Westworld (2016)

[ceecee]

"Evolution forged the entirety of sentient life in this world using only one tool: mistake." Of course it would have to be a Dr. Ford line.

This was backstory week for a whole bunch of characters...

Charlie - not 100% sure on how he died but this seems to be a situation where Bernard tried to save him and couldn't.

Delores - I love the direction this is going. One thing is sure - Bernard has tremendous guilt about Charlie and what is happening with Delores is a direct result of that guilt. He could have stopped it but chose not to, he wants to see how this goes. Directly to finding a gun in a haystack and one that she can shoot, never mind that no one programmed her to do so.

Bernard - Has a wife, a girlfriend who happens to be his boss and an employee (Elsie) who is going to figure out what the fuck is going on.

Elsie and Stubbs - Woah. Hosts don't fight back. Hosts aren't programmed to commit suicide with a huge rock either. But I wish I knew more about what the host was actually doing with the bloody hand prints. Stubbs is Del Spooner in I, Robot in many ways too. He doesn't trust the hosts as far as he can throw them.

Teddy - The new Wyatt story line Dr. Ford stuck in his head is interesting but I want something better for Teddy.

William - Not much of him this week but what he was in was enough. Now that he knows the guests can get shot, I'm hoping he uses it on his soon to be brother in law.

Random guests - I love how they let the experiences go way beyond what they signed up for. HOLY FUCK!! hehe. Plus they aren't taking any time to really flesh out the guests, other than William. Showing they are as expendable as the hosts.

Who thinks the Man in Black is Arnold? Who thinks the oil rig thing topped with a cross out in the park has something to do with Arnold? Who thinks the voice Delores hears and the voice of god Wyatt heard was Arnold?

A little slower than the first two episodes but it needed to be. Still pretty riveting. A-/B+

 

[Totenkindly]

Here's the James Hibbert recap in case someone wants a review of what happened:
Westworld recap: Season 1, Episode 3 | EW.com

Also, interviews with Nolan and Joy:
Westworld showrunners answer episode 3 questions | EW.com

"Teddy Gets Triggered" (one of Hibbert's subheads) -- haha.
But yes, Teddy does deserve better. Listening to him and Delores talk, I feel bad for him.

My least favorite of the three episodes, but that's not saying it was a bad episode -- it essentially was an "advance each of the plots by a step" episode and laid groundwork for future revelation.

Hey, the Bicameral Mind! I don't think I've seen entertainment-related discussions on this ever since Cloud Atlas and "Old Georgie."

 

[Totenkindly]

I thought episode 4 was pretty decent. It had a lot of forward movement on the active external plotlines ("Wyatt" and the maze, etc.), but also the ongoing awakenings of Delores and Maeve.

- I liked it when Maeve sketches out that picture, flips up the board to her hiding place, and then recoils... I knew what she'd find... a number of pictures she'd ALREADY drawn and then had promptly forgotten about after her nightly wipe.
- Cool ending sequence between her and hector as she barters the safe combo for more information. it's interesting how "reality" is becoming their mythology in some ways, with the clean-up crew being viewed as the demons from hell who oversee the "damned" inhabitants of Westworld.
- What's Bernard's game with Delores? Now he's directing her towards the Maze with an implicit promise of freedom if she succeeds.
- Ford tells Cullen to stay out of his business.
- Hughes bitches about how everyone has a freaking agenda (don't you know it!), Bernard points out the carvings of Orion aren't even correct.... but what does that mean exactly?

With that opening sequence with Delores, I like how what she says seems to rattle Bernard a bit because it's not what he expected .And then he asks her whether that was something she had heard, and she explains how it was something from one of her loops that she incorporated into her own idea. Isn't that what human beings do? Nothing is really entirely original -- we hear/experience things and then we synthesize and extrapolate, using them as a basis as we conjecture further. Is the android thinking process much different from how humans think? It doesn't seem like it, sometimes.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Someone help a sister out- is there some way to watch these without subscribing to HBO? I'm something of a media luddite. I know my way around Netflix and a broadcast antenna, and that's it. (I have tried looking at the HBO site itself, but can't quite figure out if its available to get single episodes.)


