During the interminable wait for ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7 (it premieres April 17 FYI) it’s not TV it’s HBO dropped its new water cooler show ‘Westworld’. The series, based on the eponymous 1973 film, is set in a futuristic Western-themed park with lifelike androids called “Hosts”, and the explosive first season finale aired this past Sunday.
While the show never attained the quality heights of Thrones (and really what show can) ‘Westworld’ was a fascinating and entertaining show in its own right. For this post I will be discussing details up to and including the season finale so here is your SPOILER ALERT.
Now the first three episodes of the show was a slow burn and felt like Groundhog Day with a lot more murder and fornicating. It was such a slow burn and the characters so undeveloped that I almost quit the show. But fortunately I stuck with it and my loyalty was paid off in spades. When the characters were fleshed some of them were pretty fantastic. For this post we will be ranking the Top 10 characters. Saddle up, rope some doggies and let’s gallop into it:
#10 Logan
We have all met a Logan in our lives. He is that entitled, pervy douche who lords his money and position over you. And he is probably what many people would be like if there was an actual ‘Westworld’ i.e. they want to shoot and sleep with everything.
Well we loved to hate Logan and that is testament to Ben Barnes’ wonderfully sleazy performance. When William turned on him and gave him his comeuppance (naked horse ride anyone?) it was quite satisfying.
#9 Armistice
This killer bandit lady did not speak much as she preferred to let her guns do the talking. Armistice was a striking figure with her full body snake tattoo and she was a deadly marksman with a rifle. She truly shined when Maeve unleashed her in the finale and she murdered technicians, delightfully threatened lab tech Sylvester and blew away a bunch of security guards. And from the post credit scene (how Marvel of you HBO) it appears that she may be surviving to make it to Season Two.
#8 Charlotte Hale
The first “woman in charge” was operations leader Theresa Cullen and she was a bit dull. It was shocking when Ford ordered Bernard to murder her but I did not miss her at all. A much better powerful female character was Charlotte Hale. She was sassy, sexy and scheming and lit up every scene. I look forward to seeing more from her next season.
#7 Hector Escaton
Who doesn’t love a charming sociopathic bandit? Hector was smooth, brutal and deadly. His chemistry with Maeve was on fire – figuratively and literally – and his bloody murder spree with Armistice in the finale was glorious. His fate remains unknown but I would enjoy seeing more of him.
#6 Teddy Flood
Poor Teddy. He is like the Kenny of ‘Westworld’ – just keeps getting killed over and over. He started off as a one dimensional sap but then Ford messed with his programming and made him darker. Unpredictable and murderous Teddy was a lot better than lame love struck Teddy. He and Dolores will likely be reunited after the finale but where their relationship goes next is anybody’s guess.
#5 Dolores Abernathy
Dolores may have been the show’s protagonist but is not the best character. Sorry Evan Rachel Wood. This hometown Host was intriguing though and I enjoyed watching her grow into consciousness and uncover the mystery of her past, which was intertwined with the mystery of the park. I loved her chemistry with William and following her on that emotional roller coaster.
I am interested to see how the character changes now that she is the trigger happy Dolores/Wyatt. I do believe that she, along with Maeve, will be the leaders of the Host revolution next season. And on a side note, the effects with Dolores’ android body in the finale were spectacular.
#4 Bernard Lowe
Bernard Lowe was one of the characters that I immediately liked; that was also the case with the remaining three on this list but let us focus. With Bernard, Jeffrey Wright gave us a nuanced, layered performance. And then it was revealed that he is not only a Host but in the image of Ford’s late partner Arnold Weber. #mindblown. His identity struggle was powerful to watch and I was sad when he blew his brains out. Thankfully he was resurrected and will likely be the brains and tactician of the Host revolution.
#3 William aka The Man in Black
Ed Harris delivered a sucker punch of a performance with this character. His clothing was as dark as his deeds and he left a trail of Host bodies in his quest to uncover the secret of the Maze. You never knew what he was going to do but you knew somebody was going to end up dead. And I really dug that.
In a twist which was pretty much telegraphed we learned that he was Dolores’ erstwhile lover William who had turned to the dark side in a big way. In the end he received his wish that the Hosts would be able to fight back. I can imagine him running around the park next season, picking off Hosts one by one.
#2 Robert Ford
Sir Anthony Hopkins is one of my favourite actors of all time and even when he is in not so good films he is always a great watch. For ‘Westworld’ founder Robert Ford Hopkins brings his usual gravitas and melodious, almost Shakespearean line delivery. Ford was manipulative, powerful and could intimidate with words more than his Hosts with guns and knives.
In the one twist of the show that got me it was revealed that he was not a villain but was actually seeking to liberate the Hosts and honour Arnold’s legacy. And it was sad watching him commit suicide by Host, also like Arnold. Barring flashbacks or a return as a Host, which is unlikely, this is probably the last we will see of him. He will definitely be missed.Who is going to explain those samurai to us? Eastworld maybe?
#1 Maeve Millay
The number one character, the best of the best, is the Host and brothel madam Maeve Millay, played by the lovely Thandie Newton. She is so strong, sassy and intelligent, even before her programming upgrade. She starts off cool and then gets really interesting when she learns that she is a Host and starts plotting her escape. I loved her manipulation of the lab techs, including her weird unconsummated relationship with Felix, her hot times with Hector and then walking out of ‘Westworld’ like ah boss! She ran back in to save her Host daughter so thankfully we will be getting more Maeve sass in Season 2.
So you have seen my list and my number one. Who’s your favourite ‘Westworld’ character?
For my review of the ‘Westworld’ premiere you can click here and for my discussion on the ‘Westworld’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ rape scenes you can click here. And for more cool TV posts and crazy movie list videos you can like the MovieVille Facebook page here.