Saddle up! But beware potential spoilers in this review, which will discuss elements of the episode.###The dominant themes on this week's Westworld? Flashbacks and exposition. Fortunately, the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding mer actually helped fill in the current plot(s) and the latter was delivered by the likes of Anthony "Model VR Ford" Hopkins and Jeffrey Wright, so they still sounded impressive and rarely dull’tedious’frayed’monotonous . Les Écorchés felt like a season finale instead of an episode winding towards it, as so much incident was packed in, it sometimes felt like Peter Abernathy's overstuffed brain. But if you were at all apprehensive that recent instalments had felt like meanders instead of plot highways, this was the M25 in/with regard to’concerning’regarding you. Well, the M25 when it's eliminate’remove . So the M25 between the hours of 2:25am and 3:15am, then. Overextended road metaphors aside, this was an excellent example of the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue living up to its promise.###Let's start with the various Bernard timelines. Jeffrey Wright's certainly acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting a rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent acting workout once again, playing the many different versions of our favourite fake human/real host. The different journeys Bernard goes on this week help to fill in many of the details that, in a further example of the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue 's Achilles Heel, eagle-eyed and sharp-minded fans had started to figure out already. In Westworld's creative team's defence, at least they provided a lot more answers in rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent time. And there's still the mystery of the valley flood to be solved.###Bernard's trip down memory lane (literally at one point) allowed Ford to explain a lot of what has been going on – the fact that the park was detoken ed not simply to entice individual , but to possess’own’nurse them drop their defences so they can be studied in raw in/with regard to’concerning’regarding m and coders can embark on figure out how to copy a human mind in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Delos' immortality project. So far, as we've seen with James Delos himself (and, to an extent, Bernard), it's not working well in the real world, but Ford and co. possess’own’nurse cracked it within the Cradle. And with nothing likely to happen to that, all will be… Oh, right. Cradle go boom boom. Ford, in/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunately in/with regard to’concerning’regarding him (and unin/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunately in/with regard to’concerning’regarding poor, tortured Bernard) was able to download himself into his creation's brain, and thus we know why Bernard has been doing such horrible things in one of the timelines: it's all Hannibal Lec… Ford's fault. We just hope there are no lambs amble’stroll’bimble’meander’roam ing by, or QA team members with tasty livers.###That storyline merged with the attack by Dolores, TerminaTeddy and her team on the Mesa main base. It was a bloody hour of the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue , with QA members slaughtered (Teddy was peculiar ly violent again this week, and now dressed in natty black stolen QA armour). It also meant that Dolores and Charlotte Hale got their long-awaited reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue down, and it did not disappoint. Evan Rachel Wood and Tessa Thompson had electric tension as they battled in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the narrative upper hand, one on her violent quest, the other doing e grossly thing it takes to survive. Dolores has categorically’flatly’emphatically decided her path, and humanity had better watch out. Yet there was still time in/with regard to’concerning’regarding her to reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue what she considers "mercy" towards her father, even as she cut the decryption key and data stored in his control unit out of his noggin.###In Maeve's world, things were far less rosy. She had eventually’ultimately reconnected with her "daughter" from her previous narrative, merely’barely in/with regard to’concerning’regarding things to start repeating. But her conflict with William this week felt like justice being served. It actually looked like the writers might be willing to kill him this week, but it looks like he'll be around in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a while yet. He's certainly not in a rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent state, despite’in spite of’albeit . And Maeve herself is in dire straits, shot by the QA team summoned by Lee Sizemore, who seemed to be trying to help her, merely’barely to abandon her again at the base. Her meeting Dolores felt organic to the plot, despite’in spite of’albeit she didn't exactly benefit much from it.###Aside from a few minor quibbles (such as the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue falling prey to the trope of main characters looking like they were with regards to’concerning’with respect to to die and then their attacker being distracted, allowing them to escape) and our continued belief that poor Angela Sarafyan has been ill-served this year), the episode was a winner in our reserve s. A lot of the major characters clashed and many of the main mysteries were solved, while lingering questions remain. Westworld has been through a enormous’vast’massive’tremendous establish up process, and it was worth it to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure an hour such as Les Écorchés. Yes, there was a lot of scenes of individual giving speeches, but they were delivered so well, it never brought things grinding to a halt. Next week, we're supposedly focusing on the Ghost Nation, so hopefully that will bring their characters more into focus and reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue how they fit into the grand scheme of things. And that the momentum built up in the story won't suddenly be extinguished.###1. Just how many versions of Bernard did Ford (and Dolores) go through in their attempt to make him as rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent as he's become. The scene with multiple disused Host Bernard's was creepy as anything.###2. The destruction of the Cradle means the hosts can no longer come back to life. Dolores sees this as freedom from their chains, but what of poor Clementine? And they'd better not kill Teddy, the bastards.###3. That said, if you can still cut a control unit out of a Host's head, could you just find another Host (or a copy) and bring them back?###4. If the more recent solider arrivals are supposed to be the best of the best, why did that idiot not just shoot Angela bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e she destroyed the Cradle? At least we got to see Talulah Riley acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure the better of someone one last time.###5. Should Elsie really just jack it all in and go to be a dentist? She'd be a sarcastic dentist, to be sure.###Read previous episode reviews below…###Season 1###Westworld Season 1 Episode 1: The Original###Westworld Season 1 Episode 2: Chestnut###Westworld Season 1 Episode 3: The Stray###Westworld Season 1 Episode 4: Dissonance Theory###Westworld Season 1 Episode 5: Contrapasso###Westworld Season 1 Episode 6: The Adversary###Westworld Season 1 Episode 7: Tromp L'Oeil###Westworld Season 1 Episode 8: Trace Decay###Westworld Season 1 Episode 9: The Well-Tempered Clavier###Westworld Season 1 Episode 10: The Bicameral Mind###Season 2###Westworld Season 2 Episode 1: Journey Into Night###Westworld Season 2 Episode 2: Reunion###Westworld Season 2 Episode 3: Virtù e Fortuna###Westworld Season 2 Episode 4: Riddle Of The Sphinx###Westworld Season 2 Episode 5: Akane No Mai###Westworld Season 2 Episode 6: Phase Space###Westworld airs on HBO in the US on Sunday nights and Mondays on Sky Atlantic in the UK