Westworld 2.4 “The Riddle of the Sphinx” Review
Here’s a riddle: How does a show basically give everything away in the first 30 seconds and still become in the best episode of the entire series? Join the ScreenGods crew as we dissect Grace not being Grace, the return of Elsie Hughes, and new innovations in laying railroad tracks.
Warning: Our reviews are detailed AF. This post literally has over 100 screenshots and close to 7,000 words. Whether you stop reading this post due to boredom or pure exhaustion, we understand. Crack open a beer. Pour some expensive ass whiskey. Enjoy yourself. Let’s do this.
MIB’s daughter reveal
Evil Bernard Foreshadowing
Daddy Delos becomes a host!
Also…
The true purpose of Westworld
OoooOoooh exciting I can’t wait to learn about the true purpose like 55 minutes from now.
*one second later*
Benton: I wish that Westworld did previously ons and look aheads the way Arrested Development does and just make shit up to mess with people. “Next Week on Westworld: Ford shows up riding a raptor he stole from Jurassic World.”
Mike: Oh god that would be amazing. I love a good misdirect! I will say even though I just made fun of this episode’s preview, I was simultaneously pumped about it too. I think I texted you “OMG THE PREVIOUSLY ON SECTION WAS 🔥🔥🔥 THIS EPISODE I CAN’T EVEN.”
🕵🏻♂️ Opening Credits catch by Sean 🕵🏻♂️
Sean: Shannon Woodward in the opening credits ELSIE BACK Y’ALL!!!
Mike: Wow, they really did that. I can confirm that her name did not show up in previous S2 episode opening credit scenes. Well, I looked at the previous episode and her name didn’t show up so I’m just gonna guess it didn’t show up in the others 😂
Before we jump in…
After each episode, Westworld publishes a video with extra content and details behind important storylines. This featurette covers the design of the room where Daddy “Host” Delos lived as well as what Bernard is going through. Highly recommended that you check this out.
Storyline #1: William & Daddy “Host” Delos
What a beautiful set of scenes to reveal the biggest bombshell in the series! We break down various symbols, quotes, epic subtle eye/eyebrow movement from Young William (Jimmi Simpson) and Daddy Delos (Peter Mullen).
Scene #1: While the first scene doesn’t confirm that Delos is a host, there are a number of signs that lead you to that conclusion.
Loop/Circular Theme
Note: The song playing on the record player is the Rolling Stones “Play With Fire.” The lyrics in this scene go as follows:
Well, you’ve got your diamonds and you’ve got your pretty clothes
And the chauffeur drives your car
You let everybody know
But don’t play with me, ’cause you’re playing with fire
Mike: Playing with fire hmmmm, what could this mean?
Hourglass: Possibly a representation of time remaining before another loop begins? After the hour is up, flip it over and start again.
Stationary Exercise Bike: More circles! And it’s also a stationary bike, so another representation of going in a loop.
Goldfish: Now there’s a common belief that fish have extremely short memory spans, so this could refer to a host’s memory being wiped repeatedly after use. However, a 2009 report debunks this theory and proves that fish can retain memories for months not seconds. Or, maybe having a goldfish in this room is a metaphor for being trapped in a small cage.
Speaking of being trapped in a small cage…
Delos is living in a circular room!
🕵🏻♀️ Reddit Detective Work by Benton 🕵🏻♀️
Benton: Thanks be to Reddit for figuring out that the book is a sick looking copy of Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan. If you are familiar with the plot of this book, you get how great it is that Delos is reading it. Long story short, it has a lot to do with a character using all of humanity for his own singular purpose. Sound familiar?
Bored Delos
After the camera reveals this mystery person to be James Delos, Westworld has some more audio/visual fun. The sound of him opening his lighter, lighting his cigarette, and closing the lighter provides a sound transition to a pulsating music composition accompanied by quick visual cuts of Delos performing routine activities. This only furthers the belief that Delos is a host performing this loop for an audience.
Sean: The Lost Season 2 Primer vibes are STRONG with this scene.
Benton: Serious Desmond vibes. Complete with record player!
Sean: It seems to be a coincidence since Lisa Joy, who directed the episode, has apparently never watched Lost.
Exploring the similarities & differences of the “William & Delos” scenes:
Coffee & Cream
Props to HaxDogma for the screenshots above. In each stage we see the motor function improvements Delos made throughout the 30-year span. From spilling the cream on the table in the first scene to perfectly pouring the cream into the coffee in the final scene.
