'Westworld' Recap: 'The Original'

Written by Scott Edwards

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

There are many things that people want to do in life, but one of the things that they cannot do on their own is be entertained. Although you can do things to keep you busy, it is up to others to entertain you, hence why we watch television and movies. But there are other places we can turn to for entertainment, the opera, the circus, a Broadway show, even an amusement park. With people out there to bring us something that we crave, it is hard to believe that we could ever feel alone as they come back to us on a weekly basis on our TV screens, but we know they are not real, at least their characters are not, no matter how much we want them to be.

Arriving in town, Teddy Flood is not looking to have a good time, but to catch up with his love Dolores who is waiting anxiously to see him again. With a chance meeting in town, Teddy is able to accompany his love on her ride home and even though her father thinks little of the cowboy that knows nothing about herding cattle, his love will never be shaken for the girl. As the sun goes down, the two find themselves on the outskirts of the property surrounding her home when they hear gunshots ringing out as the gangster that has been hiding in the hills has come to claim his reward and kill Dolores’ parents. But Teddy will not stand for this and he avenges his love and takes down the gangster. Waking up the next morning, a new day is upon Dolores and she is ready to live it to the fullest once again, as nothing important happened the previous night and her father is waiting to wish her a good morning as he always does.

In the control center Bernard is starting to notice some changes that are coming through with the most recent download, but does not think that they will be causing any issues with the androids that rule the park. His counterpart however is not having the same feeling about the unexpected update and wants to ensure that everything is running smoothly in the park since the visitors are supposed to be catered to at every turn. With a breach in one of the cold storage floors, Bernard heads down to see the creator talking with one of his oldest inventions and while it does not seem to mean much, Bernard is able to catch up on what his boss Dr. Ford has been adding to the programing. Wanting to make his accomplishments as lifelike as possible, the newest update should do just that, but little does he know what else it will awaken within his lifelike robots. 

While at first everything seems to be going according to plan in the town, glitches suddenly start to appear for no reason. Needing to know how the update has effected the population, Bernard is not able to see where the flaw is located, but he is not looking in the right place. As Theresa wants all of the corrupted 'bots out of the park, the storyteller believes that it will change the entire outcome of the town and refuses. But he does not have the power to keep the boss from doing what she wants and instead writes a new script that will leave the town in shambles and the guests will not know the difference. With things starting to change around the town, something starts to evolve in the 'bots that nobody has been able to predict and whether it is for better or worse will be left up to the guests who have paid their money to have their dreams come true.

This seems to be one of the things that people have put a lot of thought into over the years. Being adapted from an old Michael Crichton script, it does not seem like the base needs of the human race have changed much over the last forty years or so. An amusement park where anything goes seems like the trip of a lifetime and so many of the returning visitors are willing to change their approach to it when they come back for more. With all of their needs fulfilled in a two week time frame, the guests have no idea what is happening behind the scenes, even if it may cause them harm and it does not appear the people behind the park know what is happening as well. I think I am really going to get into this series, as I love the old west and putting it in the future with robots that may be able to revolt against the creator, well, that means we are in for an awesome story that fans of westerns and science fiction can rejoice in.

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