Dolores is determined to change her life, William fights to remain a good guy, and Lawrence hosts a massive orgy in HBO’s Westworld season one episode five. Airing on October 30, 2016, ‘Contrapasso’ begins with Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) recalling the saddest thing he’s ever witnessed. He tells the story of an old Greyhound his family took in when he was a boy. They took it to the park and the dog spotted a cat, and once off-leash the Greyhound ran so fast it was beautiful to behold. He caught the cat and killed it, tearing it to pieces. But then he simply sat there, confused, because he’d never caught that fluffy thing during his racing career and didn’t know what to do.
Next up we find Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) standing in a graveyard looking at all the wooden crosses placed on graves. She hears someone say “find me” and then as the camera pans out we see the graveyard is massive and she’s standing with Logan, William, and Slim looking out over a town. They make their way into the town and discover it’s full of Union soldiers, dancing girls, and other interesting/bizarre characters. Logan (Ben Barnes) explains everything in this area is rawer, and he tells William (Jimmi Simpson) about the death of Dr. Ford’s partner, Arnold. The area they’re in now was designed by the dead partner. Just then ex-Confederate soldiers arrive and Logan says they’re the key to the biggest game in the park: war.
Lawrence (Clifton Collins Jr) is still walking behind the Man in Black’s horse as a badly injured Teddy (James Marsden) is draped over the back of another horse. Lawrence doesn’t know why the Man in Black is caring for Teddy who looks like he’s on death’s door. Lawrence thinks Teddy’s about to die and then a small boy wanders up and the Man in Black (Ed Harris) asks him to go fetch them some water. After he leaves, the Man in Black says the boy is “too small.” He slices Lawrence’s throat and hangs him from a tree by his feet. Blood pours from his body and is collected in a bag.
The techs are busy repairing hosts and Maeve’s on the table being worked on. The same techs who accidentally left her awake the last time she was repaired discover her new knife wound seems to have been made while she was looking for something inside her body. One of the techs, Felix, is a little jumpy working on Maeve and after his co-worker leaves, he places something into a cabinet and pets what looks like a dead bird that’s hidden in the cabinet.
Teddy’s still alive after getting an infusion of Lawrence’s blood, which explains why the Man in Black said the boy was too small. The Man in Black asks if he’s ready to get on the road, telling him he used to be beautiful. He used to have a million little perfect pieces but now he’s a sad sack of flesh and bone like real people. Teddy, of course, doesn’t understand what he’s saying. The Man in Black switches topics, telling him Wyatt made off with Dolores which sparks some interest in the injured Teddy. It gets him up and on his feet, which is just what the Man in Black wanted.
Dolores seems to be studying a corpse in a standing coffin, but she’s actually having visions of other deaths in the park. She and William take a stroll down the candlelit street, and she tells him she wants to change her life. William says that’s why people come to this place where there aren’t any rules or restrictions. Dolores asks him what he means when he refers to people in the real world and William is shocked that she would ask that question since the hosts are programmed to ignore those kinds of statements.
Just then Logan grabs William to bring him to a brothel but William doesn’t want to go because of Dolores. Dolores, however, is sidetracked watching a parade in which she sees herself as one of the participants. She’s confused and hearing things, and passes out in the middle of the parade.
Dolores awakens, naked, and with Dr. Ford questioning her. He tells her she’s in his dream and asks if she knows what his dream means. She offers an explanation but she’s wrong. His dreams are about what we can become. Dr. Ford asks if she’s dreamed of taking herself out of her loop and taking on a bigger role. As he speaks, he examines her hand. He wonders if she remembers the man he used to be, and she answers that she’s forgetful. He asks her about Arnold, the man who created her, and she claims to not know anyone by that name. He also asks her if she’s hearing voices and if Arnold’s been speaking to her.
He puts her in analysis mode and she answers it’s been decades since she spoke to Arnold; there isn’t any data in her program containing contact with him since the day he died. The last thing he told her was that she was going to help him destroy this place. Dr. Ford reminds her she didn’t and that she’s been content in her little loop. With that, he brings her out of analysis mode and she asks him if they are very old friends. He says, “No, I wouldn’t say friends, Dolores. I wouldn’t say that at all.”
After he leaves the room, Dolores says out loud to an empty room, “He doesn’t know. I didn’t tell him anything.”
Felix tries to reprogram the bird and it briefly works. He gives it orders and just then his co-worker returns and tries to grab the bird. Felix explains he was just borrowing the bird, he didn’t steal it, and his co-worker reminds him he’s not a coder and has misappropriated corporate property. He tells Felix to destroy it. Maeve returns once again to be repaired and Felix is freaked out.
Morning comes and William asks Dolores if she’s feeling better. She is, and they’re off to meet with Alonzo (who it turns out is Lawrence but in this particular part of the story he’s going by a different name). Logan’s excited to meet him and ready for a bigger adventure, but Dolores interrupts to say there’s something Alonzo is seeking and she can help him find it. Alonzo ignores her, saying he thinks she’s crazy, and then tells William and Logan the Confederales want to attack a shipment of nitro being protected by Union soldiers. William, Logan, and Slim agree to do the job of robbing the stagecoach for the Confederales.
The stagecoach with nitro is on the move in the middle of nowhere and Dolores is ready to do her part having changed into pants and a buttoned-down shirt. She also has a gun but doesn’t want to hurt the soldiers since they’re Union soldiers like her father. The foursome cover their faces and step out in front of the stagecoach. Dolores asks the Union soldiers to do what Logan says or he’ll shoot them, and they comply.
Logan finds the nitro in the back of the stagecoach and kicks the driver a few times for lying about their cargo and for calling him a half-wit. A fight breaks out and William shoots the soldiers to save Dolores. Logan’s being choked and William also shoots that soldier as it looks like Logan’s about to die. Logan is so excited about this adventure that he shouts, “That’s the spirit!” Dolores is upset the soldiers are all dead, as is Slim.
Logan, William, and Dolores bring the stagecoach back to town and deliver the cargo to Alonzo. He receives the payoff from the Confederales and instead of sending them off, he tells them to stick around for the night and have some fun as three naked women painted in gold arrive to pleasure the men.
Elsie (Shannon Woodward) is working on trying to recalibrate a host when the host who smashed his own head in is wheeled by. She’s curious about that particular host and uses blackmail to get a closer view of his body. She shows a technician named Dustin a photo from a surveillance camera showing him screwing a host in order to convince him to allow her to examine the body of the host who’s about to be incinerated. She runs a scan of his data and it’s all corrupted. Elsie then notices something strange about his fingertips and palm. Under the skin of his palm, she sees a red laser light. She traces it up his arm.
Elsie meets with Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) and tells him they have a big problem. The now-headless host had a laser-based satellite uplink. He was being used to smuggle data out of the park.
The scene switches back to Alonzo’s town and there’s an orgy going on that looks like a strange mix of Western and medieval influences. Logan and William are offered a chance to participate in the war game, but William doesn’t want to do it. Logan tries to explain there’s no such thing as heroes and villains, and that this place is just a giant circle jerk. Logan then tells William he picked him for a job in his family’s company because he’ll never be a threat to anyone, which is probably why his sister also picked him. William will never go any higher than the rank of Executive Vice President because he’s so non-threatening.
While William and Logan are having their heated discussion, Dolores takes off for a walk around the town. She watches the orgies and then comes upon a fortune teller. She picks a card and it’s the same symbol that was inside the scalp the Man in Black is using as a map. The fortune teller transforms and now looks like Dolores, telling her she must follow the maze and suggesting she’s unraveling. Dolores pulls at a wire on her arm and it opens her skin. She is confused and upset, and her arm is fine when she looks down again. She flees the fortune teller and spies Alonzo pumping nitro into Slim’s dead body while he reveals Slim’s work for the revolution isn’t quite done yet. Slim’s casket and three others are driven out of town.
Dolores tries to tell William they need to leave because Alonzo’s been playing them. William’s not willing to play this game anymore and Dolores says there’s a voice inside of her telling her what to do and that she needs him. They kiss. Outside, the Confederales discover the nitro isn’t real and begin beating up Logan. Logan calls out for help but William says no, grabs Dolores’ arm, and runs away. They’re quickly found by the Confederales and William tries to convince them Alonzo set them up. He tries to shoot them but they overpower him.
William tells Dolores to run but she doesn’t and instead shoots all the Confederales. William doesn’t know how she did that and she explains she imagined a story where she didn’t have to be the damsel. They hear a train whistle and go chasing after it. They climb on board and Alonzo’s also on the train with the coffins. Dolores points her gun at one of the coffins, knowing there’s nitro inside. However, William trusts Alonzo and Alonzo hands over his guns, telling them to settle in because it’s a long ride to the front. He also confesses his real name is Lawrence.
On the top of the coffin is the same symbol that was on the scalp and on the fortune teller’s card. Dolores quietly says, “I’m coming,” to an unseen entity.
The Man in Black orders up a whiskey and sits down with Teddy. Teddy’s still looking like death on a cracker when Dr. Robert Ford arrives and pulls up a chair. The Man in Black asks Teddy if he knows who this man is. Teddy doesn’t, and the Man in Black says everything happens because of Robert. Teddy tells Robert they’re looking for Wyatt because he killed a rancher and took his daughter. The Man in Black and Robert continue to spar with words, with the Man in Black telling Robert he thinks this place was looking for a real villain and that’s the role he’s fulfilling. Robert admits he lacked the imagination to conceive someone like the Man in Black. The Man in Black asks Robert about Wyatt and whether he’s finally made an adversary that can stop him from finding the center of the maze.
The Man in Black tells Teddy he exists because people need purpose and meaning, and in this place they can fulfill what’s missing. The Man in Black also believes there’s deeper meaning hiding under that. Robert tells him to ask whatever question he wants answered, and the Man in Black says it’s Andrew that he needs to see. He pulls a knife out like he’s going to open up Robert and Teddy grabs it lightning fast to save him. Robert, unfazed, says he isn’t there to talk the Man in Black out of his voyage of self-discovery. One tap on the arm by Robert as he gets up to leave rejuvenates Teddy. Teddy’s ready to get back out on the road because time’s wasting.
Felix stands over Maeve and then brings the bird back out from the cabinet. He tries working on its program and this time it flutters to life and acts like a real bird. It flies and Felix laughs with joy about this development. As he spins in a circle watching it, the bird lands on Maeve’s finger. She’s sitting up and informs Felix it’s time they had a chat.
Additional Westworld Episodes:
- Episode 1 – The Original
- Episode 2 – Chestnut
- Episode 3 – The Stray
- Episode 4 – Dissonance Theory
- Episode 6 – The Adversary
- Episode 7 – Trompe L’Oeil
- Episode 8 – Trace Decay
- Episode 9 – The Well-Tempered Clavier
- Episode 10 – The Bicameral Mind
