The Stray 

Elsie and Stubbs search for a missing host; Teddy gets a new backstory; Bernard investigates the origins of madness and hallucinations within the hosts.

Director:

Neil Marshall

Writers:

Jonathan Nolan (created by), Lisa Joy (created by)

Stars:

Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Dolores Abernathy
Thandie Newton	...	Maeve Millay
Jeffrey Wright	...	Bernard Lowe
James Marsden	...	Teddy Flood
Ben Barnes	...	Logan
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal	...	Armistice
Luke Hemsworth	...	Ashley Stubbs
Sidse Babett Knudsen	...	Theresa Cullen
Angela Sarafyan	...	Clementine Pennyfeather
Jimmi Simpson	...	William
Shannon Woodward	...	Elsie Hughes
Ed Harris	...	Man in Black
Anthony Hopkins	...	Dr. Robert Ford
Louis Herthum	...	Peter Abernathy
Bradford Tatum	...	New Peter Abernathy

Storyline

Elsie and Stubbs search for a missing host; Teddy gets a new backstory; Bernard investigates the origins of madness and hallucinations within the hosts.

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Plot Keywords:

younger version of character | murder of father | man hits a woman | campsite | murder of mother | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Ford, played by Anthony Hopkins, is also the name of a western criminal who is responsible for the killing of the famous outlaw Jesse James.

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Goofs

Right before Ashley points out, that the carving on the wooden turtle shell is the Orion constellation, you can see in a closeup, that Elsie is already holding the wooden turtle shell the right way. In the following shot she does not rotate it. Then, after that, the shell is suddenly turned upside down.

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Quotes

[Stubbs checks his gun]
Elsie Hughes: You know, if you wanted to play cowboy you could've just used your employee discount.
Ashley Stubbs: The only thing stopping the hosts from hacking us to pieces is one line of your code. No offence, but I sleep with this.
Elsie Hughes: I bet you do.

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Connections

Referenced in City Slickers in Westworld (2017)

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Soundtracks

Reverie
Written by Claude Debussy

User Reviews

Someday Soon

With every series you have to expect an episode or two each season to be exposition and background heavy. It feels like that was this episode for Westworld, and I was more than okay with that.

We've spent a good portion of this series so far on the hosts and their point of view. In fact, we have seen several sequences played over and over again in slightly different ways. Sometimes that tactic works and sometimes it doesn't. It seems like it's done so that we feel more compassion and sympathy towards the hosts' uncontrollably dull lives. I mean, they are robots after all.

But other times I feel like using this structure feels a bit too repetitive. I already care about some of the hosts, and I don't know that I need the excessive number of scenes to get me to feel sorry for them. With that said, we definitely got a boost in the backstory involved with the creators back in the laboratories. Bernard stumbled upon the coincidence that the name 'Arnold' has been referenced quite a few times with malfunctioning hosts, which I can only assume isn't a good sign. Dr. Ford played down the coincidence, but admitted that Arnold was someone who got in too deep with consciousness of the hosts.

While it does seem curious that Ford would admit such things to Bernard, I don't know how much this will factor into the larger scheme of things. But I do one thing, this story can only really end one way. It's like Michael Crichton's other work, Jurassic Park, you can't expect the creations to not rebel. And tonight seemed to further those plot points just a little bit more.

Tonight featured some heavy backstory with Bernard and Ford, but it didn't have any shortage of WTF moments. What the hell was going on in the desert with James Marsden's character? And Dolores having misleading visions and then ending up with William? I have no idea, but I'm definitely excited.

+Keeps getting stranger

+More backstory

-Slower pacing

8.3/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2016 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Moab, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kilter Films, Bad Robot, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos (Blu-ray release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1