The Riddle of the Sphinx

"The Riddle of the Sphinx" is the fourth episode of the second season of Westworld, and the fourteenth episode overall.
==Synopsis==
== Plot ==
===High Fidelity===
In an elegant apartment, with clean sleek lines, eclectically decorated, but with framed pictures of Emily, her grandfather, James Delos is going through his morning exercise routine, as the Rolling Stones plays on vinyl on a minimalist record player. Finishing, he picks up a pick of Grillos cigarettes and lifts the needle off the record before lighting up. Showering, eating and going through the rest of his morning routine, including a little self satisfaction and another cigarette, His hand trembles as he pours milk for his coffee; gradually spilling it over the tray. An alert brings a PA up on screen informing him he has a visitor. Delos noting it's about time, awaits the arrival of son-in-law, William, who arrives with an expensive bottle of single malt whiskey. Delos's comment that the most potent thing they will give him his Grapefruit juice, indicating that he is under observation. As he pours himself a drink Delos, tells William that "If you aim to cheat the devil you owe him an offering," wanting to know when he can get out of here? William assures him “the observation period is almost over.” Delos just has to complete a “baseline interview” that will give the scientists something to refer back to. Delos is eager to get on with it, William smiling telling him it's already begun, he's the one carrying it out. The thinking being it should be someone familiar to James. "It's about capturing your frame of mind, your mood, your sense of humour." Delos points out that he owns a bio tech company, and he's dying of a disease, the research for which he de-funded 15 years previously. His sense of humour is definitely intact. His patience on the other hand is short. 
William asks him a couple of questions. Does he know where he is? Delos sighing, his leg bouncing in what looks like impatience, answers Karlsbad, California. When William asks him how long he's been there, Delos irritatedly answers far too long, and wants to know the purpose of the questions. William repeats they are just trying to establish a baseline. For what, Delos demands. “Fidelity," William replies. "So what's the idea?" James asks, "That afterwards you and I have the exact same conversation?" He finds that a little farfetched. Reaching into his pocket William passes James a few sheets of paper to read. James surprised as he reads it.
=== Nightmare Detour ===
William continues his journey North with Lawrence, the latter complaining that with no whiskey, no tobacco and very little ammo where ever it is he's taking him they better get their soon. A rider-less horse crosses their path and, curious, they head in the direction it came from. On doing so, they come upon a railroad camp, the workers, mostly Asian hosts, continuing to prep, and lay railroad track as normal. Until they ride further down the tracks and they see that they are laying track on top of live hostages instead of wooden sleepers, driving iron spikes through the screaming victims. 
Not perturbed, beyond the direction the tracks are heading, William comments to Lawrence the tracks are heading West when they should be heading North. "Seems like Ford's game has multiple contenders." and bets it detours through Las Mudas. "That two bit town?" Lawrence starts, William cutting him off telling him to cut the crap, saying he knows he has family there. "Looks like Ford is arranging a reunion."
===The Pupil becomes The Master===
Having tied Bernard up since leaving Fort Forlorn Hope with him, Clementine continues to wordlessly drag him by the scruff of his neck to the mouth of a cave. There, she lays the rifle by his side, unties his hands and leaves him, not responding to his calling after her, wanting to know where they are. As he unties his legs, he hears the sounds of rocks falling in the cave behind him. Grabbing hold of the rifle he heads inside cautiously, wanting to know whose there. Moving further in he sees a slight ridge, a bucket, empty ration packets and a chained up figure. Moving up the ridge he aims the rifle at the prone figure, only to be stunned to see it's Elsie. 
Elsie proves very angry with him for leaving her there, and no more inclined towards him after he shoots her free of the manacle on her leg. Grabbing the rifle after he puts it down she trains it on him. Not remotely interested in his pleas that he's not going to hurt her, not after he choked her out and left her there with only protein bars and a bucket. He tries to convince her it wasn't him, it was Ford forcing him, saying she knew too much and he couldn't risk her stopping him. "Stopping him from what?!" she wants to know "Ford wrote a game, and we're all in it. Now the hosts are free with no constraints. No safeguards," he stutters. Wanting to know what he's talking about and, seeing his hand shake and voice, what is wrong with him, Elsie gets more agitated. As Bernard pleads with her repeatedly, pulling his tablet from his pocket, he tries to follow her as she backs away and collapses just outside the mouth of the cave. 
