The Riddle of the Sphinx (Westworld)
"The Riddle of the Sphinx" is the fourth episode in the second season of the HBO science fiction western thriller television series Westworld.
Grace refuses Stubbs' offer to escape, believing these hosts won't harm guests and desiring to explore the park.
However, in over one hundred attempts, each host reached a "cognitive plateau," where they became unstable, and William terminated the program as he believed that people are meant to be mortal.
Bernard accepts, but in a subsequent memory, he realizes that he ordered the drone hosts to kill the technicians and destroy themselves after retrieving a second human-host control unit.
[1] The opening shots panning through James Delos' apartment were based on trying to capture "this mysterious, futuristic environment that you feel somewhat displaced in" from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Instead, she was inspired by the idea of circles, playing on the theme of loops that the hosts act out, from the room being circular to be watched from the outside, to a retro-inspired vinyl record player and an exercise bike.
Joy described wanting to achieve this approach as "I felt like the mood of horror could be relayed in the suspense, and the kind of lingering on details as they crept into this place."
Elements of filming also directly alluded to Stalker, including James' shaking hand while trying to pour creme into coffee, and the slow pan across the destruction of the room showing rotting fruit and other aspects relay a sense of time.
[1] In auditioning for the show, actress Katja Herbers was unaware the part was for Emily, William's daughter, and instead test-read a script that had her in confrontation with a separate character.
The website's critics consensus reads: "'The Riddle of the Sphinx' is the show's strongest episode yet, unspooling its densely packed mysteries just enough to tease an endgame before diving deeper into its cerebral depths -- all while marking an ambitious and deft directorial debut from series creator Lisa Joy.
