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HBO's Westworld

Discussion in 'TV, Music and Movies' started by Clark Kent, Oct 3, 2016.

  1. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    I've been waiting for this show to air since I first read about it. Last night's premiere absolutely delivered. This show feels like it's going to be epic. Will it replace Game of Thrones? Nothing can replace Game of Thrones but this feels like its equal in terms of epic scope. And I love the premise, which I was unsure of, after initially reading about it. I still want to watch the original Westworld movie, starring Yul Brenner as a teaser/catch up of the concept, but from what I've read, the premiere of HBO's Westworld hasadded much needed depth.

    Producers: Jonathon Nolan (Christopher Nolan's Brother), Lisa Ann Nolan, JJ Abrams.

    Premise: A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged.

    Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachael Wood, James Marsden, Jeffery Wright, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, etc...

    Feels like: Groundhog day, Jurassic Park, A.I, Assassins Creed (video game).

    Trailer:
    [video=youtube;IuS5huqOND4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuS5huqOND4[/video]​
     
  2. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    It looks very good. I won't be able to watch it because I don't do premium channels and can't get broadband, but its the first HBO/Showtime show in a long time that interests me. I thought that the original movie was really cool when I first saw it.
     
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  3. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Definitely checking it out as I thought the previews I had seen were very intriguing.
     
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  4. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    Based on nothing more that the trailers, i think the main woman is Anthony Hopkins daughter. We'll come to find out he created this whole thing to keep her alive or she's in a coma or something like that.
     
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  5. CrunchTime

    CrunchTime Administrator Retired Administrator

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    In the book written by the same author as as Jurrasic Park ,there were several theme parks of alternate realities not only the Wild West.There was Roman and Medieval world too.

    The movie was very good too with Yul Bryner considering they didnt have CGI and and the special effects of today.

    This pilot looks very good too .Who can complain about a cast that includes Ed Harris and Anthony Hopkins .
     
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  6. Bumrush

    Bumrush Stable Genius Club Member

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    Why would he subjugate her to daily rape, abuse and mayhem with the people around her?
     
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  7. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    I wonder if you read what I wrote?
     
  8. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Interesting you say that... That last line in the trailer could hint at something like that. But there was also a line in the premiere where two characters discussed...

    *I'm putting this behind tags in case you or anyone else didn't see the premiere yet. Not a spoiler relating to future story lines or anything.
    In the future, advancements in medicine can cure any illness or disease and that the last frontier from humans to conqueror is death. In addition, the "father" of Dolores, discusses how she changed his life and made him a better man. Perhaps that "script" of his, could be a hint about the motivations for Hopkins.

    Certainly, I would hope Jonathon Nolan would be a little more creative than that.
     
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  9. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    I dunno... I was expecting something better actually. It's only been one episode so this is really an early judgement. But to me, it seems limited in where it can go as far as a story line is concerned. Artificial intelligence becoming self aware. It's Terminator mixed in with a little bit of the character called Data from Star Trek Next Generation.
     
  10. vt_dolfan

    vt_dolfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    Im loving this series...so much to talk about. The philosophical questions are endless. We arent far from something like this being real....perhaps on a virtual level.

    If they arent real, does it matter?
     
  11. vt_dolfan

    vt_dolfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    They never speak of how much it costs to go to WW..only that is sounds expensive.

    If yall could afford it, and it was real...would you go?
     
  12. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I saw an extended trailer for the show over the weekend - like 3 minutes long - and I have to say that any interest and excitement that I had for the show is gone. Originally, based on what I'd read and seen, and the source material, I thought that it would be cool sci fi and mystery, but it looks like its just another dark, gloomy, brutal and violent show that's so popular these days. Not for me.
     
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  13. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Yes, absolutely no interest in all of these shows of that nature. I'm not missing out if its like that. I want no part of it.
     
  14. Bpk

    Bpk Premium Member Luxury Box

    Agreed. I have a quota of violent dark disturbing stuff and I prefer spending that on Game of Thrones, Narcos, Stranger Things (pretty lite fare actually, but may as well include it) and Walking Dead. Had to dump American Horror Story. Also not big on shows all about people having affairs or stuff like that (seems like Scandal, Good Wife, House of Cards and many others feature that stuff a lot).

