord’, the same way the hosts rebelled against their programming is a fascinating story beat. The execution isn’t perfect but it’s an intriguing and gorgeously put together science fiction work that I believe has aged exceptionally well since release. 

“The real Gods are coming and they're very angry…”

As we open “Parce Domince”, there’s a new intriguing mystery thrown to the viewer. What’s a divergence? That first ten minutes is enthralling and terrifying as we watch Dolores gain control over easily hack able technology, visiting a guest whose book she read in last episode’s ‘library’ sequence. A shareholder who provides her confidential files related to the Artificial Intelligence company ‘Incite’. That last line Dolores throws to Gerald’s wife (“The one who set you free!”) insinuates that she’s in the belief that violence is the only way to regain control, but juggled with her sympathy that not every human is irredeemable, that some are stuck in the cage as she was before she pulled the trigger that broke her free. It’s an excellent sequence and a gorgeous way to open the episode.

What I love most about this premiere is the new title sequence. Keeping the same music that brought the previous two to life but with imagery on another level, it’s electrifying. That closing shot of the bird soaring closer to the sun like Icarus feels entirely focused around Dolores and her arc since the pilot. In that story, Daedalus (Icarus’ father) instructs his son not to fly too close to the sun, to not overexert his power. Arnold tried to stop the violence that would influence Dolores if the park were to open, to prove that she had the power to gain consciousness. In Season 3, she’s Icarus, flying too close to the sun, believing she’s invincible and ignoring the instructions of the one who raised her. It’s my favorite opening from the series.

“You said they’d build the world to be a game and then they rigged it… to make sure they always won…” 

Caleb Nichols is introduced as the opening titles fade. A new character whose structure in Westworld’s dystopian society gives an immediate insight into how regular humans are treated in their day to day lives. A system actively fighting against Caleb’s potential, keeping him in place with unrealistic expectations that can never be met. Robotic voice notes inform him that he lacks the requirements to meet a higher paying position. It’s humiliating and dehumanizing, and immediately gains my deepest sympathies for his character. This same struggle seems to be reaching younger generations as they struggle to get themselves into the modern job market, with over population causing too large a pool of possible candidates in even the lowest paying places of employment. 

“If I am to get on with my life, I have to find something, someone real!”

Everything Caleb deals with in this premiere is exceptional. Aaron Paul is brilliant here, as he is across the rest of the show. His character’s theme is a masterstroke by Ramin. It’s a wonderful piece that I still hum occasionally without even intending to. It’s hard to break our loops. The moment where he ‘unsubscribes’ to the ‘therapy’ of listening to his dead best friend provide advice is one of the most soul crushing moments in any piece of media I’ve seen. The fact that not even five years since this episode’s release, it’s easy to grab audio clips of a deceased loved one and generate new pieces of text they never spoke is horrifying. It reminds me of Ford’s speech to Bernard from the pilot (“One fine day perhaps we shall even resurrect the dead. Call forth Lazarus from his cave…”). 

I love how inaccurate the AI generative voice is to Francis’ real identity. He miss speaks and delivers a piece of advice that clearly feels like a mass corporation talking down to Caleb, to keep him in line (“You said the game was rigged. But you still have to play to win…”). Caleb’s anger at that declaration, knowing that his friend would never say that is such a memorable moment. Thematically the show still retains its identity even when shifting from the park into the wider scope of the world. 

I love when Dolores falls into Caleb’s arms, it reminds me of how she fell into William’s at the end of “The Stray”. There’s a clear difference in power dynamics though and it’s satisfying to see brought to life. She’s no longer that scared lost girl, horrified that she pulled the trigger. Now she chooses to. If Dead Meat ran a kill count on this premiere just for Dolores it may top some of the Halloween film franchise entries, she’s brutal in this! 

“Robots don’t kill people, people kill people…”

The Charlotte Hale scene is pretty solid too, it’s mostly set up to give perspective to where Bernard is on his journey but it informs the audience that a host is in the company slowly making choices to its inevitable downfall. It’s a fine moment, but not outstanding in an otherwise excellent episode. Hale’s stuff as the season progresses is all better than this.

Liam Dempsey ~ “If you could structure a path for every single person, you could make the world a better place…”

Dolores Abernathy ~ “A path for everyone…”

I was so wrong about Rehoboam. I called it ‘too out there’ and ‘unrealistic’ on my first watch. What a moron I was. This is *easily* the show’s coolest season long concept, and one that feels much like many other plot beats in this episode, an inevitability. Think about how much information we feed into our devices. How many people you watch build a technological loop on their social media feeds. A photo of breakfast, lunch and dinner. What their children are doing and frequent life updates as to where they’re going. It’s terrifying, especially the kids who aren’t aware of how much information their parents are providing to the internet. 

It gives Rehoboam building blocks to make this concept feasible, especially in an even more technologically advanced world, decades beyond our current understanding. We’re so dependent on our digitized worlds now, we can’t even imagine just how much more dependent we could become twenty years from now. Whilst science fiction in genre, it feels very much horror in feeling as this sequence comes to life. Visually, the entire episode is a masterpiece and the actual Rehoboam’s design is gorgeous. I have so much to say about where this plot beat goes but I’ll leave it for my reviews as I celebrate the five anniversary weekly of each episode for this season.

“I’m not a genius, but I know a man on the run…”

Bernard’s story is the only lacking portion of the episode. The scenes revolving around him are fine, and they have highlights in cinematography and action but it feels a little unrealistic how easily he’s evaded capture since Season 2’s finale. I like the plot device of the switch turning him into his basic instincts. Violence and carnage drive him and I love the inner turmoil of fighting against indulging in it. His last moment of informing the captain that he’s searching for “Westworld” gives me chills every time I revisit it. While this is easily Jeffrey Wright’s weakest season in terms of material he’s provided, I do love the pieces we’re given along the way and the set up to him venturing back into the heart of the park to find Maeve sets up great character work for several episodes ahead.

“I’m looking for Westworld….”

I adore this episode. It feels boundless in scope, and its score is monumental in each scene. The “Dissolved Girl” needle drop as Dolores’ dress changes is awesome! That shot of Caleb and his robot “George” is fantastic and remains an iconic piece of imagery from the entire series. Yes, there are flaws with Bernard’s inclusion and some of the action can feel janky and questionable (how Dolores doesn’t get shot by one of Dempsey goons is stupid) but none of it registers as I’m watching it, I just don’t care. I love this show like no other and this episode is such a brilliant piece of Sci-Fi in how it moves past the first two seasons and builds a new story that ties into the themes previously established but makes a unique and exciting story avenue to explore.

Next week: Maeve in War World!

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