Dissonance Theory

"Dissonance Theory"
Season	1
Episode number	4
Air date	October 23, 2016
Runtime	64 min
Writer(s)	Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Nolan
Director	Vincenzo Natali
Episodes
Previous	"The Stray"
Next	"Contrapasso"

"Dissonance Theory" is the fourth episode of Westworld, and the fourth episode of the first season. The episode was co-written by Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Nolan, and directed by Vincenzo Natali.

Synopsis

“	Dolores joins William and Logan on a bounty hunt in the badlands. The Man in Black, with Lawrence in tow, finds a critical clue in his search to unlock the maze. Dr. Ford and Theresa discuss the future of the park. Maeve is troubled by a recurring vision.	”
–Official Synopsis

Plot

Arnold and Dolores

The episode begins with another meeting between Dolores and Arnold. Arnold offers to switch off Dolores' feelings of grief over her dead parents, yet Dolores refuses, claiming that her grief is the only thing she has left of them; it appears that this response was not entirely scripted. As the conversation progresses, Dolores reveals that she feels that there is either something wrong with her world or with herself, and that she may be losing her mind. Arnold mentions a secret game: the maze. The goal of this game is to find the center of the maze, at which point Dolores may be "set free". Dolores replies that she thinks she wants to be free.

Bernard, Ford and Theresa

Theresa interrogates Elsie over the stray, asking what caused it to go off loop. Theresa goes on to tell Elsie and Bernard that her team is taking over the situation, much to Elsie's chagrin. Afterwards, Elsie warns Bernard that the hosts' aberrant behavior is more than just a glitch, but Bernard brushes her off, telling her she is just imagining things.

After sexual relations, Bernard tells Theresa that she looks stressed. Theresa replies that the board will arrive soon, and that she has a meeting with Robert Ford "tomorrow". Bernard gives Theresa advice, and they end up kissing.

Dr. Ford warns Theresa to stay out of his way.

Theresa meets with Ford the next day, while a huge excavator digs land for his new story line. Ford then takes her to the restaurant at the Agave Plantation.

Theresa mentions that she visited the restaurant as a child with her parents and that she may be sitting in the same seat she did back then. Responding to Ford's question about whether she liked Westworld, Theresa tells him that when she started working at Westworld, she realized it would be something she would not enjoy. Ford tells Theresa that Westworld was originally intended as something different, and that he had a bet with Arnold about whether the park was perfectly balanced. Ford lost the bet. Ford continues, claiming that Arnold was very cynical towards mankind, preferring the company of hosts to humans. And, that Arnold pleaded with Ford to not let a corporate influence affect the park. Ford states that to him, Westworld is not a business venture or a theme park, but an entire world, in which he has designed every detail. This makes Ford a god and corporate the guests. While saying this, Ford freezes every restaurant and plantation worker in sight with a movement of his finger. (This reveals that they are all hosts.)

Ford explains to Theresa that Arnold lost his perspective and went mad, unlike himself, who has always seen things very clearly. Ford goes on to say that he knows everything about both the park's guests and its employees. He reveals to Theresa that he knows about her relationship with Bernard, and follows this with a thinly veiled threat to her to stay out of his way. (He tells her that he's seen her kind come and go and they have "almost always" found a way to get along. He says that he is asking "her nicely" to not intervene in his plans.)

Ford unfreezes the hosts both inside and outside the restaurant with a flick of his finger. He tells the waiter to rejoin the others. Theresa and Ford both hear and see the approaching excavator. Theresa leaves, clearly disturbed.

Dolores and William

Dolores awakens on the ground with a gun in her hand. She is next to William, and she thanks him. Upon noticing William's interest in Dolores, Logan says that the Westworld employees have sent Dolores to William to give him something to care about. Logan tells William that the company should bump their stake in Westworld because it is able to give even William something he enjoys. Upset, William asks Logan whether the trip was just meant to be business, to which Logan coldly replies that in his family everything is business.

The Maze Lawrence's daughter drew in the sand

We see a Westworld employee warning Stubbs that Dolores may be deviating from her loop, but it is hard to tell considering Ford's new story lines have caused so much chaos. Stubbs says that Dolores should be retrieved by Behavior.

