The Best Time Teddy Ever Broke Character On Westworld
Because "Westworld" is intended to be a cathartic theme park for guests to unleash their most guilty pleasures, there aren't many wholesome characters around in the series. Most of the humans are there to shoot, stab, and mutilate as many hosts as possible in a safe setting — while the robots themselves wind up exacting their own bloody revenge on their captors.
The acceptance and abundance of violence definitely warps those who've visited "Westworld" for decades. The perfect example is The Man in Black (Ed Harris). As a young man, William (Jimmi Simpson) was naïve to everything that goes in the park, before slowly becoming obsessed with it and transitioning into a villainous outlaw.
However, there are the odd characters who are a little more endearing than the rest. The most obvious is Teddy Flood (James Marsden), whose original story loop involved him returning to Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) and trying to defend her from bandits. We'd argue that he's the most wholesome character, host or human, in the entirety of the show, at least before Dolores starts manipulating his programming. Even then, Teddy's main priority is always helping and protecting her in any way he can because of his feelings for her.
Their relationship isn't always easy to film on set, especially when other things in "Westworld" get in the way.
Horse-blocking happens in Westworld
Teddy spends most of his screen time with Dolores or looking for her in Seasons 1 and 2 of "Westworld," and their dynamic definitely shifts when Abernathy starts dreaming of a brighter future for herself and the rest of the hosts. Obviously, things become pretty fraught when Dolores embraces a new personality written by Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) at the end of the first season. She's revealed to be Wyatt, who Teddy originally believed to be a vicious soldier. Wyatt believes the park belongs to him, not "the gods."
Make no mistake: Evan Rachel Wood and James Marsden have great chemistry together in the series, especially in Season 2 when Teddy struggled with Dolores' manipulative behavior. Sometimes, though, the park itself would get in between the pair — including a horse. In Season 1, Episode 3, "The Stray," Teddy returns to Dolores after escorting a guest on a bounty hunt. However, in a brief blooper reel, the horse gets in the way of their reunion.
Just as James Marsden is about to explain where he's been, the unseen horse interrupts him with a loud snorting sound. Maybe Teddy's really been off cheating on Dolores, and the horse is trying to keep his secret safe. Or maybe the horse is just sick of their repetitive story loops playing out the same way. Regardless, it's pretty funny.