Let’s take a look at the 5 worst moments from Westworld season 2, episode 4: ‘Riddle of the Sphinx’. This episode marks co-creator Lisa Joy’s directorial debut!
If you have not seen this week’s episode of Westworld, please be mindful of spoilers, spoilers, spoilers ahead!
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While the first few Westworld episodes were more about the host rebellion and chaos taking control of the park, this episode, in particular, began to shed light on events that are very different.
‘Riddle of the Sphinx’ is a 71-minute long episode. It focuses on some history behind son-in-law-from-hell young William and James Delos along with Major Craddock’s fate, courtesy of the unlikely duo, Lawrence, and William.
Also, Elsie is alive and well and we learned that Bernard is not as sweet and vulnerable as we thought. He may be a sort of Delos double-agent. Grace is revealed to be William’s daughter. Clementine may be in Dolores’ ‘squad’ but appears to be manipulated to still do Ford’s bidding via dragging Bernard to the right cave.
The last article showcased the 5 best moments, this one will note the 5 worst. Take the word ‘worst’ with a grain of salt. I’d add the word cringe-worthy, sad and head-scratching.
Bernard’s Darker Side
We discover Bernard was the one responsible for the carnage in the lab via one of his flashbacks. What led up to this brutal scene? Bernard recalls Ford sending him to the cave/lab so he could print a host in the image of a previous human–which human we aren’t sure. Of course, we aren’t. This is Westworld. Most would think it was another copy of Ford. After all, we’re still not convinced he’s dead.
What we do know is that Bernard watches as the machine finishes printing the red ball we all assume is inside the white cases that get put into the hosts’ brains. He then takes the ball and puts it in his pocket, but a lab tech catches him. Bernard utters something into the ear of a drone (Oh please let it be ‘these violent delights have violent ends’) and the drone kills the tech.
While all hell breaks loose, I noticed the tech that gets slammed and impaled onto the spoke of the metal circle that’s off to the side ends up in the iconic season 1 Vitruvian Man pose. Dammit, Bernard! My hope was there were some hosts with redeemable qualities, err, programming. My hopes have been crushed. Like the tech’s head, he stomps on. Ha!
Major Craddock’s Personality
I was watching this part of the episode with utter disdain and some downright hatred of Major Craddock. This guy is so horrible! Like American Psycho horrible. There are way, way too many similarities between the way Major Craddock acts and how William behaves. In this episode we see William be unnerved and dare I say even disturbed by his personality. Considering who we’re talking about, that is saying a lot!
Next: Westworld season 2, episode 4 recap: The Riddle of the Sphinx
William and Lawrence get taken hostage by the Major and some remaining Confederados in Las Mudas where Lawrence’s family and friends live. They wreak havoc and do disgusting, psychotic things to the townspeople. At one point including a sick dance with Lawrence’s wife and some twisted treatment towards a bartender.
Mayor Craddock has Lawrence beat up. While Lawrence’s wife and child are huddled together, he calls his wife over and begins to slow dance with her. He then tells his wife to go over and give him a shot filled with the nitroglycerin. William decides he’s had just about enough of Major Craddock’s cocky, psychotic ways. This is when William decides to do something truly out of character and get justice for Lawrence, his family and the town in general.
The Delos’ Family Fate
James Delos is experiencing the worst Groundhog Day I’ve seen in recent TV history. A young William shows up to this apartment holding a bottle of whiskey. The conversation that follows will be seen 3 more times throughout the episode. Each one getting progressively worse than the last.
During one of the conversations mentioned, William grows older and older in each one. In the last conversation, William has gray hair expertly weaved through his mane. Here’s where James notices the fact William has been aging. A quick side note: A big kudos to the makeup and hair department on this one. It looks very natural!
William bluntly tells James his wife is dead. She dies of a stroke and his daughter Juliet had her buried in the family plot. Later on, we discover William’s wife, James’ daughter, Juliet is dead too. She committed suicide. I find it interesting for a technologically minded future, this family is still burying their dead. Not that I expect cryogenics. It just seems quaint.
If that isn’t tragic enough we learn that our favorite bad boy, Logan is also dead. He died of an overdose. This is not surprising news considering the amount of psychological damage having a father like James Delos must inflict. I also feel Logan’s low self-esteem is a driving force behind his self-destructive behavior.
Another side note: James realizes the weight of being told he’s been ‘looping’ for 7 years. He says: “I’m not in California anymore, am I?” William replies with a well-known quote from the show initially spoken by Angela as a guest greeter. “If you can’t tell. Does it matter?” Interesting.
Railroad of Bodies
Lawrence and William, my new favorite unlikely duo! Though it hasn’t been revealed at this point in the episode, they’re riding towards Las Mudas. They come upon a railroad being built by Chinese-Americans and Americans alike. The camera tilts down to show bodies wrapped in cloth underneath the large wooden beams and metal rails used in the construction of a railroad.
A quick side note here. We know from season 1 there’s a railroad in place–this is how guests arrive in Sweetwater. Seeing a new one being built, along with an older William/Man in Black, saying the tracks are supposed to run North, not West, suggests the railroad is being built to connect Sweetwater to Shogun World.
As William continues to ride and survey the construction, the bodies go from being wrapped to being freshly killed. The blood is still red, not dried and dark, and the bodies haven’t decomposed too much. They’re also not Confederados. Their clothing is the bespoke type the guests are outfitted with upon arrival. Here’s where I started to cringe.
On the left, you can see a woman tied up wearing a pink dress. I’m pretty sure we’ve seen her before among a group of captured guests. There’s a man holding down a man who’s screaming his lungs out in terror. That’s definitely not a host.
Thanks to Lisa Joy’s directing, we don’t see what happens in detail. Which makes it worse. What we do see is the ‘executioner’ raise his arm, drive a spike through the screaming man and a spurt of blood shoot into the air. *shudder*
James’ Swan Song
Early on in the episode, the camera swoops across a fishbowl with a goldfish inside. James is this goldfish. He’s being watched in a circular room repeating the same actions and events over and over again. He then forgets they’ve happened.
It’s been said a goldfish’s memory lasts no longer than 5 seconds. You can draw a parallel. In another part of the episode, James smashes a large hourglass devoid of sand. Surely another metaphorical prop.
Bernard and Elsie enter the room where the experiment has been taking place. The entire room is bathed in red light and Elsie uses a manual override to open the ‘fishbowl’ room’s doors. They walk through smashed and broken debris strewn everywhere. Elsie hears the squeaking sound of the exercise bike James is on.
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James gets off the bike and over to a shattered mirror revealing his face. His face is covered in bloody scratches caused by the destruction of his room. The first thing that came to my mind was Marvel’s The Punisher. I’ll avoid spoilers by adding the article link here. It perfectly describes what I’m referring to.
James is a broken man. He pulls a shard of glass from the mirror and walks towards Elsie. Elsie points her rifle at him and he grabs it away from her. Bernard swoops in and punches him in the throat. James charges at Bernard and the struggle ends up with Bernard throwing James through a pane of glass. Bernard cradles James’ head, a meaningful exchange occurs and then Bernard walks away.
Cut to Elsie and Bernard outside the ‘fishbowl’. Elsie tells Bernard to save the bullets as she initializes the termination sequence. She says she’ll put him out of his misery. The room fills with fire and James is no more.
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Westworld airs every Sunday on HBO at 9 P.M. EST!