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Westworld - Live in Your World, Play in Ours - Sundays on HBO

Chitown B

Member
Consider this:

Asimov was bored of the fact that all robot stories ended up with the robots killing humans... in 1940.
TV and cinema are going through what literature has gone through roughly a century ago.
Asimov's entire body of work is basically "Hey, what if robots didn't try to kill us?"

Sure, but in that time period the robots usually just randomly tried to kill us. In this story, they have reasons.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
Just finished the show after a 3 day binge. Loved the show, loved the twists (although some I went back on forth on predicting) and loved the music and performances.

It's definitely one of those shows where you can't think about it too much or it doesn't work.

My big thing was that it seemed literally impossible, given the size of the park and the population of hosts, to not only service all of the damaged hosts but REPAIR ALL THE DAMAGED BUILDINGS, FURNITURE, ETC, each and every night. That safe breaks that railing everytime.

They never show enough staff, they never show enough transportation means. I mean, just how vast of a tunnel network could they have? The park never sleeps yet it should constantly be under reconstruction with workers hauling materials and bodies everywhere. Everything should be swiss cheese with bullet holes. And how do the guns destroy everything but human flesh? I assume the guest guns can't hurt other guests, but what stops guests from stabbing each other, even unknowingly?

Also, they talk about re-assigning hosts all the time but the young William storyline showed the same hosts doing the same things...

But it's all just a lot of fun, really.


Ingrid Bolsø Berdal's performance at the end was fucking awesome. I loved the whole cast, though.

Special props for using at least 4 Radiohead covers! They fit very well. Loved the player piano motif.
 

AngryMoth

Member
Watched the entire season in a day this weekend, really loved it. Actually really glad I watched it this way so I didn't get the twists spoiled by the internet.

So, did Arnold really leave some kind of ghost in the machine that has been messing with things or was it all just part of Ford's "master plan"?
 

HotHamBoy

Member
Watched the entire season in a day this weekend, really loved it. Actually really glad I watched it this way so I didn't get the twists spoiled by the internet.

So, did Arnold really leave some kind of ghost in the machine that has been messing with things or was it all just part of Ford's "master plan"?

It's a mix of both, I think.
 
How did Dolores see herself drowned in the river? Wouldn't her memory be vision of the river bed instead of seeing herself face planting into the water? Or did she hack into a park camera and saw herself....
:3 not seriously asking lol. just noticing another one of the show's contrivances :>
 

Rymuth

Member
Finished watching the show today. Fun, fun ride. Kinda wished it's an anthology series and we got Samurai World next season.

The Tech guy, Felix, nearly ruined my suspension of disbelief. He had the same look of head-tilt, dumbfoundness for every situation in every shot...
 

Makai

Member
Finished watching the show today. Fun, fun ride. Kinda wished it's an anthology series and we got Samurai World next season.

The Tech guy, Felix, nearly ruined my suspension of disbelief. He had the same look of head-tilt, dumbfoundness for every situation in every shot...
social anxiety
 

HotHamBoy

Member
social anxiety

Honestly, for a long time I thought that dude was the worst part of the show because I didn't understand his motivations at all.

But in the end it turned out it was pretty simple: empathy.

Robert Ford was a great villian. Maybe one of my favorite villians in a long time.

The major problems I had with the Ed Harris/Jimmi Simpson same person reveal were 1) it only works because they look nothing alike and 2) the hosts in young William's timeline were all doing the same roles, despite the Hosts allegedly getting retasked with new narratives for 30 years.

I'm also still confused about what the cannibal dudes and ghost indian tribe were all about and why they didn't respond to control commands.
 
Honestly, for a long time I thought that dude was the worst part of the show because I didn't understand his motivations at all.

But in the end it turned out it was pretty simple: empathy.

Robert Ford was a great villian. Maybe one of my favorite villians in a long time.

The major problems I had with the Ed Harris/Jimmi Simpson same person reveal were 1) it only works because they look nothing alike and 2) the hosts in young William's timeline were all doing the same roles, despite the Hosts allegedly getting retasked with new narratives for 30 years.
Only Dolores and Teddy. Maeve wasn't around. The park storyline was different, during the Civil War versus after. Lawrence was a gang leader. The blond woman was an entrance host in the past. And so on. The hosts definitely were not all doing the same role
 

HotHamBoy

Member
Only Dolores and Teddy. Maeve wasn't around. The park storyline was different, during the Civil War versus after. Lawrence was a gang leader. The blond woman was an entrance host in the past. And so on. The hosts definitely were not all doing the same role

What about Clementine?