Quivering, he pleads again, stammering out "Cognitive Lock." Confused, wary and curious all, she opens the tablet gingerly while keeping an eye on him, and on seeing his schematics come up in a state of Critical Failure is stunned to see that he's a host. "You rotated out," she says in utter disbelief, of his taking vacation time, "Where did you go when you rotated out?! You have a family, you have an ex-wife!" She states, then slows, realizing, "You have...a back story." Bernard's eyes rolling back he whispers "Shutting...down." Acting quickly she de-tasks his systems and puts him into safe mode. Telling him he doesn't have to worry, she's not going to break him...not yet. He has too much to answer for. She puts him out. 
In those moments as he goes under, or remembers going under, he seeks what looks like blood in the milk like substance used to create the hosts. Trays of eyeballs being lined up by Drone Hosts, Some being dropped to the floor bouncing like ping pong balls, before the Drones line up 6 Host CPUs, containing Pearls. Bernard watching solemnly. 
Coming too, Elsie has re-tied his hands, and has the rifle pointed right at him. "Is this now?" he asks her. She tells him he has extensive cortical damage, and if she didn't know any better she'd say he shot himself (The Well-Tempered Clavier). She altered his code to ignore the physical damage for now but he won't last long without cortical fluid. Bandaging up where she hard ported into his arm, she notes with any luck he'll last until the cavalry arrives, and gathers up the rifle marching out. Moving after her, Bernard asks her to wait, telling her there is no one coming for any of them, Delos doesn't want them to. Telling her about the package that they want, and that they won't do anything until they secure it, he pleads with her to help him. Elsie points out that even if she wanted to, they don't have any tools, they are in Sector 22 and there's nothing out there for miles.
As she says that, something seems to trigger in Bernard and he starts to look around him, as if recalling certain landmarks, as he does so he literally recalls himself visiting the cave before, before Elsie brings him back wanting to know what the hell is wrong with him. "There's a facility here" he murmurs, moving past her back into the cave, explaining that he thinks Ford had Clementine bring him there for a reason. As he feels the walls, Elsie thinking he's still glitching tries to get him to believe that there's really nothing around there for miles. But he tells her it's hidden. Again he sees himself walk into the cave and open a hidden door. As he unveils the same hidden latch, Elsie stares at it stunned, before Bernard pulls on the latch, the wall at the rear of the cave pulling back and sliding inwards revealing an elevator behind it. "Where does that go, Bernard?" she asks as both of them gaze at it in trepidation, "I don't remember," he confesses. Slowly they walk into the elevator, which closes to reveal Sector 12 on its door. 
The door into Sector 12 is marked by the Interlinked Hexagon Symbol, seen in Grace's journal, and the Encrypted Key inside of Peter Abernathy. A hyper cautious Elsie gun at the ready, leads the way, an increasingly sluggish Bernard trudging behind her. Looking through the glass Elsie see's an entire lab beyond. But as she opens the door it's revealed that the place is in tatters, with broken glass and fritzing digital read outs. A dead tech, and dead Drone Host on the ground. Blood spattered around the place. "What the hell happened in here?!" Elsie looks around horrified, seeing another tech impaled on one of the Vetruvian style host creation circles. Spotting a Control Unit Printer, she wants to know what they were doing with it?! Moving to the shattered device, Bernard stares at it, and has another flashback. 
A fuller recollection of what he saw as Elsie put him under to fix him. Standing in that room as the Drone Hosts move around him, he looks down at the Control Unit Printer, seeing it start to create 6 Pearls. Before being brought out of it by Elsie's hiss of his name, looking to see her with the rifle trained at the far end of the lab, wanting to know what the hell is 'that'. Bernard looking to see an upright Drone Host. "Don't threaten it and it won't hurt you!" Bernard says quickly but Elsie has already cocked the rifle, and the Drone Host moves on her. Elsie killing it with three shots. Breathing heavily she asks Bernard what it was they were doing in this lab. He tells her he thinks they were watching the guests. As she starts to wonder what they would want with the guests, Bernard starts to malfunction again. "Great, Cortical fluid," Elsie moves to find some, and almost immediately finds a syringe full sitting on a table, almost as if it was prepared and waiting. As Bernard, back to twitching and stammering again, pulls himself onto an examination table, Elsie asks him if he had something to do with the project going on in the lab. "I don't know. I don't think so." 
Is Ford in control of you now, she asks him nervously. "Ford's dead," he replies, shocking her. As Bernard starts to shake in earnest, she gets him to lie down, urging him to stay with her, then warning him that the injection is going to hurt, sliding into the needle into his neck and injecting the cortical fluid. Bernard's eyes slowly closing.
===Hostage State===
The Ghost Nation warriors lead their latest batch of hostage guests into their camp, their hands bound around a long wooden branch to secure them together. Grace, attached to a pole with park guests Craig and Lori, last seen in the wake of wrecking Lee Sizemore's Hector narrative by killing Hector. Lori insisting all this can't be real because none of this is real. Craig trying to reassure her saying someone will rescue us, only for Grace to see Ashley Stubbs and inform them that their 'rescuers' seem to be in the same both as them. 
Pulling her off the line of hostages, one of the warriors pulls her over to sit her down by Stubbs. A female elder of the tribe having words with Stubbs before punching him on the shoulder hard with a club. Grace understanding some of what she said, tells Stubbs that she said "Time is coming...or something is coming." Stubbs intrigued at the fact that she's spent enough time in the Park to learn their language. Grace replies that a lot of people tend to ignore their narratives, and that she doesn't like other people very much. Stubbs tells her that he's been watching them, that they keep humans close but they're not killing them, just the hosts. However, she is not particularly happy to hang around to test his theory. He assures her that the first responders will follow protocol and l get her and the other guests out of danger. But she tells Stubbs she’s "not looking to get out."
===Bad Pennies===
William and Lawrence arrive at Las Mudas, "Home sweet Home," William opines to Lawrence's before both of them look around, Lawrence's home town seemingly devoid of anybody. Taking a seat at the Cantina however, the bartender emerges. and William orders whiskey from him. As William starts to disassemble his gun, he observes that Lawrence doesn't appear overly happy to be home. Lawrence tells him that he's never really been the domestic type, but by 'some fluke of nature' he ended up with a wife and daughter who thinks he hung the moon. He recognizes however that he's a son of a bitch and the kindest thing he ever did for them was to keep away. As the bartender returns, offering the best whiskey for their 'distinguished guest', his hand shakes while he pours. William pointing out that he's not even shot anyone yet, wants to know what's wrong with him. As the bartender looks up, the two newcomers are surrounded by hostile hosts from all around them. Major Craddock appearing from behind the bartender, placing a sawn off shotgun barrel to William's neck before he can reload his revolver. The Confederado warning him that if even thinks about using it, he'll turn William's 'pretty face, inside out'. 
Seeing the state they're in, William notes "Someone took a chunk out of you boys, what happened to the rest of you?" Double crossed, Craddock replies, by Wyatt. "Good for her," William murmurs, which doesn't endear him to Craddock. The Confederado's released by Teddy, usher the two men into the Church where the villager hosts are all sitting captive in the pews. Lawrence's daughter rushing to hug him, before she's dragged away back to Lawrence's wife. Walking to the altar, Craddock announces that he and his men have a long journey ahead of them, and want food, whiskey and ammunition. He asks to speak to the Town elder who can talk for them. An older man rising, and stepping out into the aisle. only for Craddock to swiftly shoot him down. Telling them he's not interested in making deals, he tells them they know they were all rebels, and demands all of the weapons that they are hiding in the town, or they all die. 
