Dissonance Theory

Plot

Bernard interviews Dolores about past events, and she recounts how she found her family murdered and was forced to kill Rebus and flee. Bernard mentions that he can make her forget the pain, but Dolores points out that her pain is all that she has left of her family, and she doesn't want to forget them. She mentions again that she feels there is something wrong with the world and she wants to be free. Bernard then tells her that if she can find the center of the Maze, then maybe she can find her freedom.

Dolores then wakes up in William's camp, with William watching over her. He wants to escort Dolores back to Sweetwater, but Logan protests, pointing out that they would have to give up on their bounty, making their long trek into wilderness pointless. In order to appease Logan, William decides to bring Dolores with them. When they stop in a nearby Mexican village, Dolores has a vision of meeting Lawrence's daughter, who instructs her to find the Maze and she receives flashbacks of a previous life involving a church. Meanwhile, the park staff notice that Dolores is no longer on her loop, and attempt to apprehend her until they discover that she is traveling with William. William, Logan, and Dolores track down their bounty, Slim Miller, to a remote farmhouse and apprehend him after a brief firefight. Slim then tries to bargain with William and Logan, telling them that his boss will pay double the reward. Realizing that they've unlocked a rare narrative, Logan double crosses and kills their guide, much to William's horror. Logan again points out that the hosts aren't human, therefore they shouldn't be concerned about what they do to them. William is disgusted at how Logan has became a monster upon entering the park, but agrees to carry on with the new narrative.

Elsewhere, the Man in Black follows the clues given by Lawrence's daughter, telling him to find a snake near a riverbank. Instead, he sees Hector's henchwoman Armistice bathing in the river, with a giant snake tattoo across her torso. Concluding that Armistice is the next clue, the Man in Black introduces himself to her. Armistice mentions that she is looking for something "of great value", and the Man in Black offers his assistance in return for finding out the story to Armistice's tattoo. Armistice allows the Man in Black and Lawrence to join her gang. While camped, another guest who is traveling with the gang thanks the Man in Black for his foundation's role in saving his sister's life. The Man in Black snaps at the guest not to bring up matters of the outside world into his vacation. Armistice then asks the Man in Black why he wants to know about her tattoo so much, and he mentions how Arnold created Westworld and its story, and that he is interested in finding the end to that story. Armistice then reveals that her plan is to break Hector out of prison. Believing her current plan of stealing an army cannon will take too long, the Man in Black goes in himself, posing as a prisoner and using explosive cigars to break Hector out of his cell. Keeping her word, Armistice tells the Man in Black that her tattoo is to symbolize all the men she has killed in revenge for killing her mother and that her only remaining target is Wyatt. Figuring Wyatt is the next clue, the Man in Black takes his leave with Lawrence, and en route, encounters a tortured Teddy tied up to a dead tree. Despite Teddy's pleas to end his misery, the Man in Black decides to cut Teddy free, stating that "misery is all [he] has."

In the control center, Theresa is furious upon finding out about the stray. Not confident in the Programming department's ability to handle the glitches, Theresa tasks the QA department with the investigation. Despite Elsie's protests, Bernard allows the change. Theresa then meets with Dr. Ford, who is excavating a massive section of the desert in preparation for his new narrative. Theresa is concerned that the Board will disapprove of his new narrative. Dr. Ford points out that many people in Theresa's position have come and gone, and that he knows every secret about the guests and the staff. He demonstrates this by pointing out that Theresa is sitting at the same table where she had dined on her very first visit to the park as a child. He also reveals that he knows about Theresa's affair with Bernard. He then calmly reveals that the Board has already approved of his plans, and warns Theresa not to get in his way.

