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HBO's "Westworld", starring Anthony Hopkins/produced by J.J. Abrams

I'm way behind BUT what a show... Breaking Bad good. With my brain I'll lose a thread here and there, but the presentation has been so good despite a complicated storyline that I'm still halfway up to speed. 4 eppies in.
 
I've been saying that Westworld is a show with everything but Yul Brunner-- I guess I can't say that anymore. :rommie:

Looks like Maeve is taking over. I wonder if Arnold intended that or if he's losing control of things, like Ford seems to be-- and I wonder if Arnold is still alive or if he just uploaded himself to the unused satellite network.
 
That guy must be an irreplaceable genius of storylines, because every other person in every company on this planet would be fired after a similar scene. A scene in front of an important external visitor.
 
One thing I don't like about last night's episode, Elsie made a classic horror movie mistake. Just hang around in the place you know a dangerous person frequents after you prove something seedy is happening. Bad things shouldn't happen to characters because they make silly obvious mistakes.
Shocked she didn't die already. It was a classic "You'll never guess what I found, I've uncovered the entire secret plot! Hold on, I'll tell you about it in a couple minutes instead of letting you know right now..." moment, which usually guarantees death within seconds to keep the other characters in the dark. That she isn't already dead is in itself shocking...
 
Tons. Here's just a few.

1. Why the logo for Westworld was drastically different for William than it is in the current time frame.

Why do you think this matters? Yes, designs change over time, but there's no guarantee that every single instance of the WestWorld logo would be updated to fit changes in said design

And before I get accused of "ignoring evidence" again, an older logo and a an area that looks like it could be an abandoned subway entrance to the park aren't evidence of anything without external interpretations being applied to them and therefore don't mean much.


Nope, nope, nope... Now you're in my wheelhouse. Your comments reflect a massive lack of understanding corporate branding or they are intentionally obtuse in order to elicit argument.

Large corporations such as Delos spend massive amounts of money on corporate branding. Image is at the top of their list. When such a corporation implements a redesigned logo, they make sure that logo is incorporated everywhere as soon as possible. No corporation would have noticeable logos like that Westworld logo go unchanged when they introduce a new design. All corporate signage would be changed at once, especially the logos where the paying customers can see it.

There is no logical excuse or reason for a corporation the size of Delos, catering to that financial level of clientele, would overlook that logo when they rolled out a logo change.

Now, from our real world storytelling standpoint, there was a reason the show staff intentionally chose to use a 43 year old logo for that particular scene.
 
Now, from our real world storytelling standpoint, there was a reason the show staff intentionally chose to use a 43 year old logo for that particular scene.
Nah, they just add stuff like that due to... let's call it incompetence or laziness or something. Showing both a pristine subway and a rundown one? Just happenstance; doesn't mean anything at all. Showing William and Logan completely disappearing from the background when the camera goes around Delores? They just had to take a wee break. True nuff, true nuff. It has no meaning.
 
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I do. Enjoying this series -- JJA + JN seems like a magic combination.
 
Do we know its the same subway?

Anyway, an intriguing episode, I did a little squee when I saw the Brynner Host. Elsie was pretty dumb, I mean the damn place even looked like a set from a horror movie and she hung around there way too long.

The animatronic Hosts Arnold made for Robert did look as convincing as Delores, but I still don't understand where Old Bill fits into things design wise. I will still be annoyed if William does turn out to be MiB, not saying the idea is completely without merit but the contrivances to make it work will dilute the effect.

As for Rachel Evan Wood being in the titles, when Maeve was watching the ad for Westworld we did see a blonde woman in a blue dress riding across the range, it looked like Delores to me. The video also contained a brief glimpse of Angela from ep 2 so maybe she's been around for 30 years as well?

Thandie Newton has rapidly become the most interesting character in the show, although it is a frightening commentary on free will that her rebelliousness is just another set of programming, although now she's upped her perception score (loved that bit from an RPG/computer game perspective) perhaps she will become more sentient?
 
I don't know if someone has mentioned it, I didn't find it.

When Maeve watches the trailer/commercial on that large screen there is a short glimpse at the Saloon, with the (almost) daughter of Martin Landau (forgot the name, Angela?). There is a latin woman in white in the picture too, the same woman was there when Logan first went to the saloon in episode 2. So that might point to the "two timelines" theory (or can be just lazy editing). I never saw that woman on another scene.

But I agree with Starkers here, I also thought the hosts supposedly looked more unreal 30 years ago, so that is against it.

But I lost a bit of my faszination with the show in the last episode, I somehow fear we will get a lot of questions but not many satisfying answers soon.
 
Do we know its the same subway?
Do we have a real reason to believe it's not? That they created a whole new set just for background scenery, and decided to scuz it up for funsies? Or was there an actual reason to show two completely different subways, especially for a facility that -- you know -- doesn't need two subway stations.

Anyway, an intriguing episode, I did a little squee when I saw the Brynner Host. Elsie was pretty dumb, I mean the damn place even looked like a set from a horror movie and she hung around there way too long.
Yeah, Yul Brenner's host was a nice Easter egg (and that is a great example of what an Easter egg actually is, by the way).

Definitely agree about Elsie being dumb, but she was of the mind that she can shut down any and all hosts she came across, too. It was mostly a case of overconfidence in the safety of the park, reinforced by the fact that even a grossly malfunctioning host chose to kill itself instead of harm her during her last field trip.

However, I don't think she was abducted by a bad guy. Or at least, someone who intends her harm. So I don't think she's in any real danger now; surprise and shock, yeah, but not danger.

