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

-griffy-

Banned
This blows my mind. How could I not have noticed??

This was also a mantra for Breaking Bad and cinematographer Michael Slovis. Always shoot into the sun so the actors are backlit, even if it means they have to cheat the blocking so the sun is behind them looking two different directions (desert backdrops help with this since it all looks the same).
 
Just finished this. The last 3 episodes were fantastic.

I lost interest in the middle but it came back really well.

"Oh Felix, you really do make a terrible human being...and I mean that as a compliment". My favourite line of the season.

Things I didn't like:

- That after all the build up Maeve "chooses" not to leave. Although this would have added a layer of complexity to the show that it probably can't handle.
- How easy it was for Maeve to manipulate Felix.
- The explanation for nobody having any idea who Arnold was/is.
 

Zoe

Member
Yes that was kinda stupid. I mean
William
was around long enough to be one of the persons who should've known him or at least seen a picture.
Logan explicitly tells William that nobody knows who the rumored partner was. That his family had lawyers look into it and they couldn't even find a picture.
 

Ferrio

Banned
Yes that was kinda stupid. I mean
William
was around long enough to be one of the persons who should've known him or at least seen a picture.

William came 5 years after Arnold's death, plenty of time for Ford to sweep everything under the rug.
 

NeOak

Member
Did a marathon of all the 10 episodes yesterday until 4am today.

Is it me, or does Anthony Hopkins sometimes gives Hannibal Lecter vibes when he threatens or one-ups people as Ford?
 

Lothar

Banned
Hi, I started watching this because of all the praise it was getting in the Walking Dead thread. So please keep talking about it in other threads. You're doing a good service

I loved it. It's the most I enjoyed a TV season since Breaking Bad ended. I saw not a one of the twists coming ahead of time. I was shocked and mind blown by them all. I hope Evan Rachel Wood gets a Golden Globe and a Emmy. I thought she was wonderful early on and then she just got better.

I skimmed some of the thread. You guys figured out that William was the Man in Black after Episode 2 because of something to do with the logo? Jesus. I'll have to remember not to follow along with the thread in Season 2. When I heard Ed Harris say that he was William, I had to pause it for several minutes to comprehend that. It sucks that you all had that ruined for you because of detective work. (Why would someone do that? Even if I figured something that cool out, I would keep it to myself rather than spoil the surprise for others.)
 

NeOak

Member
Hi, I started watching this because of all the praise it was getting in the Walking Dead thread. So please keep talking about it in other threads. You're doing a good service

I loved it. It's the most I enjoyed a TV season since Breaking Bad ended. I saw not a one of the twists coming ahead of time. I was shocked and mind blown by them all. I hope Evan Rachel Wood gets a Golden Globe and a Emmy. I thought she was wonderful early on and then she just got better.

I skimmed some of the thread. You guys figured out that William was the Man in Black after Episode 2 because of something to do with the logo? Jesus. I'll have to remember not to follow along with the thread in Season 2. When I heard Ed Harris say that he was William, I had to pause it for several minutes to comprehend that. It sucks that you all had that ruined for you because of detective work. (Why would someone do that? Even if I figured something that cool out, I would keep it to myself rather than spoil the surprise for others.)

I avoided the OT until yesterday lol
 
J

JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member
I decided to wait until the full season was done before I watched. Great show overall so far. I actually have a theory that Ford is/was a host. Not sure when and how it happened and where but I noticed small things that made him seem like a host. All of his plans were centered around finishing Arnold's and his philosophies were in line with Arnold's as well. The only thing he was missing was Arnold's tragic back story.

At first the show made it seem like these were Ford's own thoughts and opinions but if you look back after finishing the season, everything he said and did reflected what Arnold truly was as a person and an idea. This makes me feel like somewhere down the line after Arnold died, Ford possibly died as well but was reborn as a host, same as Arnold. He might be so old of a host(but younger than Dolores) that he truly believes he was human all along and really settles into his role as creator even though he himself may have also been created.
 
Hi, I started watching this because of all the praise it was getting in the Walking Dead thread. So please keep talking about it in other threads. You're doing a good service

I loved it. It's the most I enjoyed a TV season since Breaking Bad ended. I saw not a one of the twists coming ahead of time. I was shocked and mind blown by them all. I hope Evan Rachel Wood gets a Golden Globe and a Emmy. I thought she was wonderful early on and then she just got better.