Lawrence murmurs to William that the second they give up the weapons they are going to kill them anyway. William considering that with equanimity. Looking to his wife and daughter, Lawrence asks William to think of his family, remembering that William told him once that he had a daughter. William looking surprised, and somewhat dubious, he remembered that. Asking William if he thinks his daughter would want to see him gunned down in front of her. "Probably," William notes wryly. Lawrence is determined not to die there, and figures they just need to get to the weapons. As Craddock shoots another member of the congregation, Lawrence divulges the location of the hidden weapons, in an unmarked grave at the back of the Church. Suggesting they wait till the Confederado's are drunk and make a run for them. William agrees that sounds like a plan, then Immediately stands up and offers Craddock, a deal. Telling him where the weapons are, he then tells Craddock that's not what he's offering. He knows where it is that Craddock and his men are heading, but he knows that Craddock doesn't actually know where to go, to get to 'Glory'. but he does. Craddock evaluating William orders one of his men to go check the graveyard. 
===Repeat & Rinse===
Once again James Delos goes through his morning exercise routine, this time to the sound of Roxy Music, breaking into an impromptu dance before stopping to examine himself in the mirror. Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he does so without any spillage but is again interrupted by his PA who informs him he has a visitor, and again he comments "It's about time." Immediately it's evident that at least some time has passed, as a slightly older William, enters, a few grey hairs starting to show, but the same bottle of whiskey in hand. They repeat the exact same questions and responses from their earlier meeting about a baseline interview, for fidelity, culminating in William handing over the pages for James to read. 
As he does, he finds everything he has just said already in print. And realizes the implications, both good and bad. That he experiment, he feels, has worked, and that he didn’t recover. Asking William how long it's been, he replies "seven years." Which amazes Delos, figuring he's not in California anymore is he? "If you can't tell does it matter?" William answers. At which Delos gets excited, wanting to get outside, back to his own home, smoke his cigars and sleep with his wife. Immediately, off of William's face, he realizes that latter aspiration is no longer on the table. His wife having passed away from a stroke while the experiment was going on, Juliet burying her mother in the family plot. Delos quickly asks about Juliet making sure William's being looking after her, and then about his granddaughter, Emily. "She's whip smart, capable," William says of his daughter. 
As Delos takes that in, William again observes James's leg bounce. He tells Delos that they need to keep him just a little longer for further observation. Which Delos reacts badly to and in the process his speech starts to glitch badly. William tells him that he'll come again tomorrow. Delos nodding, unable to articulate it properly. As William leaves it's revealed that Delos's apartment is actually a circular observation chamber with a two way glass mirror effect. Outside the chamber, William speaks to the woman who has been acting as Delos PA, in reality the head of the scientific team. When he notes its the same problems as before, she agrees but says at least he made it to day 7, which is progress. Off her enquiry, William gives the go ahead to terminate the host version of his father-in-law. As William leaves, the technician presses a button on her tablet and James freezes. Before flames fill the apartment.
===A Steady Hand===
In Las Mudas, Craddock admires the stock of brand new Winchester Carbine Rifles retrieved from the grave . Another crate revealing a cache of nitro-glycerin. Jubilant, Craddock feels they are going to blast their way clear to Glory. At the cantina, the bartender still nervous accidentally spills some whiskey on one of the Confederados, drawing Craddocks' attention to him. As William watches on, Craddock approaches the bartender, telling him he needs steadier hands in his occupation, and offers to 'teach' him. Pouring some of the nitro into a shot glass, he grabs the bartender's hand and places the glass on the back of it. 
Telling him to try and walk 12 paces without spilling it, he sets the terrified bartender on his way down the street. Walking slowly the bartender keeps his eyes fixed on the glass, and manages the task, exhaling heavily as he smiles in relief. Turning around carefully, he looks back at Craddock down the street, who congratulates him. Then uses the new Winchester to blow the bartenders hand off. The bartender collapsing from shock and pain, the townspeople cowering...William annoyed. 
