REVIEW: Westworld – “The Adversary”

The following is a spoiler recap/review of the sixth episode of Westworld – Developed by Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy

In the sixth episode of Westworld, the Man in Black (played by Ed Harris) and Teddy (played by James Marsden) travel towards the border, Maeve (played by Thandie Newton) gets a guided tour of what’s going on behind the scenes, and Elsie (played by Shannon Woodward) and Bernard (played by Jeffrey Wright) hunt for answers.

I was surprised once or twice, but no one looked more surprised than the Man in Black when Teddy snapped and shot down the Union Army soldiers with a freaking gatling gun! Finally, Teddy wasn’t just the ‘Kenny McCormick’ of the Westworld theme park. This is a Teddy Flood that entertains, surprises, and intrigues you. Good job, Dr. Ford.

After last week’s cool Maeve cliffhanger, that storyline was, obviously, what I wanted to see the most, and it didn’t disappoint. I’m still not a big fan of the two technicians that Maeve calls Felix and Sylvester (that can’t be their real names, right?), but it was intriguing to see the behind the scenes of the park through the eyes of a terrified host.

I’m still not sure how they just let Felix walk around with her in that dress – it all seemed rather odd, to tell you the truth – but I loved the music that accompanied that sequence. By the way, I love how well Thandie Newton is portraying the soon-to-be upgraded Maeve. Sir Anthony Hopkins and Evan Rachel Wood have gotten a lot of praise, but she definitely deserves some too.

“Someone told me to put it out of its misery.” – Young Robert to Dr. Robert Ford.

There was a pretty satisfying and simple reveal in this episode. The little boy running around is, in fact, young Robert Ford. Actually, his entire family is in the park (the best moment in the episode). There’s clearly something else going on here, as the host-version of Ford’s father attacked Bernard when he mentioned Arnold. Then, of course, there was the thing about young Robert lying to Dr. Ford about killing Jock. That was probably the weirdest thing in the episode and that’s saying something!

Speaking of people keeping secrets, this week’s episode was one hell of a rollercoaster for Bernard, who Elsie, interestingly, kept on saying had been there forever. First, Theresa dumped him. Then Ford’s robot-dad attacked him. Then he found out that the woman he seemingly cares for – Theresa (who – in this episode – was confirmed to be as Danish as the actress portraying her) – is the one smuggling data out of the theme park. Don’t worry, Bernard. I’m sure it’ll get easier next week. Right?

We all knew what was going to happen when Elsie investigated on her own. That was a bit too obvious. By the way – here’s a guess – I’m thinking that maybe the one who grabbed Elsie was actually Stubbs (played by Luke Hemsworth). If not then, well, she’s in trouble.

The Adversary was another fantastic episode of Westworld. I normally enjoy watching both Teddy, the Man in Black, and Maeve, but, at least for me, they don’t come close to being as interesting as Dolores’ story arc – or even just her complicated relationship with William.

But I really didn’t miss Dolores and William in this episode. The showrunners have given us a number of intriguing characters portrayed by a sublime ensemble cast. I’m still very impressed with Westworld. Until next time, try not to live without limits.

A-

– Jeffrey Rex