At the same village (Las Mudas) that the Man in Black visited with Lawrence, Dolores is alone by the fountain. Then, a girl (Lawrence's Daughter), seems to magically appear (sitting on the fountain). Dolores asks the girl if she is from Las Mudas, but the girl replies, "no". The girl says that Dolores should know this because she and Dolores are both from the same place. Dolores hears a male voice in her head say, "Remember", and immediately she has a memory flash of a white church. Disturbed, she kneels down to see the pattern of the Maze that the girl has drawn on the ground. A lawman approaches Dolores, and tells her that she belongs back at her ranch. He puts a hand on her shoulder and tells her that her father must be worried about her. Her facial expression changes, she hears a church bell, and she 'sees' memory flashes of entering a church, seeing Lawrence's daughter at the town with the white church, holding a gun, and kneeling in front of a grave. The girl has inexplicably vanished, and there is no longer a maze drawn in the sand.

Dolores tells the lawman that she’s not going back to the ranch because her father is dead. The lawman grabs Dolores, as if to drag her away, but she resists. William shows up and intervenes. He says she is with him, and the lawman leaves, seeing that she’s with a guest. William notes they’ve got a lead on the bounty they are hunting, and suggests that she stay in Las Mudas. She decides to go with William, and says that she thinks that she needs to keep going.

Later at night, she talks to William about how she thinks that in every moment there are many possible paths for a person to take. William asks Dolores where she is headed, and says that he assumes that the hosts have to stay within certain paths or zones. She admits that she used to believe everyone had a path, She says that she used to worry over lost steer, and her father would tell her that the steer would eventually find their own way home. She remarks that it never before occurred to her that the cattle were just returning home to be slaughtered.

William asks her how she’ll find her way now. She replies that she feels like someone’s calling her to a place "beyond all this" where there’s a place for her. William says he knows the feeling, but asks if she really doesn’t want to go back to her own life. Then Dolores is shown alone. At first she is in darkness and then there is an enormous full moon near her. The moon morphs into a light like the ones inside the Mesa Hub. Then Dolores sees herself lying dead on the ground at the Abernathy ranch. And, a Westworld employee in a protective suit is standing over her. She faints and, once again, falls into William’s arms. He puts his arm around her waist and guides her back to the campfire.

Slim is captured

Before assaulting Slim and his men (who are holding a family hostage), William tells Dolores to stay away because she can get hurt, unlike him. Holden, Logan and William kick in the door and open fire, killing Slim's men and capturing Slim.

Further on, Slim pleads with the group, asking them to free him and saying that they can receive twice the amount of the bounty from El Lazo if Slim is taken to Pariah. Logan responds by shooting Holden, telling William that they have stumbled upon an Easter Egg. He urges William to go "Black Hat" with him. William angrily asks Logan why he is acting so evil in the park but Logan responds to William that it is only a game. Logan tells Slim to take them to Pariah.

Man in Black

At the Blood Arroyo, Lawrence tries to convince the Man in Black to give up his search for the maze and to head to Pariah instead. The Man in Black disregards this, before spotting Armistice washing in the river and realizing that her snake tattoo could be the "snake" in the clue he was given by Lawrence's daughter. As Armistice approaches the duo, her men surround them with guns drawn. Unfazed, the Man in Black asks Armistice where she is headed, killing two of her men to make space in their group.

Later, Armistice kills two hosts upon getting information from them and continues riding with the Man in Black and Lawrence.

Man in Black meets Armistice

At Armistice's campsite at night, a guest approaches the Man in Black and says that he admires him, and that the Man in Black's foundation saved his sister's life. The Man in Black threatens the guest with violence, and explains that he's on vacation and should not be bothered like this. Lawrence explains to the Man in Black about Armistice's plan to obtain something from a prison. Not wanting to waste any time, the Man in Black tells Armistice that he intends to go to the prison himself and retrieve what she wants. Armistice asks him what his price is for doing this for her will be. The Man in Black responds that he only wants a "few words", specifically the story behind her snake tattoo. The Man in Black goes on to mention Arnold, claiming that he broke his own rule of being unable to die in Westworld by actually dying there, leaving behind one story he had meant to tell. The Man in Black claims that he is honoring Arnold's legacy, pursuing a game with real violence. Armistice agrees to this deal, and lets him go to the prison with Lawrence. She apparently gives him the single match that he asked for.

In an armored carriage, the Man in Black and Lawrence are handcuffed, accompanied by Deputy Roe. The Man in Black offers a cigar to Deputy Roe, who steals them from him save one. The Man in Black turns to Lawrence, explaining to him that he is fixed in a loop and that he is actually here to set him free.

Outside the Los Diablos Prison, Marshal Pruitt berates Deputy Roe for not realizing who Lawrence is. The Man in Black tells Pruitt that Lawrence would prefer to be killed by firing squad, and Pruitt obliges, telling Deputy Roe to lock the Man in Black up while they prepare to execute Lawrence.

Teddy is found tied to a tree.

While in his jail cell, it is revealed that the Man in Black is locked up with Hector. The Man in Black refers to Hector as a "prized poodle", locked in a cycle, and asks Hector about his worldview. Hector responds that only the truly brave can understand the world, by accepting that everything will end badly and no one will be saved. The Man in Black tells Hector that instead of having to wait three days to be broken out of the prison, they can break out now. The Man in Black's cigar is revealed to actually contain small explosives and therefore he lights it with the match given to him by Armistice and destroys the lock of the prison cell. This small explosion is shown to be flagged and permitted by the Westworld employees.

As they leave the prison, Deputy Roe's lit cigar blows his own head up before he can intervene. Just as Lawrence is about to be killed via firing squad, the Man in Black and Hector arrive on the scene and kill Marshal Pruitt and his men, saving Lawrence's life once more in the same fashion as before.

Back with Armistice's group, a grateful Hector tells the Man in Black that they could use him for the saloon heist. The Man in Black responds that he only wants to speak with Armistice and that Hector will not find what he is looking for in the saloon safe. Keeping up her end of the deal, Armistice tells the Man in Black that Wyatt's men killed her entire village when she was a child. Following this, her snake tattoo is colored in with blood step by step for every one of Wyatt's men she kills, leaving only the uncolored head of the snake for Wyatt himself.

The Man in Black and Lawrence ride after Wyatt. Lawrence tells the Man in Black that they are crazy for going after him, as he believes it will get them both killed. They happen upon Teddy, who is bloody and strung up by rope on a tree. Teddy begs the Man in Black to kill him, but the Man in Black refuses, cutting him down.

Maeve

Armistice guards the saloon as it's being robbed

At the saloon, a troubled Maeve speaks to Clementine. During their conversation, Maeve suddenly remembers Clementine as having been shot in the head, followed by the appearance of a Westworld employee wearing a protective suit.

In her bedroom, Maeve sketches the suit on a piece of paper and attempts to hide it under a floorboard. Opening the floorboard, she is shocked to discover many copies of the same sketch already there.

Later, a group of Native American hosts pass through and a young girl drops a wooden figurine, which appears to be modeled after the protective suit worn by the Westworld employees. She picks it up and asks the girl where it was from, but is told by a bystander host that it is part of their unintelligible religion.

Maeve discovers a bullet from her stomach, proving she had been shot.

Back at the saloon, Maeve recognizes one of Hector's men. Clementine asks her if Hector is the one that lives with the Native American "savages", to which Maeve replies in the affirmative.

As he rides into town with Armistice, Hector's saloon heist begins once more, this time accompanied by some guests. Once Hector is in the saloon, Maeve puts a gun to his head and demands that they talk alone. Upstairs, Maeve shows him a drawing of a figure she had seen, offering to give him the combination to the safe in return for answers.

As guests are revealed to be coming to the park in 20 minutes, the Westworld employees decides to jam Hector's group's weapons to end the heist early. Hector tells Maeve that the figure is a "shade" that the Native Americans make figurines of.

Hector and Maeve share a frenzied kiss as bullets fire through the door.

They believe them to be from hell, sent to oversee our world. Maeve tells Hector that she thought she was crazy, yet she knows she got shot in the stomach and that she saw the strange figure standing over her, even though it later seemed as though it never happened due to no resulting wound. Maeve makes a cut into her stomach and has Hector dig out the bullet from inside, convincing Maeve that she is not crazy at all. Realizing nothing matters, Maeve begins to kiss Hector passionately as Sheriff Reed and his posse shoot bullets through the door.

Maeve's Memory Sequence

Vincenzo Natali, director of "Dissonance Theory," shared the storyboard of Maeve's memory sequence.

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Cast

Main Cast

• Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy
• Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay
• Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe
• James Marsden as Teddy Flood
• Ben Barnes as Logan
• Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Armistice
• Clifton Collins Jr. as Lawrence
• Luke Hemsworth as Ashley Stubbs
• Sidse Babett Knudsen as Theresa Cullen
• Rodrigo Santoro as Hector Escaton
• Jimmi Simpson as William
• Shannon Woodward as Elsie Hughes
• Ed Harris as Man in Black
• Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford

Guest Cast

• Chris Browning as Holden
• Demetrius Grosse as Deputy Foss
• James Landry Hebert as Slim Miller
• Sherman Augustus as Marshal Pruitt

Co-Stars

• Josh Clark as Sheriff Reed
• Judson Mills as Deputy Roe
• Hugo Pierre Martin as Deputy
• Jeff Daniel Phillips as Tenderloin
• Mason McCulley as Todd
• Izabella Alvarez as Lawrence's Daughter
• Charlie Hopkins as Drunken Mariposa Guest
• Bradley Fisher as Mariposa Bartender
• George Jonson as Soldier
• Jose Rosario as Manu
• Mayank Saxena as Futterman
• Kate Rene Gleason, Folake Olowofoxeku as Surveillance Techs
• Liam Cronin, Zeke Nicholson as Body Techs
• Alex Urbom as Cleanup Tech

Uncredited

• Ardeshir Radpour as Darren

Notes

The title

• "Dissonance" is used in a few ways, it can mean:
  • "Cognitive Dissonance". A state of mental conflict, this appears to be the way it's used in the title and by the programmers at Delos.
  • lack of harmony among musical notes. e.g. "an unusual degree of dissonance for such choral styles"
  • lack of agreement or harmony between people or things. e.g. "the party faithful might be willing to put up with such dissonance among their candidates"
  • "Dissonance in Poetry". The deliberate avoidance of rhyme - patterns of repeated vowel sounds
  • "Cultural Dissonance". The uncomfortable sense experienced by people in the midst of change in their cultural environment.

• Maeve's finding of drawings in her floorboard, things that she did not remember drawing, is reminiscent of a key plot point in "Memento", a movie by Westworld TV series co-creator, writer and director Jonathan Nolan.

Quotes

Hector Escaton: "What does it mean?"
Maeve Millay: “That I’m not crazy after all, and that none of this matters.”

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Logan: "If you're so concerned about her well-being, then I'll just blow her brains out and the park will come get her."
William: "Hey, hey. Can you please just stop trying to kill or fuck everything?"

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Bernard Lowe (to Elsie Hughes): "The hosts don't imagine things, you do. That's not Orion. There are three stars in Orion's belt, not four."

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Clementine: "Penny for your thoughts."
Maeve: "Ever had something on the tip of your tongue and no matter how much you try to recall it, it slips away?"

Clementine: "Most things touch the tip of my tongue I'm happy to forget."

---

Bernard: "There's something I'd like you to try. It's a game, a secret. It's called The Maze."
Dolores: "What kind of a game is it?"

Bernard: "It's a very special game kind of game, Dolores. The goal is to find the center of it. If you can do that, then maybe you can be free."
Dolores: "I think... I think I want to be free."

Music

A Forest (The Cure)

Pineapple Rag (Scott Joplin)

Carmen Suite No. 2: Habanera (Georges Bizet)

Gallery

William and Logan on the hunt for Slim

Firing squad preparing to kill Lawrence

Lawrence and Man in Black

Dolores and William

Maeve discovers a strange child's toy, that matches her drawings.

External links

• Dissonance Theory at the Internet Movie Database (rating {{{3}}}/10)