    Last show that I felt was positive and still good quality was Friday Night Lights. Would love another one of those.


    Westworld lost me when I got the sense she was either a whore in a brothel, or being sexually abused like one. Add some stark grim bleakness and it became unappealing. Once I drop some of my other shows (when they wrap up) I'll consider watching WW if it still gets rave reviews.
     
  15. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    So far WW is interesting enough to watch the next show, but still all potential so far.
     
  16. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Anyone still watching? I'm loving this show. Easily in my top 3 right now.


    My favorite theory is, the Man in Black and William/Billy (aka Liam McPoyle) are the same person. And the show is displaying two different timelines of his experience. Which means the events are taking place 30 years apart (since the MIB said he first came there 30 years ago). Perhaps, William is going to witness the "event" or malfunctioning of the machines/AI that the show referenced. For the record, that event was said to have happened 30 years ago too... So we're watching both past and present, all leading to... A massacre? A revolution? Which perhaps leads to the MIB wanting to free the AI 30 years later. The theory is rough around the edges, but I like the basis of it.

    As far as episode 4 goes, the MIB stole the episode. It was nice to see the show get away from the heaviness and darkness and keep things a little lighter. The MiB's scenes were particularly effective because of that transition. Speaking of transitions, Anthony Hopkins plays sinister so well... I'm not going to say he's the villain of Westworld just quite yet, he just took a step in the direction of antagonist. The way he can communicate with the world, without even speaking, is frightening and unsettling.
     
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  17. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Also interesting, it appears that the A.I.has created a religion around the "overseers" of the park. So it appears, the mind wipes are not completely working. Perhaps they never have and led to the first incident 30 years ago.I guess it could be like trying to delete hard drive data. You can erase it and it may appear erased, but data can still be recovered. Or perhaps Arnold had programmed the hard drives in a certain manner for the data to be recovered? Hard to imagine Dr. Ford wouldn't have discovered any code and eradicated it. I'm guess the former rather than the latter.
     
  18. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    That's an interesting theory. I don't know, given the latest episode, that it is possible however. I mean he ran into Delores at the camp fire and that seemed to be "present" day.

    So I'm still watching it... it has my attention. it does make you wonder how long the guests are allowed to stay in the park. It seems the MIB has been there for a long time. And they let a little out about who he is in the outside world in the last episode. So there's obviously some relevance there.
     
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  19. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Another awesome episode. A lot to talk about but this episode revealed something interesting. Anthony Hopkin's character name is Dr. Ford. Dr. Robert Ford (MIB calls him Robert). Robert Ford was the man who killed Jesse James. I saw the movie a long time ago, but I don't recall many details other than Ford was jealous, so he killed Jesse James. I wonder if that foreshadows our Dr. Ford. Did he kill Arnold, who may have been the real genius of Westworld? Perhaps Dr. Ford isn't even real... but a "host" who believes he is human, created by Arnold? That would explain his telekinetic abilities with other hosts, right?

    This show is ****ing nuts... I love how little I understand what's actually going on. The possible outcomes for this season and beyond are endless.
     
  20. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Another interesting layer... This appears on HBO's website. It's the terms of service for Westworld...

    The MiB pointed out tonight, that a long time ago, the Hosts were machines. Now? They're recreated flesh and bone. Could cloning play some role? Remember the little boy Dr. Ford talked with? The one who fetched the MiB's water in tonight's episodes? I thought that might have been a younger version of Ford himself, judging by the way he talked to him. Obviously these "clones" couldn't be true clones, in the sense they're legit replicas. But perhaps DNA is used to create the raw material.
     
  21. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    I think there might be something to there being two (perhaps more) timelines going on here. El Lazo being with the MiB and getting killed off... but then he's with Delores and the two guests (Billy and Logan). It's becoming apparent that the MiB is going to be born out of that timeline... the real question is which one is he, Billy or Logan? What throws us is that Delores has these "memories" that appear to occur before this earlier timeline. And that she's also being interviewed by Robert Ford (and Bernard in secret) at a later time (another timeline).
     