I loved the original movie, if only because I happen to have a thing for campy 'political statement' 70s sci-fi, so I was 15 kinds of excited to hear Jonathon Nolan turned this into a series. There was also originally a sequel (Futureworld, which I seem to remember liking more than the first one) and a series (which I haven't seen).

 

[ceecee]

Someone help a sister out- is there some way to watch these without subscribing to HBO? I'm something of a media luddite. I know my way around Netflix and a broadcast antenna, and that's it. (I have tried looking at the HBO site itself, but can't quite figure out if its available to get single episodes.)


I loved the original movie, if only because I happen to have a thing for campy 'political statement' 70s sci-fi, so I was 15 kinds of excited to hear Jonathon Nolan turned this into a series. There was also originally a sequel (Futureworld, which I seem to remember liking more than the first one) and a series (which I haven't seen).

HBO Now which is the streaming site for people that don't subscribe to HBO itself.

All The Ways To Watch HBO Without Cable | Grounded Reason

 

[ceecee]

I thought episode 4 was pretty decent. It had a lot of forward movement on the active external plotlines ("Wyatt" and the maze, etc.), but also the ongoing awakenings of Delores and Maeve.

- I liked it when Maeve sketches out that picture, flips up the board to her hiding place, and then recoils... I knew what she'd find... a number of pictures she'd ALREADY drawn and then had promptly forgotten about after her nightly wipe.
- Cool ending sequence between her and hector as she barters the safe combo for more information. it's interesting how "reality" is becoming their mythology in some ways, with the clean-up crew being viewed as the demons from hell who overview Westworld.
- What's Bernard's game with Delores? Now he's directing her towards the Maze with an implicit promise of freedom if she succeeds.
- Ford tells Cullen to stay out of his business.
- Hughes bitches about how everyone has a freaking agenda (don't you know it!), Bernard points out the carvings of Orion aren't even correct.... but what does that mean exactly?

With that opening sequence with Delores, I like how what she says seems to rattle Bernard a bit because it's not what he expected .And then he asks her whether that was something she had heard, and she explains how it was something from one of her loops that she incorporated into her own idea. Isn't that what human beings do? Nothing is really entirely original -- we hear/experience things and then we synthesize and extrapolate, using them as a basis as we conjecture further. Is the android thinking process much different from how humans think?

Delores does always rattle Bernard. Kind of how you're surprised by something your child says - it seems to be a similar thing here. I liked this episode very much, I have been waiting for Dr. Ford to go ominously threatening on someone and I'm sort of happy it was Theresa.

I seriously think Stubbs is a host. I don't think Elise knows this yet but she will.

I think The MiB has to be the Delos board member that Theresa was unaware of. This is why he gets whatever he wants. It's also why he's a philanthropist outside the park.

I've read several theories about Arnold being William but I don't think so.

 

[JocktheMotie]

I'm in on this show due to the subject matter, the actors, the writers, it's creative history, etc.

However it still seems to be table setting, which is driving me somewhat mad. My wife is out on it already, I think. There are moments of real power and impressiveness. I can point to great scenes every week (this week, Ford's lunch with Cullen was excellent, malevolent, tense) however I don't think it's had a great episode yet and seems unfocused for now, which is an element of the worldbuilding, but nothing of consequence has happened yet. I'm waiting for the "the park has lost power and fences are down" moment and I can't tell if we're even close yet and it's just taking too long to occur.

In a way, the mystery of certain things (are there split timelines? Who is the man in black? Are some people we think are people really hosts?) is so mysterious it's preventing a degree of emotional investment so when/if these things are finally revealed I may not find them as important because of that lacking connection.

 

[ceecee]

I'm in on this show due to the subject matter, the actors, the writers, it's creative history, etc.

However it still seems to be table setting, which is driving me somewhat mad. My wife is out on it already, I think. There are moments of real power and impressiveness. I can point to great scenes every week (this week, Ford's lunch with Cullen was excellent, malevolent, tense) however I don't think it's had a great episode yet and seems unfocused for now, which is an element of the worldbuilding, but nothing of consequence has happened yet. I'm waiting for the "the park has lost power and fences are down" moment and I can't tell if we're even close yet and it's just taking too long to occur.

In a way, the mystery of certain things (are there split timelines? Who is the man in black? Are some people we think are people really hosts?) is so mysterious it's preventing a degree of emotional investment so when/if these things are finally revealed I may not find them as important because of that lacking connection.

