"The Auguries" is the first episode of the fourth season of ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...

''. The episode aired on June 26, 2022, on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. It was written by series creator

Lisa Joy Lisa Joy (born May 23, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and attorney. She is best known as the co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer of the HBO science-fiction drama series ''Westworld'' (2016–2022). For ...

and Will Soodik and directed by Richard J. Lewis.

Plot summary

Seven years after the events of the third season, William, acting as CEO of Delos, approaches the owner of the

Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on Se ...

, which now houses a large server farm that contains data he wants from eight years ago, with an offer to purchase the property. The owner refuses, to which William replies that since he doesn't want his money, he'll just have to give it to him for free. The owner discovers a large fly colony in his bedroom, then brutally kills his business associates with a knife. Outside, he agrees to turn over the property before William grants him permission to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. In

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Christina, a brunette woman who resembles

Dolores Abernathy Dolores Abernathy is a fictional character in the science fiction television series ''Westworld'', in which she is primarily portrayed by American actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Tessa Thompson. She is considered to be the lead character of the sho ...

, works as a writer at Olympiad Entertainment, creating stories for the

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...

s in video games. The company's higher-ups are skeptical of Christina's push to give her characters more pleasant and happier backstories, insisting that the public craves tales of darkness and self-destruction. Christina is stalked by a man named Peter Myers, who claims she is controlling his life and begs her to stop. Maeve, now living anonymously in a rural cabin, is working to hone her abilities. One day, she learns from a local general store owner that several "friends" are looking for her. Returning to her cabin, she sees armed hosts lying in wait to ambush her and sets a trap for them. The hosts are all killed, and Maeve harvests the core of their leader to learn that Delos is responsible for the attack. She then burns down her cabin and sets out on foot. Christina's roommate Maya takes her to a restaurant for a blind date, which ends poorly when the man inadvertently upsets Christina by commenting on her work. While walking home, Christina runs into Peter, who tries to physically assault her. Suddenly, a stranger pulls him off her and beats him while Christina watches before passing out. The next morning, Peter calls and tells her that he's ending his story, before jumping to his death in front of her apartment. Caleb is now married and living with his wife and young daughter, Frankie. Frankie adores her father, but also shows an interest in guns and violence, which horrifies Caleb's wife. She confronts him for not dealing with his

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

and engaging with his war buddies in various conspiracy theories, which she sees as dangerous to both her husband and the social development of their daughter. While taking out the garbage, Caleb and Frankie are attacked by another host before Maeve stabs him from behind. Realizing that the war has begun again, Caleb has his friends keep watch over his family while he and Maeve depart to track down one of William's contacts. Christina is working on a new character's story when she notices a shattered potted plant on her balcony, indicating that someone was spying on her. On the balcony’s floor, there is a depiction of the infamous maze, but she seems to not react to it. In the streets below, a man resembling Teddy (

James Marsden James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), ' ...

) looks up at her from the shadows.

Music

A cover by

Ramin Djawadi Ramin Djawadi (, fa, رامین جوادی; born 19 July 1974) is an Iran, Iranian and Germans, German film score, score composer. He is known for his scores for the 2008 Marvel film ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' and the HBO series ''Game o ...

of the Lana Del Rey song "

Video Games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

" plays into the credits at the end of the episode.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auguries Westworld 2022 American television episodes Westworld (TV series) episodes Television episodes set in New York City