  22. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Is there really something telekinetic going on though? So far I've seen a lot of verbal queues and then a host reacting to a perceived aggression against him by the MIB. I like the theory that he could be a host himself. Also like the theory that the MIB is Arnold. Now that Maive (?) is basically completely self aware I'm wondering how that's going to affect the story.
     
  23. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    I don't know if it's telekinesis exactly... But there seemingly have been moments where the androids responded to a command that was not given verbally or physically. At least, that we've seen. the first time it happened it was the waiter who froze in place and over filling the wine glass. The second was when the field workers left in unison. And lastly when the MiB asked what would he see if he cut Ford open... Teddy just reacted by grabbing the knife with prompt.

    Speaking of, it's interesting that the MIB threatened to cut open Dr. Ford and wondering what we would find. Given the nature of the conversation, it might not mean anything. Perhaps even a deliberate red herring. But since we were teased with Teddy being a human guest during the pilot, I suspect that there are androids that we, the audience, believe to be human. Dr. Ford would make a certain amount of sense. Another is Bernard. Bernard is the only human with a backstory. At least one revealed to us. So far, only the hosts have a back story of any kind. It's also interesting that Bernard has no idea who Arnold is. He had never heard of him. And yet, we've heard from convo's w/William and Logan that it was common knowledge that one of the creators died by suicide. While the details of the death are unconfirmed in the show, it's strange that Bernard wouldn't have heard of it, even if it's 30 years later. And the way Anthony Hopkins told the women to be careful with Bernard, as he has a sensitive disposition... It was almost mocking.

    Lots of possibilities on the table. I'm not sure MIB being Arnold is one of them though. He talked about Arnold as if he were entirely different person than himself. And given the William/Logan story line and how it's played out so far, I really think he's William.
     
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  24. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    I read an interesting article that suggested three timelines are possible. Certainly, I'm board with two at the moment. As for Dolores, I think they're being very tricky with her scenes as she is the only person present in both timelines (assuming there are two). With her, we could easily be bouncing back and forth at any given moment with her memories.

    I definitely think the MIB is William. Partly because he has such... nostalgia for Dolores during the premiere. It would make sense given that she's the one who ultimately gets him committed to this world. And the fact that he and Dolores are both experiencing an awakening in the past that forever changes them. I think it dovetails too nicely. And honestly, I think Logan is too much of a one note ******* to become the MIB in 30 years. Then again, Logan is obsessed with getting deeper into the "game" and experiences, which is similar to the MIB wanting to find the ultimate quest, the Maze. Then again, that could be William too, if the story progresses right.
     
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  25. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Episode 6 had many interesting moments...

    1. Anyone notice Yul Brenner's "Gunslinger?" In the scene where Bernard travels to the basement level, he shines a light on an old host. The old host was the antagonist of the movie "Westworld." A nameless android known as the Gunslinger. Very cool homage.
    [video=youtube;8RwNqorvjtg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RwNqorvjtg[/video]​

    2. When Bernard stumbled into Dr. Ford's family vacation, he sees the father and asks if he's Arnold. That's because the photograph that Dr. Ford showed him when discussing Arnold the first time around, showed the same man. Clearly, Dr. Ford is lying... why?

    3. It appears the maze will have some sort of transcendent consciousness content.

    4. Thandie Newton deserves an Emmy for this episode. She's been great all season, but she shined tonight. That whole scene with her exploring the labs was awesome.

    5. Teddy is nuts... And apparently, in his new backstory narrative, he helped Wyatt kill soldiers. Interesting...

    6. Elsie was kidnapped. The important question, is by who? Is Arnold really dead? I suspect the answer is yes and no. While his physical/human form may be gone, he's not dead. I kind of wonder if this series won't do something similar to that movie with Johnny Depp (Transcendence, I think). His consciousness might have been uploaded/reconfigured into code and he's become immortal. The next stage of A.I. evolution. And any host who can find his maze, will achieve the same?

    This show totally feels like the early seasons of "Lost." Every week, we learn little tidbits to wet our appetite, but in fact, more questions are raised than answered. I love it.
     