Yes, go all Jurassic Park on them. I hope the host playing the T-Rex eats Logan first.

 

[Totenkindly]

.. that could be bad for park funding, considering what we know about Logan.

But I'd feel worse for the T-Rex.

 

[Totenkindly]

So it looks like Ford's counterpart's influence might be even less far-gone than we've imagined.

Multiple great scenes tonight, enough I probably forgot some already. I'm glad they gave Hughes a chance to throw her weight around a bit; that was amusing.

There was also a moment when based on the tension and the closeness, I madly thought Logan and William were going to kiss.

I'll save the rest for later, but I'm glad Hopkins is around for the ride.

EDIT:

Okay, it's later.

1. more questions on whether some of the humans are actually hosts. Stubbs is one who is commonly thrown out there, although it would be a huge flaw to make the guy in charge of keeping the robots down/in line a robot himself. My best bet right now is that Bernard is likely to be a host, based on his demeanor, and how he interacts with the other hosts -- he doesn't force them to unclothe, for example, even though Ford does.

2. Great scene between Ford and MIB, although a little on the nose. Pretty gripping when he draws the knife and Teddy immediately leaps into action despite self-harm in order to lock that shit down. Ford really is god; I love how the world responds to his barest of signals. He doesn't have to do a thing to trigger Teddy into action, and I love Hopkins' casting since he does "unflappable" so well. Honestly, MIB isn't surprised either at Teddy's response. But we get more of the backstory here and the Arnold subplot grows.

3. Maeve and Dolores are both venturing outside their assigned paths... they're becoming conscious/more autonomous.

4. Who is transmitting data/secret info outside Westworld and why?

5. Logon and William might not longer be buds. I wonder what happens when they leave Westworld.

6. I've heard some say that William and MIB might be same character 30 years later. I would have to review all the data because I'm not sure they have kept everything separate scene-wise. That kind of twist (where you assume they are all in the same time stream but aren't) is a great one but might not work based on what's already been shown, simply as far as Ford's appearance.

7. Is Pete the gen 1 robot Ford talks to? I love the CGI work on him, where he can't even blink in sync and he moves rather jerkily. It's eerie and perfect.

8. Ah, finally the trademark HBO brothel/orgy scene. At least we have both genders. And there's a few peen shots this episode. Is that their way of balancing the spoils?

9. Is Dolores becoming autonomous, or is she just following Arnold's orders to "destroy WestWorld"? And what is this plot? ANd when will we see Arnold? Dolores can actually deny Ford's commands; that's pretty crazy.

This might be a "rewatch" episode because there's so much data packed in the dialogue.

 

[ceecee]

So it looks like Ford's counterpart's influence might be even less far-gone than we've imagined.

Multiple great scenes tonight, enough I probably forgot some already. I'm glad they gave Hughes a chance to throw her weight around a bit; that was amusing.

There was also a moment when based on the tension and the closeness, I madly thought Logan and William were going to kiss.

I'll save the rest for later, but I'm glad Hopkins is around for the ride.

EDIT:

Okay, it's later.

1. more questions on whether some of the humans are actually hosts. Stubbs is one who is commonly thrown out there, although it would be a huge flaw to make the guy in charge of keeping the robots down/in line a robot himself. My best bet right now is that Bernard is likely to be a host, based on his demeanor, and how he interacts with the other hosts -- he doesn't force them to unclothe, for example, even though Ford does.

2. Great scene between Ford and MIB, although a little on the nose. Pretty gripping when he draws the knife and Teddy immediately leaps into action despite self-harm in order to lock that shit down. Ford really is god; I love how the world responds to his barest of signals. He doesn't have to do a thing to trigger Teddy into action, and I love Hopkins' casting since he does "unflappable" so well. Honestly, MIB isn't surprised either at Teddy's response. But we get more of the backstory here and the Arnold subplot grows.

3. Maeve and Dolores are both venturing outside their assigned paths... they're becoming conscious/more autonomous.

4. Who is transmitting data/secret info outside Westworld and why?

5. Logon and William might not longer be buds. I wonder what happens when they leave Westworld.

6. I've heard some say that William and MIB might be same character 30 years later. I would have to review all the data because I'm not sure they have kept everything separate scene-wise. That kind of twist (where you assume they are all in the same time stream but aren't) is a great one but might not work based on what's already been shown, simply as far as Ford's appearance.

