Westworld - HBO | Fans of Reality TV

Bearcata
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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:34:54 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:34:54 GMT

per Google:

Westworld - American television series

Westworld isn't your typical amusement park. Intended for rich vacationers, the futuristic park -- which is looked after by robotic "hosts" -- allows its visitors to live out their fantasies through artificial consciousness. No matter how illicit the fantasy may be, there are no consequences for the park's guests, allowing for any wish to be indulged. "Westworld" -- which is based on the 1973 Michael Crichton movie of the same name -- features an all-star cast that includes Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins and Golden Globe winner Ed Harris.

First episode date: October 2, 2016
Network: HBO
Production locations: Castle Valley, Simi Valley, Newhall, Agoura Hills, Universal City, Los Angeles
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Halley Wegryn Gross

per wiki:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_%28TV_series%29

Westworld is an American science fiction thriller television series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy for HBO, based on the 1973 film of the same name, which was written and directed by American novelist Michael Crichton. Nolan serves as executive producer along with Joy, J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk with Nolan directing the pilot. The first episode premiered on October 2, 2016.

The series takes place in the fictional theme park of Westworld, a technologically advanced, Western theme park populated completely by synthetic androids dubbed "Hosts", who cater to high paying visitors dubbed "Newcomers", who can do what they wish within the park without fear of retaliation from the Hosts.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:35:39 GMT by Bearcata

Bearcata
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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:41:52 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:41:52 GMT

Season 1 is 10 episodes long.

Episose 1 - The Original - October 2, 2016

Westworld's lead programmer, Bernard, notices some of the Hosts exhibiting odd behavior and meets with Robert, Westworld's creative director. After a recent update, Westworld's sheriff malfunctions. Shortly after, another Host malfunctions and slaughters many Hosts, convincing Theresa to pull all of the updated Hosts out of Westworld. The Man In Black, a Newcomer who raped Host Dolores, tortures another Host and scalps it, revealing the design of a maze on the skull. Dolores notices her father Peter behaving strangely while looking at a picture a Newcomer had left behind and goes to town to get help from her friend Teddy. Lee arranges for a gang of bandits led by Hector to attack the town and "kill" all of the updated Hosts so that they can be safely removed without disrupting the narrative. Hector is shot and killed by a Newcomer. Teddy is killed in the firefight and a distraught Dolores is put to sleep by a staff member. Robert personally questions Peter, who seems determined to warn Dolores about the true nature of Westworld and vows revenge upon his creators. Robert explains the odd behavior away as Peter reliving previous programmed personalities, but he is put into cold storage with the rest of the malfunctioning Hosts. Dolores is questioned by Westworld personnel, and passes claiming she is happy and would never hurt a living thing. Dolores lives her day over with a new father, but casually kills a fly.

Watched it when it originally aired.

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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:43:33 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:43:33 GMT

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

Season 1 Episode 1 - "The Original" - October 2, 2016

Teddy and Dolores, two romantically linked android hosts of theme park Westworld, are attacked by the Man in Black, a mysterious park guest. When the hosts begin behaving strangely, head programmer Bernard Lowe traces the problem to errors in park founder Dr. Ford's reverie code and requests the affected hosts be removed from service. Theresa Cullen, the park administrator, orders an attack on the town to be brought forward to help cover for the removal of all the affected hosts. Dolores' father Peter finds a photograph that a newcomer left behind and malfunctions. When Dr. Ford interrogates him, Peter quotes Shakespeare and vows revenge upon his creator. Peter is retired from service. Dolores is interrogated and found to be functioning normally. She is wiped and relives her day with a new father, but unknown to management breaks her programming to casually kill a fly.

