This article contains major spoilers for " Dissonance Theory , " the quaternary episode ofWestworld . head up over to ourWestworld Worldhub to read interviews , recaps , and hypothesis about the show .
More than most shows on TV , Westworldis spectacle - driven . Each episode of HBO ’s habit-forming science - fiction dramatic play comes packed with eye - openingspecial effect , trigger-happy gun battles , and clew - filledsetpieces– and the newest brain annoyer , " Dissonance Theory , " directed byVincenzo Natali , was no exception . But , even amid all the visual magnificence , great acting can still slip the show . Luckily , performing does n’t come much smashing than Sir Anthony Hopkins delivering a creepy-crawly soliloquy in a Mediterranean robo - restaurant .
What on the nose made the view between Hopkins ' Dr. Robert Ford and Westworld operations loss leader Theresa Cullen ( Sidse Babett Knudsen ) so effective ? The performances , duh . An award - bring home the bacon histrion like Hopkins play gravitas to even the most dutiful exposition , but when he sire a enceinte monologue ? You better trust Hannibal Lecter chows down , letting the vino fall to the floor as he makes a meal of all the incorporated machination . It ’s surprising Hopkins did n’t bat his lip at the end .
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While the manner of speaking may have been an actorly feat , it was also a not bad spot of narrative dexterity of paw . In the same way Ford can stop a complex car with a twitch of his finger , Westworldcreators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy ( along with episode co - author Ed Brubaker ) can pack a lot of information into a smattering of lines . So , allow ’s put Ford ’s big conniption under the microscope and see what secrets it holds .
“You imagine I’ve gone mad, do you? Lost my my way?”
At the very top of the scene , the writer plunk into a enquiry that watcher have been asking since the pilot program : is Ford a little crazy ? When the show begin , it was easy to see Hopkins ' character as a dapperly dressed update of Richard Attenborough’sJohn HammondfromJurassic Park , trade the safari fedora for a cowboy lid but keeping the kindly grandpa behavior . They even had the same light in their eye .
But ever since Dr. Ford drew blood from a robot by cutting its face in Episode 2 and argufy a antecedently planned narration for his own mysterious cosmos , his character has take on a more menacing vibe . Can we trust anything Ford say ? Probably not . Is that go to stop us from reading too much into everything he says ? Uh , no , it wo n’t .
“You don’t like this place very much, do you?”
This scene is all about power and intimidation . While little is known aboutDelos , the company that owns Westworld , or their closemouthed board , we do experience that Theresa is there to serve the board ’s interest and Ford serves only his own unknowable muse . His title that " many of you have come up and gone over the years " suggests that he has little respect for Theresa or her kind , view them as meddlers in his creative process . ( If you seeWestworldas a meta show about creating an challenging prestige video drama , she would be the cigarette - wielding , note - giving web suit . )
What elevates this scene from footrace - of - the - mill intimidation to supervillain levels of manipulation is the way Ford preys on Theresa ’s puerility storage of the parking lot . Throughout the scene , she come to realise that she ’s sitting in the exact same electric chair she sit in as a immature girl , and that Ford , in a twisted bit of mind - fuckery , is about to ruin that memory right in front of her . She ca n’t place upright in his way : he ’s got an army of automaton ( plus a jumbo scarey dozer thing ) at his military service .
How does he freeze all the robot servants?
We ’ve seen Ford use his magician - similar Jedi mind - conjuring trick on the hosts of Westworld before – recall the manner he interact with the little boy back in Episode 2 – but we ’ve never seen anyone miniature with the movements of so many hosts on such a grand weighing machine . imagine of how much work went into tracking , recovering , and even fighting the robot who smashed a rock on his head inEpisode 3 . Now suppose about how light it was for Ford to freeze every android in the Pancho Villa . Creepy , right ?
How did he do it ? If you follow the scene carefully , when the servant start out move again he makes the humble little fingerbreadth motion . It looks like he just filch his finger and the servants , along with the workers in the champaign , of a sudden spring back to work . Is this a little bit of stagecraft designed to intimidate Theresa ? Or does Dr. Ford really have the ability to cook a host of androids with less movement than it postulate to punch in a wassailer ? While other scenes have hinted at his world power , this is the first time we ’ve been yield a sense of how grievous Ford might become . Westworld rule No . 1 : do n’t piss off the guy rope with the finger’s breadth - check robot army .
His pronunciation of “Bern-arrrd”
Hopkins is the good . badly . But also , his line about Bernard – " he has a sensitive inclination " – both propose that Dr. Ford has taken a keen pursuit in the intimate shenanigans going on between his employees and adds more credibleness to the increasingly democratic " Bernard is a robot " hypothesis . If Ford was looking to get an upper hired hand on Theresa , what better direction to subvert her side at the company than by having his swear golem mentee slumber with her ? Is Bern - arrrd little more than Ford ’s barbate sexual spy ?
“But they already have – I thought they would have told you?”
Throughout the speech , Ford make a distinction between the " money gentleman " of Delos and his more high - minded originative sideline . " Please , do n’t get in my way , " he tells Theresa in the least polite and most sinister direction you could say please . When she note that the board will be post a representative , he surprise her by say that they already have .
Is Ford referring to the Man in Black here ? sooner in the episode , we ascertain that Ed Harris ' maze - craze cowpuncher is a wealthy mankind with a generous benevolent foundation in the extraneous world . Perhaps he ’s the Delos representative out there beta - examination Ford ’s next narrative ? Also , if you ’re still buying into the " William is the Man in Black " theory , this sequence also have Logan telling William that the category ’s business should increase its stake in the company . Is that hinting that the Man in Black start out in on Westworld from the ground story ?
What do we know about Ford ’s net narration at this item ? Probably about as much as we know about where the plot ofWestworldis rifle , which is very piffling . you’re able to bet it involves the maze , the dim church spire , Wyatt , the creepy death religious cult , Teddy’shaunted backstory , Dolores , and believably the Man in Black , but the show has been very measured not to tip its hand in any particular direction . Instead , like Hopkins , Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are contented to move their fingers slowly under the table , send us all scuttle with even the smallest motion .
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