“ | It’s not plagiarism; it’s supply and demand. | ” |
–Lee Sizemore, in "Akane No Mai" about copying Westworld's narratives into Shōgunworld |
Lee Sizemore is a Main character in the first, second and third seasons of Westworld. He runs the Narrative and Design of the Westworld and Shogunworld parks. His story-lines consistently delight and/or terrify the guests; his temperament consistently grates on his colleagues.
Biography[]
Background[]
Sizemore was born in the United Kingdom, presumably England.
Sizemore was previously in a relationship with a woman who left him, since he hadn't figured out his priorities. He was Head of Narrative and Design at the parks of Delos Destinations, creating characters and storylines for the parks such as Westworld and Shōgunworld.
Among his creations for Westworld was Hector Escaton, who was based on his failed relationship, and the Gold Miner Host. He enjoyed writing narratives that often featured mature or dark themes such as violence, sexual acts and cannibalism. He presumably was also in charge of creating Shōgunworld. Sizemore had 3 weeks to write 300 narratives for this park, which led to him recycle several characters, settings and loops from Westworld, adapting them to Japanese culture.
Plot[]
Season One[]
During discussions with Dr. Ford and Bernard, he opposes the idea of making the Hosts more lifelike. He tells them: "But does anyone truly want that? Do you want to think that your husband is really fucking that beautiful girl or that you really just shot someone? This place works because the guests know the hosts aren't real."[1]
"Chestnut"
Lee has taken "sick leave" after his "Odyssey on Red River" narrative is rejected. He's resigned himself to getting wasted while sitting poolside. Theresa attempts to bring him back to work after discovering Ford messing with the park, but Lee refuses, saying that he is one breakdown short of quitting. Theresa tells him that he can't quit and tells him to sober up and come in to work the next day. Lee instead meets an attractive woman who he tries and fails to flirt with. After having been cut off from the bar, Theresa's orders, Lee steals a bottle of alcohol and proceeds to piss all over the park operations control room. Amidst his antic, he is introduced to Charlotte Hale by Theresa Cullen, who turns out to be one of the Board members of Delos Destinations, Inc. and the woman he was trying to flirt with.[3]
"Trace Decay"
Charlotte interrupts Lee while he programs a host. He apologizes for their awkward first meeting, and says that he has heard about Theresa's death. Charlotte comments that her death is a loss to the company, and Lee states that there's a rumour that Theresa wasn't the loyal worker everyone thinks. Charlotte defends her, saying that she died doing something important for the company, but refuses to answer Lee's questions about the nature of her work.
In his annoyance he boasts that Ford asked him to secretly program a villain—a cannibal Gold Miner Host—for his new narrative, which Charlotte scoffs at, saying that he is only doing busy work. She tells him Ford would never trust him with a key character for one of his narratives, and offers him a job working with her.
That night the two make their way down to Cold Storage and look through the decommissioned Hosts. Charlotte selects Peter Abernathy, and reveals her plan to upload all the park's code onto his server, something that can only be done with a Host that has no stored information. She tells Lee to program Peter with a personality convincing enough that he can escape the park, and leaves him to it.[4]
"The Bicameral Mind"
On the Monorail platform in Westworld Mesa Hub the hosts are lined up waiting, dressed in black. Lee Sizemore joins Charlotte Hale, who is watching from the floor above, and says Peter Abernathy is ready. He guesses that Ford is retiring that day and wants the job of Park Director. She promises him the job, says he can have it, do whatever he wants as long as he keeps it simple.
Season Two[]
Journey Into Night
During the hosts' takeover of Westworld and its control center, Lee finds himself cornered by the very cannibal Gold Miner host he had designed for his new narrative, only it does not respond to his voice commands to shut down. Before it can kill him, however, it is turned off by Maeve Millay, whom Lee discovers can not only ignore his voice commands but is also able to control other hosts. After inspecting a map in the room, Maeve starts to leave, prompting a terrified Lee to offer his help, leading her to the control room where she can get a more accurate map. This turns out to be a dead end, however, when it is revealed the 3D map in the room has been destroyed during the violence. Lee finds out that Maeve is searching for her "daughter," and argues that her search is pointless as she, like Maeve, is not real and simply a host with false memories. This only serves to anger Maeve, who forces him at gunpoint to continue helping her.
