Jump to content

HBO's "Westworld" [Spoilers!]


AncalagonTheBlack

Recommended Posts

15 hours ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

On reflection, the idea that the MiB gets whatever he wants, I am starting to think this hints to a deeper connection between him and Ford...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure MiB, who is a host, has been tampered with by Anthony Hopkins so that he questions his reality. That would be the new story line that Hopkins was talking about at the end of the second episode. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Theda Baratheon said:

I don't know why I'm so anti MiB robot 

Me too, given I was anti-host in episode 1. I guess a fair compromise is still a host that thinks he is human. Afterall, if you can't tell the difference, what does it matter?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just watched the '73 movie.  

I think that the TV is just using the general premise without any connection.  The movie is really just the machines turn on humans.  There is nothing alluded to memories or anything why the Robots turned on the humans.  It is just there been some glitches and then they turn murderous.  Though it was a general machine uprising since the controllers lost everything and even became trapped in the Control Room since everything was automated (It is presumed they suffocated to death since that part really just stopped).

There is actually I kind of innocence in the movie.  The guest do shot and all but it is not really a dark malice that the TV has on this.  It is really done as some innocent fun. No real hint of Rape or Torture being a draw for the guest.  There is one scene at the very end that could maybe point to this but I think it will be a stretch.  

Between this and Jurrasic Park I think Michael Critchton had a really bad experience in Disneyland or really hates the whole concept of Amusement Park like Disneyland.

FYI, it was On-demand on Syfy with my provider Comcast and schedule to end tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, TheKitttenGuard said:

I just watched the '73 movie.  

I think that the TV is just using the general premise without any connection.  The movie is really just the machines turn on humans.  There is nothing alluded to memories or anything why the Robots turned on the humans.  It is just there been some glitches and then they turn murderous.  Though it was a general machine uprising since the controllers lost everything and even became trapped in the Control Room since everything was automated (It is presumed they suffocated to death since that part really just stopped).

There is actually I kind of innocence in the movie.  The guest do shot and all but it is not really a dark malice that the TV has on this.  It is really done as some innocent fun. No real hint of Rape or Torture being a draw for the guest.  There is one scene at the very end that could maybe point to this but I think it will be a stretch.  

Between this and Jurrasic Park I think Michael Critchton had a really bad experience in Disneyland or really hates the whole concept of Amusement Park like Disneyland.

FYI, it was On-demand on Syfy with my provider Comcast and schedule to end tomorrow.

I wish it had been a book. Also I agree, it was really sanitized for the most part. The show is really sinister, watching Logan stab the prospector in the hand was tough to watch. The if you can't tell does it really matter thing is exactly right. 

Was it a scene in Medieval World or Roman World? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

48 minutes ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

I wish it had been a book. Also I agree, it was really sanitized for the most part. The show is really sinister, watching Logan stab the prospector in the hand was tough to watch. The if you can't tell does it really matter thing is exactly right. 

Was it a scene in Medieval World or Roman World? 

It is at the very end in Medieval World.

Spoiler

The survivor saved a woman chained up in the dungeon.  He found out she was a Robot when he made her drink some water.

There is really no context so I do not know if it is some part of a story or if a guest did it planning on doing something when the Robots turned.  The movie did not indicate that they ran a story program like it in show but it is ambiguous.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quite intriguing couple of episodes. I'm hooked.

Bit confused with the timeline though. What do the guests do while the hosts are reset at the end of the day? Thought maybe they leave the park and arrive back on the train again the next morning but Ed Harris seems to remain there constantly. But I guess it'll all be answered. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Monkey said:

Quite intriguing couple of episodes. I'm hooked.

Bit confused with the timeline though. What do the guests do while the hosts are reset at the end of the day? Thought maybe they leave the park and arrive back on the train again the next morning but Ed Harris seems to remain there constantly. But I guess it'll all be answered. 

I think they stay at lodging within the park. 

On the website it is mention at the end they stay at a luxury result while they re-adjust to the real world since they were fully immersed in the world. If they leave and come back everyday it definitely breaks the immersion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Monkey said:

Bit confused with the timeline though. What do the guests do while the hosts are reset at the end of the day? Thought maybe they leave the park and arrive back on the train again the next morning but Ed Harris seems to remain there constantly. But I guess it'll all be answered. 

The biggest negative, so far for me, is that we don't really know how the park works...it's enough that it's distracting for me.  We've seen the same story (Delores going to town, dropping the can of food, etc.) start...what 4 or 5 times now?  How long does it take between resets?  It can't be every day - there are guests that stay for longer than that.  In episode one, when they brought the bandit to town, the technician said something like "we have to advance the story by a week" - so clearly some of the storylines play out over a significant period of time.

I imagine it's like Disney World - you can get a 1 day pass, or maybe up to 2 weeks.  I also wonder how they control some guests from completely screwing over the storylines for other guests.  Someone could be a few days into a storyline, and then someone could just come in and gun down all the hosts "just for fun", thereby screwing over a storyline that another guest was invested in. 

And I can sort of buy the "magic bullets" that hurt only hosts, and not guests...but as someone mentioned upthread, what about knives or other more direct combat?  Like in the 2nd episode where the one guest stabs the town drunk through the hand...I can't imagine how they could prevent him from doing that to another guest. 