I skimmed some of the thread. You guys figured out that William was the Man in Black after Episode 2 because of something to do with the logo? Jesus. I'll have to remember not to follow along with the thread in Season 2. When I heard Ed Harris say that he was William, I had to pause it for several minutes to comprehend that. It sucks that you all had that ruined for you because of detective work. (Why would someone do that? Even if I figured something that cool out, I would keep it to myself rather than spoil the surprise for others.)

This is a TV show that I felt knowing the fan theories didn't take anything away from the reveals. Pin pointing all the clever clues and nods during the episodes, that I would have missed otherwise, was a worth while tradeoff. Especially as I don't rewatch TV shows.

The reveals were so well done anyway ("what door" was incredible even if you did have an incling of what Bernard was).

Also, I don't think fan theories are spoilers so when someone thought that William was the Man in Black after episode 2 had aired it was just that, a theory. People's sensitivity to this of course varies wildly.
 
I think I enjoyed the William plotline a lot more believing that he would become the Man in Black. Before I bought into that, I was rather uninterested in his story.
 

Mega

Banned
Logan explicitly tells William that nobody knows who the rumored partner was. That his family had lawyers look into it and they couldn't even find a picture.

Exactly. It's not a stretch either because it's not that no one on the planet knows about Arnold Weber. It's that nobody outside of a very select few know that he was the other cofounder of this robotics startup from 35 years ago.
 

DavidDesu

Member
Erm, so the girlfriend had this on in the background, must have watched each episode 2/3 times by now lol, and I just noticed something interesting I'm not sure anyone else had picked up on.. I'll spoiler tag just in case.

So Charlotte Hale who is on the board just got called "Charlie" by the man in black/William when she met him in the park to discuss things in Episode 9. Charlie of course the name of Arnold's son. So I'm thinking could she possibly be Arnold's daughter?

Either Charlie being a son was a ruse of some sort, or more realistically they had a daughter after his son died and called her Charlotte, Charlie for short, in his memory. There's discrepancies with her age probably being too young but maybe his wife uses frozen sperm of his or something to have another child after Arnold commits suicide, who knows.

What do we think?
 

torontoml

Member
Erm, so the girlfriend had this on in the background, must have watched each episode 2/3 times by now lol, and I just noticed something interesting I'm not sure anyone else had picked up on.. I'll spoiler tag just in case.

So Charlotte Hale who is on the board just got called "Charlie" by the man in black/William when she met him in the park to discuss things in Episode 9. Charlie of course the name of Arnold's son. So I'm thinking could she possibly be Arnold's daughter?

Either Charlie being a son was a ruse of some sort, or more realistically they had a daughter after his son died and called her Charlotte, Charlie for short, in his memory. There's discrepancies with her age probably being too young but maybe his wife uses frozen sperm of his or something to have another child after Arnold commits suicide, who knows.

What do we think?
But doesn't remember what her dead father looks like and fires him?
 

Palmer_v1

Member
Not sure if it was discussed, but any chance Hopkins used a host body so that it wasn't really him that got shot?

The way this ended, I'm mildly worried about season 2 since a lot of my favorite characters are gone.
 

NeOak

Member
Not sure if it was discussed, but any chance Hopkins used a host body so that it wasn't really him that got shot?

The way this ended, I'm mildly worried about season 2 since a lot of my favorite characters are gone.

I wouldn't be surprised if they have the ending be an "hallucination" by Dolores, where she goes back to walking, telling Teddy that "everything will be alright" and she just keeps hugging him.

Then Ford just trolls Charlotte and the board that he will be staying.
 
Then say, even if it does happen, it'd be a reach of astronomical proportions... and you didn't want it to happen anyway

:3

It wouldn't be a reach at all. Even if that scene does not convince you, there is a very big chance that he used a Ford host because:


  • Ford was printing a host in his lair
  • It's possible to create an exact copy of a person (Bernard = Arnold)
    [*]
    I want to see Hopkins back for season 2
 
It wouldn't be a reach at all. Even if that scene does not convince you, there is a very big chance that he used a Ford host because:


  • Ford was printing a host in his lair
  • It's possible to create an exact copy of a person (Bernard = Arnold)
    [*]
    I want to see Hopkins back for season 2

not a 'reach' by canon functionality

a 'reach' by series' writing functionality

i also love hopkins the best. s2 will suffer without him. but then again we haven't yet gotten any confirmations of the new cast so i think better to reserve doubts for now.
 

