Westworld Review: The Absence of Field (Season 3 Episode 3)
Soldiers and rage make up Westworld Season 3 Episode 3, “The Absence of Field,” as the shackles are taken off and the real world starts to connect up a whole lot more.
The revolution Delores has in mind is taking shape, slowly but surely, as this episode digs into characters in a novel way that helps to send them down the paths that no algorithm can pinpoint. The episode is able to use Caleb and Charlotte’s pasts as a way of not only empathizing with them, but also underline how their tragedies are what sends them down their respective paths.
Caleb’s past becoming the weapon to turn him to Delores’ side is an effective way of providing his backstory but not making it heavy on exposition. It’s informing us as the audience about him and his tragic past while showing how information is used against a person for their social standing (which explains why his interview doesn’t go so well on Westworld Season 3 Episode 1, “Parce Domine”).
There’s always the concern of how someone tangential to the main story can become involved seamlessly, but it makes sense that Delores is curious about Caleb. He’s proven several times now that he is not only a good person, but loyal to a fault. That’s the kind of person she needs at her side, when hosts could potentially be shifted away from her. A human touch for her revolution could do nicely.
His past as a soldier, too, will make him a worthwhile partner for when things inevitably turn violent. Caleb is capable, and his rage over his mother’s condition and the horrors of war will be useful when violence becomes the only move forward on the show.
It’s a shame that his robotic pal takes a tumble during his torture scene, though. An interesting thing is that the moment feels like this big reveal and his coworker robot will take on these two men and help Caleb, but rather it tries to save him and just stumbles to its death. This feels like a set-up that in this normal world, robots aren’t as high-tech as they are at the park, and so once Delores is revealed, their true potential is shown.
Charlotte’s past is just as effortlessly extended out naturally before our eyes. Her whole other life at home comes as a pretty big surprise, since she’s always been portrayed as an isolated predator. But to show there’s this other side of her, one that she didn’t handle well even before the incident at the park, helps to soften the old version of her while this new host version tries to fill in the pieces.
Her ex (a surprising Michael Ealy guest star!) and son Nathan both see this new distance as business as usual, a rather harsh appraisal of Charlotte both before and now. There’s a disconnect between the host and Charlotte trying to balance out and become one, but for others, they are seeing the same old Charlotte, lost in her own thoughts and without a care for anyone else.
It’s an interesting direction to take her character, as it reflects everyone else’s view upon her while the host tries to find their own way of becoming Charlotte. It’s smart storytelling, tying the story to the exposition so that one never bogs down the other.
There’s still the question of who could possibly be in Charlotte’s position, host-wise. The immediate thought is Teddy, as Charlotte isn’t as forceful or commanding, more along the lines of Teddy’s kindness than any of the other potential hosts that Delores has in her arsenal. But the moment in the park with the pedophile clicks in that violent edge of protection that Teddy has, so maybe it really is him under there.
But now we know Serac’s plan a little more. The original Charlotte has a deal with him, and it’s curious that the encrypted data he’s after is inside Delores. Is this something Delores has done to herself as the park went offline, part of her newfound insight? Or is it Ford having a last laugh?
Now becomes the time that everyone will have to choose sides. Maeve is likely on Serac’s side, and Charlotte may be a little harder to pin down, though she’s controlled by Delores for now (but Serac makes sure to remind her of his own control, which sounds ominous). Delores now has Caleb and Conells, so the lines are starting to be drawn.
Westworld Season 3 Episode 3, “The Absence of Field,” is a remarkably beautiful episode with its visuals, but a dark episode with its themes. The idea of control and predetermined destiny is a dark thought, as it means nothing we do means anything, as we will always end up exactly as the algorithm intended.
By tying the narrative to Caleb and Charlotte, we’re given a front row seat to what makes them tick and what makes them human. Only one of them may be currently human, but that doesn’t mean the emotional impact is lessened. Both Aaron Paul and Tessa Thompson knock this episode out of the park.
It’s a fantastic episode about breaking free of the system and being your own person, and pushes Westworld further down a fascinating path of taking back one’s destiny.
What did you think of this episode of Westworld? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Westworld airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.