What Happened This Week On 'Westworld' Season 3: "The Mother Of Exiles"

Westworld season 3 continues to expand the reach of the show with yet another twisty episode. And yet, while a lot of action happens this week, and a huge twist is revealed, this episode still feels a little bit like filler. So just what happened this week on Westworld season 3, "The Mother of Exiles"?

William is Back, and He's Crazy

Finally, Ed Harris returns as William, the Man in Black. And he's in really bad shape, wandering around a wrecked room in a truly disheveled state, firing a gun, and yelling about how he knows what's real and what's not. And oh yeah, he's haunted by his dead daughter – the one he killed because he thought she was a robot.

Bernard and Stubbs Are On an Adventure

Bernard and Stubbs have left Westworld and are now palling around, cracking jokes, and hanging out in hotel rooms. It's all part of their plan to stop Dolores, whom they assume has already swapped Liam out for a robot replacement (she hasn't).

Dolores and Caleb Go Shopping (and then Rob a Bank)

The strange partnership between Dolores and Caleb continues with the pair going out to buy Caleb some new threads. This gives us a glimpse of some cool future tech where a mirror automatically dresses you in virtual clothes (neat!). The reason for Caleb's fancy new look: a bank robbery. Sort of. This isn't a stick-up, but rather a little trick Dolores puts together that enables Caleb to pose as someone representing Liam, and then proceed to withdraw all of Liam's money from his account. Sorry Liam, you're broke now.

Goodbye, Paris

Hey, remember Paris? Well, it's gone. In a flashback scene, we see a young Sarac (and his brother) on a hillside looking down at an obliterated Paris. A mushroom cloud appears to be rising into the sky, and there are dudes in hazmat suits everywhere. Hey, remember when this show was about a cowboy theme park?

Maeve: Private Eye

Maeve has a new role: private detective. She's been tasked with tracking down Dolores by Sarac, who makes her an offer she can't refuse: find Dolores and she can then unlock the door to a little place I like to call robot heaven – aka "The Other Side" from last season, where Maeve's daughter now resides. Serac is in the midst of building a system, but he needs all the data in Dolores' head to do so. And since the key to robot heaven is locked away in Dolores' noggin as well, her capture is mutually beneficial to both parties. Not so sure how Dolores will feel about it, though.

Maeve Reunites with an Old Friend

In her quest to track down Dolores, Maeve ends up running into a Yakuza crime boss who turns out to be none other than Musashi, from Shogun World. At least, it looks like Musashi. But Maeve realizes pretty quickly that this familiar robot body has someone else's pearl inside. Eventually, a big sword fight ensues, and Maeve is killed. Of course, it's safe to assume she'll be back.

William Cleans Up, then Gets Committed

Charlotte Hale tells William she needs him to get his shit together to help take Delos private, so William pulls himself together – at least physically. But mentally, he's still having problems, in the form of his ghostly daughter. But that's the least of his problems, because Charlotte actually pulls a fast one, and has William committed to an insane asylum. This renders his vote on the Delos board null and void, and means Charlotte now has complete control.

Dolores is Everywhere

I'll give Westworld season 3 credit for this: it didn't make us wait an entire season to figure out the identities of all the stolen pearls Dolores put into the heads of Charlotte, Musashi, and Martin (Liam's bodyguard). The answer: it's her. Yes, instead of taking other robot personalities, Dolores simply made a bunch of copies of herself. So Charlotte is really Dolores. And so is Musashi. And so on. It's a neat little twist.

Everyone Goes to a Weird Sex Party

The episode ends at a huge Eyes Wide Shut-style party where Liam gets ambushed by Dolores and Caleb. Bernard and Stubbs show up, too, and a big gun-and-fist-fight ensues. Bernard ends up easily being captured, because he's really bad at this. And Liam appears to get captured as well. And here's the problem I'm having with all of this: who are we rooting for here? The show seems to be striving to make Dolores something of a villain, but so far her plan – to shut down an A.I. system that's running, and ruining, everyone's lives – doesn't sound like such a bad thing. So if we're supposed to be hoping for Bernard to stop her, I'm just not there yet.