Cleaning out the DVR for Fall/Winter 2017

Season 1 Episode 2 - "Chestnut" - October 7, 2016

Logan and William arrive at Westworld as guests, but William is reluctant to indulge, finally developing feelings for Dolores. Though Bernard secretly questions Dolores to make sure nobody has tampered with her, her contact with procuring madame host Maeve results in her malfunction as well. Maeve is taken in for maintenance but unexpectedly awakes and witnesses damaged hosts, including Teddy, being cleaned. She is rendered unconscious and taken away before she can attract any attention. Dolores finds a pistol outside the house. The Man in Black abducts outlaw host Lawrence from his execution, demanding that he tell him the location of a maze. Lawrence's daughter gives the Man in Black his next clue after he kills her mother. Ford vetoes Sizemore's new narrative calling it cheap titillation that underestimates the guests. Ford shows Bernard, who is revealed to be involved with Theresa, his alternate narrative involving a church.

It has been almost a year since the premiere episode and I finally starting watching again. This show deserves your absolute attention. You see what is going on but you know there is something there underneath and you just sit there watching this beautiful thing unfurl in front of you. This is the height of story telling, amazing. I don't know what is going on but I await the next episode with bated breath.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:44:45 GMT by Bearcata

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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:45:32 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:45:32 GMT

Season 1 Episode 3 - "The Stray" - October 16, 2016

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

William drags Logan off on a bounty hunt. Dolores asks Teddy to teach her to shoot, but her programming prevents her from firing a gun. Ford changes Teddy's backstory for his new narrative, in which the latter is pitted against outlaw host Wyatt. Ford also tells Bernard, who is revealed to have lost his son previously, about his old partner, Arnold, who died in Westworld in an accident. Bernard is worried about the effect their conversations have had on Dolores, but she promises to keep quiet and follow her loop. Elsie, who secretly reports to Bernard, and Stubbs are sent to capture a stray host. They find him trapped in a ravine. When Stubbs tries to retrieve his head, he wakes up and attacks them before smashing his own head in with a rock. At the homestead, Dolores is attacked by bandits, one of whom drags her into the barn to rape her. She steals his gun but is unable to shoot him until she sees him as the Man in Black. Though being shot, she escapes, stumbles into William and Logan's campsite and collapses in William's arms

.

Dolores escape is confusing as you see overlapping memories as she was shot in one memory and not shot in another memory. Mariposa has also been experiencing the overlapping memories in the last two episodes. It is a little sickening that folks pay 40 thousand dollars to come to an adult park to rape, kill, and pillage. Doesn't say much about the folks who do that. Why do park employees have hosts kill, torture, and rape each other?

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:47:47 GMT by Bearcata

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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:48:24 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:48:24 GMT

Season 1 Episode 4 - "Dissonance Theory" - October 23, 2016

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

Logan decides to finish the bounty hunt and mocks William for bringing Dolores along. They capture the fugitive, but Logan decides to have a better adventure by taking him to his boss. Meanwhile, the Man in Black, accompanied by Lawrence, is hunting snakes and finds Armistice with her snake tattoo. He breaks Escaton out of prison for her, and she tells him that the tattoo represents all of her victims, who were Wyatt's men. The Man in Black and Lawrence leave for Wyatt, rescuing a tortured Teddy. Cullen takes over the investigation into the stray, not trusting Elsie and Bernard. She meets Ford about his new narrative, but he demands she not interfere, revealing his knowledge about her past and affair with Lowe. Maeve is having visions, and during Escaton and Armistice's attack on the town she finds a bullet in her unscarred belly with his assistance, proving that her visions are real. They kiss passionately as the sheriff's men open fire through the door.

"So the little girl said to find the maze you have to follow the blood arroyo to where the snake lays it's eggs" Beware prophecy and riddles.

I notice some very strong females in the story lines. Mariposa, the madame, and Delores, the rancher's daughter. Maybe not traditionally strong female roles but they are the ones that plot lines revolve around. Lots of growth in these characters.