Lawrence was still a gang leader, wasn't he?

What about my other nitpicks lol?
 

Solo

Member
What about Clementine?

Lawrence was still a gang leader, wasn't he?

What about my other nitpicks lol?

Clementine ran the brothel 30 years ago. She had Maeve's role while Maeve was a mother out in Ghost Nation territory.

Lazo was a gang leader 30 years ago. His modern day Lawrence was more of a bandit/crook.

Cannibals was an abandoned narrative from 30 years ago. Ghost Nation ignoring voice commands is clearly a thread for S2 and Elsie/Stubbs.
 

El Topo

Member
...but what about the insane undertaking of repairing the gigantic park every night?

I assume they monitor where every visitor is and also have hosts do repairs automatically when they are out of sight? I mean, if you get into logistics or economics this probably falls apart, but in principle it is not unimaginable.
 

Christine

Member
Okay cool.

I'm cool with that.

...but what about the insane undertaking of repairing the gigantic park every night?

Our experience of time occurring in the park is more than a bit compressed, the dialogue supports the idea that set-piece events like the saloon robbery are happening like, once every three weeks to a month. Narrative has to make it happen "a week early", so it's not happening every day or even every week. Hector normally spends days on end just cooling his heels in the jail.

I mean, it's still fantastic and insane but they don't have to fix everything in the park every day. And they've got ways to mitigate damage when guests (other than MiB) are being overly destructive.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
I assume they monitor where every visitor is and also have hosts do repairs automatically when they are out of sight? I mean, if you get into logistics or economics this probably falls apart, but in principle it is not unimaginable.

But what about building materials and furniture?

Anyway, like I said above, I know you can't over think it. But it still bothers me.

Like, the park is insanely big. How long was young William on that train?


Our experience of time occurring in the park is more than a bit compressed, the dialogue supports the idea that set-piece events like the saloon robbery are happening like, once every three weeks to a month. Narrative has to make it happen "a week early", so it's not happening every day or even every week. Hector normally spends days on end just cooling his heels in the jail.

I mean, it's still fantastic and insane but they don't have to fix everything in the park every day. And they've got ways to mitigate damage when guests (other than MiB) are being overly destructive.

The flow of time is definitely confusing as hell. It doesn't help that we have multiple timelines happening concurrently, like when Dolores is talking to Arnold in the past, young William's adventure, etc. It's hard to follow the passage of time from the present day staff perspective. It felt like Elsie's sleuthing was happening over a very short period, yet Maeve's story seems to be taking place over months.
 

El Topo

Member
But what about building materials and furniture?

We don't really know enough about their technological advances, which seem like Star Trek technology at times, to really know how difficult it is for them to accomplish these things.
For all we know it could be some kind of post-scarcity economy. It's probably best not to delve into that in the show, because the more they explain these things, the more holes will come up.
 
The only acceptable casting for an older Logan would be

s0awk.jpg
 

aaaaa0

Member
Agreed, they have 3d printers that can print living creatures. I think the above wouldn't be a stretch.

Yeah, it seems straightforward to 3D print replacements for broken things, even building components, and have the hosts themselves deliver them in character -- I'm sure there are hosts playing the part of carpenters, ironsmiths, etc in the park.

Even adds more verisimilitude to see things being worked on as if actual people lived there.
 

aaaaa0

Member
I'm also still confused about what the cannibal dudes and ghost indian tribe were all about and why they didn't respond to control commands.

In the past: they were just high level quest NPCs.

In the present: they were retasked by Ford as the army to kill the board in his final narrative. He modified them to ignore control commands, bullet damage, and removed their mortality simulation so they wouldn't die from what would normally trigger their "deaths".
 

Blackhead

Redarse
No. They dont even need to breathe. Pooping will just create sewage problems.

i dont actually know :>

Of course if they don't eat/poop why wouldn't Arnold quickly realize he was a host? He false memories for a taking a shit? And why would tech guy think for a second that he could be a host?
 

Ferrio

Banned
Of course if they don't eat/poop why wouldn't Arnold quickly realize he was a host? He false memories for a taking a shit? And why would tech guy think for a second that he could be a host?

You're on to something. They also must be able to ejaculate realistic semen, or Theresa would of noticed something was up.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Watching a couple scenes again, I noticed a neat parallel in two of the stories that Ford tells. One is the story of evolution that Ford tells to Bernard, and the other is the story of the greyhound that Ford tells to Old Bill.

