Westworld

[Dantheman]

Ah, suspected that.

[neckdeep]

Ah, suspected that.

Bonus points if you remembered Teddy's last name.

[Dantheman]

Hah, yeah, I couldn't tell you his last name off the top of my head. I started rewatching the episode since there is a lot to unpack. Murderous psychopath Dolores is bonkers hot. It's crazy knowing now that Evan Rachel Wood was actually repeatedly raped and tortured. I wonder how much of her performance is fueled by that experience.

[neckdeep]

Teddy's last name is Flood.

[Elkhound Odin]

So what is the super weapon that can destroy mankind?

[neckdeep]

So what is the super weapon that can destroy mankind?

There were a couple of hints dropped in ep 2 that make me think that, in the past, the hyper ambitious young William had conceived a vision where Westworld's technology could be used to achieve a sort of immortality. By the time he becomes the Man in Black, however, he is so profoundly cynical and misanthropic that he came to regard the plan of selling immortality to spoiled billionaires as his "greatest mistake." Obviously, Delos could also put that technology to work in rather nefarious ways besides immortality. My best guess is "the valley beyond" contains a subterranean facility set up to replicate guests. Moreover, the personal data required to do that is the precious IP content in Abernathy's brain that Delos is trying to extract. Bernard, with his scan-able DNA component, appears to be a prototype of this technology.

If Dolores and her chosen ones can transfer their brains into simulacrums of real humans, then they are free. They could escape as the doppelgangers of very powerful people and use that access to continue their war on humanity. That's why Dolores was shown culling the herd; only the sentient hosts are worthy of entering the valley beyond. Or something like that. It is not literally a weapon but the hosts can use it as one.

It is also why William is going there to destroy it. We now know that it was William who warped Ford and Arnold's original dreams into the perverse and sinister thing that Westworld became. Thus, the one way mission to destroy whatever is in the valley is William's redemption arc. And Ford's too, because he collaborated with William but later came to realize Arnold was right all along. The question I ponder the most is the extent to which Ford has set all this in motion in order to destroy Delos. Is he still pulling all the strings? Dolores, Maeve and William all think they are following their own volition but are they merely following Ford's final narrative, his own redemption arc?

[PB]

'Bit complicated for my molasses neurons, but I was beginning to suspect that the upload/transfer of consciousness from one individual to another, be they host or 'droid, was a major plot line this season. I like it!

Hopefully, Chappie won't show up though.

[Dantheman]

The Pariah scene certainly indicates that Ford is still pulling some strings, either posthumously via programming or has actually uploaded his consciousness into the system somehow. That scene was rad.

So Logan didn't die after his naked ride into the unknown. That's an interesting revelation. There's no way that's not going to be significant somehow.

The "valley beyond" is going to have to be something incredible to live up to the hype. The stable boy's casual reference to saddling up to "ride to the green pastures of the valley beyond" in Ep. 1 would indicate that that is part of his loop, so thus something guests did on a regular basis? Maybe it means different things to hosts and guests, or means something different in the "new" game than it meant in the "old" game.

[Dantheman]

Last night kinda felt like a bullshit episode. A few token plot advancements but not much substance, really.

[Elkhound Odin]

We found out that....
- in a place full of robot sex slaves, some humans will only fuck other humans
- Bernard still has a brain fluid leak and seems really confused about everything
- Dolores is going to kill (decommission?) Teddy

[Dantheman]

Yeah, major stuff

Oh, and extraction protocols were suspended until Abernathy was delivered. But two days later here comes QA rolling in with the cavalry?

[PNWbrit]

Last night kinda felt like a bullshit episode. A few token plot advancements but not much substance, really.

HBO's Game of Thrones conundrum strikes again.

Wildly successful but basically plot less series must be made to run as many seasons as possible.

[AyoBeng]

HBO's Game of Thrones conundrum strikes again.

Wildly successful but basically plot less series must be made to run as many seasons as possible.

I’m worried that you may be right. I’m hoping that the Confederado battle wasn’t a sign of what most of this season will be like.

[S_jenks]

I’m worried that you may be right. I’m hoping that the Confederado battle wasn’t a sign of what most of this season will be like.

That whole battle scene was poorly-done, TBH. It's only one part of the season but it bothers me to no end.

"Let's line everyone up on an open battlefield and slowly advance to their fort, without wearing helmets. Also, let's use unarmored and unarmed vehicles that we drive straight at them in tight formation. We can have guys hanging off the side of the vehicles, shooting from the hip! Air cover or artillery? Nahhh, there's no point in trying anything else. A frontal assault it is then."

Their security teams were trained by people who failed out of Stormtrooper Academy.

[Dantheman]

But, but, guys, we found out how the tiger got there! That was a major reveal!

[Ski to Be]

Agree with you guys about the battle. You are overlords of the world and all you have is dune buggies and no air support. No EMF type bomb that renders all things mechanical inoperable. I find Bernard the most compelling character in the series.

[thefortrees]

HBO's Game of Thrones conundrum strikes again.

Wildly successful but basically plot less series must be made to run as many seasons as possible.

I've felt this way about Westworld since the middle of the first season. It's just going to drag on... and on... and on...

[AK47bp]

I watch the show and enjoy it at times. The problem for me is I just don't give a shit about any of the characters. Nobody to root for. Bernard or Teddy maybe but they got the personalities of a dead cat. Used to be Dolores until she started murdering humans.

[Elkhound Odin]

Delos can’t go all Apocalypse Now on the robots. They have to keep a low profile to keep the guests from freaking out. (At least the ones not dead yet)

[Dantheman]

I'd say the guests are plenty freaked out at this point. More likely they want salvageable hosts and settings so they don't have to completely rebuild from scratch. Protecting the bottom line.

[east or bust]

holy mindfuck.

[Dantheman]

That was most definitely not a bullshit episode.

[groundcontrol323]

So, Ford is still alive, and Dolores really killed his hybrid/host...right?

[stuckathuntermtn]

Ooooh, good theory.
So the only songs were just the original versions?

[stuckathuntermtn]

I watch the show and enjoy it at times. The problem for me is I just don't give a shit about any of the characters. Nobody to root for. Bernard or Teddy maybe but they got the personalities of a dead cat. Used to be Dolores until she started murdering humans.

All 3 of those mentioned are robots, so fuck em. (Literally or figuratively)