1) Evan Rachel Wood Is Amazing
The closest thing that Westworld has to a clear single protagonist is Dolores Abernathy as played by Evan Rachel Wood – who gives a tremendous performance in episode one that we suspect will carry through the rest of the series.
What’s impressive about Wood in the pilot is how she conveys a sense of a character ill at ease and slowly breaking out of her programming, without actually doing anything overtly emotional or rebellious. She shines as the naïve and optimistic Dolores, who always sees the best in people, and then she’s eerily unblinking and serene when that personality is removed during maintenance.
[zergpaid]As the first Host the park ever had, Dolores has played a variety of roles in Westworld and never deviated off script. Yet now it looks like something has changed within her artificial mind and she has finally had enough of being a puppet.
The final moments of the pilot – when Dolores casually swats a fly that has landed on her, something the androids never do – is a small yet hugely significant moment. As well as being brilliantly underplayed, it leaves us excited to see where Wood takes her character next.