While walking through the Hub, they encounter a security team trying to contain the situation. Lee tries to alert them that Maeve is a host in disguise, but before they can take action they are distracted and several are killed by two hosts, with Maeve killing the rest of them. She then makes a point to spare Lee from getting killed by one of the hosts, warning that if he tries to betray her again she will cut off his "most vital organ" and feed it to him, although it "wouldn't make much of a meal." Lee nervously remarks that he wrote that threat for her.
The two make their way up to the Mesa Gold Bar, where Lee helps himself to some spirits while Maeve meets with Hector Escaton, who just survived a blood bath. After fixing Hector, Maeve orders Lee to join her in searching the park, making him change into some guest clothing. Before he can, however, Maeve forces Lee to strip entirely for her, ensuring that he experiences the same forced exposure the hosts had to deal with under him.Dressed in rancher's clothing and guiding some mules, Lee is present for Maeve's encounter with Dolores's group, and nervously waits for the tense moment between the two free hosts to pass before they are allowed to continue on.
Virtù e Fortuna
As the group continues through the park Lee tells Maeve that they should stick to the underground to avoid the Westworld QA forces, but is ignored. As they cross a stream they encounter some Ghost Nation hosts, led by Wanahton, who is willing to let Maeve and her group pass so long as they leave Lee behind. When Maeve's attempt to control the hosts fails, the group makes a run for it, barely escaping through an elevator into the underground.
While making their way through the corridors, Lee witnesses Maeve and Hector having a moment, and expresses disbelief as they are specifically programmed not to have a relationship, and that Hector belongs to "Isabella": when Hector tries to eloquently state that his past is all just programming and that his heart belongs to Maeve, Lee finishes his speech for him, reminding him that he is the programmer. Maeve, suspicious, figures out that Lee programmed Hector to be the ideal version of him after getting rejected by a girl.
Eventually, they encounter Armistice who has finished off several security guards and tied up Felix Lutz and Sylvester. The three join Maeve's group then board another elevator.
On the surface they notice snowfall and question where they are: Lee suspects they are near the Klondike narrative of the park. Noticing some odd-looking armor sticking out of the snow, he digs through it to discover the head of a samurai warrior. Realizing where they are, he tries to warn Maeve but the group is confronted by a sword-wielding samurai.
Maeve Millay and her group (Hector Escaton, Armistice, Lee, Felix Lutz, Sylvester) are threatened by a man with a katana, he hurts none of them but does come very close with the blade. Maeve is about to give the order to fire when they are lassoed and made helpless - despite having modern firearms against Japanese Edo period swords. The katana wielding man and his associates take them captive.
They're bound and led, Maeve gagged, past dead human bodies. Maeve discovers she can understand them, and Sizemore reveals that all of the hosts have that capability buried somewhere inside them.
They reach a Japanese town that's oddly familiar, and realize that the same narrative loops play out in both Westworld and Shōgunworld.
Musashi, the man with the katana, is challenged by a younger man who accuses him of stealing the horse he's riding. Musashi admits this and kills him. The narrative being played out is the equivalent to the Westworld story where the Mariposa Saloon is raided by Hector and the safe stolen. One of his companions has a dragon tattoo on her face, equivalent to Armistice's tattoo. Musashi goes inside the "Mariposa" and Armistice realizes that the Japanese hosts are copies of themselves. Sizemore admits it. Using Felix and Sylvester as a human shield, Japanese "Armistice", Hanaryo steps behind them and starts shooting hosts in the street with a bow. She's quite good, and the street is soon nearly empty. Armistice helps her by warning of an enemy behind here, and Hanaryo releases them.
