The Stray (Westworld)

"The Stray"
Westworld episode
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 3
Directed by Neil Marshall
Written by
Featured music Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by Robert McLachlan
Editing by Andrew Seklir
Production code 4X6153
Original air date October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16)
Running time 59 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

"The Stray" is the third episode of the HBO science fiction thriller television series Westworld. The episode aired on October 16, 2016.

The episode received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In Sweetwater, William kills an outlaw that had taken Clementine hostage. Emboldened, he decides to join a bounty hunt narrative, with Logan reluctantly following him.

Elsewhere, Teddy arrives in Sweetwater after helping a guest with a bounty hunt, and encounters Dolores. Dolores, having visions of the Man in Black, asks Teddy to teach her how to shoot. When she tries, she is unable to pull the trigger, unaware she is limited by her programming. Dolores then begs Teddy to leave town with her, but he refuses. Later, Teddy's programming is updated by Dr. Ford to include his new narrative backstory, giving him the drive to seek out and kill his old Union army sergeant, Wyatt, who has become the leader of a cult that terrorizes the countryside. He joins a posse of hosts and guests to track him down. The posse is ambushed by the cult, and the other hosts are killed while the guests flee in terror. Teddy tries to fire on the cultists but his bullets seem to have no effect as they attack him.

In the control center, Theresa confronts Bernard about why Dr. Ford vetoed Lee's new narrative and continues to unilaterally change the narratives of other hosts. Theresa also is concerned that Bernard's team are still pulling in hosts for checkups despite his claiming the glitches from the Reveries update had been fixed. Bernard meets with Elsie who had been examining the Walter host. Elsie found Walter had killed other hosts that, in previous narratives, had killed him, as well as remnants of a conversation with a man named "Arnold". Bernard takes this information to Ford, who reveals Arnold was a co-founder of Westworld and was trying to seek creating true consciousness from the hosts, a vision not shared by the other developers. Ford claimed that Arnold had died in the park due to an accident. During this, Bernard recalls the loss of his own son Charlie and dealing with the loss with his wife Lauren (Gina Torres). Later, Bernard brings Dolores to the control center for an interview, and talks about the loss of his son. He gives her a copy of "Alice in Wonderland", a book he read to Charlie. Bernard asks Dolores if, given the choice, she would question her own existence or stay safe; Dolores replies that she wants to be free. Bernard clears Dolores to return to the park, but does not report her unusual behavior.

Elsie and Ashley track down a stray host, finding that he had carved images of constellations in rocks, despite having not been programmed with that knowledge. They find the host stuck in a nearby ravine, but when they pull him free, he freaks out, grabs a rock, and smashes his own head with it.

Dolores returns home to find Rebus and bandits attacking them. She has visions of a similar event with the Man in Black, and she manages to overcome her programming to grab Rebus' gun and kill him. She flees from her home and ends up encountering William and Logan, where she collapses.

Production

"The Stray" was written by Daniel T. Thomsen and series co-creator Lisa Joy.[1]

Filming

The director of the episode, Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall directed the episode, his first of the series.

The episode was directed by Neil Marshall.[1] In the episode, Anthony Hopkins' character Dr. Robert Ford was depicted as a younger version of himself. For this to be done, effects supervisor Jay Worth collaborated with ILP, a Stockholm-based VFX studio. References were pulled from Hopkins' early acting career, when he was in his 30s and 40s.[2]

The scenes in which Elsie and Ashley track down a stray host who then self-destructs were filmed at Corriganville Park in Simi Valley, California.[3]

Music

In an interview, composer Ramin Djawadi spoke about the hosts playing piano in the episode instead of the humans. He said, "It's got a robotic harshness to it which is very distinctive. When a human plays it, the dynamics are modified. But when the player piano hits a note, it's always the same."[4] Djawadi continued on why Dr Ford would keep a host in his office, saying, "Maybe to keep him company! — And it shows his control, as well. This is his world. He created everything. So he can have as many hosts around him as he wants. I would pick a human, though. There's something about the human performance that a robot could never get close to."[4] The episode featured the classical piece "Reverie L.68", by French composer Claude Debussy and "Peacherine Rag" by composer and pianist Scott Joplin, which was played in the player piano by a host in the episode.[4]

Reception

Ratings

"The Stray" was viewed by 2.10 million American households on its initial viewing becoming the most watched episode of the show so far.[5] The episode also acquired a 0.9 rating in the 18–49 demographic.[5] In the United Kingdom, the episode was seen by 1.21 million viewers on Sky Atlantic.[6]

Critical reception

"The Stray" received positive reviews from critics. The episode currently has a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes and has an average rating of 8.6 out of 10, based on 25 reviews. The site's consensus reads "The Stray furthers character evolution while providing juicy backstory and twisty plot progression."[7]

Eric Goldman of IGN reviewed the episode positively, saying, "Westworld's third episode put a bigger spotlight on how different Ford and Bernard's attitudes are about the hosts. While Bernard's feelings of love and loss for his dead son transferring over to Dolores aren't subtle, they make sense, and Jeffrey Wright is, predictably, perfect at showing how he cares for her, even as he knows he's going down a road he probably shouldn't."[8] He gave it a score of 8.2 out of 10.[8] Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote in his review of the episode; "The slight hiccups in Dolores' routine are beautifully handled here. By now, we've seen the shot of her finding the wandering cattle on the ranch and saying 'Father wouldn't let 'em roam this close to dark' several times. But here, there's a slight pause between 'close' and 'to,' because Dolores is struck by an acute feeling of déjà vu. When it strikes her again in a confrontation with her parents' attackers, she recognizes the loops well enough to slip her grim fate and head for the hills."[9] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club wrote in his review, "'The Stray' offers some potentially intriguing set-up, but that set-up isn't worth much if it doesn't go anywhere worthwhile. We'll just have to wait and see."[10] He gave the episode a B+.[10]

Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire wrote in her review, "The last 20 or so minutes of 'The Stray', in general, are probably the most violent and grotesque of the show to date—between the battle with Wyatt's marauders, the Stray bashing his own brains in and Dolores shooting Rebus dead after an attempted rape. Even for the most inured, there's still some shock value. There's also, frankly, more drag than in the previous two weeks, thanks to some exposition dumps that do bring a new level of enlightenment to the show, but don't move as briskly as they might."[11] She gave the episode a B.[11] Erik Kain of Forbes also reviewed the episode, saying, "All told, a terrific episode that ramped up the crazy factor and the mystery to new heights. HBO is on to something here in a very big way. Westworld is brilliant, mysterious and captivating."[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Westworld 03: The Stray". HBO. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  2. ↑ Hibberd, James (October 16, 2016). "Westworld producers on episode 3 burning questions". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Aushenker, Michael (December 16, 2016). "At The Center of 'The Maze'". Simi Valley Acorn. Agoura Hills: J.Bee NP Publishing, Ltd. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Vineyard, Jennifer (October 18, 2016). "Why Westworld Uses a Player Piano". Vulture. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Porter, Rick (October 18, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Westworld' improves, Dodgers-Cubs leads". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Top 30 Ratings (17 - 23 October 2016)". BARB. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Stray - Westworld: Season 1, Episode 3 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Westworld: "The Stray" Review". IGN. October 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ Tobias, Scott (October 16, 2016). "'Westworld' Season 1, Episode 3: Don't Make Arnold's Mistake". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Westworld hunts down "The Stray" and builds some backstory". The A.V. Club. October 16, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Miller, Liz Shannon (October 16, 2016). "'Westworld' Review: 'The Stray' Doesn't Skimp on the Bloody Psychology". IndieWire. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  12. ↑ Kain, Erik (October 17, 2016). "'Westworld' Just Went Totally Crazy In Sunday Night's Episode 'The Stray'". Forbes. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.