The Delos Lab Technician
Delos looking in the mirror
Mike: Two things I noticed here:
- See how the color of the shots change between each scene? Scene #1 has a cooler tone that gets warmer until it’s basically red in Scene #3. Don’t know why they did that… 😈
- Mirror point-of-view flip! In the first two scenes, our point-of-view (POV) sees Delos looking at himself. In the third scene, the camera goes behind the mirror which provides a stark contrast from the other two scenes.
William’s Entrance + Delos’s Reaction
If you aim to cheat the devil…
Mike: In the first two scenes after Young William enters the room, James Delos delivers this line:
“If you aim to cheat the devil, you owe him an offering.” — James Delos
In the final William & Delos scene, Delos doesn’t recognize William (now played by Ed Harris) at first. However, once he realizes who it is, he then figures out his human form has long turned to ash and now he’s a host. His quote subtly removes the “if you aim” part and says:
“You cheat the devil, you owe him an offering.” — James Delos
Benton: The first of many things Daddy Delos is going to say about Hell tonight. Obviously, you can say that the creation of Host James Delos was cheating the Devil of getting his soul. I mean we all know this Scottish bastard was headed to the bad place. So let’s talk about what the offering is. Usually the deal is that you have to trade one soul for another. Would you say that William loses his soul in the process of developing a way to preserve human consciousness inside a host’s body? Or looking at the bigger picture, if James Delos agreed to finance all Westworld in hopes that he can achieve immortality, then all of the hosts are then the sacrifice.
Sean: I took this quote simply as a superficial comment by an old rich dude making an excuse to drink scotch at 10 AM.
Benton: Sean, everything is code.
Sean: Yeah, sure. But I still remember Mr. Eko’s stick carved with mysterious Bible verses on Lost. And it was eventually revealed that the deeper meaning was that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was bored between takes.
Mike: I haven’t found anything on the internet besides the Riverdale creator tweeting that this same quote was used in that show. So I guess it’s just a baller quote that makes sense here too!
The Fidelity Test
William: And how long you been here?
Delos: Far too fuckin’ long already. I’ve got a business to run. What is the purpose of these questions?
William: Like I said, they’re just trying to establish a baseline.
Delos: For what?!
William: Fidelity.
Delos: So, what’s the idea? That afterwards you and I have the exact same conversation? It seems a little far-fetched, doesn’t it, William?
A Cognitive Plateau
Scene #1: First sign of “degradation.”
Scene #2: Second “degradation” but this is the first time we see a self-aware Delos realize his limitations.
Scene #3: Once again we see similar physical & mental tics, showing that the Delos Corp. still hasn’t cracked the degradation bug.
Other thoughts on these incredible scenes
Cinematography
Benton: Maybe I was too wrapped up in the mystery of the show in season 1 but I feel like the cinematography has really stepped up this season. This opening is GORGEOUS.
Sean: I think the cinematography in Season 1 was great, there’s just been more variety this season. Season 1, cinematically, was about establishing the loops and order that hosts and guests alike experience within Westworld so that it could be smashed in the finale. Season 2 is expanding the “known” world for some and causing chaos and disorientation for others. That means there’s more variety and opportunity for the cinematographers to show off.
Mike: It was just so cool to see this circular tracking shot open the episode. Westworld has had some iconic shot & scenes, but this was just so different than anything we have experienced so far.
Dancing Delos
Mike: Loved loved LOVED this scene! For show about robots in the old West, this show can still deliver some surprises. Also, loved Roxy Music’s “Do The Strand” playing in the background:
There’s a new sensation
A fabulous creation
Well played, Lisa Joy. Well played.
💯 Eye/Eyebrow Game 💯
Benton: Jimmi Simpson should receive an Oscar for eye-acting in this episode.
Sean: He also deserves one for his gradual transition into Ed Harris.
Mike: Agreed agreed all three of these men were amazing. This screenshot game can be a tedious one but I felt like a kid in a candy store this week capturing all the subtle changes in their faces. What an honor!
Benton: Sadly I didn’t get a chance to take “Actually Turning Into Another Person 101” when I was a theatre major at NU. In other news…yes I did look up if J. Simps was single. And no, he is not. And yes, the girl he is with is my age. And no, I am not ok with it.
Sean: My condolences.
Iconic Lines
If you can’t tell, does it matter?
Delos got old dude jokes too
Delos: Who the fuck are you?
William: Been a long time, Jim. Good to see you again.
Delos: William? William, my boy. Well, fuck me. I take it I didn’t recover.
William: I’m afraid not. How ya feelin’?
