Westworld Episode 1.07 Trompe L'Oeil

Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and William (Jimmi Simpson) journey into treacherous terrain; Maeve (Thandie Newton) delivers an ultimatum; Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) considers his next move.

Bernard reads Alice in Wonderland to his son, Charlie, who is sick in a hospital bed. Charlie slips away and Bernard jerks awake from the nightmare. Later at work, Bernard runs a diagnostic on Hector Escaton. The host shows no sign of core-code corruption and Bernard releases him.

On the train, William plays cards with El Lazo and Dolores stares out the window, bitter after El Lazo's betrayal. Dolores notices staked heads lining the tracks and El Lazo explains they're in territory of Ghost Nation, "the most savage tribe there is."

Bernard tries to contact Elsie to no avail. He speaks with Theresa, who asks Bernard why he left so abruptly the previous night. Executive Director of the Board Charlotte Hale is looking over every department, Theresa explains, so it's important that they present a unified front.

"Our interest in this place is entirely in the intellectual property. The code." -- Charlotte Hale

Theresa knocks on Hale's door, interrupting Charlotte's romp with Hector. Irritated about the woodcutter mess and the disruption caused by Ford's new narrative, Hale tells Theresa the reason Delos needs the data: the board is pushing out Ford. To do so, Hale plans to demonstrate Ford's incompetence through a major host malfunction.

Walking to the Mariposa, Maeve is acutely aware of her mundane routine. Improvising, she slams the lid on the player piano before settling at the bar. Speaking with Clementine, Maeve strays from her script; when Clementine discloses her future plans, all the hosts in the Mariposa freeze. Maeve, gripping a knife, holds still as the clean up tech escort Clementine from the premises.

With Ford, Bernard and other top leadership in attendance, Theresa and Hale present Clementine as a threat caused by Ford's reveries. As the group watches, Clementine anticipates an aggressor's moves and fights back. When she doesn't respond to Stubbs's commands to freeze, he shoots her in the chest. Theresa lays out corporate's concerns: the hosts are acting on grudges from past builds. Bernard takes the fall for Ford's code and is fired.

"It doesn't cater to your lowest self, it reveals your deepest self. It shows you who you really are." -- William

Dolores tells William she does not want to go back to her old life. William opens up about his search for meaning in the park. Struggling with his feelings, William tells Dolores about his fiancee back home; Dolores is hurt by the news and exits the train car. William goes after her, asking: "how can I go back to pretending when I know what this feels like?" He kisses her and they make love.

The next morning, William tells Dolores he doesn't regret the prior night -- he believes she unlocked something in him. Equally inspired, Dolores shares a new sketch: "the place where the mountains meet the sea."

The train lurches to a startling halt and El Lazo looks out to see they're surrounded by Confederados with heavy artillery. Under fire, a man on a horse rides from the train carrying a white flag. On closer inspection, the man is Slim's nitro-filled corpse, which El Lazo shoots to ignite. The explosion buys enough time for El Lazo, William and Dolores to ride off, straight into Ghost Nation territory. The Confederados pursue and collide with vicious Ghost Nation warriors; William, Dolores, and El Lazo escape. Clear of danger, Dolores stops William at a beautiful landscape -- the one from her dreams. Fatigued from fighting, the couple opts to part ways with El Lazo.

"You think I'm scared of death. I've done it a million times. I'm f**king great at it." -- Maeve

During repairs, Maeve awakes and grabs Lutz's arm. She demands to be taken to Clementine; Lutz reluctantly leads Maeve upstairs where Sylvester lobotomizes the faulty host. Later, Maeve listens to Sylvester's weak explanation for Clementine's decommission. Furious, Maeve dismisses him. "I'm getting out of here," she exclaims. "You two are going to help me."

Bernard pulls Theresa aside to confront her about the sham demonstration -- he reveals that he knows she was behind the stray's transmissions. Although he's upset about Theresa's sabotage, Bernard moves focus on his primary concern; that the hosts are on the verge of consciousness. He admits he needs to show her something.

Bernard leads Theresa to Sector 17 at the field cottage. Just as Bernard discloses that hosts can't see the cottage, Theresa leads them through a door that's invisible to Bernard. They enter a remote diagnostic facility, frozen in time. Looking through host blueprints, Theresa finds one that looks like Bernard and shows it to him. "Doesn't look like anything to me," he recites.

Ford enters the facility and confirms Bernard is a host. Bernard is in shock; Ford explains the hosts are free because they are spared from the burden of consciousness. He tells Theresa the board likes to test him from time to time, but he's not going anywhere. Instead, the situation requires a "blood sacrifice." Theresa tries to call for help but has no cell service. "Like I said," Ford whispers in her ear, "I built all of this." He directs Bernard to kill Theresa and he smashes her head against the wall.