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

shira

Member
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Why is this in my feed?
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Finished this over the weekend. I really liked the settings, music, and acting performances. Jeffrey Wright nailed it as Bernard and Hopkins' Ford was a treat to watch. McPoyle (William) seemed a bit out of place, though, and I didn't really care for Dolores until her role turned dark towards the end. To me pacing was a bit of an issue and there were some truly boring parts, but enough was done well to return for whenever season 2 comes out.

After it was over, my first thought was that it was all Arnold manipulating the whole situation, up to and including the assassination of Ford. I thought that Dolores' initial massacre of the small town and murder of Arnold was something akin to a dress rehearsal for the real performance several years later where Ford gets killed. But then again now that I type that out it is pretty ridiculous...how would he know there would be a big party for the Board of Directors with Ford there pitching his new narrative 30+ years later?

After reading the Wiki and some post-watch commentary it seems like the consensus was that this was mainly Ford doing everything, and doing it because he eventually "flipped" and came around to Arnold's way of thinking and the hosts and their consciousness.

Little ashamed that I didn't notice the MiB/William connection earlier. Makes too much sense in hindsight (especially considering Lawrence/El Lazo).

A couple of misc thoughts/questions:
- Samurai World? Yes, please. But I thought it was odd that the tech helping Maeve dodged her question on what it was, saying something like "it's complicated" when she asked about i. It it really that complicated if it's the same thing as Westworld, just with samurai instead of cowboys? Maybe something else is going on with that? Then again it could just be that her "programming" doesn't even account for what samurai are.
- Is the park on a big piece of land somewhere? All the elevators seem to show most of the inner workings are below the surface of the park. If so, what happens when you reach the end, as Logan did on the horse after William goes on his rampage? Logan seemed scared, like something bad was going to happen to him when he reached the end.

edit - couple more:
- Were some/all of the technicians hosts? I remembered Maeve saying that the one guy was a "14" on bulk apperception, leading me to believe she accessed his files and it shows his parameters. But then in the last episode she heavily implies to the other that he is human.
- The techs imply Maeve's breakout is a narrative, and she is just doing as programmed. I wonder if she was programmed to actually leave via the train, or if her going back ostensibly for her daughter is going against her script. Was she supposed to leave or turn back? I imagine that will be a big plot point of season 2.
- Did Ford make a clone of himself? If so, did the clone die at the party or the original? Tantalizing....
 

Volimar

Member
Signed up for hbo now for GoT and binged this the other night. What a great show. All those twists. For some reason I thought that Logan was Harris's character when I put together the time jump which finally hit for me when her stomach wound disappeared.

The strangest thing for me was that the host that showed William the wardrobe etc. knew she was a host but didn't have the freak out that the other hosts did. I wonder how you program dealing with that realisation. She certainly didn't seem any less advanced than the others.


Poor Elsie. I was holding out hope that she had survived somehow. Speaking of which they didn't actually show the head of security biting it either.
 
- Katja Herbers Cast As New Series Regular For Season 2 Of HBO Series
Following her arc on the recent final season of The Leftovers, HBO has recruited Katja Herbers as a series regular on another drama, breakout sci-fi Western Westworld.

Manhattan alumna Herbers will play Grace, a seasoned guest in Westworld whose latest visit comes at the park’s darkest hour. She is the third new series regular for Season 2 and the first brand new cast addition. She joins Talulah Riley and Louis Herthum, both of whom were promoted after recurring in Season 1.

Returning Season 1 cast includes stars Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Ben Barnes, Simon Quarterman, Angela Sarafyan, Luke Hemsworth, Clifton Collins, Jr.
 

hydruxo

Member
Is that season 1 returning cast list in the article just them basically padding their article with the actors' names from season 1 or will all of those actually be returning? Because quite a few of their characters I wouldn't expect to see again unless they return as hosts.
 
Is that season 1 returning cast list in the article just them basically padding their article with the actors' names from season 1 or will all of those actually be returning? Because quite a few of their characters I wouldn't expect to see again unless they return as hosts.
I haven't seen a press release regarding S2 casting, so I imagine that's just Deadline recycling last year's list.
 
- Neil Jackson & Jonathan Tucker Cast In Season 2 Of HBO Series
Neil Jackson (Absentia) has been cast as a new series regular and Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom) is set to recur in Season 2 of HBO’s multi-Emmy nominated breakout sci-fi Western Westworld.

Jackson will play Nicholas, a charming, resourceful man who finds himself in uncharted territory. Tucker will portray Major Craddock, a commanding military officer in Season 2.

