“The Riddle of the Sphinx” Leaves No Doubt That Westworld‘s Second Season Is Stronger Than Its First

A record spins, a flywheel hums, and an hourglass trickles in James Delos’ (Peter Mullan) apartment, which is furnished with a plethora of reminders that time’s seemingly finite nature is ultimately cyclical. Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy makes her directorial debut with this week’s “The Riddle of the Sphinx,” and it’s a doozy, anchored by one recurring setpiece. We even get a tiny mastubatory link to The Shape of Water, which also used a morning jerk-off as a mid-routine bout with fantasy.

When William (Jimmi Simpson) interrupts the routine, both with his presence and with the introduction of intoxication to Delos’ highly-monitored life, it’s a shock—or is it? This is a host-esque Delos, whose immortality-seeking brain has been transplanted into a few different bodies and whose backstory is that he’s under observation for a neurological disease that seems to be affecting memory… which makes the collection of experiences and DNA profiles from Westworld seem even more sinister when you think of the biotechnical potential under the surface. It’s also the biggest power play possible for William, because making his CEO-in-law his lab rat is exactly the kind of devilish control anyone in charge of the park would exert.

These reveals—and they come in stages—are structured beautifully by Joy, with just enough hints rationed out to clue us in that something’s amiss but not enough to prove definitively one way or another. Its resurgence again and again at the act breaks is the episode’s form echoing its content in the same satisfying way. Just enough is cut out each time for familiarity but not repetition. Not to mention the acting: Mullen nails each and every delivery, a cognitive slide as impressive as it is moving, and then there’s Simpson and Ed Harris’ confidence, which slowly sees William drop the façade masking his animosity. The subtle hair and makeup details that clue Simpson’s aging into Harris are just grace notes complimenting a masterful tune.

But we also get a few familiar melodies this episode, especially with the return of Bernard’s (Jeffrey Wright) assistant, Elsie Hughes (Shannon Woodward), who was last seen in the host’s memory… as he was strangling her. Now Elsie needs to be the programmer to his addled brain, which is tearing itself apart by simultaneously trying to obey Ford’s new game and trying to survive on its own accord. This means that his memory, when it’s working correctly, is manifesting as a set of unsorted files. That leads to some fun shots of Wright watching his past self navigate the incredible sets. He’s creating the future by watching the past, which is the same kind of collapse of time’s arrow we’ve seen earlier this season from Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood).