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HBO’s Westworld Recap – Live Updates of “Trompe L’Oeil”

The episode opens with Bernard reading Alice in Wonderland to his son. Although he tries to keep […]

The episode opens with Bernard reading Alice in Wonderland to his son. Although he tries to keep his spirits up, Bernard’s son unexpectedly crashes. Bernard wakes up in his bed at Westworld and looks at a picture in the park.

Later that day, Bernard inspects Hector inside programming. Hector had a “blacklist” encounter, which led to Bernard making sure that Hector hasn’t grown self-aware. When one of Bernard’s co-workers enters the room, Bernard asks about Elsie, who (according to the system) started work early that day.

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William and Lawrence play cards on the train, while Dolores looks out of the window on the train. The train passes a series of heads mounted on poles, which according to Lawrence means they’re in “Ghost Nation”.

Bernard can’t find Elsie’s phone in the park, but he gets called into Theresa’s office. Teresa wanted to know why he abruptly left, but Bernard isn’t in the mood for honesty. They have a short and terse conversation and then Bernard leaves once again.

Theresa goes to see Charlotte in her room, as she’s finishing up a hearty tryst with Hector. Charlotte wants answers about the woodcutter and also why Ford is using so much of the park for his new narrative. Charlotte makes it clear that Devos is only interested in Westworld for the programming code and they need to get Ford out of the way, as he has the ability to erase that code in a snap. In order to do that, Charlotte suggests a “blood sacrifice”, a way to prove that the hosts are actually dangerous.

Maeve wakes up in the park and walks to the Mariposa Saloon with a more confident air than before. She walks over to the piano and shuts it off. She has her normal morning conversation with Clementine, but this time asks if she ever dreams that she’s someone else. Suddenly, all the hosts pause (except for Maeve) and body shop workers walk into the bar. Maeve grabs a knife, but the body shop employees grab Clementine instead.

Dolores tells William that she should rest, but William’s a little too wired to sleep. William asks her if she’s sure that the place she’s searching for exists, but Dolores admits that she doesn’t know. However, she feels like her entire life is a lie. William says he’s trying to figure out what Westworld “means”, as it reminds him of the stories he read as a kid. But Dolores doesn’t want to be in a story. Dolores looks longingly at William, but William admits he’s engaged to Logan’s sister. Dolores storms out in a hurry, but Wiliam chases after her. William admits he feels truly alive in Westworld and then kisses her.

Ford and Bernard meet with Charlotte and Theresa. Theresa claims that the recent update was buggy. Using Clementine as an example, Theresa shows that the hosts can actually attack and kill humans. After killing a host programmed to “act” like a human, Clementine then turns on Stubbs, who shoots her before she can actually hurt him. Theresa claims that the reveries can cause the host’s to carry “grudges” and override their programming. Charlotte and Theresa claim that Bernard is responsible for the reveries (hoping to get him to turn on Ford) but Bernard falls on his sword and gets fired as a result.

The next morning, William kisses Dolores and says that Westworld reveals a person’s “deeper self”, who he truly is. Dolores shows him a sketch she drew, of a place where the mountains meet the sea. However, the train suddenly stops due boulders on the track, and the Confederatos approach the train. Using a gatling gun, they shoot up the train, but Lawrence sends out a corpse on a horse filled with nitro and uses the resulting explosion to mask their getaway. As the Confederatos chase them, Dolores falls off her horse. William rescues her, but they only escape the Confederators with the help of the Ghost Nation.

A short while later, Dolores, Lawrence, and William come to the canyon that Dolores drew earlier. Dolores and William part ways with Lawrence, who warns them that the path ahead is unclaimed territory

Maeve heads back in the body shop with Felix (she deliberately had herself killed to find Clementine), so Felix takes her to watch Sylvester effectively lobotomize Clementine. At the same time, Theresa pulls Bernard aside and says that he knows about both the woodcutter and the “sham” they pulled off with Clementine. Bernard says he doesn’t care about Theresa stealing data, but that the reveries triggered the hosts to the point that they were about to change. Bernard says he needs to show Theresa something in the park.

Sylvester explains to Maeve that he didn’t want to retire Clementine, but Maeve isn’t happy at all. Maeve says she wants out of Westworld and wants Felix and Sylvester to help him. Sylvester says it’s a suicide mission, but Maeve says she’s died a million times and says she’ll kill them if they won’t help them.

On their way up to the park, Theresa reveals to Bernard that she was pulling data out as a backup in case Ford tried to erase the host’s code and profiles. Bernard takes Theresa to Ford’s secret cabin and mentions that the hosts were programmed to avoid it. Theresa asks Bernard about a door, but Bernard doesn’t seem to see it. When she opens it, she finds a secret host making facility, complete with designs for Dolores, Ford’s younger self…and Bernard. Ford arrives at the facility and shuts Bernard down as he struggles with the realization that he’s actually a host. Ford reveals that he asked Bernard to bring Theresa to the cabin. When Theresa threatens Ford with board action, Ford says the only way to bring the board back under his thumb is with a “blood sacrifice”. Ford then orders Bernard to kill Theresa. Leaving Theresa’s body behind, Ford tells Bernard that they have more work to do, especially with the new storylines.