Jackson is the fourth new series regular for Season 2, joining fellow new cast member Katja Herbers, along with Talulah Riley and Louis Herthum, who were promoted after recurring in Season 1.
 
I just finished the season last night. I started watching it live, then stopped for a few months, then tried to get back into it and stopped for another handful of months. I liked the premise and the opening episode or two was well done, but felt that the show just kind of dragged throughout the season. The casting in this show is incredible, but it just wasn't grabbing me. There was one episode in particular (6 perhaps?) where the acting was atrocious for no apparent reason. Whichever one where Dolores and co are in the moving train.

So anyway, I just finished the last few episodes last night, and holy hell that finale was one of the best episodes of television in terms of payoff ever. I was genuinely excited explaining to my partner why I was saying "whoa!" every 15 minutes.

I'm glad I finished the season and I'm looking forward to the next, but I really hope the show breaks open their characters now that all of these secret identities have been revealed.
 

Glass

Member
I binged watched this show over the last 2 weeks, and started making my way through this thread page by page after I'd seen the finale.

Looking forward to being able to watch each new episode with everyone next time.
 

PFD

Member
I subscribed to HBO Now for GoT, and ended up watching the full season of Westworld

Great show!

I hate Maeve though
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Vikings' Gustaf Skarsgård Joins Westworld Season 2 as Series Regular

Vikings actor Gustaf Skarsgård is set to join HBO’s Emmy-nominated sci-fi Western as a series regular, TVLine has confirmed. Additionally, Fares Fares (Tyrant) has come aboard as a regular and Betty Gabriel (Good Girls Revolt) is set to recur.

Skarsgård will play Karl Strand, a white-collar guy comfortable in the field, while Fares takes on the role of Antoine Costa, a tech expert with an objective perspective. Gabriel will be playing Maling, who is trying to restore order on the ground.
 

wandering

Banned
I've made my way halfway through the season and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm wondering how often all the hosts reset though; do they just loop every day? Because it seems like with the guests spending up to weeks at a time in the park that'd get repetitive real quick. Also cleaning up the scenery and restocking props after gunfights seems like it'd be a real pain in the ass.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Because it seems like with the guests spending up to weeks at a time in the park that'd get repetitive real quick. Also cleaning up the scenery and restocking props after gunfights seems like it'd be a real pain in the ass.

The entire concept of a robot park is wildly impractical, and very obviously something invented in the early 1970s by a science fiction author. An adult sex/violence theme park could exist in real life in the future, but it would more likely be a hyper realistic Matrix-y VR simulation or something.
 
Recently started watching this on HBO GO, and oh man it's so good! I'm on the final episode of S1 and I can't wait to get home tonight and see how it all goes down! Ed Harris absolutely steals the show every time he's in a scene, but that's not to say the other performances aren't great too.
 

wandering

Banned
One thing that kind of irks me about the writing is the way they have characters like Maeve and the Executive Board lady drop f-bombs to come off as spunky and edgy. It's pretty tacky.
 

DonShula

Member
Struggled on whether to start a RTTP for this, but I'm in the midst of re-watching the first season. No spoilers in this post.

I am simply amazed at how the show still holds up when you know the secrets. It's fascinating. There are subtle and not so subtle hits about all of the plot twists, and the episodes are edited as if the the season was meant to be re-watched. The dialog has multiple meanings, especially from Ford. I've yet to find any glaring continuity issues (not finished yet though). Jeffrey Wright's performance quirks are subtle and delightful.

I'm finding another layer of enjoyment that's super-rare. Definitely rewatch if you have the time!
 

Buckle

Member
This show turned out to be so much more than what I thought it was going to be when I first heard of it.

Ed Harris being the highlight for me. He plays a character thats a pretty grim piece of shit but has such a casual nature about the darker side of West World and boredom with it that its hard not to find him pretty entertaining in a fucked up sort of way.

He also has the best lines.

"Your humanity is cost-effective"
 
- Hiroyuki Sanada Set To Recur In Season 2 Of HBO Series
Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada is set for a major recurring role on the upcoming second season of Westworld, HBO’s multi-Emmy-nominated breakout sci-fi Western.

Sanada will play Musashi, but further details of the role remain under wraps.

Created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy based on the 1973 Michael Crichton movie, Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. The series heads into Sunday’s Emmy ceremony with 22 nominations, including outstanding drama series, lead actress for Evan Rachel Wood, and lead actor for Anthony Hopkins.

Sanada joins new Season 2 cast members Neil Jackson, Jonathan Tucker, Katja Herbers, Talulah Riley and Louis Herthum.
 
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