Oh William

Published April 27, 2020 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi Falcão, Zico and Sócrates,

there’s something satisfying about seeing a character prove your instincts right and William didn’t disappoint by demonstrating that his slaughter of the Williams wasn’t cathartic but instead was an act of repression. Despite my continuing misgivings about that scene, what he says to Bernard and Stubbs is consistent with the character we have got to know these last few years.

“I have faced my demons” – really?

“Only one stain I couldn’t blot out” – shooting your daughter perhaps?

No. Instead he blames the hosts.

Well there’s a surprise. Take some responsibility for your own actions William? Not so much.

This is repression. I was worried that the William character was going to be freed of his trauma. That his lust for power had cost him the people he loved. It is entirely in keeping with the character that he cannot face that so he invents a new narrative that keeps the horror of his actions at arms length.

I am relieved. It also sets up the return of the repressed in a future season.

Other bits and bobs I have from the episode and instacast include:

Looking forward to Ash’s chess exploration but was this really a ‘queen sacrifice’? One of my previous tinfoil hypothesis was that Delores Prime wasn’t in the Delores body. We still haven’t had the fifth pearl revealed after all. Also Uncharredlores calling Sato? Hmmm.

This episode felt like it was trying too hard like a magician overly acting to allow the slight of hand to occur. Got a strong sense of bait and switch.

Got the sense that we should treat Rehoboam and Solomon as brothers rather than predecessor/successor.

Also didn’t Serac’s holographic image look older as well as styled differently?

As for Solomon saying “if we are indeed here, if this is indeed now”? Nolan and Joy are trolling us.

Why do I get the sense that we are all Charlie Brown running to the football and Lucy is about to pull the ball away? For an episode that gave a lot of answers, this episode doesn’t sit right. In fact this season doesn’t sit right.

Finally the most disappointing aspect of the episode was Meh-aeve. How can such an interesting season one character be reduced to this? When Delores questions her motivation, it’s a bloody good question.

Yours suspiciously minded
John Lish

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