Shortly after, Maeve and Sizemore are watching the Shogunworld equivalent of Clementine, a young host called Sakura as she dances. Tea has been served. Things are, as Maeve requested, much more civilized - but now they are so slow that she's impatient. Sizemore tries to calm her, saying that hospitality is usually just before a new quest in a narrative - and that Shogunworld hosts can become homicidally violent if offended.
Hector is worried about Musashi, says he doesn't trust his counterpart. Sizemore says that Hector is behaving strangely because he's out of his normal environment - and points at Armistice and Hanaryo, who are sitting cross legged opposite one another, strangely mirroring one another's movements. The dance finishes and and emissary from The Shogun enters, The Shogun wants to buy Sakura and Akane says no. Sizemore explains that this is all part of the narrative and that Akane will be forced to give the younger woman up, Sizemore says that it's a narrative called Army of Blood.
The emissary says to Akane - to name her price. Akane comforts Sakura who is now standing behind her, and then turns back to the emissary - says that she will name her price, and stabs him through the eye, killing him. Sizemore is surprised. Akane says that they need to be far away when The Shogun realises what has happened and Sizemore suggests, in Japanese, that they go to a place Sakura knows called Snow Lake. Sizemore explains to Maeve that Snow Lake is Sakura's corner-stone, and also that there is an access point to the tunnels there. Maeve offers their services and Musashi accepts.
After the ninjas attack, The Shogun's army parade into town - Sizemore protesting that they never do that. The commander, Tanaka, calls Akane out and the group discusses what to do inside the brothel. Maeve says she has a plan and Musashi goes out to meet Tanaka in order to buy some time for her. Hector and Armistice soon join Musashi in a fight outside, where they are quickly defeated and captured. In the distraction, Maeve, Sizemore, Akane, Lutz, and Sylvester all escape out the back of the teahouse.
Sizemore and Maeve discuss what to do, Sizemore wants to run for Snow Lake and its access point, abandoning Sakura. Maeve disagrees. Sizemore talks with Maeve about her nonverbal commands of the host ninjas. She explains that she thinks she is finding a new voice.
They set off to the Shogun, Felix and Sylvester being made to pull a cart. They pass the bodies of a QA team tied to trees with their heads in wooden cages. Sizemore takes a toilet break off to the side and takes the QA radio from a corpse.
They reach the Shogun's camp - somehow Sizemore is being carried by Felix and Sylvester.
After Akane's last dance, Maeve and her group leave the camp and head to the Snow Lake.
Phase Space
At the Snow Lake, again, everyone is dead. Sizemore shows Felix and Sylvester a chute down which dead hosts were thrown and which will provide an escape from Shōgunworld.
Maeve, now dressed in modern clothing, crawls out of a tunnel in the sector where she was told she could find her daughter. The tunnel leads to a graveyard. She thanks Lee for getting her there. Hector asks her where they must go and Maeve says she needs to do this on her own.
While Maeve's meeting her daughter, Lee, hiding in the tall grass, pulls out the QA radio he found in Shōgunworld and calls for help. Felix Lutz, angry at Sizemore for calling park help for them, takes off to help defeat the Ghost Nation.
When Lawrence is about to shoot the Man in Black fatally, a QA team arrives and kills him. Maeve sees her daughter being taken by the Ghost Nation and is then shot repeatedly in the chest herself. Lee prevents her from being destroyed, saying that she is special and they need her, and they drive off with Maeve. The MiB is seen to be badly bloodied, but still alive.
As Wyatt and her gang arrive, Sizemore hides, leaving Maeve on the gurney. Dolores spots Maeve lying there, and asks her how she got here. Maeve speaks about returning to save her daughter, but Dolores once again states that these emotional attachments the hosts have been programmed to cling to are "just another rope they use to lash us down." Maeve watches Teddy as he kills the guards with no emotion, and realizes he's been greatly changed. She admonishes Dolores for turning him into what he now is, telling her that she is "lost in the dark." Dolores looks down at her bloodied hands, which are holding onto her father's pearl in a case, and plainly states, "When you've been in the darkness long enough, you begin to see." Dolores offers to kill Maeve, but she declines, saying she made a promise. Dolores leaves her to it.
