'Westworld' recap: 'Reunion'

This isn’t going to end well, is it?

The new episode of Westworld is called “Reunion” — to which the episode features several of.

We start off with Dolores in a flashback, as is becoming the new norm for Westworld. Instead of talking to Arnold in their usual meeting spot though, there’s a twist. Dolores is taken out into the real world. She’s amazed by the city-scape, saying the lights look like a bunch of stars that have been scattered across the ground.

In retrospect, showing her that probably wasn’t the best idea. I mean, Arnold couldn’t have known what was coming, and we’re left to assume that this happened still in the early days of the park. Still, bringing an artificial being out into the real world and then expecting them to forget everything just doesn’t sound like the smartest idea.

Then we get our first reunion, at least from the audience’s perspective: Logan (Ben Barnes) is back. Honestly didn’t expect him to return after season one, but his scene in this episode is a great one.

After an incredible intro with a cover of Kanye’s “Runaway,” Logan is attending a cocktail party. This is before everything with him and William inside the park in season one goes down, mind you. This is the cocky and arrogant, yet oddly charming, Logan that we all remember and love (or, at times, hate).

William (Jimmi Simpson) is there too, as the two are on a business trip together. He doesn’t stay long though, as he decides to head in for the night after Logan suggests they go out to party. 

That’s when Logan comes across a man named Akecheta, played by Zahn McClarnon (Fargo). He has a business proposition for Logan and we soon realize he’s advertising Westworld himself. 

He tells Logan about the new android inventions and challenges him to pick out all the androids in the room. Logan falters for a second, eventually selecting one he’s sure it is. That’s when Akecheta claps his hands and reveals that everyone in the room is actually an android — including himself and his assistant Angela (Talulah Riley).

Flash-forward to presumably a short time after that, as investment talks continue. We meet Logan’s father, James Delos (Peter Mullan), who’s accompanied by William. James is unsure about any further investment, but William convinces him by making him think about everything they could learn about their customers in a place like this. So, it seems pretty clear now, that William/Man in Black has something to do with that DNA preference testing we saw Charlotte doing in the premiere.

While they’re in the park talking, William spots Dolores. He walks over her basically to sneer and make fun of her, meaning he’s come a long, LONG way from season one at this point.

Flash-forward again to James Delos’ retirement party. William is once again acting all business-like and stuck-up, while Logan is crashing and burning. Dolores, who is there as a host, heads outside to the pool to find him getting high off some needle thing that honestly looks incredibly painful and unpleasant. Don’t do drugs, kids.

Then we get the big jump in time that we’ve been waiting for. Not all the way up to the bodies floating in the water, as that’s still going to remain a mystery for now, but we see more of Dolores and her uprising.

After killing Ford, she takes a small army and heads into the Westworld underground. They shoot a couple of employees and awaken some old general who looks like he’s been dead for years.

They then head into the park, have a brief encounter with Maeve, and continue on with the plan of their uprising.

Then we cut back to my favorite storyline so far, the Man in Black. He’s wisely realized that he’s going to need some help on his mission, and who better to help him than his old pal Lawrence (Clifton Collins Jr.)? After freeing him from some hosts who are off-loop, the two ride West to continue their mission.

That’s where they run into the one, the only, GUS FRING (Giancarlo Esposito) waiting for them in the town of Pariah. He’s taken over Lawrence’s role as the badass criminal — only now, since no one is controlling them anymore, he’s actually managed to seize control of the town.

The Man in Black figures he can win Lazo over to helping him on the mission, but not so fast. After trying to force them all to follow him, all the men in the town take out a pistol and shoot themselves in the head. “This game was meant for you William, but you must play it alone,” Lazo says before meeting the same fate as his men.

Freakin’ Ford.

Back with Dolores now. She’s getting an army of her own too. She walks up to Major Craddock (Jonathan Tucker), who the old guy they resurrected works for, and tells him that his men follow her now. He’s unconvinced at first but quickly changes his mind after Dolores kills him and then brings him back to life. Seems like she might be a pretty good person to follow after all.

The episode ends with Teddy and Dolores sharing a moment, talking about what they’re going to do next. Dolores says she’s going to take Teddy somewhere and it’s going to change everything. Teddy’s curious what possible place could make that much of a difference in their miserable lives, but that’s when Dolores drops the bombshell — it’s not a place they’re looking for, but a weapon. “And I’m going to use it to destroy them.”

Pulling the pieces together, I’m fairly confident that whatever this weapon is has something to do with when Dolores was shown the city-scape that one night. That’s as specific as we can be for now, but things aren’t looking too good for the humans in Westworld right now.

Make sure to check out Westworld on HBO!

Westworld renewed for season 3