The endgame is in sight, but before we get there, we have to reveal a few things about our favorite host duo Stubbs and Bernard. Meanwhile, Caleb repeats the same day…sort of.
Caleb’s Rogue-Lite Journey
Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan really missed an opportunity to key into gaming culture by not calling this episode “Rogue-Lite” with the multiple versions of Caleb (for the non-gamers, a rogue-lite type of game means you usually die over and over again until you learn enough to progress through a level or dungeon). We learn that the Caleb that Halores has kept around isn’t the original version, but simply his memories imported into a new body. Just like previous attempts to put a human mind in a host body, our Caleb deals with the same issues. Knowing that Frankie is alive and that Halores plans to capture her, Caleb sets out to save her or at least give her a warning. But as he escapes, he realizes that he’s already been through many of the same traps set by Halores, as he sees dry blood in certain spaces and even comes across a pile of his own bodies in his escape.
Credit: Warner Bros
Eventually, he reaches a radio station on the rooftop and relays an apology to Frankie that he failed her and encourages her that she’s going to win. Halores shows up to reveal that all those runs by previous Caleb’s were designed by her in hopes that he would reveal a key detail explaining why the outliers resist her control. This entire season has felt like a homage to elements of the Matrix and here, I couldn’t help but think about Neo talking to the Architect, and the frustration on his face as he reveals why the Matrix, as perfect as elements of it are, they always had to account for Zion or “outliers” because if they didn’t, they would wreck the system. In the same way that Seroc last season couldn’t understand why Dolores and Caleb wanted to take down Rehoboam’s plan, Halores doesn’t understand that humanity will never thrive under the strict controls she’s implemented.
Who Can You Trust?
At some point, we expected that Frankie/C would figure out that Bernard and Stubbs were hosts, but the timing and execution in this episode was a bit uneven. It simply seemed like a fact that C/Frankie should have realized much earlier and had she held that information until now, it would have been a more impressive reveal. However, this episode makes it seem like she just figured it out and that sort of sours the entire point. Additionally, learning there’s a mole amongst them isn’t a satisfying plot line given that we already saw Jay’s character alone in a stairwell in the past episode, e.g. as Bernard predicts, the compromised member is someone who didn’t make it back or had time to get swapped.
Credit: Warner Bros
C/Frankie locks up her girlfriend Odina in case she’s the mole and the audience is supposed to care, but it comes off hollow. Had there been a scene for her in the previous episode, we could have had a legitimate debate who the mole was until Jay gives himself away. It was just overly predictable and way too telegraphed – especially with the opening scene about Jay’s rescue when he was younger and refused to be called C/Frankie’s brother, which gives away the host-Jay as the traitor.
Credit: Warner Bros
Eventually C/Frankie gets to hear Caleb’s message left for her, motivating her to keep fighting just in time for Maeve to reboot and finish off Host-Jay.
Final Thoughts
This episode is frustratingly stuck in a standstill; it links up Caleb and Frankie directly, but the way we get there leaves a lot to be desired. Additionally, we get no more information on Christina and Teddy after they had quite a journey in episode 5. While we desperately needed Maeve back (she has been my favorite this season), it was a lackluster way to use her and the double crosses this episode were ultimately dissatisfying as well. Westworld die-hards will still find parts to chew on, but given my feelings about the season premiere, parts of this episode were just as lackluster.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Last Episode: Zhuangzi
Next Episode: Metanoia
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