In Review: Westworld (S4 – EP4) Generation Loss

Synopsis: In Generation Loss, Caleb learns a horrifying truth. While Maeve faces off once again with The Man In Black.

The Story

Having been infected by Charlotte Hale’s insects in last week’s show, Caleb finds that his will has been significantly weakened, which makes him more malleable to Hale’s commands. Meanwhile, Maeve fights the Man in Black and manages to defeat him. At least for the short term. Realizing that Caleb is in danger she comes to his rescue and helps him subdue Hale and take her prisoner. Their objective is to destroy the central core that controls Hale’s new synthetic hosts.

Elsewhere, Christine is persuaded to go on a date by her friend and she meets a man that reminds her of someone she feels she knew. The man in question looks very much like Teddy Flood.

Meanwhile, Bernard and his newfound friends are searching for a weapon in the desert. This is part of a pretty big plot twist. Particularly when it comes to a certain key character.

The Acting

Thandiwe Newton puts in another great performance as Maeve. The scenes where she tells Caleb why she left him after they destroyed the machine in last season’s finale were really touching. Especially considering that Maeve spent seven years on her own in order to give Caleb a chance at living an ordinary life. Likewise, Aaron Paul puts in a great performance as we see Caleb fight the virus that Hale has infected him with. But the real gut punch comes when Caleb learns the truth about his life. This reveal concerning Caleb also ties into the reveal of what Bernard is digging for. And the young woman that Bernard and Ashley linked up with happens to be Caleb’s little girl who has grown up to become an influential member of a group of human resistance fighters. Suffice to say Jeffrey Wright does an awesome job of selling the shock twist. As we learn that all the bits with Bernard are set further on in the timeline than the parts we have been watching with Maeve and Caleb.

Overall

Once again. The writers of this show set up another shocking plot twist, which sees the end of two key characters. At least in terms of their current identities. And the episode title of Generation Loss will make sense once you have watched the show.