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The Adversary Recap

Maeve wakes up in her bed, gets dressed, and goes to the Mariposa. Clementine comes down and greets her, and sees a newcomer, Bloody Jimmy, come in. Maeve says that she'll handle him, and ends up taking him to a room. When she insults him, Bloody Jimmy throws her up against the wall and takes her, but Maeve remains unimpressed. She puts his hand to her throat and tells him not to be shy, goading him on, and he strangles her to death.

Later, Maeve wakes up in the complex and finds Felix looking down on her. She asks him what they were talking about.

Bernard confirms that Elsie didn't show anyone the laser transmitter that she found in the woodcutter's arm. She figures that someone in the complex inserted it, and that it wasn't Bernard since he's been there for years and would have sold them out long ago. He asks what information the host was transmitting, and Elsie warns that all they can do is determine who the host was transmitting to. Bernard says that not all of its geopatch was wiped because it was an older model with a second geolocation device. The information is there but the newer system can't read it. In order to access it, he'll need to go downstairs.

Later, Bernard takes the elevator down to the restricted floor and enters a long-abandoned lab. He loads the legacy data from the woodcutter and finds one anomaly... and then five more. Bernard realizes that they're hosts that aren't registered with the new system.

In the Mexican village, all of the hosts freeze in place. Robert and his workers arrive and the foreman says that if Robert wants the canyon to extend then they'll have to destroy the village and distribute the hosts among the neighboring farms. Robert says that they'll end the canyon short of the town to prevent any further disruptions and says that he'll find his own way back. He starts the village back up and walks to a table where two hosts are playing dominos. The maze pattern is on their table, and Robert studies it for a moment.

Back in his office, Robert takes a book out with his notes and looks at a sketch of the maze design.

The Man and Teddy ride through a cemetery in a canyon, and Teddy says that the maze is an old native myth. It's the sum of a man life: the choices he makes. At the center is a man who has been killed over and over again but always clawed his way back to life. He built a house and then a maze around it so complicated that only he could navigate through it. A cart comes from the opposite direction and the driver says that the Union soldiers closed the border because of the trouble in Pariah. The Man asks Teddy how else they can get over the border, because Wyatt has what they both want. Teddy says that there's another way but it's treacherous, and he's going regardless so he can find Dolores.

In the complex, Felix tells Maeve about her programming. He explains that he's human like the guests, and Maeve wonders how he knows. When he says that he was born, not made, Maeve takes off his glove and puts his hand to her face, and says that they feel the same. Felix tells her that they are the same for the most part, but her processing power is well in excess of the human brain. However, it's under their control and they can change her however they like or make her forget. Felix wonders how she's remembering everything, and Maeve insists that no one knows what she's thinking. He brings up a program that reveals exactly what she'll say as she says it, and she shuts down, shocked.

Bernard visits Theresa in her office, and she tells him that Robert knows about them. She points out that their relationship will raises questions from the board about her objectivity. Theresa says that their relationship can't go on and says that they're over. She suggests that Robert's leadership of late has been questionable, and says that they're done. Bernard nods and walks out without a word.

Felix finally manages to get Maeve back online. She demands to see upstairs, and takes his hand, smiling. He leads her out past the rooms filled with host "corpses" and the livestock test chambers, They pass a video board running an advertisement for Westworld, including video of her and her daughter. Back in the workshop, Maeve wonders how they had her dreams. Felix says that they were Maeve in a previous build, and explains that she's only been at the mariposa for the last year but they programmed her with memories of her being there for ten years.

Sylvester comes in and wonders why Felix is dressing up the host. He tells Felix that he's becoming obsessed, and says that he's going to tell QA for his friend's own good. When Sylvester turns to go, Maeve grabs a scalpel and puts the blade to his throat, and says that he's not going to tell anyone anything. She tells him to calm down and says that she knows what he's thinking because she was built to read people. Maeve knows that Sylvester wants to fuck her, but he shouldn't because she can help him get what he really wants... or gut him.

Theresa receives a call from her superior, Charlotte Hale, and says that she'll do what she can.

Lee is relaxing by the Mesa Bar when he hears gunfire from the park. Theresa comes over and tells Lee that over the last five days, Robert has displaced 50 hosts to make room for his narrative. She needs Lee to plug the story holes, but Lee says that he has writer's block and can't do it. He angrily says that years of his life has been destroyed and threatens to quit. Theresa is sure that he won't, and tells him that if Robert can't pull it off then the board will be looking for a replacement... but they won't be looking there.

Teddy and the Man stop near a Union camp over a tunnel. The host says that if they shoot their way through then the tunnel leads to the old territory. The Man says that he needs Teddy alive so he can find Wyatt, and sees two soldiers riding toward the camp. After taking out the riders, Teddy and the Man don their uniforms and enter the camp. Some of the men are maimed, and Teddy says that it's Wyatt's work because simply killing them couldn't hold his interest. The Man warns him that it's going to get worse the further they go.

One soldier sees Teddy, recognizes him, and draws his gun. The Man advises him to keep walking, but the soldier says that Teddy ambushed their outpost. Teddy draws his gun and says the soldier has no idea what went down, and shoots the man. More soldiers charge forward and the Man guns them down, and tells Teddy to get into the tunnel while he holds them off. Two soldiers grab him and knock him unconscious.

Charlotte arrives at the Mesa Bar. Lee sees her and goes over to buy her a drink. He figures out what her favorite narrative is and introduces himself, and Charlotte asks him what his favorite narrative is. Lee says that he writes them rather than plays them, and Charlotte suggests that he's afraid to lose control. He says that his artistic freedom is constrained and the robots are going off-script, and wonders why the board puts up with Robert's eccentricities. The bartender cuts Lee off and relays a message from Theresa telling Lee to sober up and get back to work. Charlotte excuses herself and leaves, and Lee grabs a bottle.

