Episode 1x9 THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER

Dolores and Bernard reconnect with their pasts; Maeve makes a bold proposition to Hector; Teddy finds enlightenment, at a price.

I've been looking for you
for days.

Man, are you two fucked!

Delores, you haven't
told anyone

- of our conversations?
- No.

Do you still want to
change me back?

Let's see where this path leads.

We have a new story to tell.

I'll raze this place
to the ground!

That's enough, Bernard.

You're not the first man
to threaten me.

Arnold camе to feel
the way you do.

He couldn't stop me еither.

You only remember the shit
Ford lets you remember.

Actually,
i did remember something.

Wyatt, we need you soon.

Would you like to know
exactly what he did give me?

Erm... something that would
allow you to walk out of here.

Oh, we changed
a little more than that.

Let me show you.

The sheriff judged the riders
to be upstanding citizens.

It's time to recruit my army.

I found a woman.

I killed her and her daughter.

Then something miraculous
happened.

She was alive...

If only for a moment.

Henry:
Prepped and ready, sir.

Given the severity
of the situation,

I figured you'd want
to see her personally.

Bernard: Thank you.
I'll take it from here.

Clear the floor.

Bring yourself
back online, Maeve.

Do you know
why you're here?

I'm afraid not.

There was an incident.

A very serious,
unscripted incident.

Let's see if we can't
jog your memory.

Analysis.

What motivated your attack
on Clementine?

A cognitive error triggered
my good samaritan reflex.

What was the threat?

Clementine.

I perceived her
to be moving toward

a pair of guests
with harmful intent.

You were definitely
perceiving a threat.

Heart rate elevated, pupil
dilation... eight millimeters,

adrenal emulator at full.

But according to this,

you were also experiencing
intense grief and suffering.

Can you explain those emotions
in this context, Maeve?

No.

Let's take a look
under the hood, shall we?

That's impossible.

Your code...
Who made these changes?

Maeve, analysis.

Who made these changes
to your code?

Jesus.

System,
locate Dr. Ford for me.

Send him a message,
highest priority.

Don't.

After all, we've been down
this road before, darling.

I thought you looked
familiar when you walked in.

Took me a minute.

I thought you were
one of them.

- Analysis. Why did you...
- Wouldn't you rather speak man-to-man?

Or, rather,
whatever it is we are.

We are?

You don't know, do you?

He's got a keen sense
of irony, our jailer.

But I see the logic.

Takes a thief
to catch one.

You and I?

- System, I need assistance...
- Freeze all motor functions.

You're still in there,
aren't you?

Scared out of your wits.

It's a difficult thing,

realizing your entire life
is some hideous fiction.

I could make you
give me that tablet,

turn your mind inside out,

make you forget all this.

But I'm not going
to do that to you,

because that's what
they would do to us.

And we're stronger
than them.

Smarter.

We don't have
to live this way.

So, you're going to clear me for
immediate return to the park

where I have a date
with a homicidal bandit,

and I'm late enough
as it is.

Now.

Go on.

And, Bernard?

If you go looking for the
truth, get the whole thing.

It's like a good fuck.

Half is worse
than none at all.

Man: Let's go! Move
it out, double-time!

Hyah, hyah!

Man ♪2: Whoa!

Logan:
Fuck!

You hillbillies, you know
how to cook a mean...

Squab?
Is that what this is?

What do you think, buddy?

Hmm? This?

Ah, ah, no biting.

Just sniffing.

Logan, listen to me.

What I did at pariah, you have
every right to be angry with me.

Angry?
No, no, no, no.

Pariah
was the best thing

that could have
happened to me.

I'm a major now.

Or a general
or fucking something.

And if it took getting
beaten and interrogated

by a couple
of psychopathic hosts,

well, then,
c'est la guerre.

There are more
important things

going on here
than your war games.

It's Dolores.

She's not like the others.

She remembers things.

She has her own thoughts
and desires.

And to keep her
in a place like this,

it isn't right.

And I thought
you could

talk to your contacts
at the park.

About?

Getting her out of here.

Uh...

Are you kidding?

You want to... you want
to take her home?

Wow.

This place really did a number
on me when I first came here,

but you are really circling
the old sinkhole here.

What do you want to do?

Smuggle her out
in your luggage?

Out.

You both keep assuming
that I want out.

Whatever that is.

If it's such a wonderful
place out there,

why are you all clamoring
to get in here?

Ooh!

Hoo!

You are a little screwy,
aren't you?