Meanwhile, Maeve continues to have troubling visions of past memories, such as being shot by a guest and having strangers in Hazmat suits operating on her. She instinctively draws a picture of the suit, unsure of its meaning, and finds out that she has been drawing the same figure multiple times and hiding the drawings under a floorboard without remembering any of it. She then watches a group of Native Americans passing by and notices one of them holding a doll that resembles her drawings. Since Hector allegedly lives among the natives, Maeve waits for him to arrive in town to rob the saloon. She holds Hector at gunpoint and demands that he tell her everything he knows about the figure, which the natives call a "Shade". Hector tells her that the Shade is a godlike deity that travels between the real and underworld to keep watch on the people. Maeve then confides in Hector that she remembers being shot in the abdomen, but her body has no visible wounds or scars. Desperate to see whether she is going crazy or not, Maeve cuts herself open and pulls out a bullet, confirming her suspicions. Realizing that nothing she does matters anymore, Maeve engages in a passionate kiss with Hector as a force of marshals opens fire on her door.

Production

"Dissonance Theory" was written by Ed Brubaker and series co-creator Jonathan Nolan.

Filming

The episode was directed by Vincenzo Natali. In the desert excavation scene with Theresa and Ford, a Bagger 293 bucket-wheel excavator was used. It is the biggest landbound machine of all time.

According to Anthony Hopkins, his favorite scene to shoot in the entire season was the scene in this episode where Ford reveals the extent of his control over Westworld to Theresa. That scene was filmed at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, near Simi Valley, California.

Music

In an interview, composer Ramin Djawadi spoke about the song "A Forest" by The Cure, that was translated into the playing piano in the episode. He said, "It really came down to figuring out the left-hand accompaniment, the harmonies, and then playing the melody with the right hand". Djawadi continued on why that particular song was played in that situation, saying, "One, it could be somebody going, ‘I really want to listen to this song, even if the guests don’t recognize it.' Selfish programming, Or is there a deeper meaning, with the title, the lyrics?".

Georges Bizet's Habanera is also featured in the episode.

Ratings

"Dissonance Theory" was viewed by 1.70 million American households on its initial viewing. The episode also acquired a 0.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic. Ratings for the episode fell nineteen percent compared to the previous instalment due to the season premiere of The Walking Dead. In the United Kingdom, the episode was seen by 1.09 million viewers on Sky Atlantic.

Critical reception

"Dissonance Theory" received positive reviews from critics. The episode currently has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes and has an average rating of 8.5 out of 10, based on 19 reviews. The site's consensus reads "Dissonance Theory spends some welcome time with the Man In Black while continuing the methodical expansion of the Westworld universe."

Eric Goldman of IGN reviewed the episode positively, saying, "A ton was going on in 'Dissonance Theory' — as Ford displayed a different side, Hector and Armistice (and that tattoo of hers) were put in the spotlight, Dolores set on her own path towards the maze and Maeve began to literally dig deep for answers." He gave it a score of 8.7 out of 10. Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote in his review of the episode; "Evan Rachel Wood's performance continues to astonish. In the opening scene alone, she has to make Dolores distraught yet calculating, both human and synthetic. Dolores cries over losing everyone she cares about, but when Bernard tells her to limit her 'emotional affect,' she not only becomes a machine again, we have to wonder how genuine her emotions are in the first place. Wood makes us question how real Dolores is." Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club wrote in his review, "'Dissonance Theory' doubles down on the confusion in many respects, offering some tantalizing hints about Ford's plans without actually explaining them, showing Dolores slipping a little further down the rabbit hole, and catching up with the Man in Black as he hunts down his mysterious maze. The maze also turns up in Dolores's memory, and in the drawing of a little girl on the street, so even if we don't have any immediate answers on it, at least there’s a sense of things getting tied together." He gave the episode an B+.

Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire wrote in her review, "Westworld is in large part a show about people in search of answers, and 'Dissonance Theory' found the show’s characters taking a multitude of intriguing approaches to finding them. It's a quest-driven installment, but one that draws out some significant new information, from The Man in Black searching for a lost narrative 'with real stakes, real violence' to Maeve trying to identify the masked figures who haunt her memories." She gave the episode an A-. James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly wrote in his review, "Westworld is almost mathematical in its narrative precision. The pace is not fast, and that frustrates some viewers. Yet the story is always moving — unceasing, purposeful, and incremental.". He gave the episode an A-.