Delos: Better than you look. (CHUCKLES)
Sean: It occurs to me that we don’t know William’s last name, and it kinda bothers me a bit. I mean, we know Felix’s last name but not William’s? COULD IT BE SIGNIFICANT IN SOME WAY?!?!
Benton: It’s definitely Widmore.
Daddy Delos learns about his children…
Delos: Want me to stay here forever, do ya? Hmm? Enjoyin’ running my company, Bill? Livin’ in my house? (GRUNTS) Fucking my daughter? Hmm
William: Juliet’s dead. She killed herself.
Delos: Why would she Why would she do that? What did you What did you do to her? (GARBLED SHOUTING)
William: World is better off without you, Jim. Possibly without me.
Delos: (GRUNTING) (YELLS, GRUNTS) (GRUNTING) Logan! Logan! Logan!
William: Logan overdosed years ago. Couldn’t face reality, either. Your wife’s gone, Juliet’s gone no one’s coming to help you. Took me a long time to learn this but some men are better off dead. Good night, Jim.
Sean: After last season, I didn’t think I’d ever need or want to know more about Logan and his life. BUT here we are.
Mike: When I first heard this I was like, “oh, damn that’s one way to end Logan’s storyline!” However, I know we’ll be getting some more important Logan flashbacks.
Also, immortality is a bummer. Who knew? All Delos did was live in a 500-foot circle for thirty years just to hear that his wife and two children are dead. Fun shit, y’all!
Bosses making decisions that literally kill their subordinates…
Lab Tech: We should terminate, sir. — Sir!
William: “Leave him. Might be useful to observe his degradation over the next few days.”
Note: We’ll see how that works out soon.
Bernard & Elsie Reunion and an Underground Lab Adventure
Benton: How far did Clementine drag him?! Girl, what arm workout are you doing at the gym?
Mike: I love the commitment to dragging him most likely for MILES 😂 like at some point Bernard could have walked, right? However, I now realize he wasn’t doing so well in the brain department last time we saw him so I guess Clementine was just trying to save Bernard’s energy?
Sean: Also, wouldn’t dragging him all that way do some damage to his suit, not just make it dusty?
Mike: When the camera switches to another angle you can see the back of his suit is torn and dirty.
Benton: Ok, so Clementine brings Bernard to this cave. Are we to assume Dolores told her to do that or is she doing what Ford programmed her to do? I’m leaning toward the latter.
Mike: Agreed. This has all the makings of Ford’s programming.
Elsie’s back! How do we feel?
Benton: Elsie and Stubbs have always been pretty great voices for viewers so I’m glad to have her back. They are the only ones who seem to be like “Um hey so stay with me here, but I think there might be a chance creating a bunch of robots who look and feel just like humans and then treating them like total shit could backfire.”
Sean: Yeah, Elsie and Stubbs are definitely the viewer surrogates in this show, although slightly different aspects of them.
Mike: Yes, at this point of the episode I’m happy Elsie is back. That will change very soon.
Benton: So let’s discuss how Elsie got here and how she is still alive. In S1 when Bernard attacked her, Elsie had just figured out that data was being smuggled out of the park. But that was a Charlotte and Theresa thing, not a Ford thing. So why would Ford tell Bernard to take out Elsie? My guess is Ford wanted Bernard to actually save Elsie. He just needed to make it look like she was gone so Charlotte wouldn’t be suspicious. I don’t think Bernard went rogue and saved Elsie. I think Ford knew Bernard would need help after the revolution began and that Elsie had the technological knowledge to do things like refill his brain juice…oh and also help him with some other stuff which we can talk about a bit later.
Sean: Yeah, I think Bernard was and still is operating in Ford’s narrative, at least to a certain extent. I’m also curious as to the timeline with these scenes as they relate to last season. Has Elsie been out there only a few days? A week or more?
Mike: I’m guessing Elsie’s been there a little less than a week. Still doesn’t explain why her hair, clothes, and makeup are on point but WHATEVER. I don’t think Bernard gave her protein bars to last for more than a week. I do know that I wouldn’t have made it a day in those conditions.
I agree with y’all that Ford had Bernard save Elsie. Honestly, I don’t think Charlotte even knew about Elsie’s existence 😂 but she would have known about her once Elsie made it back to the Mesa and that would have been a problem for Ford. If you rewatch this scene from the perspective of Ford pulling all the strings it looks so different.
- Why is Clementine dragging Bernard? — Because he’s running low on cortical fluid.
- Why are they in this cave that Elsie believes is the “middle of nowhere?” — Because Bernard has been there before.
- Why does Clementine leave the shotgun with Bernard? — Well, they have a drone host to kill.
- Why bring Bernard to Elsie? — Because she can keep him alive.
