The most meta Westworld episode yet

It was only a matter of time before the series turned — however briefly — into the HBO show many suspected it of being

It was only a matter of time before Westworld turned — however briefly — into the HBO show many suspected it of being: a symphony of exploitative nudity and pointless violence that uses gorgeous cinematography, high production values, and the occasional decent storyline to claim "prestige." Welcome to Pariah, the "city of outcasts, delinquents, thieves, whores, and murderers." Logan describes it in language that doubles as an account of network television versus HBO: "Some of the park feels like it was designed by committee, market-tested," he says, and we picture ABC and CBS sitcoms. "Everything out here is more raw," he says of the park, a.k.a prestige cable. "But it doesn't come cheap. Rumor it they're hemorrhaging cash."

What's interesting about Pariah — and that nested analysis of television — is the very particular lens through which our visit there is filtered. Showing us Pariah through Dolores' eyes might be HBO's most effective self-critique yet.

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Lili Loofbourow

Lili Loofbourow is the culture critic at TheWeek.com. She's also a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Review of Books and an editor for Beyond Criticism, a Bloomsbury Academic series dedicated to formally experimental criticism. Her writing has appeared in a variety of venues including The Guardian, Salon, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Slate.