Robert meets with Old Bill and describes the saddest thing he ever saw. When he and his brother were young, they wanted a dog so their father took in an old greyhound. It ran off one day when it spotted a cat, and he ran and caught the cat. The greyhound tore it to pieces and looked confused, because it had never expected to catch it and had no idea what to do. Old Bill says that it's a great story and suggests that they drink to the lady with the white shoes.
Dolores goes to the cemetery outside of Pariah and remembers a man telling her to find him. William and Logan are nearby, and Logan announces that Pariah is a city of outcasts and delinquents. Slim says that Alonzo will be reward them for his safe return, and Logan continues on. William asks Dolores if she's all right, and she assures him that she's fine. She wonders if she did something wrong, and William says that he thought he heard her talking to someone. Dolores dismisses it as the wind and they go on.
In Pariah, vultures circle overhead and Dolores says that the town is beautiful in its own way. Logan agrees with her and tells William that everything in Pariah is raw. He warns that Westworld is hemorrhaging cash and they're considering buying Delos out. Logan tells William that when the park opened, it was owned by a partnership and when one of the men died, Westworld went into a financial freefall. They've been unable to determine who it was, but William figures that he didn't think much of people.
The Army of New Virginia comes through and Dolores says that her father told her that they're ex-Confederate soldiers--the Confederatos--who refused to surrender after the war. Logan says that they're to the key to the park on the outer edges, and figures it could be their chance to get there.
The Man leads Lawrence along and takes the wounded Teddy with them. Lawrence says that Teddy was Wyatt's friend, and the Man figures that Teddy will lead them to the maze. When Teddy wakes up, the Man stops and gets him down, and admires how Lawrence talks back to him. As Lawrence warns that Teddy won't make it because he's lost too much blood, a little boy comes up and asks if they're lost. The Man asks if there's water nearby, and he directs them to a nearby creek. He sends the boy to get it, and the Man says that he's too small. When Lawrence wonders what he means, the Man dumps out the water Lawrence got that morning and then says that the path that brought Lawrence to him isn't for him but Teddy... and cuts Lawrence's throat. The Man then strings him up from a tree and lets Lawrence's blood drip into the empty water bag.
At the complex, Sylvester and Felix are working on the damaged Maeve host, and Sylvester finishes his work first. Felix says that the wound he fixed was a contained incision, just as Maeve's hand jerks. Felix insists that he put her in sleep mode, but Sylvester doesn't believe it. As Sylvester leaves for break, Felix checks in his cabinet where a deactivated mechanical bird rests.
Teddy wakes up and the Man says that he put Lawrence's blood in him to help him heal. He says that it's not his fault that Teddy is suffering, and when the park started he opened up one of them. Then they changed the hosts, making them flesh and blood like them... to make them cheaper. The Man explains that Wyatt killed a settler family and made off with Dolores. He helps Teddy up as the boy returns with the water. The Man says that someone will be along for Lawrence shortly and rides off with Teddy.
In Pariah, Dolores looks at a dead man in a coffin. As she has a memory flash of a family being gunned down, William comes over and asks if she's all right. She says that she is, and as they walk she says that she ran away from home because it was the only way. Dolores wonders if there isn't an infinity of choices just out of sight, and figures that everyone wants to change their life. William says that at Westworld, there are no rules or restrictions, and people can be whatever they want with no one in the real world knowing. Dolores asks what he means by the "real world", and says that the whole world has been calling to her in a way it hasn't before.
William takes Dolores hand, but Logan comes up with a parade of locals. Slim says that Alonzo has agreed to have an audience with them the next day, and recommends a brothel. William tells his friend that Dolores wouldn't find it interesting, but Logan doesn't care. When William says that Dolores seem to understand, Logan humors him. Meanwhile, Dolores imagines seeing herself in the parade and makes her way through the locals. She loses her counterpart in the crowd, and hears a man talking about dreamless slumber. Finally, Dolores collapses.