Maybe they'll explain some of this...but I expect not.  I think we're just supposed to not worry too much about these things...but they're bothersome enough to me, that it takes me out of the story a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, HokieStone said:

The biggest negative, so far for me, is that we don't really know how the park works...it's enough that it's distracting for me.  We've seen the same story (Delores going to town, dropping the can of food, etc.) start...what 4 or 5 times now?  How long does it take between resets?  It can't be every day - there are guests that stay for longer than that.  In episode one, when they brought the bandit to town, the technician said something like "we have to advance the story by a week" - so clearly some of the storylines play out over a significant period of time.

I don't think there's anything to suggest they reset every day. Some people assumed so after the first episode when Teddy died and then was on the train again in the next scene, but that was just from his perspective. Weeks could have passed for all we know. We know it takes them time to repair the hosts and presumably to repair the sets. It's worth noting that the Man in Black is the only guest from the pilot to appear in the second episode. Though that could be a production thing, as they probably filmed the pilot before the series was greenlit. 

58 minutes ago, HokieStone said:

And I can sort of buy the "magic bullets" that hurt only hosts, and not guests...but as someone mentioned upthread, what about knives or other more direct combat?  Like in the 2nd episode where the one guest stabs the town drunk through the hand...I can't imagine how they could prevent him from doing that to another guest.

What gets me is the stabbing occurred in the town. The family friendly place where the kids are. As did that huge shooting that was advanced up a week. So I'm not really getting how the town is safe and kid friendly. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, RumHam said:

I don't think there's anything to suggest they reset every day. Some people assumed so after the first episode when Teddy died and then was on the train again in the next scene, but that was just from his perspective. Weeks could have passed for all we know. We know it takes them time to repair the hosts and presumably to repair the sets. It's worth noting that the Man in Black is the only guest from the pilot to appear in the second episode. Though that could be a production thing, as they probably filmed the pilot before the series was greenlit. 

What gets me is the stabbing occurred in the town. The family friendly place where the kids are. As did that huge shooting that was advanced up a week. So I'm not really getting how the town is safe and kid friendly. 

Isn't the family friendly part of the park south of the river?

I think certain parts of the story like the bandits raiding the town, that are main parts of the story that can be advanced. Teddy, Delores and Maeve are essentially just filler and can be reset, not necessarily everyday but it's possible they could be.  

And the family friendly part of the park is south of the river I think. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

Isn't the family friendly part of the park south of the river?

I think certain parts of the story like the bandits raiding the town, that are main parts of the story that can be advanced. Teddy, Delores and Maeve are essentially just filler and can be reset, not necessarily everyday but it's possible they could be.  

And the family friendly part of the park is south of the river I think. 

Oh, I thought it was the center and the further out you went the worse things got.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

On the first episode when Delores told them south of the river was ok but bandits were on the otherside. I was shocked to see families there at all.  

So does the river cut through the town? I could have sworn at one point I heard someone say something to the effect of "stay in the town and you'll be fine." But I could be mistaken. 

Edit: It does make sense that they'd have half the town dry and family friendly and the other half with all the bars and brothels and gunfights. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally saw the first two episodes. Really fantastic stuff so far, and I can't wait for the episode tonight. The visuals, the writing, the themes, its striking all the right notes for me. I hope it does well, because I think HBO has their new big hit for after Game of Thrones wraps up. I've caught up on the thread here and have a few thoughts:

-I love the game NPC/Skyrim comparisons, and I fully agree that the park is going off a 'daily reset for hosts not caught up in a longer storyline with a guest' system. This doesn't seem like the best system (what a waste, having to repair damaged hosts when no guest even witnessed the damage; and for hosts that are doing a multi-day thing, I'd think them seeing their fellow hosts repeating themselves would be cause for concern).

-I think the MiB is a host, but not a host of Westworld. I think there's an Inception think going on (it is a Nolan after all) and most of the behind-the-scenes folks are themselves hosts (there may also be a thing where some of them are guests who don't realize they're guests, thinking they are in the real world already). I think the MiB is a host on that level, and is the only one of the characters we've met so far besides Ford who knows about it. Or maybe he only suspects it.

-I don't think there's a Roman World or Medieval World. I do think there may be multiple Westworlds though, with all the same hosts, and that not all the guests we've met are all in the same one. When Maeve was running through the facility, I was positive she was going to run into another copy of herself. It didn't happen, but I think a reveal like that is going to happen at some point.

-I don't think this a True Detective-situation, where a lot of the main cast are only in this first season. I'm pretty sure I remember reading that the writers spec'd out a five-season arc, and I think a lot of the cast will be there all the way through (or at least for a few seasons). Even Anthony Hopkins I could see being around for a few seasons. Its not a huge part, or a very physically demanding one, so I'm sure it doesn't take too much of his time to film it; and while I'm sure he's paid very well for it, I don't think its an astronomical amount. I suspect he and Ed Harris are both in the $250,000 per episode range, with none of the other cast anywhere close to that. Salaries are probably quite a bit lower overall than Game of Thrones are after the contract renewals that it went through last year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...