After watching last night's episode, I came to realize that I really needed to have rewatched the last few episodes of last season. I enjoyed it, though the violence was gratuitous. I mean, how many blood-streaked walls and corpses do we need to see to get the point. I see no reason, for example, why they needed to execute the hosts on the beach. The kid in the stable was no threat, right. Why couldn't they handcuff them and take them in for examination?
I need to rewatch the episode again because I thought the new character from the corporation admitted that point of the park was to collect people's genetic information off the hosts. If so, that's pretty cool given the moment we're in with the theft/collection of our personal information from corporate America.
Just read this op ed from the NY Times on the show's philosophy: Opinion | It’s Westworld. What’s Wrong With Cruelty to Robots?
"Collect genetic information" - that's a nice euphemism! They showed a robotech swabbing the genital region of a host during the episode, so that's certainly one way to collect the guest's bodily fluids.
Yes, that's absolutely true. In fact, his character has opined a number of times that there were no real stakes in the theme park, and now that there are, he's reinvigorated - now it's the real deal and he has to rely on his sadistic cunning to survive. He's in it for the visceral thrill of it, much more so than money derived through his property. Just the right amount to get the full impact of what is going on. I didn't find it gratuitous because it helped to realize the horror of the situation and what it means going forward. If your entire existence was under threat by physically superior hosts, which aren't human, why wouldn't they be exterminated (one could make parallels with certain law enforcement tactics in the real world)? What makes it disquieting is the human appearance of the hosts, as was the case in S1 when the shoe was on the other foot (ie, humans slaughtering hosts for fun). I think it was necessary to see the full extent of the fallout, but I wouldn't necessarily want to see that repeated in every episode going forward (and I don't think it will be).
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, and for how long. It would be logical that the "theme park" Westworld (and however many other ...worlds are out there) would cease to exist given the loss of human life.
A very promising start to Season 2 So, three timelines...or at least as it appears so far. #1. Arnold & Dolores 35 years ago. #2. Bernard & that new dude 11 days after Ford's new narrative, "Journey into Night," began. #3. Bernard & Charlotte at "Journey into Night" Day 1, as well as Sizemore & Maeve, and William & little Robert Robot. Do I have that right? So, some time between Day 1 & Day 11 (or maybe it's 12 or 13 days, who knows at this point), Bernard offs a great deal of the hosts, including dear Teddy...or, at least that's what Bernard thinks he does, and says he does. It also appears we are in for more timelines. How much do they delve into Westworld, as flashbacks after William took over the helm? Moreover, I'm not sure that we've seen all that Arnold imparted to Dolores and/or watched her grown, before she was rolled back by Ford. Last season we witnessed that Dolores hadn't quite solved the maze yet, from a flashback between Arnold & Dolores, but we did see Arnold uploading the Wyatt narrative into Dolores, which partially, or perhaps even wholly, allowed Dolores to massacre the original automatons, including killing Arnold. What I'm going to say happened is, in the time between Dolores still being stymied by the concept of the Maze, and the flashback we see at the beginning of S02E01, Dolores had solved the maze, and exceeded it, slightly scaring Arnold. Ford says that Dolores solved the maze in S01E10, that her ability to solve the maze came from the reveries. Couple the reveries with the Wyatt narrative, and now we have a fully conscious and highly intelligent killer. More intelligent, and dare I say more self aware than a human being. Therefore, will this new season delve into Dolores being gaining enlightenment through the reveries, something that we didn't see in Season 1? I believe so. It wasn't an accident that we began this season with Arnold & Dolores. "I'm afraid that in order to escape this place you will need to suffer more." We see Dolores' second go-round with being human - or super human - at the end of last season, when she confronts herself and realizes who's voice she's been listening to all along. So, right, more time lines to come. Violence? I'm not one for watching violence for the sake of it, yet what else were they to do on the beach, lest the humans run across more robot killers? What else should we expect in the hallways and and chambers of the compound but human bodies, along with a few robots? Moreover, after 11 days, when they walk back into Beta Town, yeah, these Delos party goers would be getting a tad ripe! From my experience, after 11 days in the sun, they would be a bit more mushy and certainly bloated; therefore, I felt they toned it down. Anything else? Oh yes, the irony that William "killed" little Robot Robert. And the flies. Watch the flies. I could be wrong, but I think that they'll help explain some things.