7. Is Pete the gen 1 robot Ford talks to? I love the CGI work on him, where he can't even blink in sync and he moves rather jerkily. It's eerie and perfect.

8. Ah, finally the trademark HBO brothel/orgy scene. At least we have both genders. And there's a few peen shots this episode. Is that their way of balancing the spoils?

9. Is Dolores becoming autonomous, or is she just following Arnold's orders to "destroy WestWorld"? And what is this plot? ANd when will we see Arnold? Dolores can actually deny Ford's commands; that's pretty crazy.

This might be a "rewatch" episode because there's so much data packed in the dialogue.

This is definitely a rewatch episode and I'm very happy Hopkins is around for the ride as well.

Maeve - woah. Yeah, we need to talk.

Delores - We know she's going off script but it's so fun watching just how much she's going off script. I think Arnold is guiding her but she is winging some of this.

Lawrence - Interesting. A wee bit creepy. There is more to this I'm sure.

Stubbs - He seems like the one that could be a host but I agree, that's just stupid to have an inmate running the asylum so to speak.

Loved Ford just sauntering on on Teddy and the MiB.

Giant penis man - I think they put him in there to distract the women from HBO's rape fetish but the orgy was evenly balanced, I'll give them that.

I knew Elise would find the shit going down. Knew it.

I also like the Pete conversations, even when he zips himself into a body bag. He's almost less creepy because of all his old age imperfections/glitches.

William and Logan - lots happening this week. I want to see just how bad Logan goes so no one eat him, just kick the shit out of him.

 

[Totenkindly]

Biggest Easter eggs in Westworld

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

 

[Ivy]

The first episode was mind-blowing. I'm still hooked, as I like a slow burn, but I'm also like y'all, waiting for shit to go down. Last week was pretty exciting.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

 

[ceecee]

Ok on rewatch I paid more attention to the Dr Ford/Delores interaction.

The satellite up link in the suicide host. Was Dr. Ford looking for the same thing under the skin in Delores' hand? Does he know someone is stealing stuff out of the park? I don't think Bernard was aware before Elise showed him, though.

 

[ceecee]

This is so a rewatch episode but....

I had a couple margaritas tonight so when the boy Robert's head split open for analysis....I probably shouldn't have picked tequlia.

 

[Totenkindly]

Well... Maeve just became a handful. Shit just got real.

What I find really fascinating about all this is all the disparity between the knowledge of the people in the high towers versus those working on the ground... or in the basements. The guys upstairs (except for maybe Ford, and now Bernard?) really have no idea what kind of crap is going on at ground floor or what danger they could be in. Just all these little erosions, but once they give, everything is going up at once.

- Maeve's INT score was capped at 14, the max for a host. Someone hinted that the hosts could be smarter than actual humans. Now she's at a 20. Hoo boy. Apparently the reason the techs couldn't just wipe her over a faked "incident" will be explained better in episode 8; but also, someone powerful was obviously already tinkering with her, who would want to attract their wrath by wiping her?
- So the young Robert and the old Robert hang out. Who wouldn't want to mentor their younger self?
- Is Arnold alive? Or dead? or an AI somewhere? He's obviously still active.
- Teddy. His awareness of his backstory was a shock to him and to the audience, perhaps. But then what he does next... I was laughing but also WTF'ing throughout. Shit, but this is not the kind gentle Teddy we knew. Who is he really, especially when his memories can be changed on the fly by a programmer? even the MIB is both impressed and cowed.
- Did y'all catch the Gunslinger homage in the basement? Just a brief image.
- Elsie. Dear lord, I knew that was gonna happen. Hopefully since they were playing the trope so shamelessly, they had something different in mind than the expected.
- So Theresa is piping out info so she'll have some hole cards against Ford?
- It still never gets old to see Ford walk into a scene, say a single word... and everything STOPS. That whole God complex... it's eerie. It makes me wonder how often God walks through my sea of cubicles and I just never remember it.

This is so a rewatch episode but....

I had a couple margaritas tonight so when the boy Robert's head split open for analysis....I probably shouldn't have picked tequlia.

ha.... that bit was rather impressive and rather terrifying. Talk about wanting to pick someone's brain...

