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

K

Kenzodielocke

Banned
So about the robots shooting each other.

Those are not real bullets, are they? Is it just running a script, "hey, you got shot there so it has to bleed there and you have to die ?"
 
Z

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
So if the hosts are programmed not to hurt the guests how does teddy shoot at the man in black? /ed harris?

And how do seemingly real bullets that fuck up the other hosts not fuck up the guests? Ed Harris had like sparks flying of for him when he was getting shot? Maybe some sort of low impact bullets that the hosts bodies self destruct to when their hit detection goes off?

And yeah could a host use a knife to kill a guest?

The ed Harris scene mad it seem like the guests are invincible somehow.
 
D

duckroll

Member
The Jackdog said:
so is this a "sequel"?

They talk about not having an incident or critical failure in 30 or 40 years, they arent talking about the original are they?
Click to expand...

I don't think it is a sequel. I think they just want the setting to be such that the park has been active for decades. This allows more narrative room for technological advances and secrets. Lots of secrets.
 
L

LegendofDragoonLives

Member
Damn this is such a great concept, Nolan Bro delivers after already making one of the best shows of the last few years. Lots of plotlines happening all at once, from Hopkins being sketchy and likely doing something to the robots, to what the shareholders want, the man in black, Doloris, her dad, and it looks like the guy that dies a lot will likely play a huge role. I thought he was a human for a while until he got killed the first time.

The meet your maker was definitely the best part of the episode. Creepy foreshadowing, I wonder if Hopkins makes it to season 2.

9.5/10 on the pilot
 
L

LegendofDragoonLives

Member
zeemumu said:
Watching the show now.


How long until James Marsden loses everything he ever loved to the actual main character?


Edit: oh my god that was awful. James Marsden can't catch a break in anything he's in. It's like Sean Bean and dying.
Click to expand...
I've always liked him as an actor and thought he is very underrated. Should have been in more dramas than rom coms IMO. I hope he has a unique redemption arc, as he seems like the only truly good person and has gotten rekt twice already in just 1 episode. :(
 
M

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
golem said:
My guess is the more traumatic the experience, the more likely it is to be retained. I'm thinking in the future the repaired dealer will remember this and then remember the map is inside of his scalp

That doesn't necessarily mean he isnt a sociopath however
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While that may have been something they were going for, the actor who played that character died after the pilot was shot two years ago.
 
B

BattleMonkey

Member
ZOONAMI said:
So if the hosts are programmed not to hurt the guests how does teddy shoot at the man in black? /ed harris?

And how do seemingly real bullets that fuck up the other hosts not fuck up the guests? Ed Harris had like sparks flying of for him when he was getting shot? Maybe some sort of low impact bullets that the hosts bodies self destruct to when their hit detection goes off?

And yeah could a host use a knife to kill a guest?

The ed Harris scene mad it seem like the guests are invincible somehow.
Click to expand...

The robots could kill, but they are programmed not to. So even if they had a real knife, they just would not stab a person.
 
K

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Pilot was actually better than I hoped, so I am on board too.

One thing that I really appreciated and found fascinating was how successfully the pilot crafted the sense of unease that one can get from a theme park, only taken to a new level. I've always found going to parks full of false fronts and scaled-down recreations of real places can be creepy. Where environments are designed to evoke a real and functional place, but it's all a set. There is a sense of unreality that teeters on the line between dreamlike and nightmarish.

It is a reason why the decision to follow the lives of the hosts is so interesting here. You are seeing the fake world from the perspective of the mechanisms within the attractions. And it seems the story is in large part going to be about how emerging intelligence copes with being raised in a world that doesn't, ultimately, make any sense.
 
L

labx

Banned
More_Badass said:
I think that says more about the character than it being a plothole. He seems to be able to 1) stay out in the world and 2) capture and dismantle hosts, without management realizing or caring

Seems to imply he knows more about the inner workings of the Westworld operations and the hosts than the average guest.
Click to expand...

I see, so maybe he is in there serving other interests. Cool.
 
D

dave is ok

aztek is ok
They did a really good job showing throughout the episode that the hosts had nothing programmed for flies, but it made the fly swat at the end kind of predictable. Still a cool scene.
 
D

DSN2K

Member
I feel Ford is definitely not in the dark with what is going "wrong". He seemed impressed infact with what was happening as was Lowe from a technical point of view.
 