Elsie discovers Bernard is a host
Benton: LOL to Elsie basically saying “How can you be a host?! You went on vacation occasionally!”
Mike: Yeah I love how she was stuck on this point. Maybe the fact… I don’t know… THAT HE WAS A TOTALLY CONVINCING HUMAN IS THE ULTIMATE REASON YOU DIDN’T KNOW.
“Is this now?”
Benton: I could watch Bernard watching memory Bernard do sketchy shit for hours.
Sean: Yeah, it’s pretty great. I also am going to need a full breakdown on Bernard’s suit variations so far this season. It’s the only way to keep track of which Bernard is where and which other versions of himself he’s watching.
Mike: I’m going to cover part of Bernard’s wardrobe mystery soon…
Bernard’s been a bad boy for Ford
Benton: Super interesting to now look back to the first time we see the drone hosts. They don’t attack Bernard because THEY HAVE SEEN HIM BEFORE.
Sean: Didn’t they not attack him because they sensed his DNA from when he grabbed the door handle with Charlotte? This makes more logical sense though.
Benton: Yea I think the reason they didn’t attack him when he was there with Charlotte is because he had been to the lab before.
Mike: Time is a flat circle.
Elsie: Is Ford in control of you now?
Bernard: Ford’s dead.
Benton: THAT IS NOT A YES OR NO ANSWER, BERNARD! Elsie, you gotta ask some follow up questions, hun.
Sean: Yeah, Elsie’s a programmer who deals a lot in binaries. But she REALLY should have taken out that Microsoft Surface 2075 edition and checked his code, a la Maeve in Season 1.
Mike: Every TV show character on every TV show has the opportunity to ask the crucial follow-up question but decides, “no, I’d rather leave this open for future suspense.”
Elsie: You have extensive cortical damage. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you shot yourself. I altered your code to ignore the physical damage for now, but you’re not gonna last long without cortical fluid.
Mike: Well, look at how convenient this is! Just a nice full needle of cortical fluid in a secret underground lab with no hosts that need cortical fluid. Who could have had the presence of mind to leave this needle here? Hmmmm… Ok, it was Ford guys.
Bernard: I think I’ve been here before. I think Ford sent me here. I’m not sure. The damage is repaired, but my memories, I get lost in them. I can’t tell if this is now or then.
Elsie: Yeah. I saw that when I was digging around in your code. Your memories aren’t addressed. They’re just kind of drifting around in there, so when you’re experiencing one, you have no idea whether it comes before or after the others.
Mike: I’m with Benton in geeking out over Bernard’s memory issues. I’m sure it’s not great for Bernard or Westworld viewers because it’s confusing AF, but I’m excited to see where they take this. This reminds me of one of my favorite Black Mirror episodes “The Entire History of You,” only difference is Bernard doesn’t know when he is. Instead of a being able to rewind to a specific point in time, his memories are sprawled out on the table like puzzle pieces.
It’s also interesting to point how memories are affecting major host characters. In Season 1, we saw memories terrorizing Dolores as she continued her quest for consciousness while Maeve used her memories to gain intellectual acuity. While not exactly the opposite in Season 2, Dolores has reached a new level of confidence and her ability to “remember everything” has played a major role. Unfortunately, for Bernard, he’s now in the “terrorizing memories” chair. Will he be able to recover or is there another solution (or a new brain hint hint) in the near future?
Mike rants about Elsie turning into that “dumb white person in horror movies”
Mike: Sorry, but we have to talk about the dumb ass moves Elsie made in this scene. Do we need a play-by-play of Elsie’s stupidity?
Yes. Yes, we do.
Problem #1: BEING HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Problem #2: Doesn’t look like anything to me Pt. 1,762
Problem #3: Remember hosts being strong AF right?
You know that Bernard is a host so…
Problem #4: Not recognizing easy clues that something really fucked up happened here
Mike: Ummm I THINK NOT. So let’s review what we’ve seen in the last 15 seconds:
- A dead guy in the corner
- Broken shit everywhere
- A blood-stained record player with “Play With Fire” on the scary loop setting
- And then you see someone riding an exercise bike
What do you do?
Mike: Hello?! That’s what you do, Elsie? We have now completed the “Dumb White Person in a Horror Movie” bingo.
Mike: NO I DO NOT LIKE IT JAMES I’M GETTING THE FUCK OUT.
Mike: I’m not gonna lie I wanted Elsie to die at this moment. Her actions in this scene alone deserved this outcome.
However…
Can we talk about how Bernard WERKS Delos in this scene?
