TV Review: Westworld - Series One Episode Three "The Stray" SPOILERS

"Let's See Where This Path Leads..."

Westworld continued in its' irritatingly addicting form this week by piling on a wider array of questions regarding the various strands of where HBO's newest flagship show is actually intending on going in a narrative sense, where although the ultimate end game of the show is still in sight. (we had more malfunctioning hosts again this week) Westworld seemingly has much bigger plans than simply succumbing to the conclusion of its' cinematic predecessor. Of those plans, one of the more interesting developments was the revelation of Arnold, one of the founding creators of Westworld who believed the hosts deserved the right to have consciousness, a notion of which Dr. Robert Ford was wholeheartedly against who simply regarded the death of his former colleague to Bernard as an "accident". With Bernard confiding in the conflicted nature of Delores's host body, there may be another endgame in sight for Bernard, particularly when we are made aware of the loss of his son.

Adding to the gore factor, "The Stray" decided to go full-on Bone Tomahawk this week with a scene in which James Marsden's Teddy encountered a blood-seeking cult in the midst of the mountainous terrain, whilst our encounter with the titular stray led to our first sighting of a host going violently wrong, accumulating in a gory act of malfunctioning on that particular hosts behalf which saw him unashamedly beat his own head to a pulp. Perhaps more than before, "The Stray" effectively showcased the beginning of a wide range of host malfunctions, with perhaps the most startling being Delores's ability to use a weapon even though her programming apparently is meant to stop her from doing so, resulting in her particular host going violently off-script and into the arms of William, the reluctant first-time guest of Westworld. If HBO's newest hit is effective in anything, it's the way in which it still hasn't really shown its' hand three episodes in, bringing with it an air of mystery which continues to be unmissable. 

Overall Score: 8/10