Later at the complex, Robert activates Dolores and questions her. She figures that she's in a dream, and Robert says that she's in his dream. He asks what it means, and asks if she's dreamed of breaking out of her loop. Dolores doesn't respond, and Robert examines her hand as he says that his father told him that the world owed him nothing so he made his own world. Robert asks her if she remembers the man he used to be, and Dolores says that she's forgetful sometimes. He asks if she remembers Arnold, the person who created him, and she doesn't. Robert figures that Arnold is still there under all the updates, perfectly preserved, and asks if Arnold has been speaking to her. Dolores says that he hasn't, and Robert has her confirm that her last contact with Arnold was 34 years ago: the day Arnold died. She has no records of any contact with Arnold since, and the last thing he said was that she was going to help him destroy Westworld. Robert points out that she didn't and has been content in her little loop, and wonders if she would have been the hero or the villain if she had. When there's no response, Robert says that's enough and says that she's the only one left that was there who understands as they understand. Dolores wonders if they're old friends, and Robert says that they're not friends.
Once Robert leaves, Dolores says that he doesn't know and she didn't tell him anything.
Felix programs the bird to activate, and it comes to "life." It flutters to the floor as Sylvester comes in, and Felix tells him to grab it. It pecks his hand, and Felix says that he borrowed it to practice the code. Sylvester warns that he's not a coder, and all he'll ever be is a butcher and tells Felix to destroy it before they discover he's misappropriating corporate property. The tech brings the Maeve host in and Felix recognizes it from earlier. Sylvester tells him that they need to get it back into rotation.
The next morning in Pariah, William asks Dolores if she's feeling better. She says that she had troubled dreams but feels more herself. Slim takes them to Alonzo--Lawrence, in a new role. Logan says that they saved Slim and would like a meeting with the Confederatos. He offers them prostitutes, and Logan tells him that he'll have to sweeten the pot. One of Alonzo's men punches him and takes his gun, and Alonzo threatens to kill him. Meanwhile, Dolores has memory flashes of a church and tells Alonzo that there's something he's seeking. She says that they can help him find it, and Alonzo agree to let them meet with the Confederatos. He says that the Union is transferring a shipment of nitro that the Confederatos want, Logan agrees and Alonzo says that Dolores will need a change of clothes.
The trio rides out with Slim to intercept the Union wagon, and Dolores checks her gun. She doesn't want to hurt the soldiers, and William agrees. The wagon comes up and they draw their guns and step out onto the road. They refuse to surrender, and Logan prepares to shoot them. Dolores begs them to surrender, and the Union soldiers hand over their guns and get out. William gives their guns to Dolores, and Logan confirms the nitro is in the back. He then starts beating the soldier in charge, and the man tackles him. The wagon driver shoots at Slim, who kills him before he dies. One of the guards grabs a gun and prepares to shoot Dolores, and William kills and then the other guard. The leader chokes Logan, and William calmly shoots the host in the back. Logan yells in triumph and congratulates William on getting into the spirit of the park. Dolores, shocked, reminds William that they said everyone would live.
The trio takes the wagon to Pariah and Alonso says that Slim knew the price of doing business. He has the Confederatos collect the nitro and their leader, Captain Norris, pays Alonso off. Alonso suggests that they spend the evening celebrating at the brothel and calls out three naked women. Norris agrees and takes Logan along with him,
At the complex, Elise is recoding a host when the cleanup techs take the Woodcutter host past. She asks where they're taking it, and the tech says it's due for the incinerator. She goes after them, and Sylvester and Felix see her and wonder if she found something. Elise approaches a technician, Destin, and shows him video she has of him having sex with a host. She blackmails him into letting her see the Woodcutter, and Destin gives her five minutes. Once he leaves, Elise checks the body and notices that its fingers are abraded and something its arm.
A little later, Elisa tells Bernard that they have a problem. She shows him the laser-based satellite uplink she found in the Woodcutter's arm, and the pattern it drew was a target. Someone is using their hosts to smuggle data out of the park.