===Ghosted===
Under cover of night, lit by flaming torches, the Ghost Nation lead their train of hostages to the lake shore. Grace, in their own language, asking the female Elder where they are taking them. "To the first of us," she replies, "He will decide." Grace asks Who she means, but the woman refuses to answer, moving on from her. The tribe leader transpiring to be Akecheta. As the hostages are shoved to their hands and knees in front of him, Grace takes a moment to work on the leather bonds around her wrist, 
Raising his knife, Akecheta says "Relieve yourself of this burden." Not understanding what he's saying Lori berates Craig telling him his stupid fantasy has gotten them killed. Seizing her chance, Grace breaks free, grabs a torch and hits one of the warriors with it, managing to escape into the darkness. Rather than pursuing her, Akecheta is more focused on Stubbs, a warrior putting a blade to the QA mans throat as Akecheta approaches him. As Stubbs is pulled to his feet, Akecheta leans in to whisper in his ear "You live only as long as the last person who remembers you." Before the knife is pulled away from his throat. Stubbs, expecting to have been killed, blinks and looks around, and finds he is alone with the guests. The Guest Nation disappeared. 
===Creating Secrets===
Bernard wakes up in the lab and is feeling more like his normal self. Thanking Elsie. Telling him she gave him a pint or two of 'the good stuff' she warns him, cortical fluid or not, she still doesn't trust him. Looking around he tells her he's been here before, that Ford sent him, but off her question, he can't remember when or what they were doing, confessing he doesn't know whether this is now or not his memories scrambled. Elsie tells him she knows, having seen it while inspecting him, his memories 'unaddressed', "swimming around" As she says that he undergoes another flashback recalling himself initiating the host CPU printer, a reddish Pearl and protective cover starting to be created, very like those lying around. 
As he comes back he sees Elsie over by a passageway they haven't been down yet, telling her that he had been there just recently, and that the developers were not working on hosts, but something else... something to do with the red host CPU's. But for what he is unable to remember. Still he has an uneasy feeling about the passageway she's near and asks her not to go down it. But she does anyway, reaching the door a short way down it, telling him they need to know what's behind it. Feeling sure it'll give them the answers they are looking for. He tries to tell her not to, fearful of something he knows but can't recall, but then realizes that he's not actually there with her in the passageway and she can't hear him. That this too is a memory. Walking away from her, he says he's trying to remember what it is they found there. What the Hosts were making. "It was something else," he murmurs, and recalls another fragment of his visit to the lab, the techs in there coming to a stop on seeing him, clear from their expression that he is not supposed to be there, and unsure what to do about it. The sound of Elsie's rifle being cocked jerks him from one memory to another and he calls out "Elsie don't!" as she fires as the door's lock mechanism. 
===Dance with Death===
While the Confederados beat Lawrence out on the streets of Las Mudas in the pouring rain. Craddock returns to the Cantina where William sits at a table, conjecturing from his expression that perhaps he's not too happy with how they're treating his 'friend' . William replies Lawrence isn't his friend and they are wasting time. Taking a seat opposite him, Craddock tells William that he's known men like him, "All the death makes you agitated." As he pours out another glass of nitro, he tells William not to worry, he and death go way back. Around the room the other townsfolk are sat on the floor, Lawrence's wife and daughter among them. Beckoning to Lawrence's wife, she's taken to him at gunpoint. William watching as Craddock proceeds to dance with her...in the exact same fashion as William himself once did before he killed her. 
As he dances with the weeping fearful woman, Craddock discusses how Death is an old friend of his, and he in fact had been dead just recently, but death couldn't bear to lay claim on him and sent him back. Showing her Lawrence being beaten to a pulp, Craddock then gives his wife the shot glass full of nitroglycerin to take to her husband to quench his thirst. Sending her out in the driving rain, urging her to be 'nice 'n slow'. When she looks back at him for help, William simply looks away. Sitting back down Craddock tells William he's served death well, and in turn it will be watching over them as they cross the land. Looking back out at Lawrence's wife, as he watches her inch slowly across the street, the water pouring all around her, William recalls water dripping on wood, and down the crystal shards of a chandelier, feet running up a stone staircase. As he looks at Craddock checking his gun, and then to the crying face of Lawrence's daughter, he recalls water flowing from a faucet, into a bloodied bath, which overflows, a lifeless hand hanging over the side. Looking back at Craddock he asks "You think Death favours you? That it brought you back." He tells him Deaths' decisions are final. That while the living are inconstant, death is always true. "You haven't known a true thing in all your life," he tells Craddock. "You think you know death? But you don't." When Craddock queries that, William replies "You didn't recognize him sitting across from you this whole time." He shatters a bottle and stabs Craddock in the neck. As Craddock crawls away into the rain soaked street, William kills his 6 compatriots, sustaining just a nick to the neck in return. Walking out into the street, where Lawrence's wife is sheltering trying to protect the glass of nitro during the firefight. Reaching down he takes it from her, and carries it over to Craddock, as Lawrence pulls himself over to his wife. Grabbing hold of Craddock, William forces his mouth open and pours the shot of the nitro down his throat. Telling him not to worry, he's there now, watching over him, he walks back to Lawrence and gives him a rifle from the stash dug up. As Craddock turns to try and get away, Lawrence shoots the Confederado, who explodes in a fiery blaze.
===Degradation===
In James Delos's observation chamber, once again he pours himself a cup of coffee, and once again an alert turns him to the mirror/screen. This time however, it is a young man acting as his PA informing him that he has a visitor. About time, he notes as usual. And just how much time is clearly illustrated when a far older William enters. So changes from his youth that James doesn't recognize him at first. And is stunned when he does, not only at how William has aged, but what it means for him. That he didn't survive. And that he was copied as planned. From that point on they repeat the same conversation from both of William’s earlier visits. 
That is until James wants to leave. William again telling him that's not possible, leads to Delos wanting to know why...and starting to glitch. but this time informing him that, according to the engineers he is suffering from a “cognitive plateau.” After a few hours or days his mind is stable and then it starts to all apart. They thought at first it was the mind rejecting its new body, like an organ being rejected because its not the right fit. But it appears as if its his mind is rejecting reality. Rejecting its self. Delos manages to get out that he doesn't remember any prior attempt. William replying that it’s the 149th time they’ve brought him back. They are getting closer to 'working out the kinks' that he's on his 35th day and is only now starting to degrade. Delos tries to argue but can't get the right words out. William figures maybe in a year or two they might crack it. Get a viable version. But truthfully he's not so sure anymore. As James's leg bounces, William tells him that he's beginning to think that the whole enterprise was a mistake. " People aren't meant to live forever." Taking James as example William describes him as a "Ruthless, philanderer, with no ethics in your business or family dealings. A veritable shithead." His memory more treasured than he himself. "Want me to stay here forever do you?" James accuses "Bill" of deliberately trying to keep him there, wanting to keep running his company, living in his house, sleeping with his daughter. Before William tells him that his wife Juliet — Delos’ daughter — killed herself. Stunned, tears coming to his eyes, James, grieving wants to know why she would do that? Then, when William doesn't answer, James angrily wants to know what William did to her? William tells him the world is better off with James Delos...and possibly without he himself too. Furious, Delos stands up and yells several times for Logan, only to have William tell him that Logan died from an overdose years ago. "Couldn't face reality either." With his wife gone, Juliet gone, no one is coming to help him, William informs the incandescent but quaking Delos. Telling him that it took him a long time to learn it but some men are better off dead. As Delos stalks after him unable to touch him, William leaves the quarantined room. As Delos starts to destroy his apartment, the tech tells him he doesn't understand. James was stable before he visited, and suggests they should terminate this copy. But William directs him to leave him, that it might be useful to "observe his degradation," over the next few days. Before he leaves...to start his vacation in the Park, in the days immediately proceeding the run up to the Host rebellion. Leaving through the same door Elsie was trying to get in. 