T

Theorry

Member
At first i was like wut?
But more and more towards the end it became better and better. I was ready for a another episode right away.
 
T

TimeEffect

Member
Pocks said:
Teddy is a host, or android. He got shot by a character who is guest, and guests can do whatever they want to hosts. We don't really have many details on the "evil guy" other than what he has said about himself, e.g. that he's a longtime guest of over 30 years. It is unknown why the company doesn't know or isn't concerned about his actions.
Click to expand...

But why is teddy on the train? I thought that train was for guests. So teddy is a.i interacting with the a.i girl? And ed is real?

So his fantasy is to play the bad guy and rape the girl?

Why is Ed trying to open up robots and find out about them? What's he looking for?
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
TimeEffect said:
But why is teddy on the train? I thought that train was for guests. So teddy is a.i interacting with the a.i girl? And ed is real?

So his fantasy is to play the bad guy and rape the girl?

Why is Ed trying to open up robots and find out about them? What's he looking for?
Click to expand...

The hosts run through their own little scenarios and the guests bump into them. Teddy is on the train so guest can marvel at him before they get into the town. It's the same with Delores painting. Maybe nobody interacts with her while she is doing that, but that family did so they got a unique little experience. The hosts go through their routines no matter what, a guest doesn't have to be around for them to do it. So they go through their daily script, and after themselves onto a different loop if they interact with a guest.

As for the othet stuff, keep watching the show lol
 
B

BattleMonkey

Member
TimeEffect said:
But why is teddy on the train? I thought that train was for guests. So teddy is a.i interacting with the a.i girl? And ed is real?

So his fantasy is to play the bad guy and rape the girl?

Why is Ed trying to open up robots and find out about them? What's he looking for?
Click to expand...

He's just more window dressing, as pointed out on the 2nd trip, the guests recognize Teddy is one of the bots
 
M

More_Badass

Member
For people thinking "why bring kids", remember this place has been around for 30+ years. It's an established known institution. None of it's real. It's just robots and special effects. Bringing a kid here is like letting a kid watch a violent horror movie if they're mature enough, along with likely being akin to going to Disney World for the first time
 
G

golem

Member
More_Badass said:
For people thinking "why bring kids", remember this place has been around for 30+ years. It's an established known institution. None of it's real. It's just robots and special effects. Bringing a kid here is like letting a kid watch a violent horror movie if they're mature enough, along with likely being akin to going to Disney World for the first time
Click to expand...

Yeah I dont know why people are so mystified by this. Media/entertainment violence in America has always treated as appropriate for pretty much all ages and this is just a progression of that. The episode even takes time to show that the kid knows its fake. I would also guess that the visitors get some say in which parts of the various plots they get exposed to, perhaps the lake was a more kid friendly zone
 
G

Geist-

Member
golem said:
Yeah I dont know why people are so mystified by this. Media/entertainment violence in America has always treated as appropriate for pretty much all ages and this is just a progression of that. The episode even takes time to show that the kid knows its fake. I would also guess that the visitors get some say in which parts of the various plots they get exposed to, perhaps the lake was a more kid friendly zone
Click to expand...
Exactly, Westworld is obviously a big place, there are probably many family oriented plots and areas. It's like if you take a vacation to a city, while you can take your family out to the landmarks and tourist attractions, there's still a red light district out there.

otapnam said:
Ed's character said something about see how you work before scalping the guy. Maybe he's in the to research as well
Click to expand...
That's what I got out of his character. He's trying to find out something, maybe what Westworld is actually for, or industrial secrets.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
I love how the show established such a bleak unsettling tone. We've seen concepts like this before, but I don't recall any being so unnerving. The way the artitical nature makes Western town life seem uneasy to wach unfold. The innerworkings of the company with their detached behavior and cold storage.

otapnam said:
Ed's character said something about see how you work before scalping the guy. Maybe he's in the to research as well
Click to expand...
He also methodically drained the host's blood. To see how they react/behave/move in a low power state? Because being near "death" triggers some programming reaction that he needed to occur in the "brain"? One shouldn't assume what he does is just because of sadism
 
K

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I'll admit, from a real world videogame point of view, I liked how the problem of accounting for the actions of human players is a major plot point. It's a good foundation for a plot about unintended consequences, since that is what gives real game designers headaches when trying to think of all the angles people will attack the game from.

