Westworld.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
"This World is Our Hell" was never going to match the haunting intimacy of last week's stage play/bottle episode "A Blade of Grass," but I loved how much it still focused in, primarily, on one story. We cut to Victor and Henry's ungodly shenanigans over in London a couple of times, but for the most part this chapter was about Ethan and his bloody, tragic history.
We're still not quite up to speed on the exact origins of Ethan's wolf curse, but everything else more or less got filled in this week. Why he hates both of this fathers. Why he feels so much guilt (it turns out he's responsible for many more deaths other than just the apache he killed). Why his father - played impeccably by a guesting Brian Cox - wanted so badly to capture him and bring him in. We were given a lot of crucial information. And all the while, I started to become heavily invested in the Ethan/Hecate pairing.
I guess only a show like Penny Dreadful can make me care about a couple that, if united, would bring about an apocalypse of eternal night and dread. Their scene in the cave together, both carnally and conversation-wise (apache cave paintings, prophecies, etc), made for a great bit of bonding. One that really helped sell the moment, later on, when Ethan carried Hecate after she collapsed from exhaustion.
Hecate's a dastardly beast incapable of regard for innocent lives, but her devotion to Ethan is very compelling. And the way she bonded with him over their sour, evil lot in life - neither being able to choose their respective masters - made them feel like a hell of a pair. Likewise, I very much liked Sir Malcom's meeting with Jared Talbot. Their scene together highlighted the way they mirrored each other in the realm of ruthless exploration - but also how much Malcolm has changed from his old self after losing his entire family in the process. Jared, too, lost his family, but he's seemed to maintain his old stance on conquering and crushing. In fact, he's pretty much resigned himself to damnation.
Cox's Jared was an awesome presence on this episode. The character had been built up so much that you really needed a heavy-hitter to bring him to life. Also, Jared had a lot of gruesome exposition to get through when describing the horrific apache attack on Ethan's family - the one Ethan unknowingly aided - and you really need a great actor to give those lines the emotion and grief they deserve. The tale he told Ethan was immeasurably awful.
Again, aside from the Jekyll/Frankenstein arc overseas, this one was really about the Wild West and all the characters surrounding the search for Ethan. Malcolm and Kaetenay, Rusk and the marshall, and all the violence that occurred before Ethan and Hecate almost perished from thirst in the desert. Including Hecate providing a bit of dark magic in the form of a rattlesnake attack on the marshal's camp. It was a really cool bit of convergence there as Kaetenay and Hecate decided to attack Ethan's pursuers at the same time. Meaning Kaetenay got snake bit in the process and now may perish from the poison.
The Jekyll storyline still remains the weakest of the Season 3 batch, but it's very interesting how contemptuous Victor's become now that he's "perfected" Henry's formula. He's so hooked on domesticating Lily that the sweet doting love he once felt for her has become rather gross and nefarious. It's becoming clearer now who to root for in this conflict since Victor's become a maniac about turning her into a docile slave.
The Verdict
"This World is Our Hell" wonderfully delved into Ethan's savage backstory, illuminating extra tragedies we weren't even aware of. All while building up a dementedly loving bond between Ethan and Hecate to the point where you almost...root for them? Even though it could mean the End Times if they got together? Great stuff.
Editors' Choice
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