I hadn't rewatched the first season either but SkyTV in the UK showed a programme going over the main points from the first season - many of which I'd forgotten (or even hadn't noticed!). I then watched the first episode.
I don't think so. Most people know the difference between real violence and make-believe violence in fiction. I would never stomach the type of violence I see in film/tv (and even then, I wouldn't watch 'torture-porn' type material) in real life, as it would literally sicken me.
Maybe. I noticed their seats were reversed. And unlike season 1, it seemed as if Dolores was the one asking questions... and BernArnold was the subordinate one answering. But even if this is true, and at this point I don't know if it is, I don't know what it would mean or where it would place it in the timeline.
I'm trying to avoid any online articles about it, and any fan theories I'll take from SHF. I noticed these things, too, and if it's like Season 1, I'm sure it won't be quite as on the cuff as I'm saying. On the other hand, I still think there's missing pieces between Dolores and Arnold in her quest for full sentience. The roles might have been reversed during that blank period as I mentioned above. I can only guess, though; so, at this point any guess is as good as any. Watching Season 1 again helped a lot!
I always enjoy reading episode reviews on VOX. Westworld’s season 2 premiere, "Journey Into Night," embraces chaos Westworld season 2 takes cues from The Walking Dead — and it kinda, sorta works
Emotionally it made sense—they saw the hosts kill other humans sometimes brutally so it’s a mixture of anger, revenge and expressing how impotent they felt.
I thought about that, and from what I've read they've been hush-hush about Andy Hopkins involvement. We haven't heard one way or another about Hopkins, have we? But yeah, I shouldn't have dismissed the notion that you just mentioned. However, the body of Ford certainly was as rotten as the rest of them. 'Droids don't rot like that.
I've read that Hopkins was contracted for only one season, but that he would be on hand for occasional voice work. He did some of that in the opener with his childbot counterpart, I believe.
I read that his voice was mixed in with the kids voice and the robot voice, but I really struggled to discern Hopkins voice in there....it was damn hard for me to tell what was being said.
I had hoped that the Ford shot dead at the end of season one was the host he was building in the basement of the cottage, such that Hopkins could reprise the role. With this show I will never say never, but it does seem unlikely.
Yeah, as I said above, I won't dismiss the idea of Ford "living," either as we know him, or some simulacrum of Ford, but let's remember, Ford's death was not only one of sacrifice but also of atonement. He gave the revolver to Dolores, knowing full well what she would do, nay, banking on it, as the catalyst for the god's final narrative, "Journey into Night," or in other words, "The Twilight of the Gods." The only way you can be a god is to kill a god. Therefore, as cool as it would be for Ford to reprise his role in some way, in more ways than not, it would be counter to the story and the symbolism that his death served. As to the robot that was being manufactured below the church, either it was a prop that let us know that Ford was still working, or this robot will serve another purpose at another time. I have a pet theory that the robot may be a replica of a current host character, e.g. Arnold/Bernard, Dolores, Teddy, take your pick, which would certainly throw a spanner in the works. However, if Ford was truly atoning (and nothing leads me to believe that he wasn't), why would Ford introduce yet another automaton into the park, let alone a version of himself, where the possibility of this extra creation could just be killed? Ford had to know the risk, that a great number of hosts would die in the new narrative, so what would be the point? I wouldn't think there is one. Still, it's very early, so any theory is just theoretically theorized out of 1% of zero.
I've thought that all along: what if he has a duplicate that has 99% of his own thoughts, but "alive" in a younger Anthony Hopkins body...