Lucreto

Member
A little off topic but what type of Stetson does the man in black wear?

My Dad loves it and I want to get him one just like it.
 
Just finished episode 9, so I can't read the recent posts, but I couldn't wait one more episode to say this...

What this series shows is that fair (as in, with clues) mysteries and plot twists in a serialized narrative don't work anymore. You can't fool the whole internet. Could we have compulsory spoiler tags for these guessings? Otherwise I'm seriously thinking of avoiding Gaf for these types of shows.

And these speculations are not exclusive to Gaf/reddit as someone pointed out.
How could information be contained like that? It ends up leaking to Facebook and twitter.
 

Number45

Member
Just finished episode 9, so I can't read the recent posts, but I couldn't wait one more episode to say this...

What this series shows is that fair (as in, with clues) mysteries and plot twists in a serialized narrative don't work anymore. You can't fool the whole internet. Could we have compulsory spoiler tags for these guessings? Otherwise I'm seriously thinking of avoiding Gaf for these types of shows.

And these speculations are not exclusive to Gaf/reddit as someone pointed out.
How could information be contained like that? It ends up leaking to Facebook and twitter.
I managed to avoid everything, and I was often behind (up to 3 weeks) but I get what you're saying. I don't use a great deal of Facebook at all, and for twitter I use the mute functionality to silence anyone that might mention it until I've watched it.

The better answer though is to make sure you watch it as or shortly after it airs. Not always possible I know, but certainly the safest option.
 

Slo

Member
Just finished Ep 10, I had been avoiding this thread until I got caught up.

So who else thinks that there going to be an
Eastworld??!? Samurai and robot waifu would be GAF's dream TV show.
 

ZaCH3000

Member
New to the thread here.

MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW: Read at your own discretion.

Anyone notice the subliminal messaging? The Chinese programmer assisting the host to her undoing of West World; the western world. Seems to be deliberate character placement.

Here are my thoughts from viewing the season finale. Maeve disabled many park security features. Her story was rewritten by Dr. Ford to carry out his objective of removing the guest's invurnabilities in the finales final moments. That means this scene came after Delores' revelation of the Man in Black's identity if presented in a linear timeline. The show creator's choice of sequencing these scenes is masterful because it increases the dramatic effect of William's conclusion while cleverly foreshadowing the moment of these violent delights have violent ends.

I suspect the scene in which Dr. Ford explains the meaning of Michaelangelo's painting to Delores foreshadows her emergence as the next antagonist in the form of Wyatt. But does she actually have full agency of her choices? I think Delores was rewritten by Dr. Ford to fulfill William's sick perversions and therefore not under her own free will.

Maeve, thus far, is the only character to break her storyline that we have observed. She exercised free will by choosing to return to West World instead of fulfilling her destiny infiltrating the mainland. I believe she is being set up as the protagonist next season. Furthermore, if my theory of Wyatt (formerly Delores) stands, then Dr. Ford is still orchestrating this new narrative of West World for an unknown motive. Perhaps the maze has yet to be solved after all, and the key to its unlocking is Maeve - the only host truly off the loop created by Dr. Ford.

Last thought, Dr. Ford's staged suicide was not for Delores' awakening, but Bernards.

That leaves plenty of story to tell for season two. Dr. Ford's motives to be solved by Bernard. William's quest for meaning destroying Wyatt with the help of Teddy. Maeve's return to West World and her actions leading to the rise of the singularity. The staging of a Delos Corporation intervention and the discovery of its motivations. The re-introduction of behavior designer girl and cool security guy and their struggle to survive. Those are the main plot lines I can think of at this time.

Thoughts?
 

taoofjord

Member
Just finished the first season and unfortunately, I'm extremely disappointed in this show. All the intricate plotting is destroyed by how clumsy the execution is. There are so many moments that make no logical sense. Moments that ignore plausibility for dramatic effect. Silly character motivations. Giant leaps of logic in how the park would actually function in a believable way (where's all the camera surveillance?). Just too much for me to ignore. Pretty sad as the concept is right up my alley.
 

PolishQ

Member
Not sure if it was discussed, but any chance Hopkins used a host body so that it wasn't really him that got shot?

The way this ended, I'm mildly worried about season 2 since a lot of my favorite characters are gone.

It's also possible that his real, human body was shot but that he took the precaution of transferring his personality to a host body. In other words, Ford will be a host in season 2.
 

