Welcome to (the Wild, Wild) Westworld

There’s a new sheriff in town…and they’re not human. The wild west of HBO’s newest drama, Westworld, is at once familiar and different. It is full of traditional cowboy stories: bandits, saloon brawls, homesteads, and “Indians”; it is also a theme park full of robots. Through the lens of this adaptation of Michael Crichton‘s novel (and previous 1970s film), Westworld examines what it means to be human. It is a dark, thoughtful show that has an insanely high quality production value. If you haven’t seen it, stop reading now and go watch it. If you have seen season 1 of Westworld, we present five moments that made our jaws drop (there were, in fact, many many more than five crazy moments of season 1. We just narrowed it down to some of our favorites).  *SPOILERS AHEAD*

The moment when we find out that Teddy (James Marsden) is really a host/droid. I mean, the guy woke up on the train that people take into the park, and Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) uttered, “You came back” when they met again. So, naturally, we did a double take when he shot The Man in Black (Ed Harris), but The Man in Black didn’t even get a scratch. The main rule of Westworld? Humans in the park are safe from harm; only hosts can get killed. Lucky for us, Teddy was back quickly for more screen time (a droid never looked so handsome).

When Maeve (Thandie Newton) wakes up in the middle of getting fixed in the main operations department, we gasped along with the technician. Not only was this a surprising moment within the story, but it was also such a masterfully acted scene. As a viewer, Maeve’s disorientation, fear, confusion, and, ultimately, realization were incredibly real. This began one of the more immediately exciting storylines in the beginning of the season.

The scene in which, Ford’s (Anthony Hopkins) right hand man, Bernard (Jeffrey Wright), is a revealed to be a droid (made by Ford himself) was, hands down, the most jaw-dropping moment. His quiet compassion, curiosity, and profound loss made him one of the more empathetic characters. This was a twist that was completely unpredicted–especially when, after he learns who he really is, Bernard goes back through his memories and sees moments in a different light (um, hello, disappearance of Elsie).

After rumblings all across the internet of theories about who exactly The Man in Black was had spread (note to self: stop reading them!), his backstory reveal was still mind blowing. The fact that viewers have been seeing two different timelines, assuming it was all in the present, was nuts. Then, to think that sweet William (Jimmi Simpson) turned into a hardened, violent, awful Man in Black was almost too much. It was, in short, brilliant writing.

Dolores has been the lynchpin of Westworld. Many characters revolve around her: Teddy, William/The Man in Black, and Arnold. As the oldest host in the park, she has a history that not many of the hosts have. Her search for answers as to who she is is what brings so many storylines together. So, when her backstory is finally revealed at the end of this season, we were super ready. And, it did not disappoint. She–not elusive Wyatt–had made Teddy help her in destroying the original hosts in order to prevent Ford from opening the park. Most shocking of all, she is the one–not Ford–who killed Arnold. Jaw. On. The. Floor.

All of these twists and reveals–along with the ones we didn’t mention–have left us with more questions about (and excitement for) what is to come. Westworld has shown itself to be one of the most well-produced, well-written, and well-designed television shows this fall. We can’t wait for more!

Photo Credit: HBO