1. Plot

2. Production
     Filming   Music 

3. Reception
    Ratings  Critical reception 

4. References

5. External links

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

"Dissonance Theory" is the fourth episode of the HBO science fiction thriller television series Westworld. The episode aired on October 23, 2016.

The episode received positive reviews from critics, and in particular to Thandie Newton's performance in the last scene.

Plot

Within operations, Bernard interviews Dolores about recent events, and she recounts how her family was murdered and she was forced to kill Rebus and flee. Bernard offers a means for her to forget the pain, but she feels it is all she has left of her of family. She then explains she feels something is wrong with the world and wants to be free. Bernard tells her if she can find the center of the maze, she may be able to find her freedom.

Dolores wakes up in William and Logan's camp. William wants to take her back to Sweetwater, but Logan warns they would have wasted the time already spent chasing their bounty. Instead, William suggests Dolores accompany them. Traveling through a Mexican village, Dolores has a vision of meeting Lawrence's daughter instructing her to find the center of the maze. Led by a guide, they eventually find their bounty, Slim Miller, who quickly suggests that his boss can pay them twice as much as the bounty would have given them. Logan recognizes this as a rare narrative, and kills their guide to take advantage of it. William is disgusted at Logan's callousness to the hosts, but agrees to continue on.

The Man in Black and Lawrence, following a clue about finding a snake in a riverbed from Lawrence's daughter, encounter Hector's henchwoman Armistice bathing in a river and sees the snake tattoo on her back, circling her body. Believing her to have the next clue, he approaches her, and she tells him that she is looking for something of great value. The Man in Black offers to accompany her and her gang and rescue an imprisoned Hector, in exchange for learning the story behind her tattoo. The Man in Black completes Hector's rescue alone, and fulfilling her promise, Armistice states that her tattoo represents all the men she has killed in revenge for killing her mother, and her only remaining target is Wyatt. With that, the Man in Black and Lawrence take their leave to search for Wyatt. They later encounter Teddy, having been tortured and tied up. The Man frees Teddy, saying that "misery is all [he] has."

Theresa learns of the stray host recovered by Elsie, and orders the transfer of the investigation of the host glitches from the Programming to the QA department; Bernard does not stop her. Theresa meets with Dr. Ford, who is overseeing excavation of a site for a new narrative, and expresses her concern for the current state of the park and his reputation with the Board. Ford notes that many have been in Theresa's position but have come and gone, and he knows every secret about the guests and staff, including when Theresa had visited the park as a child and her affair with Bernard. As she walks away, Ford notes that he has already gotten approval from the Board for his project, and warns her to not get in his way.

Maeve continues to have visions, including being shot by a guest and seeing strangers in Hazmat suit. She draws a picture of one stranger, unsure of its meaning, and goes to hide it under a floorboard in the saloon, but only to find she had drawn a similar image several times before. She observes a Native American tribe passing through town, one holding a doll that resembles her drawings. From her visions, she recognizes Hector will soon arrive to rob the saloon, and lies in wait for him. When he and his gang arrive, she corners Hector and asks him about the doll, since he had spent time among the natives. He tells her that is a godlike deity the natives call a Shade that travels between the real and underworld. Recalling being shot in the abdomen, but having no signs of scars, she cuts herself open and pulls out a bullet, confirming her suspicions. Maeve and Hector engage in a passionate kiss as a force of marshals fires upon the saloon.

Production

"Dissonance Theory" was written by Ed Brubaker and series co-creator Jonathan Nolan.^[1]

Filming

The episode was directed by Vincenzo Natali.^[1] In the desert excavation scene with Theresa and Ford, a Bagger 293 bucket-wheel excavator was used. It is the biggest landbound machine of all time.^[2]

According to Anthony Hopkins, his favorite scene to shoot in the entire season was the scene in this episode where Ford reveals the extent of his control over Westworld to Theresa.^[3] That scene was filmed at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, near Simi Valley, California.^[4]

Music

In an interview, composer Ramin Djawadi spoke about the song "A Forest" by The Cure, that was translated into the playing piano in the episode. He said, "It really came down to figuring out the left-hand accompaniment, the harmonies, and then playing the melody with the right hand".^[5] Djawadi continued on why that particular song was played in that situation, saying, "One, it could be somebody going, ‘I really want to listen to this song, even if the guests don’t recognize it.' Selfish programming, Or is there a deeper meaning, with the title, the lyrics?".^[5]

Georges Bizet's Habanera is also featured in the episode.

Reception

Ratings

"Dissonance Theory" was viewed by 1.70 million American households on its initial viewing.^[6] The episode also acquired a 0.7 rating in the 18–49 demographic.^[6] Ratings for the episode fell nineteen percent compared to the previous instalment due to the season premiere of The Walking Dead.^[7] In the United Kingdom, the episode was seen by 1.09 million viewers on Sky Atlantic.^[8]

Critical reception

"Dissonance Theory" received positive reviews from critics. The episode currently has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes and has an average rating of 8.5 out of 10, based on 19 reviews. The site's consensus reads "Dissonance Theory spends some welcome time with the Man In Black while continuing the methodical expansion of the Westworld universe."^[9]

Eric Goldman of IGN reviewed the episode positively, saying, "A ton was going on in 'Dissonance Theory' — as Ford displayed a different side, Hector and Armistice (and that tattoo of hers) were put in the spotlight, Dolores set on her own path towards the maze and Maeve began to literally dig deep for answers."^[10] He gave it a score of 8.7 out of 10.^[10] Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote in his review of the episode; "Evan Rachel Wood's performance continues to astonish. In the opening scene alone, she has to make Dolores distraught yet calculating, both human and synthetic. Dolores cries over losing everyone she cares about, but when Bernard tells her to limit her 'emotional affect,' she not only becomes a machine again, we have to wonder how genuine her emotions are in the first place. Wood makes us question how real Dolores is."^[11] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club wrote in his review, "'Dissonance Theory' doubles down on the confusion in many respects, offering some tantalizing hints about Ford's plans without actually explaining them, showing Dolores slipping a little further down the rabbit hole, and catching up with the Man in Black as he hunts down his mysterious maze. The maze also turns up in Dolores's memory, and in the drawing of a little girl on the street, so even if we don't have any immediate answers on it, at least there’s a sense of things getting tied together."^[12] He gave the episode a B+.^[12]

Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire wrote in her review, "Westworld is in large part a show about people in search of answers, and 'Dissonance Theory' found the show’s characters taking a multitude of intriguing approaches to finding them. It's a quest-driven installment, but one that draws out some significant new information, from The Man in Black searching for a lost narrative 'with real stakes, real violence' to Maeve trying to identify the masked figures who haunt her memories."^[13] She gave the episode an A-.^[13] James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly wrote in his review, "Westworld is almost mathematical in its narrative precision. The pace is not fast, and that frustrates some viewers. Yet the story is always moving — unceasing, purposeful, and incremental.".^[14] He gave the episode an A-.^[14]

References

External links

• {{URL|1=https://www.hbo.com/westworld/season-01/4-dissonance-theory|2="Dissonance Theory"}} at HBO.com
• {{IMDb episode|4625862}}
• {{tv.com episode|westworld/dissonance-theory-3422206/|Dissonance Theory}}

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• The Scroll of the Dead
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• The sculptural composition - Fat and Thin