Mike: We get a true host-on-host fight scene! I was a tad geeked. However, as you can see from the screenshots, the fight was one-sided. Bernard is strong as shit.
TAKE SOME GODDAMN NOTES, ELSIE.
Badass James Delos Quote Time
Ok, just one more shot at Elsie…
“Tell me that was a host and not a human.” — Elsie
Let’s review:
- You walk into a scary room straight out of Ex Machina
- You use your wizard programming skills to break into a room that’s TORN TO SHREDS FROM THE INSIDE
- The security module has “BUILD 149" on it
- The only person alive has cut his face into pieces with a glass shard and is reciting quotes from Hell
- Then he turns around, smiles at you, and then calmly walks toward your shotgun
- Even after Host Bernard essentially breaks his neck and throws him through glass, he has enough strength left in him to recite even more scary shit
- You light the room on fire AND HE’S SMILING AS YOU DO IT
What kind of human does that shit, Elsie?!
Bernard Gains Elsie’s Trust…
Mike: Ok, after all that Elsie hate I must say this is one of my favorite lines from her. Well done.
Elsie: But you gotta promise me one thing. No more lies. OK? And you’ll never hurt me again.
Bernard: Of course.
Elsie: OK.
[five seconds later]
… Then Bernard Immediately Lies to Elsie.
Mike: What a great button on this scene!
Lingering Questions from these scenes
Who’s the second host-human hybrid?
Benton: I am all in for the theory that Arnold is going to be the 2nd host — human combo. I think that sometime between the end of this episode and the Eleven Days Later timeline when we see Bernard on the beach, Arnold’s consciousness has been put inside of Bernard’s body. It is an alternate explanation for why he says “I killed them all.” Because the last thing Arnold did before he died is have Dolores kill a shit ton of hosts. It also explains why Bernard knew about this underground lab, stole the red ball/consciousness thing, and then why Ford had Bernard murder everyone in the lab. Ford knew Delos was experimenting with trying to get Daddy Delos inside a host and that they weren’t fully succeeding. I think Ford figured out where they were going wrong. But he needed some of their tech. So he played dumb like all he cared about were his narratives. But really what he cared about was getting Arnold back. However, once he realized the Delos board was pushing him out, he decided to sacrifice himself in order for Arnold to live again. There we are again with that concept of having to sacrifice a soul in order to cheat the devil!
Sean: My only problem with this theory is that Arnold died BEFORE William and Delos came on board, and William’s hunt for immortality didn’t seem to start until after his visit to the park — roughly three years after Arnold’s death.
Benton: But if the technology existed, I think Ford would have saved Arnold’s consciousness. Also, we don’t know who gave William and Delos the idea to try implanting consciousness in a host body. Could have come from Ford. Maybe he just needed the money to pull it off and here comes a rich, dying dude.
Mike: I will say that I’m confused because it does seem like two different “immortality” quests are going on. On one side is William (and I guess Charlotte & the Delos board) and on the other side is Ford + Bernard/Arnold. I believe that it’s possible William could have come up with the immortality play separately from Ford. If we go back to Episode 2.2, it was Logan who made the initial investment in Westworld, and by the end of that episode he was all drugged out saying that William and his dad were burning down humanity.
My first thought was this mind unit/pod/whatever we’re calling it was for Ford. However, there’s no news of him coming back in S2 and I’m also getting used to the “beyond the grave” version of Ford popping up in host characters. Therefore, I’ve moved to Arnold. But only if it’s Bernard becoming Arnold, not having a separate Bernard and Arnold. That would be too much.
“When is Bernard” in these scenes?
Mike: As we’ve mentioned, Bernard has been having major memory issues since the end of Season 1. But instead of jumping between timelines as we’ve done previously, this episode shows Bernard seeing his memories in real-time.
Or so we think?
I mention this because we’ve already seen Bernard change clothes more than Beyoncé at Coachella. Let’s take a quick journey.
Mike: There’s no torn sleeve. No dirt, scuffs, or tears on the back of his suit. WTF?
And…
Mike: Elsie mentioned his extensive damage as if “he got shot” earlier in this scene, but here is Bernard talking to Elsie without his head scar. We know there’s at least one scene where Bernard is trying to tell Elsie not to unlock the Delos door, but he realizes he’s in a memory. However, if you rewind to before that moment, we’re presented with a clean, scar-less Bernard — in what we believe is only a few days after the hosts have taken over — and he and Elsie are having a conversation!
I don’t have the answers here, just questions. Is Bernard just imagining speaking to Elsie? We know from Season 1 that Dolores mixed actual memories and dreams from different timelines so I guess it’s possible for Bernard too? If so, what does it mean? What does anything mean, Mike? Ugh, moving on!
