Westworld Review: Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1)
Based off of Michael Crichton’s 1973 film of the same name, the rebooted Westworld‘s “The Original” recalls the robotic lore of Battlestar Galactica and Blade Runner, as well as the destination-amusement-park, turned horror show of Jurassic Park.
These violent delights have violent ends.
HBO’s latest fare is rife with familiar sci-fi archetypes and tropes.
The Creators (Ed Harris as Dr. Robert Ford, Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe, and Sidse Babett Knudsen as Theresa Cullen) vs the Robots (Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy, James Marsden as Teddy Flood, and Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay) is a rich landscape for the Westworld writers to explore, and they waste no time in laying the ground for a robotic uprising against a team of exploitive park runners intent on bringing humanity’s ugliest fantasies to life.
Westworld differs greatly from its original form–the film was clearly one of the first forays in the nature of robotic intelligence, it came with a cut and dry morality that put humans squarely in the “good” column and the park’s robots in the “bad.”
Today’s audience demands a more complicated tale. The robots aren’t the bad guys anymore–they’re protagonists, fighting for independence from the humans that wish to keep them docile for their own entertainment.
The Pilot sticks to standard formula, despite its rebooted state. There are a few twists that come as delightful surprises (Marsden’s quick turn as a Host is a particular “oh!” moment, as well as the fly) and a few that feel a little stale (the outright evil of the Man in Black, and the predictable structure of the robotic uprising).
Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.
At this point in media, the exploration of consent is a tricky and fragile one. Dolores is violated constantly; she is put through what seems like the “necessary evil” of sexual violence in order to reinforce to the audience that she is an object that must liberate herself.
While it’s clear that the season will explore Dolores’ rebellion against what she is made to do (has she already learned to lie?), it’s still disheartening to see rape treated so casually.
However, as this Westworld is a commentary on a culture of violence becoming worryingly mainstream, perhaps deeper and more appropriate consequences await those who treat consent as a blurred line.
Overall, HBO’s reinterpretation of Michael Crichton’s “dark Disneyland” story is a solid one with room to grow.
With Jonathan Nolan at the helm, I have faith that we’re all in for quite the ride.
What did you think of this episode of Westworld? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Westworld airs Sundays at 9 Eastern on HBO.
Brittany Rae
Brittany is a writer and avid TV blogger hailing the infamous year of 1989. She trained at Vancouver Film School in screenwriting for television and film, and has gone on to become a graphic designer and blogger in her free time. When she’s not watching the Food Network, she’s trying to consume every bit of sci-fi television she can get her hands on (current favorites include The 100, Person of Interest, and Doctor Who). She’s always up for female-led dramas and, of course, a literal interpretation of the phrase “Netflix and chill."