Westworld Review: Passed Pawn (Season 3 Episode 7)
Humanity may be a powder keg waiting to go off, to use Bernard’s turn of phrase, but Caleb may be their full undoing as information warfare takes hold on Westworld Season 3 Episode 7, “Passed Pawn.”
The idea that you can take the hosts out of Westworld, but you can’t take the Westworld out of the world lands with effective imagery and tying Caleb’s realization to our own: the world is treating people like they’re hosts, and are realigning them back to their loop because some are outliers.
The idea of there being outliers in society, and that they are to be restructured through therapy akin to torture, is a terrifying thought. Placing Caleb as the poster child of sorts of its success, and using that to show how much it’s done to his psyche, is a solid way of personalizing the exposition rather than just being an information dump.
The season has been effectively turning humanity into a new form of park, where an AI is putting them on their storylines rather than their personal choice. Caleb’s own path is to always be a soldier, and rather than a government telling him what to do, it’s an app, the one we’ve been watching him use throughout the third season.
But one problem is that Caleb’s memories are not the truth is stretched and stretched, over a good amount of the hour. The episode takes its sweet time to get there when it’s been clear some several flashes prior. Once it’s revealed that Caleb has been to this place before, and that he has undergone similar treatment to William, it’s clear where things are heading.
And so for the episode to stretch it out is a bit much, making it feel like the show doesn’t quite trust its viewers to understand unless it keeps pounding the point into us. It’s still well done, but a little less extension of its forcefulness could have gone a long way.
The reveal does settle the rage and the frustration of the lack of control into Caleb’s experience, though. The reason for Delores’ interest in Caleb has always felt a little unjustified, like there may be a secondary motive to it. This turns out to be true, as he’s been bitten by the system so many times with his realignments and personal losses that he makes the perfect candidate to be the leader of a revolution.
However, if the world is falling apart as much as the little snippets show us, there may not be much to be a leader of. Even the gas station that Bernard, Stubbs, and William visit is a crime scene, after all. As a concept, though, it’s an interesting place to take the show: a revolution in reverse compared to the show of the first two seasons, where hosts take control and now it’s humanity’s turn.
But it’s also a fallacy of sorts. Delores wants to unlock humanity to essentially burn them to the ground like the hosts have gone through, and the strategy now in Caleb’s hands may be the key. But there is the same flaw that Caleb faces when told how he will die: armed with that information, you can change your fate. That strategy may be a good start, but is it really the best blueprint to follow?
One aspect that resonates is the futuristic display of weaponry. Drone strikes from satellites rather than drones (and they’re shaped like the arrows from the main titles) and Delores’ high-tech sniper rifle (where its tagging feature feels like something out of video games like Splinter Cell or Ghost Recon) help to show how wild the future can be.
The episode also has some of the most striking visuals of the season so far. Not only from the high-stakes battle that caps off the hour, but also through the disarming image of countless pods full of people (striking a tone similar to the first time we see hosts being worked on in the labs of Westworld), and the sterile environments clashing with the dystopia that is unfolding on the streets.
The battle between Delores and Maeve is one of the most thrilling sequences this season. It’s impressive how it keeps building, from the very moment the katana-wielding Maeve appears, to the gunship, to the clever use of the sniper rifle; it all continues to build and add to their fight, making every moment a chance of defeat.
It’s also one of the best shot sequences, never losing its focus on Delores or Maeve while still introducing new pieces to the fight to further complicate their upper hands. Since both are hosts, there’s also a lot more damage done to them than a normal fight, which is a fun addition.
The EMP blast knocking out Delores, Maeve, and the AI leaves things in an interesting place. Does the EMP blast leave permanent damage, or is it temporary? Delores sounds fairly sure she will die when heading off to fight Maeve, and now that Caleb has possession of the revolution strategy, where does that leave her? Does she have another host version of herself, or will she be fine in a little while, needing a new arm?
Caleb is visibly (and understandably) full of rage, and so his revolution may be one of pain and violence. It’s not clear what the strategy is yet, but given how Delores is protective of him, and Bernard says that Caleb is her true plan, whatever the revolution turns out to be will be the direction for the finale.
Aaron Paul is front and center on this episode, and handles the extra emphasis with wonderful results. Caleb Nichols is an angry character, but his depth comes from the humanity he still holds despite that. He is conflicted, both by his past and what he thinks is his past, and when combined with the clever editing and Paul’s performance, it’s an emotional journey into realizing the pain that is buried deep.
Westworld Season 3 Episode 7, “Passed Pawn,” is a solid escalation that places its most potent power inside the brain: not everything is as it seems. The show itself doesn’t seem positioned to do the same, thankfully, and it’s placing all of the power inside Caleb’s hands as the hosts are on shaky ground.
The finale may be a battle between Caleb and Serac, or it could be William trying to find a happy medium of taking out both and stealing it all for himself. There’s also Charlotte, now rogue and equally angry. The show has built up so many vengeful characters looking for justice, and it’s anyone’s game to win or lose.
Thankfully, the show is confident in its intentions. The second season, at this point, felt like shaky ground; here, there’s a trajectory that’s been building, and it feels like we have finally arrived. Westworld has found a fantastic way to continue itself.
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.