'Westworld' recap: 'Phase Space'

Things are really heating up now.

The end is quickly approaching, as the sixth episode of Westworld — entitled “Phase Space” — gave us a lot more answers than we were expecting to get at this point in the second season.

There are five storylines that are going on during “Phase Space,” all of which presumably are happening around the same time.

Let’s start with Maeve. Still in Shogun World, her squad is heading across the landscape to try and find a way back into Westworld. After all, she still is on this quest to reunite with her daughter and all, and these brief ninja attacks were not part of the plan.

After coming across a few more baddies who need to be taken down — some of which are done through Maeve’s OP mind control powers, another who battles Mushashi in an epic katana fight — they manage to find a way back in.

Not just a way in, but a path that takes them directly where they need to go. Maeve has found her daughter — and she’s also been replaced.

That’s right, her daughter was given a new mother now (who looks remarkably like Maeve, causing us all to do a quick double take) and now has no idea who Maeve is. You didn’t expect her journey to have some kind of happy ending, did you? Is anything ever happy in Westworld?

Well, the tragedy doesn’t end there either. Shortly after finding Maeve’s long-lost family, ghost nation comes in and attacks. Maeve’s friends rush to her aid and she and the young girl manage to escape, only because Maeve has to physically pull her away from her mother. She’s not going to be happy about that.

Oh yeah, Lee decided to use his walkie-talkie that he found in the previous episode to call in for help, but nothing else really happens on that front.

On to the Man in Black. His daughter, Emily, is here now, and I love her. Like, the potential for her to become my new favorite Westworld character is high if she keeps this up.

After proving she’s more than capable of surviving in this dangerous landscape, Emily and William have a little fireside chat in which they both open up a little bit. William’s first thought is that Emily is just a robot Ford put in the game to try and distract him (which I didn’t even think of and totally blew my mind for a second. I have a feeling we’re not done with this theory), but soon realizes that she’s really here.

They then begin talking about the past — Emily’s mother died, which Emily initially blamed her father for, and William ran off to Westworld so that he didn’t have to face the consequences. Emily tells her dad it’s time to come home and, after some choked back tears, he agrees.

It’s a great moment because we begin to really understand William’s obsession with Westworld. This isn’t just a game for him — it’s his life.

That’s why William is long gone by the time Emily wakes up the next morning. He hasn’t changed yet.

Charlotte, meanwhile, has managed to get Peter Abernathy into the Mesa Headquarters. She brings him upstairs and has him literally nailed down to a bed, just to make sure he isn’t going anywhere.

Now that he’s secure, Charlotte can begin working on extraction. She calls in a team to come save her and Ashley. They’re pretty gruff and definitely fit the macho military type persona, but they’re eventually able to make their way into the Mesa headquarters as well.

They aren’t the only ones headed there. Dolores and Teddy — now evil Teddy, as nice Teddy is long, long dead — have hijacked the park’s train and are making their way down there too. Dolores wants her father back and Lord knows she isn’t going to be happy when she finds him nailed to a bed.

Speaking of Teddy, this new version of him is honestly so much better. Kind-hearted Teddy was a nice guy and all, but this is the Teddy who belongs in Westworld. Instead of dying every episode, he’s the one who is now shooting people in the head left and right.

There’s also a strange moment at the beginning of this episode that I haven’t quite figured out how to interpret yet. Bernard and Dolores are having another one of their chats — which we assume to be a flashback. Half-way through the conversation, though, everything changes as Dolores takes control. She freezes all motor functions on Bernard and takes control of the conversation.

So, when exactly did this take place? Dolores hasn’t known Bernard’s secret for all that long, so who really knows.

Speaking of Bernard, he and Elsie go down into the park’s servers, which are appropriately named “The Cradle.” To get to the bottom of what’s causing the android’s to rebel, Bernard thinks it best to upload himself into the system.

The machine takes his brain (or memory or whatever it is) and thrust him into Westworld. In a dream-like state, he enters a bar — only to find Ford, sitting at a piano and waiting for him. Ford has quite literally become the ghost in the machine.

But that means we get more Anthony Hopkins, which is always a good thing. Tune in to HBO to find out what happens in the next Westworld and read some of our other recaps by clicking here!