Elise approaches Bernard and says that she's close to finding their saboteur. She figures that the board will be grateful when they find the spy, and figures that Theresa will get fired for incompetence. Bernard insists that Theresa is just trying to do her job, but Elsie points out that a lot of things are slipping through the cracks and walks out.

Bernard checks with a surveillance tech and asks if there have been any results on the inquiry he requested. The tech says that there are no guests or hosts in the sector where the anomalies were spotted, Sector 17, and says that it's been designated off-limits for future narrative development. Bernard then goes to Sector 17 and finds a cottage. A father comes out to collect some wood and goes back inside, and Bernard goes inside. There are a mother and her two sons there as well, and the father sees Bernard. Bernard recognizes the father and asks if he's Arnold, and the host has no idea who he's talking about. The hosts don't freeze on Bernard's orders, and the father grabs Bernard.

Robert comes in and orders the father to stand down and the family to go about their business. He tells Bernard that they respond to his voice commands, and Bernard realizes that they're first-generation hosts. Robert calls the little boy over that he's talked to before and has him open up his skull. He says that he maintains them himself and they're the only ones left in the park that Arnold built himself so he didn't have the heart to destroy them. Robert explains that Arnold built them as a gift based on Robert's only happy memories of his childhood, Bernard says that the idea of unmonitored hosts bothers him, and Robert assures him that they only go where he lets them. He asks if Bernard would want to see his son again if he could, and Bernard walks out without responding.

At the complex control room, Stubbs tells the techs to keep a close eye on Pariah because they're running at capacity. Lee comes in on the balcony above and pisses on the hologram, and yells at them to fuck everyone, particularly Robert and Theresa. Theresa comes in and Lee tells her that he'll do what he wants with the park. She introduces Charlotte, the executive director of their board, and says that Delos sent her to oversee certain transitions in their administration. Charlotte says that she and Lee have met.

In the lab, Bernard accesses the computer and determines that there are 82 remaining first-generation hosts. Arnold designed 47 of them, and Bernard brings up a list of them.

At the Union camp, the soldiers tie up Teddy and the Man, and the Man says that Teddy is valuable to him alive and well. They ignore him and prepare to brand Teddy with the maze design, and Teddy remembers killing a town while under Wyatt's command. He works free of his bonds and attacks the Union soldiers, and kills them all while the Man works free of his own bonds. Teddy gets to a Gatling gun and opens fire on the remaining soldiers, killing them all. Once he's done, the Man stares at Teddy in surprise and the host tells him that he doesn't know him at all.

Elsie calls Bernard and says that the woodcutter was transmitting to one of their own demo satellites. She figures the voices the hosts have been hearing are someone broadcasting to them, and the transmissions are coming from an abandoned theater in Sector 3. She heads there to identify who is using the transmitted, and hangs up on Bernard as she goes topside.

Robert finds his younger host self in the forest and suggests that they pay catch with their dog Jock. The boy takes him to where the dog is lying, dead.

As night falls, Elsie goes to the theater and looks for the hidden relay. She finally finds a hollow section of the stage and pries the boards up, and brings up the list of previous users.

Bernard visits Theresa in her apartment and says that they need to talk about the anomalies he found in the park. She lets him in and he ignores an incoming call from Elsie. Bernard tells Theresa that something is going on with Robert and his old partner, and he gets another call from Elsie. She tells him that she found the person that was sending out their data: Theresa. As Elsie says that there's something bigger going on, Bernard tells her that he'll have to call her back.

Felix shows Maeve her code base and Sylvester explains the attribute system. She has a 14 intelligence, as high as they let any host go, and Maeve says that she wants to make some changes. Sylvester says that they need a behavior log-in to do it, and any changes they made would get auto flagged. Maeve already knows from Felix that they get can wipe a host's memories without it showing up in the system, because of all the lonely young men there that are supposed to avoid using the hosts sexually. She blackmails Sylvester into doing it and he agrees.

Bernard leaves Theresa's apartment and calls Elsie, and she says that Theresa was using the old bicameral control system to control the woodcutter. Someone else has been using the system to retask the older hosts calibrated to the old system. Some of the changes are to the hosts' prime directives, letting the hosts lie and possibly hurt the guests. As far as Elsie can tell, Arnold made the modifications. She says that she'll transfer the data and bring it to Bernard.

Robert takes the Robert host to his lab and says that he'll fix Jock. The boy says that Jock saw a rabbit and ran, and under analysis admits that he's lying to Robert. The Robert host finally says that he killed Jock, when Arnold's voice told him to do it because Jock was a killer but was made that way. Arnold's voice told the boy that if Jock was dead then it couldn't hurt anything anymore.

As Elsie downloads the data from the relay, she sees something shocking. She hears something moving behind her and goes to investigate. Elise wonders if it's Arnold... and someone grabs her from behind.

In the lab, Sylvester enters the system and Maeve has the technicians lower her loyalty and reduce her pain. Felix discovers that some of the attributes have already been changed in an unlogged session, including her paranoia and self-preservation, and the person who did it has a lot more privileges than them. Sylvester says that he's done with it, but Maeve tells him what he tells her new girls: never start something they're willing to finish, and to take the lucrative version if they have no choice. She then tells the men to take her intelligence all the way to the top. Felix hesitantly does so, Maeve gasps at the rush of knowledge and then says that they're going to have some fun.

Written by Gadfly on Nov 7, 2016

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