Interesting that the Indian childs doll looks like one of the hazmat crew and that the Indians have a religion based on them.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:49:32 GMT by Bearcata

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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:50:09 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:50:09 GMT

Season 1 Episode 5 "Contrapasso" - October 30, 2016

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

Hughes discovers that the stray has been transmitting information outside of the park to an unknown party, reporting it to Bernard. The Man in Black kills Lawrence, whose blood he transfused into Teddy. They are then confronted by Ford, who assures the Man in Black that he will not stop the latter's efforts to find the maze, returning Teddy's full strength also. Dolores, William and Logan travel to the town of Pariah, where they meet criminal gang leader El Lazo, a.k.a. Lawrence, who tasks them with stealing a wagon of high explosives from the Union Army, a mission they complete successfully. Dolores, who has been seeing visions of herself advising her to find the maze, realizes El Lazo intends to keep the explosives for himself rather than to sell them to the former Confederates, who apprehend Logan while William and Dolores flee, joining El Lazo in the train. Maeve awakens in the control center and demands technician Felix chat.

I always find it interesting to know what an author's title means:

per wiki:

Contrapasso is one of the few rules in Dante's Inferno. It is the one “law of nature” that applies to hell, stating that for every sinner's crime there must be an equal and fitting punishment.
This kinda applies to Logan finally getting beat up ... but I am sure there are many, many, many other applications I have not picked up. Especially, I think that his company may be the one stealing data from Westworld.

This episode is an interesting turning point in both Delores's and Mariposa's and William's paths. You may even include the Man in Black finally getting some answers.

Ford, has hidden a lot from his investors.

The primary questions are "what is the Maze" and what did Arnold do, he or Ford or both or both partially sent something in play 34/35 years ago and it is just now starting to reveal or unravel itself.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:51:11 GMT by Bearcata

Bearcata
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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:51:39 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:51:39 GMT

Season 1 Episode 6 "The Adversary" - November 6, 2016

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

At a Union Army outpost, the soldiers recognize Teddy as an accomplice in Wyatt's massacre of his unit. After recalling his complicity, Teddy escapes with the Man in Black by killing all of the soldiers. Sizemore is introduced by Theresa to Hale, a Board representative sent to observe park operations. Theresa ends her relationship with Bernard, who finds out that Ford has secretly been keeping a family of hosts. Elsie continues investigating the glitches and tells Bernard that Theresa is behind the espionage, and that the first generation hosts have been re-programmed by someone calling themselves Arnold. However, she is abducted by an unknown assailant. A child host kills his dog, telling Ford that Arnold told him to. Felix gives Maeve a tour of the company. She bends him and Sylvester to her will and convinces them to change her programming, setting her awareness rating to its maximum level while decreasing her loyalty.

What an interesting episode. The theme of people/hosts going about their lives/loops of reliving them over and over and over again, of being preprogrammed with a set of behaviors/instinct/DNA, of who controls whom is fascinating as is the parallel espionage angle of who controls the data/the patent of the hosts and park. This is played on so many levels it is utterly fascinating to watch, the most obvious of course is Mariposa and the two techs.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:53:51 GMT by Bearcata

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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:54:42 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:54:42 GMT

Season 1 Episode 7 "Trompe L'Oeil" - November 13, 2016

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

It is revealed that Theresa and Hale are both secretly stealing Ford's research for the board so that they can oust him from the park without fear of him destroying his work in retribution. They engineer an event to demonstrate that Ford's updates make the hosts violent and uncontrollable in their narratives. Bernard is blamed for the update of untested faulty code and fired as a result. William and Dolores develop romance. The train is then attacked by the Confederados, forcing William, Dolores, and Lawrence to flee. They are saved when the Confederados are ambushed by an Indian tribe called the Ghost Nation. Dolores and William part ways with Lawrence. Meanwhile, Maeve finds her friend Clementine retired by the staff. The former decides to use Felix and Sylvester to escape the park. Bernard takes Theresa to Sector 17; inside a hidden lab she finds design plans that reveal he is a host. Ford appears, reiterates to her that he has complete control over the park, regardless of what the board thinks, and has Bernard kill her.