Lothar

Banned
I just finished the season... and I think I'm at the point where I think I loved it but am completely uninterested in watching a second season??

I felt the same way. Loved the season. But the things I was most interested in were the Dolores/William storyline, Anthony Hopkins, and finding out what the Man in Black was all about. Anthony Hopkins is gone, the young William storyline appears to be done with, it's like Dolores did a heel turn, and the mystery with the Man in the Black is finished.
 

Vecks

Member
I just finished the season... and I think I'm at the point where I think I loved it but am completely uninterested in watching a second season??

Yeah, I feel almost the same because I'm satisfied with the ending. I'm curious about how they are going to do a second season, but I would have been fine if they just ended it right there.
 
Finally watched the finale. Gotdamn amazing. The whole season was incredible and I can't wait for season 2. 10/10 show, in my opinion.

Also, seeing how everything unfolded was awesome since I didn't keep up with or look into any of the fan speculation and predictions.
 
New to the thread here.

MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW: Read at your own discretion.

Anyone notice the subliminal messaging? The Chinese programmer assisting the host to her undoing of West World; the western world. Seems to be deliberate character placement.

Here are my thoughts from viewing the season finale. Maeve disabled many park security features. Her story was rewritten by Dr. Ford to carry out his objective of removing the guest's invurnabilities in the finales final moments. That means this scene came after Delores' revelation of the Man in Black's identity if presented in a linear timeline. The show creator's choice of sequencing these scenes is masterful because it increases the dramatic effect of William's conclusion while cleverly foreshadowing the moment of these violent delights have violent ends.

I suspect the scene in which Dr. Ford explains the meaning of Michaelangelo's painting to Delores foreshadows her emergence as the next antagonist in the form of Wyatt. But does she actually have full agency of her choices? I think Delores was rewritten by Dr. Ford to fulfill William's sick perversions and therefore not under her own free will.

Maeve, thus far, is the only character to break her storyline that we have observed.
she exercised free will by choosing to return to West World instead of fulfilling her destiny infiltrating the mainland.
I believe she is being set up as the protagonist next season. Furthermore, if my theory of Wyatt (formerly Delores) stands, then Dr. Ford is still orchestrating this new narrative of West World for an unknown motive. Perhaps the maze has yet to be solved after all, and the key to its unlocking is Maeve - the only host truly off the loop created by Dr. Ford.

Last thought, Dr. Ford's staged suicide was not for Delores' awakening, but Bernards.

That leaves plenty of story to tell for season two. Dr. Ford's motives to be solved by Bernard. William's quest for meaning destroying Wyatt with the help of Teddy. Maeve's return to West World and her actions leading to the rise of the singularity. The staging of a Delos Corporation intervention and the discovery of its motivations. The re-introduction of behavior designer girl and cool security guy and their struggle to survive. Those are the main plot lines I can think of at this time.

Thoughts?

Are you sure about that? remember there was a scene where
Bernard was describing exactly what she did and what she would do next before she angrily snapped the tablet.
 

royalan

Member
Yeah, she had most likely been programmed to start shooting people on the train, hence the gun hidden in her bag. At the last minute she changed her mind and disembarked.

I think the gun was just for protection. We specifically see that the next phase in her programming was "Infiltrate Mainland". Wouldn't have been able to do that if she shot up the train.

I actually do hope the net season touches on this. Maive's not leaving Westworld, but I am curious about what would have been waiting for her if she had. Did she have a more specific agenda? Would there have been people/hosts waiting to aid her on the mainland?
 
I do and was factoring that into my analysis. What detail am I missing?

He explained that someone had programmed her to do all of what she had been doing. So it is possible that she was also programmed to think she was making a choices, which makes that final scene sad because it is possible she was still being controlled and thus has no free will.

I think the gun was just for protection. We specifically see that the next phase in her programming was "Infiltrate Mainland". Wouldn't have been able to do that if she shot up the train.

I actually do hope the net season touches on this. Maive's not leaving Westworld, but I am curious about what would have been waiting for her if she had. Did she have a more specific agenda? Would there have been people/hosts waiting to aid her on the mainland?

I must have missed that. It seems whoever did the programming is someone who wanted her to think she was making choices the whole time though, and for that person it is more beneficial that she stay rather than continue with what she was planning on doing. I don't think anyone wants the androids to leave the park and I think by making her think that she sacrificed something to stay, she's more connected to the park.
It's possible that there was never any daughter, and it's just something used to anchor her to the park.
 
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