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  26. DolPhinPhan7

    DolPhinPhan7 Well-Known Member

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    Arnold are the strings behind whatever is going on. But what IS Arnold. Is it another company sabotaging Westworld?

    If it really is the 30 year old Arnold that downloaded his consciousness, why did he wait 30 years to wreck havoc on the park.

    Who believes that the Delores/William storyline, which we didn't see at all last night. is from a previous storyline from the past? And that William is the Man in Black? I don't believe that theory at all, but the interwebs seem very convinced.
     
  27. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Arnold: He's a real person. He's been referenced as a real person by numerous people and hosts. Why did he wait 30 years? This is why I suspect he's code. When Dr. Ford rolled out his updates (reveries) he seemingly unlocked something accidentally.

    I absolutely think William's story line is from the past and that he's the man in black. Too much evidence supports that theory and really, nothing refutes it. In fact, last night strengthened that theory. When Thandie Newton (Maeve) sees the "west world" video montage, there's a black woman who is running the girls at the saloon (remember, Maeve was seen with her daughter, in an earlier role/character/build) in Maeve's current role. When William and Logan arrive at Westworld, Thandie Newton's Maeve is NOT present but the other black woman is.

    Not to mention when Bernard accesses the "old" models, he goes to the basement and loads and old computer. The old computer/models are using the Westworld logo that we see when William arrives, not the current logo.
     
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  28. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    [​IMG]

    interesting...
     
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  29. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    yeah that brain thing is pretty interesting... here I was thinking Arnold had locked himself inside the maze... perhaps he didn't actually do this by building a house with a physical maze around it. but rather his mind is at the center, his source code I guess. If you can get to it, then you can control the whole park, not just some of it (what Dr Ford has access to).
     
  30. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    great episode this past Sunday. Kind of saw it coming... thought she might be a host instead of Bernard. But the dream sequence he had at the beginning was a foreboding. BTW, is there any other show on TV at the moment that shows more male genitalia?
     
  31. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Agreed. I'm surprised she didn't realize he was a host when he didn't see the door.
     
  32. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    I kind of got the feeling she knew he was a host though... it was when Ford said something there at the end. Forget the exact words. I guess it doesn't really matter now though (for her heh).
     
  33. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Episode 9 paid off in a big way. The biggest reason why I think this show is the best on TV right now, is because of how perfect the writing has been. The writers have provided substantial clues throughout the show for various topics of interest. Obvious enough to spark theories, but not so obvious that it left no room for skepticism and debate. This is how story telling should work. The beginning, middle, and end all woven together intricately.

    Anyone still watching? Ideas about what's in store for the finale?
     
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  34. gunn34

    gunn34 I miss Don & Dan

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    I never watched the show before this weekend, but love it. I agree that William could be Arnold in an earlier timeline. Thandie Newton has been perfect in this role and I'm curious to see where she goes from here.
     
  35. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    Fantastic episode they keep bringing Bernard further and further along.

    I have a feeling
    Delores is the man in blacks wife they made into a bot like they did with Arnold/Bernard
     
  36. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    MiB is divorced though no?
     
  37. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    He was talking to Teddy at the camp fire and mentioned his wife took the "wrong pills" and drowned in the bath tub and his daughter blamed him for killing herself because hes a time bomb waiting to go off
     
  38. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    And then there's the theory that William = the MiB. If this holds any water, then William is already married to someone other than Dolores.
     
  39. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    We know the picture that Dolores' first 'dad' Abernathy finds is William's fiance. Which is also how we now know that Dolores in the dress are scenes from the 'future/present.' I'm not sure if we've gotten a good enough look at it to determine if Dolores could be a copy of the woman in the picture. The hair color definitely doesn't match.
     
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  40. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    Mind ****. It makes u wonder how there can be a season two? Guess that is Maeves storyline. Which i thought perhaps is happening in the future (her self arareness) but perhaps it is in the present as we see Bernard and his lady friend together when Maeve is exploring the upper levels.

    I just think Delores was one of the original hosts. We know now that she killed Arnold just not how.
     

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