William & Lawrence Go Back Home to Las Mudas
Sean: I like the symbolism of the Chinese railway workers using their former overseers as railway ties. FORE-FUCKING-SHADOWING.
Mike: Another cool note is these are (most likely) the same railroad tracks as the ones shown in Episode 2.3 during the two weeks later timeline with the Delos security team. Interesting way to nail the timelines together. Get it??
These tracks are supposed to head north, not west. Seems like Ford’s game has multiple contenders.”
Benton: I understand the purpose of this scene as a justification for why MIB and Lawrence have to detour through Las Mudas. But who are the other contenders for the game?
Mike: I think the hosts are the other contenders. Dolores is also going to the “Valley Beyond” and Craddock is searching for “Glory.” I also think Maeve & Co. plays into this as well. There’s going to be some major convergence/showdown that could result in the sea of dead hosts we saw at the end of the Season 2 premiere.
Return to Las Mudas
Benton: This bartender lives in a constant stake of being shook.
Sean: I mean, he’s proper-usage-literally shaking. That’s how shook he is.
Benton: And the first entry for best MIB line of the night is:
Craddock: Double crossed by some bitch name of Wyatt.
MIB: Good for her.
Mike: Yes, the first of many amazing lines delivered by Ed Harris.
Sean: This line reminded me of Tyrion and Jon Snow talking about Sansa:
T: “She’s a lot smarter than she lets on.”
J: “She’s starting to let on.”
T: “Good.”
Benton: Interesting to note MIB’s face when Lawrence says he remembers hearing about his daughter. He is legit surprised Lawrence remembers that.
Mike: MIB’s face and the way he said “Did I?” was incredible. I’ve watched this scene like 15 times. I haven’t seen MIB genuinely surprised like that since the S1 finale when he got shot.
Sean: Yeah, I’m starting to wonder if Lawrence just wasn’t wiped between his encounter with MIB last season, or if he’s starting to remember and gain sentience…
Mike: I’m voting for the latter. I believe Lawrence is Ford’s host imitation of MIB. They are virtually the same character.
“I’ve never been the domestic type. By some fluke of nature I got myself a wife and a daughter who think I hung the moon. Truth is, I’m a son of a bitch. Kindest thing I ever did was to keep away.” — Lawrence
Mike: Feels like something MIB would say too! Like the other major host characters, Lawrence may also be on his path to consciouness.
Benton: Second entry for line of the night:
Lawrence (on MIB’s daughter): You think she’d want to watch you gunned down in front of her?
MIB: Probably.
Sean: This is definitely the best witty retort of the episode.
“Grace” & Stubbs Hangin’ Out with Ghost Nation
Wife of the Idiot Husband: This can’t be happening because none of this is real, right?
Idiot Husband: It’s gonna be OK. Someone’ll rescue us.
Grace: Seems to me like our rescue’s in the same boat we are.
Sean: We still have NO IDEA what Ghost Nation’s deal is, and I’m starting to hope we never find out. That being said, I do think that they are an autonomous, semi-aware (if not fully conscious) group that is tasked with protecting the park visitors, in their own way. In S1, they only attacked the hosts with William and Logan. Maybe they push guests from the edge of the park back towards the center, and if that fails they capture them and take them there independently?
Mike: It seems like they are some sort of a park control system focused on separating (and protecting) humans from other hosts.
“I’ve been watching ’em since they ambushed me, and they keep the humans close, but they’re not killin’ us just the hosts.” — Stubbs
Sean: Is it just me, or is there a sense that Grace and Stubbs know each other? Maybe not well, but enough to have a good read on who the other person is and what their motivations might be in that situation.
Mike: It’s not just you. They definitely know each other. Just another clue that Grace ain’t Grace.
So “Grace” knows Lakota…
Mike: Ok at this point I texted Benton like, “Grace is definitely MIB’s daughter.” It’s one thing to be a “park veteran” it’s another thing to go so much that you speak Lakota!
Mike: Her “not looking to get out of here” line is also similar to what MIB said to Lawrence in S1E2 “Chestnut”
Mike: This could explain why Emily (her real name) is back in Westworld…
The Night Scene with Emily, Stubbs, and Akechata
Emily is like “Nah, I’m good”
Sean: FUCK YES THIS LINE! Also, the contrast between this Akechata and the one who lead the investor meeting is amazing. Put Zahn McClarnon on the guest actor watch-list.