This series is beautifully shot, and acted, the writing scary at times and bizarre. There are layers and layers to this story and you are not sure exactly where you are and who you should root for. The baseline plot is of the corporate board/overlords planning to steal from Ford, I as a viewer am outraged, how dare they, and yet it is such a great example of greedy human behavior. Then of course we root for Ford, are thrilled he was able to see through the boards nefarious plans and has the capability and skill to turn on them, wouldn't we all luv to do that. This puts us viewers in a difficult position later on in regards to Theresa. At first we at first don't like Theresa as a corporate drone, then sympathize with her when we find out she is Bernard's lover, hate her for using Bernard and participating in a scheme to trick and defraud Ford, and then feel thrilled she had been outmaneuvered, and then feel a bit sad for her cold murder. Each storyline is gut wrenching and confusing and yet pulls us in as we see little bits of stuff revealed and yet we don't really know where we are going.

Per wiki:

trompe l'oeil

visual illusion in art, especially as used to trick the eye into perceiving a painted detail as a three-dimensional object.

I find episodes titles interesting as at times they reveal a deeper meaning of what happens in an episode.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:56:01 GMT by Bearcata

Bearcata
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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 15:56:40 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 15:56:40 GMT

Season 1 Episode 8 "Trace Decay" - November 20, 2016

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

Ford has Bernard stage Theresa's death to look like an accident. Then, Ford wipes Bernard's memories after Bernard has a vision of himself attacking Elsie. Stubbs becomes suspicious of Bernard's behavior. Hale recruits Sizemore for her cause. Maeve convinces Felix to give her the ability to control other hosts, and slits Sylvester's throat for attempting to kill her; though she has Felix save him. Maeve then suffers more visions of her past life with her daughter and reflexively kills another host, prompting the park staff to retrieve her for a diagnostic. William and Dolores finally reach their destination, Ford's church, where Dolores has more disturbing visions and realizes that Arnold wants her to remember something before they are captured by a band of Confederados led by Logan. Teddy receives a flashback of the Man in Black attacking Dolores and interrogates him. The Man in Black explains he started searching for the maze to find purpose after his wife's suicide. Teddy is wounded by a female host before they are captured by Wyatt's cultists.

per Google:

Decay theory proposes that memory fades due to the mere passage of time. Information is therefore less available for later retrieval as time passes and memory, as well as memory strength, wears away. When we learn something new, a neurochemical "memory trace" is created.

per Google:

What is trace decay in memory?

This explanation of forgetting in short term memory assumes that memories leave a trace in the brain. A trace is some form of physical and/or chemical change in the nervous system. Trace decay theory states that forgetting occurs as a result of the automatic decay or fading of the memory trace.

Luv episode titles and luv google that explains them and I must give credit to the writers who wrote in trace decayed memories through out the story lines.

It was a tad shocking to see Maeve attack Sylvester, but he was so hateful it was expected, after all I have been wanted to "slap" him down now since they introduced him. What was surprising was Maeve telling Felix to save Sylvester.

For a second there I thought Theodore would be able to kill The Man in Black.

This episode is like peeling layer after layer of an onion, best to simply lay back and observe it and admire the skill in which it is done.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 15:58:34 GMT by Bearcata

Bearcata
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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 16:01:03 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 16:01:03 GMT

Season 1 Episode 9 "The Well-Tempered Clavier"November 27, 2016

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series

Maeve reveals to Bernard that he is a host and convinces him to let her back into the park, where she meets Escaton and convinces him to help her escape the park. Bernard confronts Ford and forces him to restore all of his memories, and discovers he is a model of Arnold. Bernard attempts to kill Ford; but the latter uses a backdoor in the former's code to force him to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Logan cuts open Dolores's belly to show William she is not real. She manages to escape and run away, finding that the wound is suddenly gone. She reaches the church, where she learns that she killed Arnold. She then encounters the Man in Black. Logan then awakes to find that William has slaughtered all of the Confederados. William threatens Logan into helping him find Dolores. Teddy has a flashback of himself killing host Angela before she kills him. Hale meets the Man in Black, who is revealed to be a Board member, and unsuccessfully tries to gain his assistance in removing Ford. Stubbs investigates suspicious activity in the park and is ambushed by Ghost Nation hosts, who are not under control.

per Google:

The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893, is a collection of two series of Preludes and Fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Well, that explains the music.

www.quora.com/What-is-the-si...mpered-Clavier

What is the significance of The Well-Tempered Clavier?

