Westworld: Parce Domine (3x01)

And we're back! It's only been two freakin' years. I will fully confess that I took absolutely no time to re-watch or even read reviews of season two to try to remember anything that happened. This show can be really confusing, and the second season was especially so. But I'm not sure I care enough about it to put in the extra effort of puzzling out the various story-lines and time shenanigans. So... how does this premiere hold up?

Cons:

Well, actually quite well. I really liked it! I will say, the part that I was least interested in was the start of the Bernard story-line. His was the most confusing stuff last season too. Here, it looks like he's on his own, under cover and trying to keep a low profile. But he's being blamed for the massacre, for killing Ford, etc. So now he's trying to "go to Westworld," whatever that actually means. I don't know - I'll keep an eye on this of course, but for the time being Bernard's character just doesn't do much for me.

Pros:

Just as a general comment, this show is gorgeous. The set, the futuristic technology, the costume design, the actors... It's a well-crafted show with an obviously large budget going to very good use. I like how crisp and clean and sterile the world feels. There's this tinge of unreality to everything that helps to sell the somewhat sinister idea of not knowing human from machine anymore, because of the degree to which the two worlds have integrated.

The moments when the walls break down are all the more stark - the shock of blood clouding in water after Dolores kills a man by tricking him into hitting his head in his own pool. Or the moment when Caleb (played by Aaron Paul, yay!!) speaks to a person on the phone and doesn't realize it's a robot until quite a while into the conversation.

Dolores has become a bad-ass super-spy, with one apparent goal - that of accessing a particular super computer that basically... knows everything, and thus controls everything? It's not clear, but it makes sense why Dolores, our resident "robot scorned," would want to have access to it. She uses the information that Delos was collecting on all of the visitors to the park to achieve her goal, and it's frankly pretty chilling to watch her confront various past guests who had raped or abused her when she was one of the dolls in the park.

Meanwhile, we're introduced to Caleb, who basically does crimes to make money - it's a gig economy in the future, and the gigs are illegal shit. Poor Caleb is trying to get over his trauma from being a veteran - we are told nothing about the war he has returned from. All we know is that he lost someone close to him there, and as the episode ends, he decides to stop receiving therapy to help him deal with his issues. He also finds a wounded Dolores in an alleyway, thus setting off their joint story together.

If I'm basing my feelings off of this one episode only, I've got to say I'm definitely intrigued about where we're heading. Thus far, it's not too confusing. You've got Caleb and Dolores, two vastly different people, but each has a clear set-up. Dolores wants something she's finding it difficult to access, and Caleb needs a leg up in a world that has seemingly abandoned him. I hope the story can stay focused and tight this season, as a contrast to the last. I'm definitely willing to go along for the ride!

8/10