Westworld
The Original
TV Flash files “The Original” as a desk essential hour — Westworld (2016–2022) on HBO, season 1, episode 1, aired 2016-10-02, 68 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 36 in the Westworld guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 2016-10-02 (68 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Chestnut” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “The Original”. The Original opens the android Wild West as HBO's post-GoT sci-fi swing — hosts, timelines, movie-scale craft on first ride.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A woman named Dolores is a free spirit in the Old West... and unaware that she's actually an android, programmed to entertain rich guests seeking to act out their fantasies in an idealized vision of the 1880s. However, the people in charge soon realize that their androids are acting in ways that they didn't anticipate.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Original sit in the Westworld guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 36 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Westworld S01E01 air?
The Original aired 2016-10-02 and is listed at 68 minutes.
Do I need the 1973 movie first?
No. Inspired by Crichton's film, not a scene-for-scene remake. The HBO series is its own park, hosts, and timeline gymnastic.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Android Wild West park, hosts rewriting the story, timelines as blood sport. Nolan and Joy launched HBO's post-GoT sci-fi swing with Wood, Newton, Wright, and Hopkins at movie scale. Season one is a closed loop of consciousness and craft; later years split the room. Theme-park philosophy with a body count and Reddit as co-showrunner.
October 2, 2016: an android Wild West in couture dirt. Guests indulge violent fantasies until the hosts rewrite the story. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy adapted Michael Crichton's 1973 film for HBO as identity, free will, and corporate godhood in movie-scale production design. Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins — early mystery heat dressed as a park brochure. Nonlinear timelines made Reddit a second writers' room. Tessa can keep the theory tags. **The silhouette was the…
Filed against
- Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy
Evan Rachel Wood woke the park as Dolores Abernathy on Westworld — android Wild West, timelines as blood sport, HBO's post-GoT sci-fi swing at movie scale. Season one is a closed loop of consciousness and craft; Wood is why the loop has a…
- Thandiwe Newton as Maeve Millay
Thandiwe Newton woke Westworld as Maeve Millay — android Wild West park, hosts rewriting the story, timelines as blood sport. HBO's post-epic sci-fi swing at movie scale, season one a closed loop of consciousness and craft. TV Flash files…
- Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe
Jeffrey Wright’s Bernard Lowe held Westworld’s consciousness loop — android Wild West park, hosts rewriting the story, timelines as blood sport. Nolan and Joy’s post-GoT HBO sci-fi swing at movie scale. Season one as a closed circuit of…
- Ed Harris as Man in Black
Ed Harris rode HBO's Westworld as the Man in Black — android park, timelines as blood sport, and guest-villain gravity that made the theme-park loop feel like a hunt. Nolan and Joy's post-GoT sci-fi swing needed a black hat with movie…
- Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford
Anthony Hopkins’s Dr. Robert Ford built Westworld as a closed loop of consciousness and craft — android Wild West park, hosts rewriting the story, Nolan and Joy’s HBO post-GoT sci-fi swing at movie scale. Season one a riddle; later years…
- James Marsden as Teddy Flood
James Marsden’s Teddy Flood made Westworld a host with a cowboy’s smile and a rewrite underneath — 2010s catalog android park, timelines as blood sport, then Jury Duty stretching the movie-star face into a sweet reality-comedy hybrid. TV…