Posted in: Movies, Review, TV | Tagged: ed harris, evan rachel wood, HBO, jeffrey wright, thandie newton, westworld, Westworld s2e2, Westworld Season 2, Westworld season 2 episode 2

Let's Talk About Westworld Season 2 Episode 2, "Reunion"

HBO's highly acclaimed series Westworld is back, season 2 kicking off in earnest last week with episode 1, "Journey Into Night". The wait has been long for fans of the show, the ending of season 1 leaving most viewers with more questions than answers.

The premiere, following in the same first-season footpaths, did similar, leaving the door [what door] wide open for questions.  If you missed last week's season 2 premiere, you can read about it here.

This week's Westworld s2e2 "Reunion" has another simple synopsis:

"Starting at the beginning"

Things that happened: (we'll be updating live throughout the episode)

• The episode begins with a catchup from last week's time lapse filled episode
• Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) is speaking with Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), telling her to bring herself back online
• She is dressed in a modern little black dress, they are in what looks like an apartment in a city like NYC or Los Angeles
• "You get used to it after awhile," he says to her.
• Robert's (Anthony Hopkins) voice calls from the next room, and it's obviously a flashback to another time.
• Bernard takes Dolores to what he calls 'his home' across the street from the larger building, it's under construction, and gigantic.
• He talks about his wife, "I'm moving my family here, I need to have my two worlds within reach of each other."
• They talk about courage, "Strange moonlight can be just as frightening as the dark."
• After the opening title credits end (still love the new set), we're right back into the bowls of the main park building.
• One of the party guests has managed to escape, and makes his way down into one of the labs.
• Dolores and her crew show up, and she emotionally tells Teddy (James Marsden) that she "knows the truth"
• We get another flashback, to Logan (Ben Barnes) and his soon-to-be bother in law William (Jimmi Simpson) at a meeting, where Logan is pitched the idea of the park.
• "Look around, pick out who you think they are," a lovely blonde tells him, meaning the restaurant's bar is populated with hosts
• Turns out the ENTIRE room is filled with hosts, and they freeze on command. "Welcome to Westworld," the blonde says.
• Dolores was there, and she remembers.
• Back in her present, she demands Teddy be shown his 'history', images of his deaths
• His reaction is immediate, anger and fear, lashing out at one of the humans in the lab
• Back in the park, The Man In Black comes across a set of hosts who've strung up a would-be horse thief, Lars
• "Dead isn't what it used to be, Lars." The Man In Black says after a shot host comes back to live and continues attacking him
• The Man in Black gives one of the best explanations of why entertainment such as the Delos Destination Parks (and video games, violent movies, etc) are so popular and, after a fashion, important.
• Dolores and her crew get information by torturing one of the lab guys, finding out an 'army' of 800 vs 50.
• Another flashback in the park has the opening in Sweetwater, Teddy's seeing Dolores, everything freezes, and William and Logan's father remarks on Dolores' beauty.
• They're talking about taking over the park, that Logan has lost so much money on it
• "I think in 20 years this'll be the only reality people will know," William says to him
• "This is the only place in the world that you can see people for who they really are," he continues, pitching the possibility of the place as a marketing goldmine.
• Back in the present, Dolores and her crew is on the hunt for more hosts to help fight off the recovery teams
• It's nighttime, a wagon burns, and out of the dark come Maeve and Hector
• The two have a tete a tete, one questioning the other's motive and rage
• I mean let's be honest, the two of those women could burn the entire place down if they team up.
• Dolores meets with another band of 'outlaws', who she returned a dead man to, who looks noticeably worse for wear
• She tells the leader they'll never make their destination unless they're under her command
• Teddy and Angela take out the crew with guns, but Dolores brings the leader back and tells him she's killed God
• Another flashback, and it's a party where William's father-in-law is retiring. Dolores is there as hired entertainment, playing piano.

  

• She goes out to the balcony at the party to find Logan in the middle of a herone binge.
• The Man in Black makes his way to the Dia De Los Muertos town, and a new leader emerges.
• Giancarlo Esposito's mystery character is revealed, El Lazo
• The Man In Black tells his companion that "this place we're going is my greatest mistake."
• William has Dolores all to himself in a dark room, she's naked, and he tells her she's just "a thing". "Turns out, you're not even a thing, you're a reflection."
• He tells her he thinks the park holds the answer to a question that no one's asked.
• He takes her back into the park (she's clothes now), and shows her a mining opperation
• Back in her current timeline, Dolores leads her pack to find the army colonial.
• While talking about their destination/goal, Dolores tells Teddy "it's not a place, it's a weapon, and I plan to use it to destroy all of them."

***

As I predicted, this episode is a bit more oompth to it than last week's. Definitely more movable pieces on the board, now that we've established that the hosts can come back. The trailer for next week shows even more expected twists.

Westworld airs on HBO on Sundays.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!