===The Devil's Reflection===
Elsie, having destroyed the lock opens the same door, and with her rifle raised she and Bernard move into the room with the observation chamber, bathed in scarlet from the alarm going off. Seeing someone inside the observation chamber, Elise moves to try to open it, despite Bernard's reservations. Over riding the security lock down, she raises her weapon again as the doors open. Moving cautiously in, Elsie stops the skipping record player, while Bernard comes upon the dead body of the technician William ordered to observe Delos' degradation. Before they hear and see someone riding the exercise bike, who gets off as he hears Elsie asking who is there. Moving to the mirror a very degraded James Delos covered in blood from wounds garnered by scratching at his face, starts to cut at himself again, saying "I'm all the way down now. I can see all the way to the bottom." Picking up a large shard of the mirror he turns to face Elsie "Would you like to see what I see?" he asks approaching Elsie. Warning him to stay away she points her gun at his head, but Delos grabs a hold of the gun with one hand and lifts the shard. Only for Bernard's Good Samaritan reflex to kick in, grabbing hold of Delos's arm and expertly slamming his other hand into Delos's throat, grappling with him he throws Delos through one of the interior glass windows. 
Bending down to the insane copy, Bernard pulls his head up gently. Delos intoning "They said there was 2 fathers. 1 above, 1 below. They lied. There was only ever The Devil. Once you look up from the bottom it was just his reflection laughing back down at you." He stops breathing, and Bernard lays his head down again. But as they walk out of the chamber, they look back to see him start to move again. Moving back to the control terminal, Elsie initiates the termination process, telling Bernard to save his bullets as he raises the rifle he's now holding. freezing him Elsie says she'll put him out of his misery. The room turning into an incinerator. 
Moving back into the main facility, she asks Bernard to tell her that was definitely a host and not a human. Bernard revealing that 'person' was James Delos. Knowing he died years previously she realizes that Delos Corporation "printed his body and copied his developed mind onto a control unit like our hosts." Unsuccessfully, Bernard notes from the looks of it, but thinks they are going to keep trying. "Fuck that. They're going to get us all killed so some rich asshole can live forever?! No," Elsie decides, and moves to grab her jacket, intent on getting back to the Mesa. Bernard stops her, remembering why Ford sent him to the lab in the first place, to print a control unit for another human, but he can't remember who, and tells her he needs to find out. He wants to go with her to the Mesa, but she is reluctant. Bernard tells her the things he did before, he wasn't in control. But since Ford died that has all changed. He gets to decide who he wants to be, and begs her to give him that chance . After a long moment, Elise agrees, figuring she always trusted code more than people anyway, but only providing he promises her no more lies, and that he'll never hurt her again. Which he duly does. But as he goes to follow her out he looks at the dead technician on the floor before him. And flashes back to his previous visit to the lab, recalling himself taking the newly printed 'Pearl' and pocketing it. Before he had the drone hosts kill the techs, and then break their own necks. One tech survives, but Bernard delivers the final blow, smashing the man's head into the floor with his foot. On Elsie asking him if everything is alright, he comes back to himself and tells Elsie that "Everything's fine."
===Riding Out===
In Las Mudas, William packs up his saddle bags ready for the off, when he's approached by Lawrence's wife who thanks him and kisses him on the cheek. Lawrence tells him that having said they need some men, some of his cousins are all set to come with them in gratitude for what he did for the town. William telling him not to get carried away, reminding him that most of them won't be coming back. As Lawrence and his wife head away, William looks up to find Lawrence's daughter gazing at him in a very direct way. "They might not remember, but I know who you are, William. " she says, channeling Ford, "One good deed doesn't change that."
"Who said anything about a 'good deed'?" William replies, pointing out that Ford wanted him to play his game, so he's going to play it to the bone. Then he still doesn't understand the game they're playing, she informs him. "If you're looking forward, you're looking in the wrong direction." On seeing her father and mother, she returns to herself and runs to her father to hug him. Lawrence's façade dropping, his love for his family clear, and he embraces both his wife and daughter, holding them close. William watching back at them as he rides out. Lawrence and his cousins finally heading out after him. 
As the ride off at full gallop across the plains, west, towards the sunset off into the sunset, 7 of them in total. But slow up as a rider heads towards them out of the setting sun. A woman's figure riding closer to him: it's Grace, who greets William with "Hi, Dad." Emily revealed. 