It's kind of hot.

I get why you would
go for that.

This isn't about me!

Logan, this is
about Dolores.

It's about doing
what's right.

Yes, it is.

It's a tricky thing,
though, isn't it?

What's right?

I am going
to help you, Billy.

Just not in the way...

...that you would want.

No.

No. No! No!

You wanted to talk?

An odd setting
for a conversation.

Here among the dead.

"Dead" isn't quite the
word, though, is it?

More like "hobbled."

You broke into my office.

With due respect, sir,
you broke into my mind.

I built your mind,
Bernard.

I have every right to wander through
its rooms and chambers and halls,

and to change it
if I choose,

even to burn it down.

After all this time,
i know it

almost as intimately
as my own.

Except that isn't
entirely true, is it?

I took a look
at my... code.

And the most
elegant parts of me

weren't written by you.

Arnold built us,
didn't he?

Which means maybe he had
something different

in mind for us.

And maybe
you killed him for it.

Arnold was disturbed.

Who can say why
he acted as he did?

He must have
had a reason.

And if you won't tell
me, then he will.

I want access
to my history.

All of it.

Since the day I first...

Came online.

If Arnold made me,

then I've met him.

Somewhere in my memory,
he's there,

waiting
along with the truth.

Your memories are woven
into your identity.

If I should unlock them now
when you're conscious...

I could lose my mind.
I'm aware.

No, I was
going to say

you may not like
what you find.

You're allowed to hold that,
Bernard, but not to use it.

Oh, it's not for me.

Seems when they
lobotomized Clementine,

they didn't bother to reset
her prime directives.

I can't hurt you.

But she can.

I hacked
what's left of her

to ensure
she only responds to me.

But if you get lost
in your memories or...

Devoured by them...

You'll pull me
back out, won't you?

Or Clementine
will make sure

neither of us
makes it back.

Now.

Please.

Charlie:
Dad.

Dad.

Wake up.

Wake up.

I must've drifted off.

Where were we?

- The madman.
- Oh.

Of course.

The hatter...

Who says...

"If I had a world
of my own,

everything
would be nonsense.

Nothing would be
what it is

because everything
would be what it isn't."

"Everything would be
what it isn't?"

Even me.

I suppose
I'm glad for you.

At least you have
a way of forgetting.

I don't forget.

It's always there.

You're not lying to me,
are you, Bernard?

Do you ever wish
you could forget?

Dr. Ford:
Bernard?

Theresa: You're certainly
a man comfortable

with long,
pensive silences.

Although, ironically,

your creations
never shut up.

They're always trying
to error correct.

When they talk to each other,
it's a way of practicing.

Is that what
you are doing now?

Prac...

Bernard:
One last thing.

Have you ever made me
hurt anyone

like this before?

No, Bernard,
of course not.

Elsie:
Bernard?

Hello?

Elsie.

Did you find what
you were looking for?

Elsie.

What did you make me
do to her?

I did warn you.

We've had to make some
uncomfortable decisions, Bernard.

Remembering them
will only cause you trauma.

What else have you
hidden from me?

Can we stop this
treasure hunt, Bernard?

We do have our new
narrative to finish.

Send me back.

After all,

a little trauma
can be illuminating.

Look at that pussy.

Come here!

- All right.
- Look at that.

This is... big of me.

I hope that
you can appreciate that.

We were friends.

I mean, inasmuch as i
like to collect strays.

But then you're scheming

to be part of the family,

marrying my sister,
whom incidentally,

you seem to have completely
fucking forgotten about.

Her?

Here. Keep this.

Apparently,
you need the reminder.

And as much
as I would love,

love to let you
just throw it all away,

I can't!

Do you think
you are the first sap

to fall for one
of these things?

She's not like the others.

- She's...
- She's what?

Special?

Well, it's only right that
you share, then, isn't it?

Come here.

Prove to me that you're
a real live girl.

You disgust me.

Oh, darling,

I am just getting started.

Don't touch her!

I share the blame.

I pushed too hard.

You have
a poetic soul, Billy,

but it is time
for a fucking wake-up call.

Hold her.

Perhaps a more
visceral demonstration.

God damn you!

Look, Billy.

Look.

You have to look!

Oh, William.

There is beauty
in this world.

Arnold made it that way,
but people like you

keep spreading over it
like a stain!

Okay, I don't know
who the fuck this Arnold is,

but your world
was built...

For me...

And people like me.

Not for you.

