Westworld - S3E1: Parce Domine
WESTWORLD / HBO
Welcome to Westworld. After the unnecessarily convoluted disarray of a sophomore season, the war between humans and self-aware androids is once again reignited when leader of the hosts’ revolution, Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), is now out of the park's premises, finding a way to bring her fallen comrades back online.
That's right – creators and showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy reminds the audiences that they're not on Kansas anymore – sorry, Westworld – but out in the real world. There seems to have little difference between the two: citizens of neo-Los Angeles have their careers guided by an advanced A.I system, Rehoboam, just like the hosts are programmed to their respective routines. However, codes and algorithms aren't needed to establish how soulless the series is in terms of its story and characters.
In its first hour, Westworld bears problems similar to its predecessors. While the narrative structure is not the time-hopping muddle that it is infamous for, the pacing does not do the third season premiere justice. Parce Domine refuses to let the audiences get used to the latest status quo. Not only does it jump from place to place, playing catch-up with old familiar faces, but it also has to introduce new players, new concepts and another suspicious organization with ulterior motives. The whole thing is quite disjointed and questionable, especially when plenty of it is still ambiguous for the audiences to care about what's happening.
For a series that concerns questions about the authenticity of all aspects in the universe, the supposed-to-be "real world" feels as fabricated as the simulated settings that the preceding seasons have left off. Unbelievable plot contrivances continue to play out the series' artificiality as significantly hollow turns in the narratives. Such examples are the recurring incidents where a human character already has a convenient android counterpart, who is ready to replace him.
But that's not to say Parce Domine is devoid of substance. The series' star-studded ensemble is still one of its strengths, delivering some of the overwrought dialogue to the best of their abilities. The episode boasts an all-out fresh appearance, with a seamless blend of inserting gorgeous computer-generated imagery and shooting on actual, modernized locations in Singapore. The production design remains the most impressive aspect, as it boasts a highly futuristic yet grounded ambience. The short shootout sequence near the end is surprisingly impressive, consisting of a long, unbroken shot inside a car that shifts focus from windshield to the rearview camera.