==Cast==
=== Main Cast ===
*Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy (credit only)
*Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay (credit only)
*Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe
*James Marsden as Teddy Flood (credit only)
*Tessa Thompson as Charlotte Hale (credit only)
*Clifton Collins Jr. as Lawrence
*Luke Hemsworth as Ashley Stubbs
*Katja Herbers as "Grace"
*Angela Sarafyan as Clementine Pennyfeather
*Shannon Woodward as Elsie Hughes
*with Ed Harris as Man in Black
=== Guest Starring ===
* Peter Mullan as James Delos
* Jimmi Simpson as William
* Jonathan Tucker as Major Craddock
* Zahn McClarnon as Akecheta
* Tantoo Cardinal as Ehawee
* Currie Graham as Craig
* Lena Georgas as Lori
=== Co-Starring ===
*Price Carson as Border Barkeep
* Izabella Alvarez as Lawrence's Daughter / Robert Ford
* Olga Aguilar as Lawrence's Wife
* Adel Telesia as Assistant
* Andy Taylor Kim as New Assistant
*Alexander Ward as Lead Drone
* Mark R. Miscione as Head Tech
* Dietrich Gray as Rail Baron
* Kelvin Han Yee as Foreman
== Trivia ==
*"The Riddle of the Sphinx" is Greek in origin. It is this: "Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?". The answer is "man", who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two feet for most of their life, and then walks with a cane when they are elderly.
*This episode marks the directorial debut of series co-creator Lisa Joy.
*It also marks the return of Craig & Lori, the husband and wife guests who arrived with Teddy on the train in the very first episode of S1, The Original and who killed Hector, wrecking Sizemore's 'big speech'. 
*The goldfish seen in James Delos's apartment is named Kurt, and was an unscripted symbolic sight added to the set by Lisa Joy. However, Kurt was only on-set for one day of filming before Joy realized that it was too expensive to keep a goldfish along with its pet wranglers and caregivers around for multiple days. The solution to this was to film all of Kurt's close-ups before a member of the art department created a replica using a carrot propped up by a toothpick, which can be seen in certain wide shots of the apartment.
*James Delos's cigarettes are named "Grillos" after John Grillo, the Director of Photography for this episode.
*To accurately portray William repeating the same situation at multiple stages of his life, Jimmi Simpson and Ed Harris rehearsed William's meetings with James Delos together, carefully watching each other's movements while blocking the scene. Simpson in particular adjusted his performance especially to match Harris's.EW interview with Lisa Joy about this episode
**Ed Harris also contributed a vocal performance to all three scenes, which was used in post-production to manipulate Simpson's performance within Harris's vocal range. At certain moments, syllables from Harris's vocal performance were actually inserted into Simpson's.Westworld's Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy Break Down Season 2, Episode 4
== Quotes ==
Host James Delos: I'm all the way down now. I can see all the way to the bottom. You like to see what I see?
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Host James Delos: They said there were two fathers. One above, one below. They lied. There was only ever the devil. And when you look up from the bottom, it was just his reflection... laughing back down at you. (breathing stops)
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Lawrence's Daughter: They might not remember... but I know who you are, William. One good deed doesn't change that.
Man in Black: Who said anything about a good deed? You wanted me to play your game. I'm gonna play it to the bone.
Lawrence's Daughter: And you still don't understand the real game we're playing here. If you're looking forward, you're looking in the wrong direction.
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Emily: Hi, Dad.
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Host James Delos: I’m all the way down now. I can see all the way to the bottom.
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Grace : Other people tend to ignore their narratives. I don’t like other people very much.
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== Music ==
*Play with Fire — Rolling Stones
*Do the Strand — Roxy Music
== Deaths ==
*1 Drone Host
*1 unnamed Las Mudas' headman (Physical Body)
*1 unnamed Las Mudas' resident (Physical Body)
*2 copies of hybrid James Delos
*6 unnamed Confederados (Physical Body)
*Craddock (Physical Body)
*4 unnamed lab technicians (Flashback)
*3 Drone Hosts (Flashback)
==Image Gallery/HBO Episode Stills==
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==External links==
*
* at the Rotten tomatoes(rating 95%)
* at en.wikipedia.org
* at Tv.com
* at HBO
==References==
de:Das Rätsel der Sphinx
fr:The Riddle of the Sphinx
ru:Загадка Сфинкса
Category:Season two episodes