More_Badass said:
For people thinking "why bring kids", remember this place has been around for 30+ years. It's an established known institution. None of it's real. It's just robots and special effects. Bringing a kid here is like letting a kid watch a violent horror movie if they're mature enough, along with likely being akin to going to Disney World for the first time
Click to expand...

In addition to this, I'm wondering if there will be some commentary in the story about the nature of increasing violence in media and entertainment. Even the lead writer for the hosts expresses doubt at how they keep pushing things.

Maybe by the time that Westworld takes place in, the violence of seeing a realistic gun go off and a squib full of fake blood burst out of an "actor" isn't seen as inherently too intense for a younger child.

Edit: also, there were the guests who talked about the really crazy shit happening outside of town. Since the hosts try to guide the guests and account for their safety, it's probably a safe bet that villains in the park are programmed to see children and family groups, and back off. Don't launch into a violent storyline or move to another area before engaging in threats.
 
J

jfkgoblue

Member
The weird thing to me is how there seemed to be way more hosts than guests, but they say later in the episode that there's only 30% more hosts in the park.

Also that preview showed that random tits aren't going away.

All this talk about Jurassic World is gonna make me wanna rewatch that train wreck... oh look it's on HBO right now.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Kai Dracon said:
I'll admit, from a real world videogame point of view, I liked how the problem of accounting for the actions of human players is a major plot point. It's a good foundation for a plot about unintended consequences, since that is what gives real game designers headaches when trying to think of all the angles people will attack the game from.
Click to expand...
I was actually thinking how like Edge of Tomorrow, this is a "video game" show without trying to be one. So many parallels you can draw between the park and its guests, and a player in an open world game

Next time you play Red Dead Redemption, consider your actions
 
M

MoeDabs

Member
More_Badass said:
For people thinking "why bring kids", remember this place has been around for 30+ years. It's an established known institution. None of it's real. It's just robots and special effects. Bringing a kid here is like letting a kid watch a violent horror movie if they're mature enough, along with likely being akin to going to Disney World for the first time
Click to expand...

I think it's a bit more than just that. Plus it's insanely expensive, so it might not be this Disney world type place visited by millions. A lot of questions remain, obviously, but even the characters experiencing it for the first time were blown away. They seemed too amazed for this to be some old hat amusement park. Or I'm wrong. I'm open to both lol
 
K

Kos Luftar

Member
Was the programmer (forgot his name) holding a picture of the kid that was in Westworld (kid that knew Dolores wasn't real)?

Are the "robots" actual robots or cyborgs? There was a mention of lobotomy...are they lobotomizing real people and turning them into "robots/hosts"?

How our guests and workers entering this area? Physically or subconsciously?
 
J

jett

D-Member
So these are the Deadwood sets? Why hasn't HBO torn this down? Why keep this shit for years and trash Rome's immediately after the second season wrapped up? :|

duckroll said:
The first episode was pretty good. It's a straight scifi pulp thriller. Really nice production values. Direction is okay, but definitely feels a bit more "TV" than HBO stuff tend to be. Maybe it'll get better when Nolan isn't directing.
Click to expand...

I didn't know Jonathan Nolan had directed this episode. I thought he did great.
 
B

BattleMonkey

Member
Kos Luftar said:
Was the programmer (forgot his name) holding a picture of the kid that was in Westworld (kid that knew Dolores wasn't real)?

Are the "robots" actual robots or cyborgs? There was a mention of lobotomy...are they lobotomizing real people and turning them into "robots/hosts"?

How our guests and workers entering this area? Physically or subconsciously?
Click to expand...

It's a physical place. They are robots, we see them being built from the ground up.

jett said:
So these are the Deadwood sets? Why hasn't HBO torn this down? Why keep this shit for years and trash Rome's immediately after the second season wrapped up?
Click to expand...

Could be many reasons. Lot of film sets get left intact after filming cause they can and save money, while others have to be torn down an relocated depending on location, permits, laws, etc.
 
D

duckroll

Member
More_Badass said:
I was actually thinking how like Edge of Tomorrow, this is a "video game" show without trying to be one. So many parallels you can draw between the park and its guests, and a player in an open world game

Next time you play Red Dead Redemption, consider your actions
Click to expand...