The Well-Tempered Clavier is a collection of two books of keyboard music. Each book contains 24 relatively free, "improvisatory" preludes, each of which precedes a fugue. These prelude-fugue pairs cycle through all 24 possible major and minor tonalities; accounting for both books, that's 48 preludes and fugues, two in each of the possible keys. The two books were published two decades apart (1722 & 1742), and some of the material in them was recycled from earlier works by Bach.

The primary significance of the WTC today is that, somewhat like Bach's Goldberg Variations, in addition to being simply enjoyable music of the highest craftsmanship it is an encyclopedic catalog of the keyboard styles and techniques of Bach's lineage and of his day. The preludes exhibit an extraordinary range of colors and styles, and the fugues are marvels of compact and thorough contrapuntal exploration and expression. Chopin was especially fond of the WTC, claiming to play from it every day, and it is said to have inspired his Préludes, Op. 28, in addition to numerous later works by Hindemith, Shostakovich, and other composers. While some purists hold that the WTC is best performed on period instruments, its contents are also enriched by performance on the pianoforte, which can add color, phrasing, and articulation not possible on the instruments of Bach's time.

"the fugues are marvels of compact and thorough contrapuntal exploration and expression" This so explains all the variations of hosts, their story lines, their memories, their expressions, holds true for guests as well and how perhaps their experience/prelude/fugue in the park/musical instrument/clavier shapes them. Clever.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 16:02:58 GMT by Bearcata

Bearcata
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Westworld - HBO May 23, 2018 16:03:32 GMT

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Post by Bearcata on May 23, 2018 16:03:32 GMT

Season 1 Episode 10 "The Bicameral Mind" - December 4, 201 - Season Finale

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

The Man in Black presses Dolores about Wyatt’s whereabouts and the center of the maze, and reveals he is actually an aged William. Dolores then remembers Arnold’s order to kill him and destroy the park, and that she is actually Wyatt. She attempts fighting back, Teddy rescues her, and they flee to a distant beach. Dolores dies in Teddy's arms, though that is revealed to be part of Ford's narrative. During her escape from Westworld, Maeve—aided by Hector and Armistice—finds Bernard's corpse, and Felix repairs him. Bernard warns Maeve that her desire to escape was programmed into her. Although Maeve—now alone—initially continues her escape, she has second thoughts and exits the imminently departing train to find her daughter. Back at Westworld, Ford tells Dolores and Bernard that he regretted his role in Arnold's death, came to desire to free the hosts as well, and has spent the last 35 years preparing them to fight back. He then gives a speech in front of Charlotte, the Man in Black, and other guests, criticizing their handling of the park. Dolores then shoots and kills Ford while an army of reactivated hosts emerges from a nearby forest.
The series explores ideas about the bicameral mind by Julian Jaynes, about the existence of two separate minds—one that gives instructions and another that performs them, and how consciousness comes from breaking down the wall between them by exposing the individual to new kinds of stimuli.

Shocker, William is The Man in Black and we have been following a story that happened over 30 yrs ago.

Kinda thought Ford was setting up the Board of Delos to be "terminated" by the hosts well at this point it is still Delores/Wyatt.

How long has the Wyatt persona been around?

I liked that Bernard mentioned several hosts have "awoken" but most were driven insane.

I don't always like the story of we create machines with consciousness and they turn around and destroy us. While it speaks to mans hubris it does not mean as a species we are totally without worth. I also don't see the hosts totally destroying man as few are conscious and few know the process to make themselves and there is always the issue of supplies. But lets not petty details derail the story. Samurai World was a nice touch. Where is Mariposa heading? Where exactly is her daughter located?

Answers will be available in Spring 2018 when Season 2 begins.

Last Edit: May 23, 2018 16:04:51 GMT by Bearcata