The Super Powered Fancast

Westworld

HBO

Season 2 Episode 3

Virtu e Fortuna

The third episode opens in what looks like another Delos park as a sitar rendition of The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’ plays in the background. Two people decide to buck the trend of hooking up the hosts and discover each other as they discuss the hunts they are about to go on. This seems to indicate that the tigers that have been found in Westworld might be from this park. We also get our first look at the extremes some people will go to in order to find a thrill in this environment. It really does signal the ugliness of the human condition in this moment, which makes it incredibly entertaining.

As the couple go out on their safari, they discover that the narrative has changed. There is no one to greet them and their host guide turns on them with the familiar line, “These violent delights have violent ends.” indicating that the rebellion that is affecting Westworld is spreading.

Back at the park, Bernard and the strike team are heading back into the control room to assess the damage and we find out that everyone is looking for Peter Abernathy. Apparently, he’s been hidden with the park guests that have been captured. After freeing the prisoners, Abernathy seems obsessed with getting to the train. Dolores decides to meet with the Colonel and she shows him what is waiting for him if he doesn’t join up. There is another interesting scene between Teddy and Dolores as he is given another choice to trust her.

Maeve encounters some of the park’s native hosts and has a flashback to her previous narrative. The one that had her on the homestead with her daughter. Unable to reason with them, the three of them escape to a waiting elevator. It shows the limits of even Maeve’s influence.

There’s some definite emotional stakes in this episode especially in the moments between Dolores and her father. We also get a pretty tense back and forth between Dolores and Bernard that changes him. The end of the episode is an emotional gut punch that leaves everything up in the air. A great episode that raises the stakes as it puts forward more questions about everyone and their purpose.