 

[ceecee]

Well... Maeve just became a handful. Shit just got real.

What I find really fascinating about all this is all the disparity between the knowledge of the people in the high towers versus those working on the ground... or in the basements. The guys upstairs (except for maybe Ford, and now Bernard?) really have no idea what kind of crap is going on at ground floor or what danger they could be in. Just all these little erosions, but once they give, everything is going up at once.

- Maeve's INT score was capped at 14, the max for a host. Someone hinted that the hosts could be smarter than actual humans. Now she's at a 20. Hoo boy. Apparently the reason the techs couldn't just wipe her over a faked "incident" will be explained better in episode 8; but also, someone powerful was obviously already tinkering with her, who would want to attract their wrath by wiping her?
- So the young Robert and the old Robert hang out. Who wouldn't want to mentor their younger self?
- Is Arnold alive? Or dead? or an AI somewhere? He's obviously still active.
- Teddy. His awareness of his backstory was a shock to him and to the audience, perhaps. But then what he does next... I was laughing but also WTF'ing throughout. Shit, but this is not the kind gentle Teddy we knew. Who is he really, especially when his memories can be changed on the fly by a programmer? even the MIB is both impressed and cowed.
- Did y'all catch the Gunslinger homage in the basement? Just a brief image.
- Elsie. Dear lord, I knew that was gonna happen. Hopefully since they were playing the trope so shamelessly, they had something different in mind than the expected.
- So Theresa is piping out info so she'll have some hole cards against Ford?
- It still never gets old to see Ford walk into a scene, say a single word... and everything STOPS. That whole God complex... it's eerie. It makes me wonder how often God walks through my sea of cubicles and I just never remember it.

ha.... that bit was rather impressive and rather terrifying. Talk about wanting to pick someone's brain...

I liked the Easter egg in the corner. I thought....they wouldn't have had him down in the basement for this long....yes they would. This episode was so tense, so good. Even if people are irritated with the pace, they had to appreciate this episode. I'm not irritated with the pace but I hear and read that fairly often, except this episode was very urgent. I also loved the score.

Maeve - You knew this was coming. Now that she is smarter than everyone else, her potential is terrifying or it should be. Delores has help with becoming self-aware but Maeve, not much. Suicide by cop (or guest) to get back to Felix. And did anyone expect Sylvester to be more than a placeholder in this story line? I didn't. Watching her watching the advertisement upstairs was heartbreaking. Thandie Newton is so impressive.

Teddy - Dude! You mowed down every single solider in that garrison. Good. That little comment about going to get Delores - I don't think that's programming. Because he wouldn't have said it or said it to the MiB. And he's trying not to get killed. That's new and it seems to be a trend with the hosts.

Elise - Knew it. She should have taken spare Hemsworth (Stubbs) with her. I had a quick thought that Yul Brenner grabbed her and frankly, if that happened, I wouldn't be shocked and Westworld would become the greatest show of all time.

Bernard - I knew what that cottage was immediately and even though the head splitting was freaky, this is the beauty the MiB was bitching about in the last episode. Oh what is he going to do now. Theresa, Elise, who knows what else is going to befall this guy.

Theresa - is a Bond villain. Was this a surprise to anyone? I'm not totally happy about this, I was hoping for more depth maybe but I'll accept it.

Lee Sizemore - Who pees that much?? And how did you manage to gross out one of your bosses? I'm hoping they don't fire him because I like his character. Or they can fire him and he can hole up in the park.

Dr. Ford - The God stuff doesn't get old and Hopkins is well, perfect in the role. He obviously has deep issues but his host family, it's pretty black and horrifying. All the worst traits but I loved the way he stroked his brother's hair.

Arnold - I don't even know if it matters what his form is now. Does anyone think Dr. Ford killed him or, did he off himself like Dr. Lanning in "I, Robot" so he could send his message.

Delores - Delos- Delores. And please don't crack open her head for analysis. We didn't need to see any Delores/William/Logan story line this week.

I came across this on Variety and I thought I'd throw it up for thoughts...

• Speaking of the lower level, the old computer terminal that Bernard uses there shows a different Westworld logo than the one displayed throughout most of the show. But we have seen that logo at least one other time — when William and Logan first arrived.