The animatronic Hosts Arnold made for Robert did look as convincing as Delores, but I still don't understand where Old Bill fits into things design wise.
I think he was just a prototype or proof-of-concept model. The park had already been up and running for a few years by the time William (if the theory is correct) arrived, after all, and Robert and Arnold had to create some sample models to sell the idea to their investors to begin with. It's the fact that Old Bill is literally the only host we've seen that looks anything like that says a lot, however. I mean, even in the flashback (a real one) we got of the first gen hosts being built, their skinjobs were just as realistic as the modern ones despite having more traditionally robotic guts, just like Robert's family.

Him being an early prototype/demonstration of the tech certainly would explain why Robert is fond of keeping him operational, too. As opposed to any other first gen models laying around in the freezers.

I will still be annoyed if William does turn out to be MiB, not saying the idea is completely without merit but the contrivances to make it work will dilute the effect.
I don't get why people keep saying that. The vast, vast majority of people I've seen saying it probably never would have noticed all the telltale clues until it was pointed out to them. But because a few people did notice them and "spoiled" them (which, no, you're not doing by theorizing about a show; spoilers are facts) about it seems to be the real reason I see comments like this.

There have been no contrivances to make it work. In fact, they've been trying really hard to obfuscate it, cleverly having Delores's flashbacks woven into the narrative in a way that seems like it's all linear unless you *really* pay attention (such as when William and Logan disappear from the scene while she's on the train with a pained/dazed look on her face).

As for Rachel Evan Wood being in the titles, when Maeve was watching the ad for Westworld we did see a blonde woman in a blue dress riding across the range, it looked like Delores to me. The video also contained a brief glimpse of Angela from ep 2 so maybe she's been around for 30 years as well?
And, again, she was in both a drawn picture and in a mugshot shown in the database of first gen models Bernard pulled up. She was in the episode, just not "live."

Thandie Newton has rapidly become the most interesting character in the show, although it is a frightening commentary on free will that her rebelliousness is just another set of programming, although now she's upped her perception score (loved that bit from an RPG/computer game perspective) perhaps she will become more sentient?
Actually -- and this is just persona conjecture with nothing to really back it up -- I think they're slowly making it so that Maeve will be the villain of the piece, while Delores will be the hero once more and more of the hosts begin to awaken. I also think Maeve's artificial awakening is being orchestrated by Robert himself (someone directly tinkered with her programming) while Delores is clearly Arnold's "natural" awakening. Given that Robert seems to have been largely oblivious or ignoring Arnold's plan until recently, that gives quite a bit of merit towards what's going on with Maeve. Especially since he has been aggressively initiating his own overly complex plans to... I dunno, thwart? Arnold's.

Why he can't just recall any models Arnold personally worked on and toss them in the freezer is beyond me, though. Unless they both wanted to be gods, and Robert thinks he has to "defeat" Arnold in some weird Greecian mythology sort of way?

Just can't figure that whole bit out.
 
Overall I love this show, but could use A LOT fewer F bombs. Can't these writers think of anything better for filler? Elsie Hughes has one of the biggest trash mouths.

Having said that I love Dolores and Maeve (I am really looking forward to seeing how the 'upgrades' affect her interaction with others). Doc Ford is pretty creepy the way he pops up at the weirdest times too. Most recently when Bernard found Doc Ford's undocumented hosts.
 
When multiple timeline theory was mentioned earlier in this thread I did not take it seriously. But the Lawrence/El Lazo stuff had alarm bells going off for me so I now I think it may be the case. I still hope its not true. If we get a scene soon between William and MiB I will be very happy. When they referenced Pariah in the latest episode I thought we may get that scene but didn't happen. So now I think the reference to Pariah was just a misdirection by showrunners to make the audience think all events are happening at the same time.

I think they are making the MiB/Maze/Arnold stuff too complicated and confusing, hopefully it will not turn off too many viewers. I predict this show is not going to have the continuous audience growth that Game of Thrones has enjoyed. The storytelling is not as good as GoT. I agree with the poster who said they are spending too much time on the staff that work in the park. The show is better when focusing on hosts and guests.

And now they are giving hints that Arnold maybe alive? Even Bernard, who should know better, was confused. He thought the old host (Ford's dad?) was Arnold.
 
Hehe, is there anybody who doubts that Arnold is still alive? I guess we we meet him as an uploaded computerprogram in season 1 and the the real one in season 3. And in season 5 (if there will be one) everybody from season one has turned out to be a robot. I guess Ford is a robot, so he can control the androids without words.
 
Ford being a robot, built by Arnold, would be a nice twist. Everyone being a robot is good too.
 
I suspect Bernard is the current robotic version of Arnold so scenes that depict Bernard with a clothed Dolores are actually of Arnold with Dolores. Having everyone be a robot (guests, staff, and hosts) would seem to be too much of an obvious cliche. I suspect I'll have to watch the whole thing again at the end of the season -- something I sometimes find necessary with the the other Nolan brother's movies.
 
Having everyone be a robot (guests, staff, and hosts) would seem to be too much of an obvious cliche.

I meant it ironical, considering they might have to fight to keep the audience interested of the years and that they make the same mistakes that soap operas sometimes do (like Dynasty, where everybody was shot at that wedding). ;)

I suspect I'll have to watch the whole thing again at the end of the season -- something I sometimes find necessary with the the other Nolan brother's movies.

I watch the episodes twice, always the previous one before the newest one.

I hope we will get some kind of answer / satisfying ending in this season.
 
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