Trompe L'Oeil (Westworld)

"Trompe L'Oeil" is the seventh episode of the HBO's science fiction thriller television series Westworld. The episode aired on November 13, 2016.

The episode received very positive reviews from critics, and in particular for the ending. The title comes from the art of Trompe-l'œil.

Plot

Theresa meets with Charlotte, and it is revealed that Theresa is colluding with the Board to steal a copy of Dr. Ford and Arnold's code and research so the Board can force Dr. Ford into retirement without fear that he would erase the code in anger. Since Theresa's plan to transfer the data out of the park through the stray host was a failure, Charlotte instead suggests they stage a demonstration to humiliate Dr. Ford. Using Clementine as a guinea pig, Theresa and Charlotte demonstrate that Dr. Ford's recent "reverie" updates can make the hosts violent towards humans, when Clementine violates her core programming and kills another host designed to represent a human. As head of the Behavior department, Bernard reluctantly takes the blame for allowing the code be implemented, resulting in Charlotte firing him from the company.

William and Dolores continue to travel with Lawrence by train through dangerous Ghost Nation tribe territory. They begin to have a romantic attraction, culminating in them having sex. William has an epiphany that the park is not meant to cater to a person's base desires, but to reveal their true character. He also sees an impromptu painting of a canyon that Dolores made, which she had apparently seen in a dream. The train is then stopped by the Confederados, who want revenge for Lawrence double crossing them. After distracting the Confederados with a nitroglycerin-filled corpse, William, Dolores, and Lawrence flee on horseback. They are saved when the pursuing Confederados are ambushed by Ghost Nation warriors. Dolores then sees the canyon she saw in her dreams, and she and William part ways with Lawrence to follow it despite his warnings that everybody who had gone that way has never returned.

In Sweetwater, Maeve is attempting to test if Clementine is capable of becoming self-aware when park staff arrive and take Clementine away. Maeve kills herself and enters the lab to find out what happened to Clementine, only to witness her being retired by the staff following her programming violation. Angered, Maeve concludes that merely surviving in the park is just another loop and decides to escape the park for good. She threatens Felix and Sylvester into helping her, and when Sylvester points out that it's a suicide mission, Maeve responds that she's already died countless times but threatens that she only needs to kill him once.

Bernard asks to meet with Theresa and reveals that he knows about her collusion with the Board and that he can prove that she and Charlotte rigged the demonstration. However, he recruits Theresa to help him investigate Dr. Ford as he remains suspicious of his motives. The two of them travel to Sector 17 to see the host family but discover that the cottage is empty. While investigating it, Theresa questions why it was never mapped - Bernard mentions that the hosts could not see the cottage even if it were in front of their eyes. While searching the cottage, Theresa finds a door that Bernard didn't notice existed, which leads to a secret underground lab. Theresa finds an undocumented machine capable of manufacturing hosts, as well as several designs, including one for Bernard, and one design print for Dolores that is designated as a 'prototype.' Dr. Ford then arrives and reveals to Theresa that Bernard was a host following his orders the entire time, and that Theresa was not the first person to try ousting him from the park. Dr. Ford then orders Bernard to kill Theresa, which he unemotionally does by smashing her head against the wall, then delivering a punch that crushes her facial skeleton.

Production

"Trompe L'Oeil" was written by Halley Gross and series co-creator Jonathan Nolan, and was directed by Frederick E. O. Toye,^[1] who worked with Nolan on his previous TV series Person of Interest.

Reception

Ratings

"Trompe L'Oeil" was viewed by 1.75 million American households on its initial viewing.^[2] The episode also acquired a 0.8 rating in the 18–49 demographic.^[2] In the United Kingdom, the episode was seen by 1.05 million viewers on Sky Atlantic.^[3]

Critical reception

Anthony Hopkins received praise for his performance as Robert Ford.

"Trompe L'Oeil" received highly positive reviews from critics. The episode currently has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and has an average rating of 8.9 out of 10, based on 21 reviews. The site's consensus reads "'Trompe L'Oeil' confirms a major fan theory with a chilling episode whose narrative shocks are further fueled by a bevy of standout performances."^[4]

Eric Goldman of IGN reviewed the episode positively, saying, "As notable as the ending to "Trompe L'Oeil" was, there was a ton of other events going on beforehand that contributed to another standout episode."^[5] He gave it a score of 9.2 out of 10.^[5] Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote in his review of the episode; "Although Bernard's true identity is the episode's big twist, the most enduring revelation may be Ford's resistance to Delos's plans for his creations. Last week, that off-the-grid cottage seemed like Ford’s nostalgic attempt to revisit his childhood, using older models of his machines. But there's another level to that, literally and metaphorically."^[6] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club wrote in his review, "Seven episodes in and Westworld finally delivers both its first human death, and its first truly shocking surprise."^[7] He gave the episode an A-.^[7]

Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire wrote in her review, "There’s been an awful lot of set-up in weeks past, which was relatively essential given the complexity of the world being slowly unfurled. But this episode finally built up some major momentum for the season's endgame — rewarding our patience and getting us in gear for one hell of a ride to the end."^[8] She gave the episode an A.^[8] James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly wrote in his review, "The story was always on the side of the hosts, and now the writers have double downed on their gamble that the audience will accept robots as protagonists."^[9] He gave the episode an A-.^[9] Catherine Gee of The Daily Telegraph wrote in her review, "Well that escalated... perhaps not exactly quickly, but escalated it certainly has. And one of the big fan theories about this series has been proven true."^[10] David Crow of Den of Geek said in his review, "Yes, 'Trompe L'Oeil' was where at least some of the cards were placed on the table"^[11] He gave the episode a four out of five.^[11] Erik Kain of Forbes also reviewed the episode, saying, "Sunday night's episode of Westworld was perhaps the first in the show's opening salvo to give us as many answers as it did questions. In a very real, and very chilling way, the seventh episode of the first season pulled back the veil, confirming one of the biggest fan theories out there. But it also gave us answers about some of the other mysteries we've been hunting, and that's exactly what it needed to do at precisely the right time."^[12]

References

External links

• "Trompe L'Oeil" at HBO.com
• "Trompe L'Oeil" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Trompe L'Oeil" at TV.com