Mike: Yes, this line is 100% my shit. Memories > Immortality. Hard pass to outliving family and friends!
“I Am Death”
“Death is an old amigo of mine. I died just recently, in fact. But death can’t bear to lay claim on me. So it sent me back here to do its bidding… And in turn, it’ll be watching over us as we cross these lands.” — Craddock
At this point you’re like “oh man is MIB gonna break?”
Nah.
Mike: I’d love to add all the screenshots of MIB fuckin up these dudes, but I wouldn’t do this scene justice. However, I do want to highlight my favorite part of this scene:
Mike: WHAT. A. BADASS. Now this is Westworld.
Also, Westworld is blowing up Confederate soldiers.
Other Notes from this scene
We have rain!
Mike: this the first time rain has fallen in Westworld!
Benton: WAIT WHAT
Sean: I was wondering about that. It also leads into another question: how much control over the weather in Westworld does Delos have? I STILL HAVE LOGISTICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT A FICTIONAL THEME PARK.
Mike: If I don’t get a Sharknado by Season 4 I will be PISSED.
MIB flashbacks to his wife committing suicide
Mike: The rain also served as a bridge to MIB remembering how his wife died (fun). This is the first time we’ve seen these flashbacks.
Mike: Uhhh, damn. This Ed Harris guy should do more things he’s a pretty good actor, right?
“If you’re looking forward, you’re looking in the wrong direction.”
Ford makes another appearance
Mike: OooOo more riddles! However, this one is a little more clear to me. Season 2 has taken William back to the most important moments of his Westworld journey. Pariah, teaming up with Lawrence, going back to Las Mudas. Eventually, I believe the game is leading him towards a showdown of some sort with Dolores. Many Westworld viewers are building MIB’s storyline as redemption, but I don’t believe it’s that simple. I also don’t know what the alternative is but, hey, I just watch this show for free.
A Family Reunion
Sean: Goddamn this scene is beautifully shot.
Sean: I also really appreciate how they didn’t drag this reveal out over several episodes. A show less confident in its storytelling would have had this happen after Grace had wandered around being badass for three episodes.
Benton: Agreed. I was worried it would be like S1 when it took 100 years to officially reveal MIB was William despite literally everyone knowing.
Final Thoughts & Analysis
“The Riddle of the Sphinx” meets its mirror episode “Chestnut”
Mike: We’ve already showed a couple callbacks from Episode 1.2 “Chestnut,” but there even more. Hang in there with me while I geek the fuck out.
MIB & Lawrence enter Las Mudas
Mike: In Season 1, we see MIB walking Lawrence into his hometown as a prisoner, while in the latest episode we see them ride into Las Mudas together. #progress #friends
The Townspeople of Las Mudas
Mike: In S1 we see people & activity in Las Mudas as MIB & Lawrence arrive. In Episode 2.4, we see a seemingly vacant town triggering a “where’s everybody?” response from MIB.
Lawrence’s daughter is excited to see him
MIB & the bartender
MIB: Hell, it took you long enough.
Bartender: I was getting the Grand Reserve. Only for our most distinguished guests.
Mike: While the bartender does a better job in the first season pouring the shot, in both situations he’s trying to hide important information from MIB. In Season 1, it’s news that Lawrence’s cousins have surrounded MIB in an attempt to kill him (about that…)
Mike: However, in the latest episode, MIB is not expecting that Craddock and his Confederate gang have already taken Las Mudas.
Dancing with Lawrence’s Wife
Mike: After Craddock captures MIB & Lawrence, we see him terrorize the town just like MIB did in “Chestnut.” Killing townspeople and then dancing with Lawrence’s wife. The moves are almost exactly the same.
Lawrence’s wife and MIB have a slightly different ending
Mike: I’d say it’s a much better result for everyone!
Lawrence’s daughter schooling MIB
Mike: You wouldn’t believe but there were probably five other patterns between these episodes, but I’ve tortured you long enough. What can I say? I’m a man who loves some long ass threads.
Thoughts on storytelling technique:
Sean: This episode, even more so than previous ones, has relied on — and done a great job with — the use of pairings of the different characters. William and Delos. Bernard and Elsie. MIB and Lawrence. Emily and Stubbs. Isolating (mostly) two characters and having them play off each other is a simple yet effective way to give insight into their personalities. Emily is more confident and determined in their situation than Stubbs, who is the head of security. Lawrence’s talk about keeping his true nature hidden from his family gives insight into William’s own complex relationship with Emily and Juliet. It’s a neat storytelling tool that they’ve used before, but really came to the forefront here, as most of the scenes were just two characters talking.