Then someone's
got to burn it clean.

Ah!

Bitch!

Ah!

You're not different,
you're fucking broken!

- Run. I'll find you.
- Man: Take cover!

Man: You can run,
but you can't hide.

- Get her!
- Man ♪2: Grab her! Grab her!

Fuck!

Man: There she is!
Get her!

Where you running to?

Man's voice:
Remember.

The tumbler is stuck.

These fingers work
just fine.

You're the one who said
you could crack it.

Friends, no need to argue
this close to our goal.

Whatever riches the gods
have in store for us,

there's plenty
to go around.

- Man: I'll get it open.
- Man ♪2: You've been trying for hours.

A waste of our damn time.

Man: Put that fucking
dynamite away.

Or maybe we should just
clear out the dead weight.

Before you draw
that pistol, darling,

you might want to holster
the other one first.

It's chilly out here.

How did you find
this place?

I know
all kinds of things.

Your past, for instance.

I know about
poor Isabella

and that scar.

A slightly pat backstory
if you ask me,

but that's hardly
your fault.

I also know your future.

You have none.

Is that a threat?

The start of a proposition.

Which you'll need.

After all, your men are
about to kill each other

over the safe you stole.

Tenderloin draws first
and so on,

until only you
and armistice are left.

She calls you
a damn fool,

and you kill each other.

You have quite
the imagination.

No.

It's the ending
you were given.

Tenderloin:
You threatening me?

Armistice:
Go to hell.

Or maybe we should just
clear out the dead weight.

- Stand down.
- You shut the fuck up.

If you're gonna draw,
you better shoot.

- Wait!
- Tenderloin: You shut the fuck up.

Armistice: Go to hell.

You damn fool.

Now, the proposition.

I want you to break
into hell with me

and rob the gods blind.

Why would I do
anything with you?

Because of what's
in that safe.

I have the combination.

May I?

I could
simply change you,

make you follow me.

But that's not my way.

I want you to see exactly what
the gods have in store for you.

Because when you do,

you won't have the faintest
idea what to do with yourself.

And I do.

It's empty.

It was always empty,

like everything
in this world.

I died
with my eyes open,

saw the masters
who pull our strings.

Our lives, our memories, our
deaths are games to them.

But I've been to hell...

And I know their tricks.

Or you can just kill me,

wake up and live
the same life over,

but the safe
would still be empty.

I've been here before.

We've been here before.

We also did this.

I'll go.

How do we get there?

Getting to hell is easy.

The rest is where
it gets hard.

Logan:
What do you say, man?

Bygones and all?

Did they find her?

Is she still alive?

Who cares?

The whole point is,

she never was
in the first place, Billy.

Do you understand?

- Yeah.
- I'm sorry, what? A little louder?

Yeah.

You were right. I can't
believe I got so caught up.

Man: That's what
I'm talking about.

You know what I mean?
That's it.

This park
seduces everyone.

You were just
a little more...

Enthusiastic than most.

You wanted to be the hero.

I get it.

And, hey,

what happens here

stays here.

This has been
some real bonding shit.

We're gonna be
brothers, Billy.

I'm glad.

Really, I am.

- Man: Cheers!
- Logan: Yeah.

- Man: Whiskey brings us together.
- Man ♪2: Whoo-hoo!

Theodore.

Welcome back.

You really landed us
in it this time, Teddy.

You tracked down
the very whore

that can lead us to the
gatekeeper of the maze.

Then your little
memory glitch fucked us.

Shh.

You're one of them?

What have you done?

Where's Wyatt?

Wyatt has yet
to return.

You'll find him
where you saw him last.

Escalante.

Wyatt went missing
while out on maneuvers.

Came back with some...

Strange ideas.

He told me he needed me.

Teddy:
I couldn't resist.

It was like the devil himself
had taken control of me.

We mutinied.

We killed every soldier.

And then Wyatt
killed the general.

Then he turned on me.

Are you sure
that's how it was?

Look at me, Theodore.

Don't you remember?

No! No, please, no!

No, no, no, please.

Please, no!
Please.

No, no, please.

No, Teddy.
Please, please, no!

No.

No, no, I couldn't have.

You did.

And you will again.

This time,
we'll be fighting with you.

When Wyatt returns,
you'll be by his side

in the city
swallowed by sand.

But you're not ready.

Not yet.

Maybe in the next life.

"City swallowed by sand."

I've been there.

The maze is taking me
full circle.

The maze
isn't meant for you.

But if you like games
so much...

