Westworld (HBO/Sky Atlantic) [** Spoilers **]

MOH

"Are you Gali-f*ckin-leo?"

Shane St.

Has this been renewed for a second season yet?

Jan_de_Bakker

Shane St. wrote: »

Has this been renewed for a second season yet?

Not according to IMdB ... but let's see ..

Shane St.

Shane St. wrote: »

Has this been renewed for a second season yet?

Jonathan Nolan let slip that the team was "breaking season 2" as of now;

Jan_de_Bakker

Good !

Glad that Johnathan Nolan is involved again

Sad Professor

Speculation alert!

I think Arnold is mostly a red-herring designed to serve two functions: 1) a way to explain the bicameral mind stuff, and 2) not give away Ford's game too soon by blaming everything on his dead partner.

I think the voice some hosts are hearing is their own inner voice, but as per the bicameral mind theory they are interpreting it as an external voice which they call "Arnold" probably because of some leftover code by the real Arnold. Their realisation that this is their own voice is crucial to their attaining consciousness, otherwise they are likely to either kill themselves (like the stray in this episode) or start thinking that God is talking to them. But it might suit the park to have everyone believe that they are being manipulated by someone, better that then them becoming conscious - they have a business to run! I guess this is where Bernard's efforts with Dolores comes in. He's been reading books to her, trying to prompt her to start questioning her reality and it's working, which will perhaps help her to understand what's happening to her.

I think Ford is playing a bigger game that isn't clear yet. While in this episode he's keen to make people believe that the hosts aren't real and only think what he tells them to think, he via his "mistake" has probably done more than anyone to push them toward consciousness. Whatever management's plans for the hosts are, I don't think he approves. He might not see them as "real" but they are still his children and I think he wants to protect them in his own way.

Akrasia

I don't get the confusion about bernard and Deloras' conversations.

He's experimenting on her. He's giving her books to read and trying to get her to change, to evolve. The code that was put in her involves learning and making decisions. Art and literature can open your horizons, make you realise that there are more things in the world than what is around you. This is the purpose of literature, and Bernard is using it with the Machines to see if introducing such abstract ideas to the machines will have the same effect, will it broaden their way of thinking, and it appears to be working.

The 'virus' that is spreading is the realisation that there is more than what they have been programmed to see. The virus is the idea that there is something hidden that needs to be searched for, and once they start examining their world, it falls apart.

In this sense, it's just like the Truman Show. The machines are capable of remembering, but the theme park erases their memories every day (or whenever their loop is due to restart) It is perfectly possible that any of the characters are machines, they wouldn't even know it themselves and would act totally normally as long as their memories aren't wiped

Cina

Citizenpain wrote: »

Enjoying it so far . It's very like "lost" in style

As long as it's not very 'Lost' in plot.

Cina

Cina wrote: »

As long as it's not very 'Lost' in plot.

So long as its not 'Lost' when they try to resolve some of the mysteries and realize making it up as you go makes it really difficult to write an end game.

MOH

Deleted User wrote: »

So long as its not 'Lost' when they try to resolve some of the mysteries and realize making it up as you go makes it really difficult to write an end game.

Given it's two years since shooting started, I'd say they have a fair idea of where it's going to go in the near future. I'd trust Nolan too to have an overall plan, or at least be able to tie things up. Assuming he gets at least 3/4 seasons to run with.

MOH

MOH wrote: »

Given it's two years since shooting started, I'd say they have a fair idea of where it's going to go in the near future. I'd trust Nolan too to have an overall plan, or at least be able to tie things up. Assuming he gets at least 3/4 seasons to run with.

TBH my comment was tongue in cheek. Its Jonathan Nolan, not Damon Llindelof, and its HBO not ABC.

expectationlost

ManOfMystery wrote: »

Just my opinions so could be totally wrong, but -

- Bernard having his secret conversation in glass rooms seems a tad risky - aren't all the rooms glass? They seem to have a very open and transparent (literally!) policy as regards the workplace.

I got the impression their conversations were just behind the old west town set

AllGunsBlazing

First episode so far that didn't bore me rigid.

cumulonimbus

Was it mentioned somewhere in episode 1 that diseases were all eradicated?
Yet in episode 3 we hear that Bernards son had died.
I think he is probably working on making the hosts real so he can replace his son with a robot.

"Wake up, Dolores" makes me think of the Matrix.:D

cumulonimbus

cumulonimbus wrote: »

Was it mentioned somewhere in episode 1 that diseases were all eradicated?
Yet in episode 3 we hear that Bernards son had died.
I think he is probably working on making the hosts real so he can replace his son with a robot.

"Wake up, Dolores" makes me think of the Matrix.:D

Diseases have been eradicated and they have "nearly' solved death. Not solved it in time, I think is the point.

alchemist33

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

First episode so far that didn't bore me rigid.

I thought ep 3 was the poorest so far. Set-up, I know, but not as intriguing as the first two.

readyletsgo

alchemist33 wrote: »

I thought ep 3 was the poorest so far. Set-up, I know, but not as intriguing as the first two.

Have to disagree there. I thought first 2 episodes were slow and boring, bad acting, story very predicable. Everyone banging on how great it was, and I was meh, but this episode caught my interest, so I'll keep watching for a few more episodes.

Oafley Jones

alchemist33 wrote: »

I thought ep 3 was the poorest so far. Set-up, I know, but not as intriguing as the first two.