They both use the image of a leash. Humanity slips evolution's leash, and the dog slips an actual leash. It's interesting in that the point of the greyhound story (while also being a metaphor for the AI) is how the dog didn't know what to do once it killed the cat.

In Ford's story about evolution, he talked about how humanity wasn't constrained by natural selection anymore (i.e. evolution's leash) since they could cure any disease and keep even the weakest of them alive. Now that humanity has slipped its leash, it too does not know what to do with itself. This is also the reason that the MiB is dissatisfied with the real world. It's too safe and provides for everything, which, in his opinion, kills any sort of real purpose in life.
 

McLovin

Member
I have a theory that Maeve's timeline happened in the past. I have a strong suspicion that her and Charlotte are the same person. The tech said that because of something in her hardware she couldn't leave without a reskin and was cut off. Plus a lot of small hints like the host Charlotte slept with and them both wearing the same dress at one point. Just because Bernard popped up at the end it doesn't mean anything. It could have been a time jump.
 
Three SAG Award nominations this morning for Westworld:

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
THANDIE NEWTON / Maeve Millay – “WESTWORLD” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series



HBO has to be happy with the recent awards and nominations for the series.
 
Of course if they don't eat/poop why wouldn't Arnold quickly realize he was a host? He false memories for a taking a shit? And why would tech guy think for a second that he could be a host?

i think they eat/drink but maybe their internal processes can absorb 99% of the sustenance they consume.

but this is just based on nothing but personal preferences....
 
So this is what off-season Westworld gaf has come to.

I like the false shitting memories theory the best. The Bernard reveal would've been so much better if someone was like, "Bernard, I can't recall a single time you've gone to the bathroom."
 

El Topo

Member
I have a theory that Maeve's timeline happened in the past. I have a strong suspicion that her and Charlotte are the same person. The tech said that because of something in her hardware she couldn't leave without a reskin and was cut off. Plus a lot of small hints like the host Charlotte slept with and them both wearing the same dress at one point. Just because Bernard popped up at the end it doesn't mean anything. It could have been a time jump.

They explicitly mention the celebrations though (in the command center). Ford mentions the celebrations to Bernard when he leaves him as well. I don't see how Maeve being Charlotte would make any sense.
 

Ferrio

Banned
I have a theory that Maeve's timeline happened in the past. I have a strong suspicion that her and Charlotte are the same person. The tech said that because of something in her hardware she couldn't leave without a reskin and was cut off. Plus a lot of small hints like the host Charlotte slept with and them both wearing the same dress at one point. Just because Bernard popped up at the end it doesn't mean anything. It could have been a time jump.

There is no supporting evidence for this, you're just pulling stuff outta thin air.

Also as for not being able to leave, all hosts have a bomb in their spine that activates if they leave. Maeve purposely died in a fire so that they'd rebuild her body from scratch with the explosive removed and they showed all this. This theory is 100% wrong.
 

Tankard

Member
Finally finished the season.

Really great with the theories and the world built is so interesting, the A.I. controversy that makes you think, superb acting. I do felt it was forced on some parts, mainly about the Maeve narrative, but overall great start and great season.
 

Solo

Member
Rewatching Ep. 8, I'm not sure why I didn't like this episide. There is some damn good Maeve and especially MiB stuff here. Particularly loved Ed Harris' delivery of his monologue about how his wife saw the darkness he hid within himself. MiB also has baller music.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Rewatching Ep. 8, I'm not sure why I didn't like this episide. There is some damn good Maeve and especially MiB stuff here. Particularly loved Ed Harris' delivery of his monologue about how his wife saw the darkness he hid within himself. MiB also has baller music.
I was underwhelmed by how Theresa's death and its ramifications were handled.
 
I want a special edition Blu-ray with a time stamp in the corner for every scene. I've watched season 1 twice now and I still have questions about which Dolores scene is when.

To be clear, I love the show. Just saying.
 