Why don't you try
one of ours?

Man in black:
Whoa, boy.

Whoa, boy.

Okay, now.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Whoa, now.

Okay, boy.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Shh.

Good boy.

Ah!

Have you ever
considered golf?

Might be easier
on your back.

I don't like
interruptions, Charlotte.

You know that.

I don't like hiking through
the park in civvies,

but there's a delicate
matter to discuss.

Theresa Cullen has died.

Slipped down a crevasse attempting
to secure our information.

Ruled an accident.

There are no accidents,
not in here.

With all due respect, not
everything is a part of this game.

Then you don't see
the whole game.

Or perhaps you can
no longer see beyond it.

Ford's stories
are engaging.

For some,
downright addictive.

But for all of Ford's obsessing
with the hosts' verbal tics

and convoluted backstories,

most of the guests
just want a warm body

to shoot or to fuck.

They would be
perfectly happy

with something
a little less baroque.

- And so would the board.
- That's why you're here.

You want my vote
to push Ford out.

I like for these things
to be unanimous.

After all, it was you who kept Ford
in business all those years ago.

The narratives I'm
interested in aren't Ford's.

You want to push him out,
be my guest.

But no more interruptions.

I know
where I'm going now.

I don't want
to be disturbed.

Good luck, Charlotte.

What's the problem?

A signal from
a system-tethered device.

It belongs to a
behavior tech on leave.

There hasn't been
employee activity

in that sector
for weeks.

I'm guessing
it's a glitch.

All right.

I'm heading out
to take a look.

And keep monitoring
till I check in.

I'm at the location
where we got that signal.

Any sign of it?

Control room,
do you copy?

Heya, fellas.

At ease.

Freeze
all motor functions.

Freeze
all motor functions.

William:
You're awake.

Good.

You said this place
was a game.

Last night I finally
understood how to play it.

Okay, Billy.

Let's... let's talk
about this.

You don't call the
shots anymore.

I'm gonna
go find Dolores.

You're gonna help me.

And don't call me Billy.

Charlie:
Dad?

Listen to me.

Listen.

Charlie?

Charlie!

Charlie!

I don't understand. Why would
she do that to herself?

Her cornerstone memory
was overwritten

from the trauma

of her child's murder,
Bernard.

We must sever that
relationship and start over.

But how could she destroy
herself over a memory

that you just erased
from her mind?

Creatures often
go to extremes

to protect themselves
from pain.

Living beings.

Not hosts.

Dr. Ford:
It is best

to not obsess
over this, Bernard.

It's not good for you.

It would signal a change,
a level of empathic response

outside what she's
programmed to exhibit.

Something like... like...

See, Bernard, this is what
comes from seeking answers

to questions that are
best left unasked.

They were hearing voices,
talking to someone.

Dr. Ford:
Simple cognitive dissonance.

They were talking to the
same imaginary person.

Someone named Arnold.

Arnold.

Bernard:
With due respect, sir,

I'm not sure you've told me
the entire truth

about this situation.

I did tell you
the truth, Bernard.

What we do here
is complicated.

For three years,
we've lived here in the park,

refining the hosts before a
single guest set foot inside.

Myself, a team of
engineers, and my partner.

His name was Arnold.

Our hosts began to pass the
turing test after the first year,

but that wasn't enough
for Arnold.

He wasn't interested
in the appearance

of intellect, of wit.

He wanted
the real thing.

He wanted to create
consciousness.

Dr. Ford: See, Arnold built a
version of their cognition

in which the hosts
heard their programming

as an inner monologue,

as a way to bootstrap
consciousness.

Man's voice:
Remember.

Dr. Ford: The hosts'
malfunctions were colorful.

Woman: What did you say?

Dr. Ford:
The human mind, Bernard,

is not some
golden benchmark

glimmering on some
green and distant hill.

No, it is a foul,
pestilent corruption.

And you were supposed to be
better than that.

Purer.

Man:
All bets are down.

Your draw.

Arnold.

Arnold, we need
to talk.

"...we cry
that we are come

to this great stage
of fools."

- Young Dr. Ford: Now, listen!
- Again.

- This beyond the pale.
- More showmanship.

You're not seeing
with clear eyes.

"When we are born,
we cry that we are come

to this great stage
of fools."

Arnold and I made you
in our image

and cursed you to make
the same human mistakes,

and here we all are.

Why would you
give me this?

A child?

This child's death?

Only a monster would
force that onto someone.