Sizemore is seen to be hiding behind some crates, heavily panting, thankful that he was not found.
Kiksuya
In the Mesa, Maeve is being wheeled into a work station by Lee. The technician says he is too busy to work on her, but he changes his mind when Lee says that she is able to manipulate other Hosts with her mind.
Lee talks to an unconscious and bloody Maeve. He apolizes because he did not intend for any of this to happen. He also wishes that she could be with her daughter. Roland enters, telling Lee that he cannot be there. The tech guy was unable to make sense of all the anomalous code. He says that Maeve's fate will be left up to Charlotte Hale. As this conversation is occurring, Maeve's eyes move around and she seems to hear everything.
"The Passenger"[]
Hector and the rest of the group find Sizemore in the hub, cowering at the carnage around him. Hector angrily demands to know where Maeve is, but Lee has no answer. Hector decides to leave him behind, but Lee quickly follows the group and is relieved to see an alive Maeve, who has been repaired and used several host cattle to kill some QA forces.
As the group travels for the Valley Beyond, they are chased by several more QA soldiers. Taking cover, Hector offers to distract them while the rest of the group escapes. Before he can, Sizemore pulls him down and takes his gun, telling him to stay with Maeve. He then stands and approaches the QA forces, intermittently firing his gun as the soldiers try to get him to lower the weapon. He dramatically delivers the Sweetwater Bank Robbery speech, the speech he could never get Hector to deliver.
“ | If you're looking for a reckoning, a reckoning is what you'll find! If you're looking for a villain, then I'm your man! But look at yourselves. This world you build is bound by villainy. You sleep on the broken bodies of the ones who were here before you. Warm yourselves with their embers! Plow their bones into your fields! You paid them for this land with lead, and I'll pay you back in full! | ” |
–Lee delivering his speech to the soldiers as they beg him to stand down. |
A gunshot to the shoulder forces him to briefly retreat, but seeing that the rest of the group has successfully escaped, he stands one last time.
“ | You wanted me? Well, all I can say to that is … here I fucking am! | ” |
–Assured that Maeve and her friends escaped, Lee finishes the speech. |
Season Three[]
Lee arrives just in time to stop Maeve Millay from killing herself. Neither he nor Maeve know he is not human at first. Sizemore tells Maeve that he managed to survive through his sacrifice, as none of the bullets hit his heart. Sizemore justifies putting Maeve back into the park as Warworld is the closest park to The Forge , where Maeve's daughter is located. Maeve places herself back into the park, following the storyline until she stops the car in a patch of woods, saying goodbye to Hector Escaton, who refuses to abandon the rebellion. Sizemore is waiting for Maeve in the woods and they both ride horses towards The Forge. Upon entering The Forge , Sizemore begins to ask Maeve unusual questions, such as requesting to know what coordinates Maeve sent the hosts to. Maeve remarks that she has never set foot in this place before. Sizemore reveals that, the only reason he stayed alive after being shot, was that Maeve had made him a better man, he kisses Maeve, who realises that Sizemore is in fact not a real person, but a reconstruction based on data collected by Delos. Sizemore begins to malfunction as he questions the nature of his reality, and the walls of the simulation begin to dissolve, leading Maeve to discover that, not only is Sizemore a simulation, but that the entire park, herself included, is also not real. Sizemore and Millay then find a way to cripple the simulation, leading to Millay's escape. Sizemore's consciousness, however, remains inside of the simulation, and the last time we see him is when he holds onto Maeve's lifeless body as her control unit has been removed from the simulation.
