Westworld: Emmy-worthy episodes for Evan Rachel Wood

Actress Evan Rachel Wood received an Emmy nomination for her performance, but her role at the forefront of Westworld has permitted her to explore her range as an actress over the course of the season, making it hard to pinpoint the best episode to submit for the Emmy.

Evan Rachel Wood plays the undeniable star of Westworld. She is the face of the new awakening that transforms a once wide-eyed ranch girl into a calculated killer seeking to overpower the enemy that shackled her to a reality where she is at the center of constant abuse.

And while The Golden Derby has already reported that Wood has selected the second episode of the current season, “Reunion”, as her choice for the Emmy nomination, half the fun is thinking through all of Dolores’ most significant moments and picking out our favorites.

The following 3 episodes, according to us, would be the best choice for the Emmy nomination episode submission for Evan Rachel Wood:

“Virtù e Fortuna”

One episode that would show the complexity of Dolores’ character exceptionally well is the third episode of the second season, ”Virtù e Fortuna”. Wood had to go from an unflinching dictator to a little girl who loves her daddy.

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Most of Dolores’ performance was pure Wyatt. She had to stand her ground when Major Craddock introduced Dolores to the sexist Colonel that was alarmed at the Confederados taking orders from a woman.

She resorts to having Angela shoot a tech using modern weapons to close the deal with the Confederados in joining forces. When the battle goes down, Dolores callously sacrifices all of the soldiers from the other team to blow up the Delos threat.

Dolores’ cold exterior melts away, even if it is for a second, before the battle when the Confederados bring in Peter Abernathy as a prisoner. Although she knows that she is a programmed walking computer and that Abernathy is not her father, Dolores has a weak spot for the man that in her mind raised her.

Wood plays the part like a child that is heartbroken that her father is “sick.” Abernathy is malfunctioning due to the massive encrypted file within him, and Wood plays a significantly different angle from the Wyatt programming of the rest of the episode.

“The Passenger”

Another essential episode is the season finale, “The Passenger.” Dolores is seen lying next to Teddy’s dead body in agonizing pain. Since she started her quest for the real world, she’s been emotionless and determined. But in this scene, the loss has genuinely damaged her. Dolores is, for the first time, without her protector and the love of her life. She leaves his body behind taking only his control unit, but the sadness of Teddy’s death is palpable.

This episode also marks Dolores finally coming full circle and making it to the Valley Beyond. Her first order of business ends up being revenge on the Man in Black, who had been taking advantage of her and tormenting her for ages for things that were entirely out of her control. Although Wood does an excellent job of being relentless in the show, revenge also looks good on her.

It’s Dolores’ power struggle with Bernard that explores Dolores as a negotiator. Not that she was trying to find common ground with Bernard, but she was trying to convince him that choosing the human world over anything artificial was the only way. It’s hard to take sides with Dolores because of her tunnel vision, but she does an excellent job of making genocide seem like survival of the fittest.

“Reunion”

Wood’s choice for her Emmy submission, “The Reunion”, is one of her better episodes. This episode touches on William’s journey after his first time at Westworld and Dolores has a lot of cameos. While we learn how William was able to convince his father-in-law in a stake of Westworld and how the Forge becomes the Delos Corporation’s new ambition, we are also presented with how Dolores learned about these developments. Dolores’ understanding of humans and the world outside is also explored as Arnold takes Dolores to the real world.

In the present, Dolores meets with Maeve for the most anticipated reunion of the episode. Most of us hoped that the two independent women would tip their hats to each other, but we got none of that. Dolores was standoffish and didn’t seem to want any part in any journey but her own. For a character that has spent most of the first season as a symbol of purity, Wood does an incredible job of maintaining a focused and emotionless drive.

Finally, if this episode fails to show the Emmy committee that Wood’s performance was nothing less then outstanding, Dolores’ first encounter with Major Craddock should at least be impressive for its feminist quality. Craddock rejects Dolores’ proposal to join forces obviously because of his programmed sexist values.

This is after she revived one of his men and had him eating at the table like he woke up after a long nap for Thanksgiving dinner. But when it looked like Craddock wasn’t going to cave in, Dolores convinces him with the ultimate control move.

Dolores kills Craddock and then revives him to show him that she isn’t a threat because she can harm him but because she can play God. On Wood’s part, her no-nonsense power trip is phenomenally played.

What do you think about Evan Rachel Wood’s Emmy submission for Westworld? Did any other episodes stand out to you? Share in the comments below!