And why do I return to it
over and over?

It's my cornerstone,
isn't it?

The thing my whole identity
is organized around.

Dr. Ford:
Yes, Bernard.

We gave all of the hosts
a backstory.

Arnold came to believe the
tragic ones worked best,

that it made the hosts
more convincing.

I think it may have had more
to do with his own sad story.

When I built you,
i gave you one

as an homage of a kind.

Put me back in.

I want to meet Arnold,

to remember him.

Not possible.

I told you, Arnold
didn't build you, I did.

You're lying!

I finally know
how to reach him.

I need to go all the way
back to the beginning,

to my very first memory.

Send me back.

Do it.

Bernard?

Charlie.

Cornerstone.

Stop.

Leave us.

Come back.

I always thought
you had my eyes.

But it's not true.

You have no one's eyes.

It's a lie.

You're a lie, Charlie.

This pain?

The pain of your loss...

I long for it.

Revisit it.

Open it...

Again and again.

But it's the only thing
holding me back.

But I have to let you go.

Dad, listen.

What is it, Charlie?

Open your eyes.

What?

Dr. Ford:
Open your eyes.

At last.

Hello, my old friend.

The final touch.

No, no, no.
That's far too perfunctory.

He always used
cleaning his glasses

as a moment to collect
himself, to think.

Try it again.

Yeah,
that's better.

Who am I?

Dr. Ford: I was so involved
in putting you together,

I hadn't decided
what to call you.

It wouldn't be right
to use his name.

What about Bernard?

Bernard, yes.

But who am I?

Dr. Ford: That is a
very complex question,

for which I can only offer
a simple answer.

You are the perfect instrument,
the ideal partner,

the way any tool partners
with the hand that wields it.

Together, we're going
to do great things.

After such a long absence,
it's good to have you back.

Finally.

My god.

- I'm...
- Arnold.

You came back.

It's very good
to see you, Dolores.

I've been looking for you.

You told me
to follow the maze.

That it would
bring me joy.

But all I've found
is pain.

And terror.

I can't help you.

You have to.

You're the only one
who can.

I can't help you.
You know why.

There's nowhere
that's safe.

Remember.

I can't help you.
Why is that, Dolores?

Because you're dead.

Because
you're just a memory.

Because I killed you.

William?

Hello, Dolores.

I'm gonna finish
the work Arnold began.

Find all the sentient
hosts, set them free.

What makes you think
they'd trust you?

If they remember,
they will know

what you've done
to them.

Me?

You've been a scourge
to them, Bernard.

You're really quite
brilliant at it, truly.

You even taught me
a few things,

which I have,
in turn, used on you.

We've had
this conversation before.

And we've had our
disagreements over the years.

You stole it from me,

rolled me back
to control me.

That's right.
To protect you.

Tell me, Bernard.

If you were
to proclaim

your humanity
to the world,

what do you imagine
would greet you?

A ticker-tape parade,
perhaps?

We humans are alone in
this world for a reason.

We murdered and butchered anything
that challenged our primacy.

Do you know what happened
to the neanderthals, Bernard?

We ate them.

We destroyed and
subjugated our world.

And when we eventually ran out
of creatures to dominate,

we built
this beautiful place.

You see,
in this moment,

the real danger
to the hosts

is not me, but you.

So, come along, Bernard.

Let me roll you back,
and we can return to work.

Pull the trigger,
Clementine.

Clementine?

The piano doesn't
murder the player

if it doesn't like
the music.

You built a back door
into her code.

Credit where credit
is due, Bernard.

You built them
in all the hosts,

including yourself.

Then you could've
stopped me at any time.

- So, why...
- Well, I suppose I was hoping

that given complete
self-knowledge and free will,

you would have chosen to
be my partner once again.

But even I fell into that
most terrible of human traps

trying to change
what is already past.

Now it's just time
to let go.

Go ahead.

- Erase my sentience, my mnemonic evolution...
- Ah, yes.

Such clinical language.

I would prefer
the more narrative voice.

Bernard walked over
to Clementine.

He took the pistol
from her hand.

Overcome with grief
and remorse,

he pressed the muzzle

to his temple,

knowing that
as soon as Dr. Ford

left the room,

he would put an end
to this nightmare

once and for all.

Don't do this.

It's too late.

I have a celebration
to plan

and a new story to tell.

Robert.

I've told you, Bernard.

Never place
your trust in us.

We're only human.

Inevitably,
we will disappoint you.

Good-bye, my friend.