"Virtù e Fortuna" is the third episode of the second season of Westworld, and thirteenth episode overall.
Plot
Synopsis
| “ | There is beauty in who we are. Shouldn't we, too, try to survive? | ” |
–HBO Synopsis | ||
Detail
Please add to or correct, as needed
(Some scenes may be presented out of chronological sequence or concatenated to aid storyline flow.)
The Raj
In Delos Destinations' Park 6 — The Raj , a re-creation of early 20th-century Colonial India, under the rule of Imperial Britain — a coterie of ruling-class, privileged guests (predominantly Caucasian) are relaxing inside and outside a hotel as deferential Indian servants attend to their requests.
A dashing gentleman with a rakish air spots an attractive young woman at one of the outdoor tables and makes his way toward her. He asks if he can join her, and she replies with the non-committal insouciance of a flirtatious tease feigning disinterest. Some coy small talk about hunting is exchanged, and quickly escalates to a hasty exit to the woman's boudoir, where fervent kissing and clothes-ripping commences.
The woman, while impressed by her companion's physique, is unsure whether he is host or human, and voices her doubts to the man. He replies that he is indeed human, but she remains unconvinced. She proposes a test, and selects one gun from among several on a table and shoots the man, who collapses to the floor. After a brief silence, the pained groans from the man, who is bruised but otherwise unharmed by the low-velocity projectile, convinces the woman he is human, and they have sex.
Afterwards, the pair arrive at the hunting camp via elephant carriage, where they dismount with their guides. The woman opens a small journal containing a pencil-drawn map of the area, with the interlocking hexagon symbol presumably representing The Door, that is prevalent in this season's imagery.
Her gentleman companion approaches her, so she closes the journal and puts it back in her jacket pocket as he sidles up to her to nuzzle her neck. She breaks off from him, distracted by something she sees, and says, "Something's wrong."
She has been on this particular narrative before, and she is expecting to see more hosts at the camp, but they are not present. The camp is empty except for their guides and themselves. As she ponders this discrepancy, she turns and notices the blood-splattered curtains of a tent behind her. Through the crack in the curtains, she can see a body on the floor.
The man and woman pull back the tent curtain to reveal two dead bodies, each in a pool of blood. The man chuckles and assumes this is "a new twist in the narrative — horror," but the woman rejects this. She knows something is horribly wrong — she recognizes the dead bodies as guests who were on the train with her. The man and woman turn around to the sound of a rifle being cocked; one of their Indian guides is pointing a shotgun at them.
The man calmly assumes this is part of the narrative, and that he will survive the gunshot, but the guide shoots and kills him. The woman flees the camp, only to encounter a Bengal tiger who commences chasing her. She crosses the laser detectors demarcating the park boundary and scrambles down a rock slope where she comes up short at a cliff's edge.
As she peers into the waters below, the tiger growls behind her and she quickly loads the short-barreled shotgun she brought with her. As she turns and raises the gun to shoot the tiger, it pounces on her and drives her and itself into the waters below.
Finding Peter Abernathy
Head of operations Karl Strand and his security force, with Bernard in tow, enter Mesa Hub from one of the train tunnels. As they enter what appears to be a Cold Storage area (the old Westworld logo appears on the doors), they encounter Charlotte Hale inside.
Hale asks Strand if he has found Abernathy, but Strand has come up empty. She asks Bernard menacingly if he has any ideas where Abernathy might be. Bernard furrows his brow, and the scene flickers to a control tablet in Bernard's hands, displaying the location of Peter Abernathy.
Bernard and Hale track Abernathy to a camp where a group of hostages — some host, some human — are held by a gang led by Rebus, a host villain who has made a deal with the Confederados to sell the ten hostages at $15 a head. While he awaits the arrival of the Confederados, he changes his mind and decides to keep one of the women for himself.
Hale and Bernard lure Rebus away from the camp, and knock him unconscious so Bernard can "hard-port" into Rebus (i.e., connect the control tablet to Rebus via a subcutaneous cable interface in the host's forearm) and recalibrate his personality profile to become "the most virtuous, quickest gun in the West."
Rebus returns to his camp, where he proceeds to kill all of his henchmen and releases the hostages. As the hostages scatter, the Confederados arrive, and Rebus shoots most of them, but has to flee when he runs out of bullets.
Bernard and Hale come out of hiding to help Abernathy, who is muttering that he has to "get to the train." Abernathy refuses to go with Bernard and Hale, instead choosing to confront the remaining Confederados by standing in their path and loudly singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Hale escapes on horseback, but Bernard and Abernathy are captured by the Confederados.
Fort Forlorn Hope
Dolores and her posse await outside of a fort's walls as the fort's commandant — a colonel — approaches through the gates, accompanied by a fanfare and 21-gun salute. Three bodies are seen hanging from a tree in the foreground.
Dolores introduces herself to the colonel by saying, "Call me Wyatt." The colonel is doubtful, replying, "You're Wyatt?"
The Desperados' major that Dolores brought with her explains to the colonel that "Wyatt" knows of an attack from the east that will come in the morning. Dolores attempts to convince the colonel to combine his men with hers, and they'll be assured of victory against the coming invaders.
The colonel is skeptical until Dolores brings the human security member forward she took as a hostage, still with the residue of plaster cast compound on his face. She tells the colonel that more like him will be part of the attack, and gives the colonel the security man's automatic rifle.
Angela, formerly the park's greeter and now one of Dolores's posse, tells the security man she'll let him live if he makes it over the ridge. As he starts to run toward the ridge, the colonel fires off a few rounds at his back, killing him.
The colonel looks at Dolores and grins. "Welcome to Fort Forlorn Hope," he says.
The Ghost Nation haunts Maeve
Maeve, Hector, and Lee Sizemore are on the trail to find Maeve's daughter. Sizemore insists that traveling underground will be safer, since "QA" will be "launching a coordinated parkwide assault," and that Maeve will be terminated as a "hostile host" if they see her.
They decide to continue aboveground, but shortly thereafter confront two Ghost Nation warriors, triggering PTSD-like flashbacks in Maeve. Hector tries to negotiate with the warriors for safe passage, but they insist on taking Sizemore as a hostage and letting Hector and Maeve go. Maeve attempts to control the Ghost Nation hosts as she has done with other hosts, but with the network down (or because of Ford's new narrative), the warriors do not respond to her commands.
The three travelers make a break for it and head for the nearest elevator structure, with a group of Ghost Nation warriors in hot pursuit. They make it to an elevator and manage to descend into Mesa Hub just in time. Maeve's face and rapid breathing betray the lingering stress of her flashback.
Dolores reunites with her father
Back at Fort Forlorn Hope, the Desperados that were double-crossed by Rebus have managed to round up several of the hostages and have brought them to the fort. Bernard and Peter Abernathy are among them.
Dolores demands to speak with Abernathy alone — without revealing to the Desperados that he is her father. The Desperados refuse until Teddy clocks one of them with a good right hook. When Abernathy is freed and placed on a cot, Teddy asks Dolores who he is. He does not remember Abernathy from his prior loops. Dolores tells Teddy, "He's my father."
When Dolores kneels next to Abernathy's cot, he is acting as if he's delirious and confused, and still muttering about having to get to the train. For a brief moment, Abernathy recognizes Dolores and reverts to behaving from a prior loop as her caring father. Dolores confesses that she started this war, and hopes her father understands why.
Abernathy begins to stutter and slips back into his delirious, confused state. Dolores tearfully promises, "I'm going to get you help!"
- - - - - - Fragments below, to be completed 5/8 - - - - - - Maeve, Hector and Sizemore underground in Mesa Hub
aaa "A wraith from a former life who haunts my dreams."
Dolores seeks Bernard's help
Armistice and Felix rejoin Maeve
Bernard finds the puzzle
"Immensely complex encryption key."
Attack on Fort Forlorn Hope
Bernard unlocks the file
The Klondike narrative
Cast
Main Cast
- Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy (details)
- Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay (details)
- Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe (details)
- James Marsden as Teddy Flood (details)
- Tessa Thompson as Charlotte Hale (details)
- Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Armistice (details)
- Clifton Collins Jr. as Lawrence (details)
- Fares Fares as Antoine Costa (details)
- Luke Hemsworth as Ashley Stubbs (details)
- Katja Herbers as Emily (details)
- Louis Herthum as Peter Abernathy (details)
- Zahn McClarnon as Akecheta (details)
- Simon Quarterman as Lee Sizemore (details)
- Talulah Riley as Angela (details)
- Rodrigo Santoro as Hector Escaton (details)
- Angela Sarafyan as Clementine Pennyfeather (details)
- Gustaf Skarsgård as Karl Strand (details)
- Shannon Woodward as Elsie Hughes (details)
- With Ed Harris as Man in Black (details)
- And Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford (details)
Guest Starring
- Jonathan Tucker as Major Craddock
- Betty Gabriel as Maling
- Zahn McClarnon as Akecheta
- Neil Jackson as Nicholas
- Steven Ogg as Rebus
- Frederic Lehne as Colonel Brigham
- Leonardo Nam as Lutz
- Ptolemy Slocum as Sylvester
- Martin Sensmeier as Wanathon
Co-Starring
- Brian Ames as Jacobson
- Greg Audino as Benson
- Alvin Cowan as Burly Confederado
- Hunter Doohan as Confederado Scout
- Blaine Gray as QA Captain
- Seril James as Ambassador
- Sean Mann as Ganju
- Ward Roberts as New Walter
- Pooja Shah as Beautiful Woman
- Austin Priester as Arroyo
- Charles Remley as Confederado Sergeant
- Ashley Haden as Laura
Trivia and Notes
The title
- Virtue and Fortune
General
Mistakes
Quotes
Music
- Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes). Played on a sitar, no less.
- Battle Hymn of the Republic. Sung by Peter Abernathy.
Image Gallery/HBO Episode Stills
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