Mike: This reminds me of the best post-Westworld episode moment of the week. Lisa Joy did a Reddit AMA and had some fun with potential future character duos & storylines:
Sean Nerds out about the Episode Title
“The Riddle of the Sphinx” is a story in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. Yes, THAT Oedipus. No, the fact that it’s Oedipus isn’t important. The Sphinx was a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. A Sphinx guarded the road to the city of Thebes, and would ask travelers a riddle they had to answer in order to pass. Early versions of the story didn’t have a specific riddle, but in the most famous version, she asked Oedipus this: “ Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?” Oedipus answers the riddle correctly, and the Sphinx kills herself. A little extreme if you ask me, but it was Ancient Greece- what are you gonna do?
In some versions, she asks a second riddle as well: “ There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?” The answer here is Day and Night. “But Sean! You didn’t tell us the answer to the first riddle” That’s correct, rhetorical device. I did not — because shit starts getting a little weird. The traditionally accepted answer for the Sphinx’s riddle is Man, and the number of feet correspond to the three phases of life — you crawl on four feet as an infant, then walk on two feet, and then when you’re old you walk with a cane (they didn’t have rascal scooters in Ancient Greece). This is so generally accepted to be the answer that some later versions of the story even assign times of day to the footedness of the creature, so as to hit you more heavily over the head with the metaphor. IT’S THE PHASES OF LIFE!!! JUST LIKE WILLIAM IS DEALING WITH AND THE HOSTS THEMSELVES ARE FIGURATIVELY EXPERIENCING OR THE DADDY DELOS SORTA HUMAN HOST IS ALSO KINDA PHYSICALLY EXPERIENCING!!! METAPHORS!!!! DO YOU GET IT?!?! This is sarcastic yelling, by the way.
Do we think there are more host/human hybrids already out there?
Mike: It’s a little hard to read in this screenshot, but if you rewatch this scene you can see the number “12” on the elevator and the digital screen. We’ve already seen another one of these underground labs from the S2 premiere with Charlotte & Bernard. Bernard was initially nervous that the lab would reject his DNA signature, but he was granted access because he’s been to these labs before.
Episode 2.1 showed us that Delos, or more appropriately, the Corporate Research Group is collecting guests DNA and experiences. This episode shows that William and Ford we’re trying to create host-human hybrids. What are the purposes of the other labs? Are they all working on creating host-human hybrids? If so, has anyone succeeded? Even though we see Bernard slip one of the conscious brain balls in his pocket, there was another scene of a drone host with a bunch of those velvet cupcake brain holders, so are we being tricked into believing the immortality project was unsuccessful with Delos? Hard to believe that’s the case four episodes into this season.
Suffering x Time = Consciousness?
Mike: Ok, so I just mentioned that the immortality project seemed to be unsuccessful with Delos, but what if it was a success?
Mike: This scene happened after William told him his son & daughter were dead and that his continued existence is essentially meaningless. Obviously, James Delos is fairly upset.
Mike: Time to overanalyze! (Just now, Mike?) Ok, fair. However, Westworld has shown that’s important to look at every detail! Here, we see Delos knocking over the hourglass. About 6,000 words ago I mentioned the hourglass being a symbol for the time a host is in its current loop. Once Delos learns of the fate of his family and himself, he’s enraged and breaks the hourglass. Instead of incinerating his room, William decides to keep him alive and kinda offhandedly remarks that they may learn something from his degredation.
MIB also mentions this in Episode 1.2 “Chestnut:”
That’s why I like the basic emotions. (sobbing) You know what that means? It means when you’re suffering, that’s when you’re most real.
Suffering = learning about the death of his son & daughter.
Time = We assume that maybe 3–5 days have passed since William left and Elsie & Bernard show up (the lab tech has no noticeable signs of decay #freshkill).
Yes, the next time we see Delos the room is torn to bits and he’s become the world’s worst plastic surgeon. But what don’t we see anymore?
There’s no more stuttering.
There are no more physical tics.
His lines are brand new.
While the result was not what Delos signed up for, I think he was as close to consciousness as he ever before Elsie hit the burn button.
Final final thought:
Mike: The lab tech mentioned right before William left that “he [Delos] was calm” indicating they were close to a breakthrough. So was it William that caused the degradation? And if so, did William do it on purpose? I only mention this because Delos was all good until William showed up and then shit would go haywire…
Wow. I think this post may be done. An Episode 2.5 review is coming sometime in the near future! Please go to sleep. Even if it’s 10:15 AM (especially if it’s 10:15 AM), you’ve done as much as you’re gonna do today if you read all this shit.
