Decrypted: I think we’ve got Westworld all figured out now

In this episode of our TV podcast, we talk to game designer Jane McGonigal about the show's gameplay.

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[Ronin007]

DoomHamster[/url]":2q62q3ff]

Maldoror[/url]":2q62q3ff]I don't get the comparisons with Lost (possibly because I watched only half an episode of Lost). Can someone clue me in?

Clue you in on Lost...where to start...

Go watch Lost.

I would not wish that upon my worst enemy. It was such a waste of time.

 

[Ronin007]

ars diavoli[/url]":22c89n78]

taiganaut[/url]":22c89n78]

JonathanSmith[/url]":22c89n78]We could also finish Maeve's storyline, since it looks like things are going downhill fast for her.

I don't exactly see min-maxing one's stats, learning to appreciate the recursive elegance of one's own programming, and developing jedi mind powers over all nearby hosts as "going downhill."

And it explains Thandie Newton's casting, which at the start of the series seemed a trivial role for an actor of her caliber.

Agreed.
I prefer Maeve's narrative to date over Dolores' at this point. Though the Felix/Sylvester stuff is a tad weak in order to allow things to happen...

 

[Ronin007]

SraCet[/url]":2rumrear]What we're seeing in Westworld is clearly at least two (i.e., multiple) timelines... we are seeing events happening linearly with William, and also events happening linearly with the MiB, and these events are interspersed in the TV show. Multiple timelines. No time travel or "time frames." Just multiple timelines.

Given the distinction between host vs guest memory recollection - hosts retain perfect memory; guests/humans suffer trace decay (hence the episode name) - hosts remind me of Tralfamadorians (from Slaughterhouse Five).

 

[Ronin007]

caeldan[/url]":1c5q10p8]
Although, doesn't [Logan] in the first episode just flat out shoot a host just to show William you can do whatever? Or was it just a knife in a guy's hand?

That was the second episode.
He threatened to shoot people in the restaurant before stabbing the old man in the hand when the old man attempted to offer William a quest.

Additionally: MiB is the darkest timeline...

 

[Ronin007]

Hot Jupiter[/url]":y1xyqljh]If I shut myself down for 1,000 years, then I have traveled time...

I get the feeling Arnold has traveled time.

Rip Van Arnold?

 

[Ronin007]

SraCet[/url]":mx6iojkn]
But we've also seen Ford's robot family. They were made by Arnold, i.e., within the first few years of the park opening, and they are quite realistic.

Edit: we also know that Delores is one of the earliest models and she's pretty realistic too.

The former, Ford has been updating himself but kept them "unregistered". The latter has been "updated so many times she's practically new".

That said, Dolores memories of the town with the white chapel do not show hosts who are as noticeably animatronic as Old Bill in the first episode. It's unclear at what stage those hosts are - there's two supporting staff (female intercepts Armistice who has left her dance partner, male in the background). Dolores unreliable narration undermines her storyline to me.

 

[Ronin007]

LimpBagel[/url]":t85dyrmu]Lindelof is too busy writing The Leftovers and movies.

Lindelof == Sizemore?

 

[Ronin007]

entropist65[/url]":1lpxxkr2]Regarding the "money men", does anybody else feel like they're dropping a lot of hints that MIB is the head of Delos? In the conversation Ford has with Theresa where he talks about the money men, he also mentions that the board has already sent somebody to the park. When MIB is talking to Ford, he has that line about saving the park 30 years ago. And then in this last episode, Teddy says something about him acting like the god of this world, and he says "not just this one", which could be a reference to him owning the other worlds (FutureWorld, RomeWorld, etc.)

Bait & switch, which has been standard this season.

The implication of MiB being the representative was supplanted by the introduction of Charlotte Hail in the following episode. MiB is a considered to be a paying customer after the explosive jail break to get Hector.

 

[Ronin007]

entropist65[/url]":10oor629]
I'm not so sure about that. Of course I'm not sure about anything. I think Charlotte might be the bait and switch there, because it seems like she arrived after that conversation. And since Charlotte and Theresa were obviously working closely together, I'd think that Theresa would have known if she had arrived or was on her way.

I don't see how Charlotte is what you believe - she's still attempting to get Westworld data/IP out of Westworld. What's interesting is that she chose Abernathy for reasons unknown, but there's an implication that Theresa Cullen planted the photograph that set Abernathy off (acting on the board's behalf). But we now know that there's an explosive charge in the spine (C7?) that will detonate when a host attempts to leave whatever boundary of the park. C7 is at the base of the neck, and we've seen (in Ep 3: The Stray) that Westworld staff only needs the head for data/diagnostics so maybe Charlotte knows this & is banking on it to make for lighter travel? We don't know just how explosive - maybe the hope is the charge might manage to take out Ford in the process? But I digress...

I don't remember the exact wording of that scene with the Hector breakout, but I thought Stubbs just said something along the lines of "that man gets whatever he wants", not necessarily that he was a paying customer. Could totally be wrong there though.

True, like lots it's ambiguous to the point that things could go either way.

I'm starting to feel like they're putting so much out there that supports the William == MIB thing that they might be using that as a distraction so that they can do a double reveal. MIB is William! (Saw that coming.) And he runs Delos. (Wait, what?)

Two more episodes, we might get an answer. Maybe. Whatever it is.

 

[Ronin007]

SraCet[/url]":3uwzo0zw]
Dunno, I doubt Ford would have upgraded/retrofitted his family. I believe he said that he "maintained" them himself. If you received a precious gift from a friend who passed away, would you upgrade and retrofit it, or painstakingly keep it in its original condition?

Ford maintains the host copies of his family not out of sentimentality - for spying/control. That was made evident in the previous episode, between the Bernard reveal and the power play with the board. But to date we've only seen Ford visit Old Bill out the need to chat with someone whom he feels secure with - a person/guest isn't as trustworthy.

 

[Ronin007]

McDeath[/url]":3066h2s7]
What if Maeve simply stumbled upon and enabled the code that (host) Ford himself uses to control everything?

It'd start with Maeve changing things so hosts perceive her as a guest, not a host. Which is what we saw is possible with Teddy in the first episode. Which is why verbal commands have been a poor choice, security-wise, from the beginning...