What I’m Watching: Westworld

Westworld: Season 1, Episode 8 “Trace Decay” (B+)

This show continues to be immensely fascinating in its portrayal of artificial intelligence and its evolution way beyond what its creators ever intended or thought possible. Bernard being brought back online by Dr. Ford and being told that he was responsible for a lot of his own emotions was extremely eye-opening, and his processing of how he exists is incredibly interesting. Dr. Ford erased all memory of the closeness of his relationship with Theresa, but that doesn’t mean other people have forgotten, which is sure to make him question the nature of his reality and his memories. Maeve has made tremendous strides in owning her experience and commanding others, testing out what she can do just to be able to create chaos and know that she can. Killing one of the techs was a formidable display of power, and it seems that she’s been capable of much more consciousness since the very beginning, when the Man in Black wanted to see what he was capable of in the wake of his wife’s suicide. It turns out that she’s not the only one, since Teddy, after being stabbed, opened his eyes wide open. I hadn’t expected that the Man in Black would be in such a vulnerable position after Teddy, just like Dolores, experienced flashbacks that showed the kind of man that his mysterious colleague was. I still can’t get around the fact that so much takes place in this vast world that its creators don’t even know is going on.