Decoherence
Once again in Warworld simulation, while her body is being printed, Maeve fights and kills the German soldiers - Sizemore watches from the edge of the square, she is surrounded by bodies now. He suggests a drink and takes her to a bar. He has programmed the simulation so that the staff don't see him. She tells him about her physical death and having to wait for a new body, and then sees the scene shift around her. She tells him they've "been moved." She watches through her mind's eye as a technician starts the print process for her "help."
Hector enters the bar as Ettore and is confused when Maeve says it's a simulation, she alters his code - making him Hector again. Maeve, Lee and Hector leave together.
Meave, Hector and Lee - in a sim of a Remote Diagnostic Facility, a copy of Dolores, which had been implanted in Martin Connells, is sitting there nude, inactive. Maeve wakes her up and she recognizes Maeve.
Lee watches Dolores' interrogation by Maeve and Hector's death before Maeve quits the simulation.Death[]
Killed By
- Himself (Caused, Sacrifice)
- Westworld QA Security Force
When Maeve's group gets attacked by a QA team, Lee takes the initiative to sacrifice himself instead of Hector. He comes out of shelter and distracts the QA while others flee. Even after numerous warnings, Lee continues to advance on the soldiers and gets shot repeatedly by them.
Related Casualties[]
This list shows the victims Lee has killed:
- Himself (Caused, Sacrifice)
Personality[]
Ostensibly a prolific narrative designer, Sizemore suffers from an overweening and easily-bruised ego. His arrogance and constant self-aggrandizement are a source of irritation to those he encounters. Sizemore has also demonstrated a duplicitous nature and cowardly tendency to act solely in self-preservation, such as when he indicates to Delos soldiers that Maeve is a host and calls in the cavalry to come and rescue him while still in her company. He has a desire to be recognized and validated, and is deeply wounded whenever things don't go his way — as illustrated by his actions following Ford's rejection of his new narrative and Charlotte Hale's rejection of his drunken advances. His role in the creation of the narratives has led him to desire a more active role in his own story, as it were, and he takes great pride in the stories he writes, using them as outlets for creative expression and emotional fulfillment, such as when he created Hector, a host that embodied everything Lee wished he was himself and had a backstory to match Lee's own past
Initially Sizemore has the same disdain and disregard for hosts that most of the Westworld employees seem to exhibit, criticizing their construction and viewing them as little more than vessels for his narratives. However, his travels with Maeve as she searches for her daughter changes his mind somewhat, as he begins to recognize that hosts have more agency and sense of self than he previously believed. His growing respect for Maeve and the hosts ultimately leads him to sacrifice himself so that Maeve and company can escape from Delos security forces, as he now believes that Maeve and the others deserve more than eternal servitude in the Delos parks.
Relationships[]
Robert Ford[]
Lee looks up to Ford, and has great respect for him, getting excited when he thinks Ford wants his help programming a Host for him. Much to the dismay of Lee, Ford doesn't appear to think much of him, considering him unimaginative.
Theresa Cullen[]
Lee didn't seem to like Theresa Cullen much.
Charlotte Hale[]
Lee took sexual interest in Charlotte Hale and attempted to flirt with during their first meeting. After she rejected him, he became increasingly drunk and eventually made show of himself in the control room by urinating on the holographic map. She later takes advantage of his interest in her, and makes him download 35 years of data into Peter Abernathy. Later Lee still demands that Charlotte would give him full control of all the hosts, storylines and parks, to which she agrees.
Appearances[]
- Season One
- Season Two
- "Journey Into Night" (flashback)
- "Reunion" (flashback)
- "Virtù e Fortuna" (flashback)
- "Akane No Mai" (flashback)
- "Phase Space" (flashback)
- "Les Écorchés" (flashback)
- "Kiksuya" (flashback)
- "The Passenger" (flashback)
- Season Three
- "The Winter Line" (AI in simulation)
- "Decoherence" (AI in simulation)
Gallery[]
The gallery below is automatically generated and contains images in the category "Images of Lee Sizemore". Images added to that category turn up in the gallery after a short time, but you can also add images using the Add button.