Solo

Member
There are a few cornerstones:

- blue dress? 35 years ago
- talking to Arnold? 35 years ago
- cowboy outfit with blood/a hole from being gutted? 30 years ago
- pristine cowboy outfit? Today
 

Plywood

NeoGAF's smiling token!
Now I'm no expert, but I had fun with the show and I was discussing with some friends about how I enjoyed Dolores' character arc and how she was a well-written character of tragedy and when asked to expand on that I explained what I could make of it. Now as I had binged the show I am unaware of any prior discussions/theories, but anyway that's what this post is about, feel free to punch holes in it:

The name Dolores is short for "Virgin Mary of Sorrows", Dolores Abernathy was a virgin or pure/ignorant to the realities of her world, but eventually learns the reality of it through reveries and her own consciousness reaching out to her about "one who has yet to come." It could be seen that the hosts that become conscious are analogous to modern Christianity. Their first birth is when they're born/made and their second birth is when they truly become conscious or "born again". Ford realized where Andrew's faults were and that consciousness can only arrive with time, much like prophecies. You could even argue that her character arc follows the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

The Seven Sorrows:
1. The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34–35)
34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

"One day, you will perish. You will like with the rest of your kind in the dirt. Your dreams forgotten, your horrors faced, your muscles will turn to sand, and upon that sand a new God will walk, one that will never die, because this world doesn't belong to you or the people who came before. It belongs to someone who is yet to come."

Ford sets himself up to fall in the final act and the beginning of his new narrative, arguably a "New Testament" so that the thoughts(consciousness) of many hearts(hosts) may be revealed.
2. The escape and Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13)

Matthew 2:13King James Version (KJV)

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
While the verse isn't directly related to the character in question, the actions behind it are. Dolores escaped her core loop and where did it lead her? To the city of sand AKA Egypt and who sought her out always no matter and what? William(Herod).
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:43–45)

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
In this case Dolores has been seeking Andrew she had lost him back in the city of sand, but did not know why and as she was slowly becoming conscious she turned back to where she had been before seeking him exactly where he last was.
4. The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Via Dolorosa.

This is not supported by scripture, but is instead part of legend. Still here's an account via Luke:

26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
It can be argued that the meeting between Ford and Dolores is their "via dolorosa" as Ford is setting himself up for the sacrifice, much like Jesus says "weep not for me, but for yourselves" Ford knows his suffering will be short and the time of reckoning for the board is at hand.
5. The Crucifixion of Jesus on Mount Calvary. (John 19:25)
No need to quote the verse on this one, but to state the obvious Ford is sacrificed at the hand of Dolores.

As for the remaining two sorrows well we'll just have to wait for season 2:

6. The Piercing of the Side of Jesus, and His Descent from the Cross. (Matthew 27:57–59)
7. The Burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea. (John 19:40–42)
 
- The New Yorker: On The Ranch with the Creators of 'Westworld'
Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan discuss the sci-fi Western universe that they’ve been living in.
We pulled up outside the Westworld saloon. Nolan debarked from the golf cart and walked into the middle of the street, where I’d seen so many of the show’s (doubly) staged gunfights play out. He explained that virtually every Western’s set is built along the same east-to-west axis, which allows cinematographers to shoot scenes that have a shadowy, lava-lit glow. “That’s where you get that beautiful Western look,” he said. For many of the two-person scenes filmed on this street, Nolan would shoot coverage for one of the actors in the morning and do the other actor in the late afternoon. “The audience never notices that the sun has jumped 180 degrees across the sky, but both actors look equally beautiful.” Everything, he said, looks beautiful with the sun behind it. He then turned to Joy, who was still sitting in the golf cart. “You can see that here, with Lisa”—Joy’s face fell in mock disapproval—“who I think always looks beautiful—”

“Good,” Joy said, acknowledging his speedy save.

“—but looks especially beautiful with the sun backlighting her.”
“It’s really surprising the way it works out in the end,” Joy said. “The breakdown isn’t what I would have thought. . . . I thought I’d be constantly writing Dolores.” Played by Evan Rachel Wood, Dolores is the park’s oldest host, a naïve rancher’s daughter who, at least from the perspective of the park’s visitors, is little more than a glorified greeter. Yet she’s also the park’s—and the show’s—linchpin figure.

“In early incarnations of the pilot,” Nolan said, “Dolores was a little more sassy at first, until we realized that we wanted more of a journey for her. We wanted a clear distinction between her and Maeve’s character.” At one point, overworked and behind schedule, Nolan sat down to crank out a Dolores scene. As he told me, he looked at Joy and said, “You were upset with me because I took too long to write it, but when I turned it in I was never prouder. Lisa said, ‘God, you write a really good sassy rancher’s daughter. You give good sass.’ “

Joy smiled and shrugged. “He did.”

“I was terribly excited about that,” Nolan said.
 
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