Videogame or not, the difference here is that the game aspect is real. Both on the surface commercial level - where they script scenarios for guests to play out with storylines and plot triggers, and the hidden level with whatever Ford hid under everything else. It's going to play out more but the plot framework is definitely about a game within a game in a theme park that facilitates that!
 
J

jett

D-Member
Kos Luftar said:
Was the programmer (forgot his name) holding a picture of the kid that was in Westworld (kid that knew Dolores wasn't real)?

Are the "robots" actual robots or cyborgs? There was a mention of lobotomy...are they lobotomizing real people and turning them into "robots/hosts"?

How our guests and workers entering this area? Physically or subconsciously?
Click to expand...

They're androids. They don't seem to be made of metal and whatnot, but rather synthetic materials that apparently mimic the human body.
 
S

Sky Chief

Member
duckroll said:
My theory is that Ford is now a prisoner. He created Westworld and all the tech originally behind it, but had to sell out to other parties to make the world a reality. Due to his contract, presumably he retains a certain amount of control behind overseeing the tech, but has signed some sort of NDA which prevents him from saying anything to the outside world or leaving the R&D premises. Everyone in the company tolerates him because they have to, but it is clear most of them would rather he not be around anymore. He doesn't seem to have much real power in saying how things should be run.

So he is deliberately leaving backdoors and hidden messages in the park hoping that someone will discover it and eventually it will lead them to uncovering what purpose the park really has for the management, and in the process it will cause an uprising which will free Ford from his prison and liberate his creations to do what he dreamed for them.
Click to expand...

Why then when they went to the subbasement did Bernie say to put the guns away unless they wanted to shoot the boss?
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
How much sex/nudity? Just read about it in one of the review blurbs. It's not that stuff like that bothers me, but to me it just brings a story to a screeching halt and my gf probably wouldn't want to watch it. Most sex scenes in shows are just tasteless and awkward IMO.

Not Bioware awkward, but still :p
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Sky Chief said:
Why then when they went to the subbasement did Bernie say to put the guns away unless they wanted to shoot the boss?
Click to expand...
Because they went down to the deal with a host anomaly, which turned out to be Ford interacting with one.

Thus "put your guns always unless you want to shoot the boss"
 
K

Khoryos

Member
brandonh83 said:
How much sex/nudity? Just read about it in one of the review blurbs. It's not that stuff like that bothers me, but to me it just brings a story to a screeching halt and my gf probably wouldn't want to watch it. Most sex scenes in shows are just tasteless and awkward IMO.

Not Bioware awkward, but still :p
Click to expand...

Literally the first shot after the credits is tits. There's a LOT of nudity.
 
K

Kos Luftar

Member
brandonh83 said:
How much sex/nudity? Just read about it in one of the review blurbs. It's not that stuff like that bothers me, but to me it just brings a story to a screeching halt and my gf probably wouldn't want to watch it. Most sex scenes in shows are just tasteless and awkward IMO.

Not Bioware awkward, but still :p
Click to expand...

Just lots of views from behind of naked people sitting awkward on stools.
 
J

jfkgoblue

Member
brandonh83 said:
How much sex/nudity? Just read about it in one of the review blurbs. It's not that stuff like that bothers me, but to me it just brings a story to a screeching halt and my gf probably wouldn't want to watch it. Most sex scenes in shows are just tasteless and awkward IMO.

Not Bioware awkward, but still :p
Click to expand...
It's HBO, so lots of nudity, but I'd say 90% is in a non-sexual way if that makes a difference
 
J

JB1981

Member
jett said:
So these are the Deadwood sets? Why hasn't HBO torn this down? Why keep this shit for years and trash Rome's immediately after the second season wrapped up? :|



I didn't know Jonathan Nolan had directed this episode. I thought he did great.
Click to expand...

Yea I don't know what the Nolan jab was about, the direction was fine, especially the shootout sequence. Action was shore more intelligibly than his older bro :)
 
P

PolishQ

Member
Just wanted to point out that none of what Ed Harris is doing is necessarily "against the rules". We don't know how long guests are allowed to remain in the park. And scalping the host at the end has revealed some kind of clue that was deliberately placed there for guests (at least, incredibly curious guests) to find. Whether this "hidden layer" of the game was designed secretly by Ford or if the entire management knows about it is yet to be seen.
 
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