Westworld Episode 1, review: The Original takes sharp look at what it means to be human

HBO’s long-delayed Westworld is a show weighted with heavy expectations to replicate the successes of Game of Thrones. The series is loosely based on Michael Chricton’s 1973 film of the same name and is an elaborate fusion of both science fiction and western genres.

The first episode sets out the ambitious scope of the series’ philosophically complex narrative complete with reverberations of both Blade Runner and Deadwood among others.

This is a highly coherent work of science fiction with the stunning visuals and stellar cast to back it up. Westworld takes its time in building its world and we enter it with the same naivety of both the android ‘hosts’ and the human ‘guests’.

The Original is framed around Delores, a young, sweet farm girl (Evan Rachel Wood) who wakes up in a frontier town, says goodbye to her father and gets on her way to visit a local shop.

Meanwhile, Teddy (James Marsden) gets off a train and heads into a nearby saloon for a drink. Through the window he can see Delores. She didn’t think she would ever see him again – they return to her home where a Man in Black (Ed Harris) is waiting for them.

This gunslinger is a visitor to Westworld, a fantasy dreamland where "every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged". The following day the host androids will wake up again as if nothing had happened. Delores says in the closing narration: "Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world, the disarray, I choose to see the beauty."

But not everything is swell in Westworld. It is believed that the androids are breaking out of their programmed routines and it feels as though we can see what could be a small glimmer of self-awareness. Dr Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) is the founder and head of Westworld, akin to Jurassic Park’s Richard Hammond, and he is fascinated by them and encourages these changes within the hosts through software updates.

Ford finds himself at odds with Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) whose primary aim is to create a controlled environment where the androids maintain the slight appearance of unreality. The tensions brewing behind the curtain sees the storytellers and technicians drawing on their own motives and methods in order to create the perfect Westworld experience.

As the first episode draws to its violent conclusion, both the humans and the androids head towards a point of no return. Perhaps most interesting is the moment that this line is crossed – Evan Rachel Wood’s stellar performance encourages us to see the androids as more human than the guests that enter Westworld do. Through the violence and depravity of the men in the theme park it becomes problematic to then accept the guest’s humanness in spite of their inhuman actions. As an audience we are unable to dismiss the reality of the androids who, like Delores, express their hopes, fears and desires.

As the Man in Black approaches Delores he says to her: "I’ve been coming here for 30 years, but you still don’t remember me, do you?" It is revealed towards the end of The Original that Delores has been "repaired so many times she’s practically brand new" and is the oldest host in the park. How can we explain her longevity in a place where innocence is a weakness?

For many this theme park is a place to breach taboos – for him, it is something more. He goes on to say: "There’s a deeper level to this game." This is a genuinely engaging and artfully crafted piece of television and whilst it might be too soon to say that it lives up to the hype, it is safe to say that this philosophically charged show is worthy of our attention.

Sky Atlantic and NowTV, 9pm.

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