Found my attention waning throughout it. I think there some significant structural issues with the overall premise. I just can't for the life of me see where they're going to get the five seasons.

My big fear going into this is that we'd end up with some sorta Lost structure. Where every week we'd be introduced to a new guest, where they'd spend half the episode resolving some backstory rather than moving the overall plot on. McPoyle lasting more than two episodes still doesn't alleviate this worry because they're practically screaming that this is some sort of therapy for him.

I'm completely unengaged from the "quest" sections. There's nothing really at stake here, so where's the suspense. Sure things will go further wrong, guests will be killed by rogue hosts eventually, but how long can you drag out the escalating failure till that.

Also finding the intimate moments between the hosts odd. They're supposed to make us empathise with their plight, for us to grant them some humanity but it's undercut by the constant diagnostics sequences.

johnpatrick81

Yeah I was underwhelmed by episode 3.

Sure it ended excitingly, but there was far too much slow progress. How many times are we going to see Dolores wake up/drop the can/ride back to the farm.

I get it's the nature of the show, but surely they could be doing it a bit.....better. It just felt a bit forced with the whole gun in the hay scene as we all saw it a million miles away due to the drip feeding of the build up.

We're almost a third of the way through the season. I hope the next episode makes some serious steps forward.

Jan_de_Bakker

I'm wondering whether to watch the original film now or wait till after I see series 1.

I'm thinking to wait, but maybe they are connected as someone mentioned.

Crea

Episode 3 - very repetitive. Didn't really introduce any new info. We get it, the droids are remembering their back stories and holding grudges. Now get on with it!

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Oafley Jones

Crea wrote: »

Episode 3 - very repetitive. Didn't really introduce any new info. We get it, the droids are remembering their back stories and holding grudges. Now get on with it!

That's my point. What you've described is essentially the meat of the show. That and some standard mystery box padding with Harris. Getting on with it is the uprising. And you can't exactly have that a couple of episodes into a five year run.

dRNk SAnTA

Personally I'm not loving this show yet - there are too many characters regularly making bizarre decisions.

I understand it's all supposed to "add to the intrigue" but when all of the humans appear to be behaving irrationally in one way or another, it becomes a bit tiring.

At the moment, the only "straightman" characters are the robots, and even they are going berzerk.

dRNk SAnTA

dRNk SAnTA wrote: »

Personally I'm not loving this show yet - there are too many characters regularly making bizarre decisions.

I understand it's all supposed to "add to the intrigue" but when all of the humans appear to be behaving irrationally in one way or another, it becomes a bit tiring.

At the moment, the only "straightman" characters are the robots, and even they are going berzerk.

Only character I like so far is the somewhat straight and narrow guest, William. He is similar to the viewer in the sense that he doesn't have a clue what is going on either and is put off by all the craziness. I think it should have followed him from the start.

dRNk SAnTA

Deleted User wrote: »

Only character I like so far is the somewhat straight and narrow guest, William. He is similar to the viewer in the sense that he doesn't have a clue what is going on either and is put off by all the craziness. I think it should have followed him from the start.

Completely agree with that. He's the only relatable person so far, it would've made for a better introduction to the park before the craziness kicked off.

Nearly all of the humans running the Westworld park are ridiculous caricatures, and pretty much every single of one of them is holding a secret already.

Fred Swanson

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I was paraphrasing Dr Ford.

Ford: Indeed it is. But, of course, we've managed to slip evolution's leash now, haven't we? We can cure any disease, keep even the weakest of us alive, and, you know, one fine day perhaps we shall even resurrect the dead.

Fred Swanson wrote: »

I assume STDs must still be an issue for those playing with the hookers? I doubt they had condoms back in the old west?

Each host gets a thorough scrubbing at the end of each day, and I'd assume each one perspires an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal agent to prevent the most common maladies.

Paleface

Loving this series so far!

Not sure if its already been mentioned but the actor who plays Rebus (

the guy who tried to rape Delores before she shot him in episode 3

) is also Trevor Philips from GTA V.

Sad Professor

I find Dolores, Teddy and Maeve to be sympathetic and relatable characters. The fact that they are machines is irrelevant. Being stuck in a loop, feeling that there's something wrong with your world, not knowing who you are, etc, are very human experiences. The more we learn about Bernard and the trauma that has shaped him the more I like him as well.

AI characters always seem to be a problem for audiences, though. I seemed to be one of the few viewers able to see Eva's perspective in Ex Machina. Probably one of the reasons why I'm really enjoying this show is the way it embraces the perspective of the robots.

karma_

Sad Professor wrote: »

I find Dolores, Teddy and Maeve to be sympathetic and relatable characters. The fact that they are machines is irrelevant. Being stuck in a loop, feeling that there's something wrong with your world, not knowing who you are, etc, are very human experiences. The more we learn about Bernard and the trauma that has shaped him the more I like him as well.

AI characters always seem to be a problem for audiences, though. I seemed to be one of the few viewers able to see Eva's perspective in Ex Machina. Probably one of the reasons why I'm really enjoying this show is the way it embraces the perspective of the robots.

I've had the same sympathies from ep 1 also. I think it's clear that sentience is either here already of quickly developing in some of the hosts so the ethics of what their role is in an entertainment park get's all kinds of messy. In fairness there is only really one sympathetic human character introduced so far.