In Pariah, William and the others "celebrate" at Alonso's brothel. Norris says that for him, war is better than sex. He offers Logan and William a position in his army, and Logan agrees. William talks to him privately and says that he's not going with the Confederato psychopaths. Logan figures that he feels bad because he shot an unarmed man, and says that there's no such thing as heroes and villains. He figures that William is on the trip because he's some kind of threat to him, and says that he picked William because he will never be a threat to anyone... and his sister probably picked him for the same reason. William insists that he earned his position as Executive Vice President, and Logan reminds him that he thanked him for the position. Furious, William slams him against the wall but then lets him go after a moment. He turns around and discovers that Dolores has left.
Dolores walks through the brothel and comes to a room with a fortune teller inside. She has Dolores draw a card: the Maze. When she looks up, Dolores sees herself seated across the table. She tells Dolores to follow the Maze. When Dolores wonders what's wrong with her, her counterpart suggests that she's unraveling. Dolores plucks at a string on her wrist and pulls on it, ripping her arm open. After a moment the vision fades and Dolores is unharmed... and the fortune teller is gone.
Frightened, Dolores runs out and comes across Alonso supervising the pumping of nitro into corpses, including Slim. They then seal up the coffins and load them on a wagon. Dolores runs inside and tells William that they have to go, and Alonso never planned to give the Confederatos the nitro. William figures that the entire park is designed to create a sense of urgency and strip them down to something raw.
Alonso gives Norris, Logan, and the Confederatos the bottles of nitro, filled with alcohol. They play a game of catch with them.
William tells Dolores that he doesn't want to be a part of the game anymore. Dolores tells him that together they can find a way out. He wonders how she can be sure, and Dolores says that there's a voice inside of her telling her what she has to do. It's telling her that she needs him, and they kiss.
One of the Confederatos fumbles the catch… and the bottle breaks without exploding. Norris realizes that they've been tricked.
William leads Dolores out.
The Confederatos figure Logan is working with Alonso and beat him. William and Dolores come out, and Logan begs William to help him. Shaking his head, William refuses and tells Dolores that he's done pretending. Norris and his men are waiting for them, and William offers to find Alonso for them. He shoots down one Confederato but the others jump him. Dolores draws her gun and shoots Norris and the others, and William wonders how she did it. She says that she imagined a story where she didn't have to be the damsel.
A train whistle blows in the distance, and Dolores leads William to it, saying it's their only chance of making it out of Pariah alive. They get aboard the train and enter the cargo car, and find Alonso waiting for them with a gun. Dolores threatens to shoot the coffin with the nitro-loaded corpse, and Alonso lowers his gun and says that if she pulls the trigger then they'll all die. After a moment, William lowers his gun and tells Dolores that it's okay. He takes Alonso's gun, and Alonso says that they can call him Lawrence. As William joins Alonso for a drink, Dolores sees the maze drawn on the coffin and says, "I'm coming."
The Man and Teddy arrive at a bar, and Robert comes over with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Amused, the Man says that it's a rare honor and tells Teddy that everything good and bad in his life is Robert's fault. He asks if he's closer to what he's looking for, and Robert doesn't recognize Teddy's story. Robert admits that he lacks the imagination to conceive of someone like the Man, and suggests that his urgency betrays a certain anxiety. The Man wonders if Teddy is another stooge or someone who can stop him from finding the center of the maze. Robert wonders what he hopes to find there, and the Man tells Teddy that he exists because the real world is one of plenty where everyone has their every need taken care of... except one. Purpose, meaning. They come to Westworld to seek that, but the Man figures that there's a deeper meaning that the creator wanted to express.
Robert invites him to ask what the moral is, and the Man says that the one who would know died 35 years ago and almost took Westworld with him… except for the Man. He wonders if Arnold left something behind, and draws his knife to threaten Robert. Teddy grabs his hand and slams the knife down into the table, and then stares at his bleeding palm in shock. Undeterred, the Man wonders if Robert came there to talk him out of it. Robert says that he has no intention to get in the way of a voyage of self-discovery. He hands the Man his knife back and walks out. Teddy tells the man that they should get back on the road, and the Man finishes his drink and goes after him.
Felix goes to his workshop and works on coding the bird. This time he succeeds and it flutters around the lab… and lands on Maeve's hand. She's conscious, and tells Felix that it's time they have a chat.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 31, 2016