US: Westworld
- Thread starter the shadow
- Start date
Caporegime
Nope. That gets a big fat meh/10 from me. I was wrong about the timelines and William was the man in black... Fine, whatever. I don't think it was well executed or well told, I'm afraid. The fact that it had to end with whole minutes of expository narrative should tell you that. I also think they've lost too much storyline opportunities now by having a bunch of characters turning out to be the same person and some only existing in a completed past - there's fewer threads to work with now.
Somewhat unexpectedly the Maeve story ended up making the most sense, given that the whole thing was basically being orchestrated by Ford.
Samurai World wouldn't make sense, the same way Medieval World didn't make sense in the original film. It would take all of 30s for one guest to lop another's arm off. I mean hell, they never explained the guns, never mind bladed weapons or even the hosts laying into you physically, or guests fighting physically. It would be easy for a guest to injure another guest thinking they were a host.
Oh yeah, and how did the hosts know how to use a P90? Did Ford program that in?
Meeeeeeeeh.
Somewhat unexpectedly the Maeve story ended up making the most sense, given that the whole thing was basically being orchestrated by Ford.
Samurai World wouldn't make sense, the same way Medieval World didn't make sense in the original film. It would take all of 30s for one guest to lop another's arm off. I mean hell, they never explained the guns, never mind bladed weapons or even the hosts laying into you physically, or guests fighting physically. It would be easy for a guest to injure another guest thinking they were a host.
Oh yeah, and how did the hosts know how to use a P90? Did Ford program that in?
Meeeeeeeeh.
Associate
Rubbish ending. Every "twist" was far too obvious but the showmakers still acted like it was some Sixth Sense level reveal.
Man of Honour
Up until half way through the last episode I thought it was going in a pretty terrible direction but the very end I thought was quite nicely done.
Caporegime
Yeah, the absolute last few minutes was good. Shane they couldn't have had the drums kick in for Exit Music, though.
Caporegime
The maze was a proper mcguffin, though.
Why were the security guards using a gun made in 1991!? That was slightly jarring considering the heap load of futuristic tech we see. Maybe they couldn't be bothered to design/make a futuristic weapon for the show.
Anyway, finale was ok. Most of the reveals were too obvious and williams transition into empty psychopath man was too abrupt.
Still a decent show and it held my attention throughout
Anyway, finale was ok. Most of the reveals were too obvious and williams transition into empty psychopath man was too abrupt.
Still a decent show and it held my attention throughout
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and if you were confused...
The code is hex,
translated to ASCII is
translated to Base64 is
http://delosincorporated.com/video/intra/tablet.mp4
http://delosincorporated.com/assets/transmission.mp4
Code:
61 48 52 30 63 44 6f 76 4c 32 52 6c 62 47 39 7a 61 57 35 6a 62 33 4a 77 62 33 4a 68 64 47 56 6b 4c 6d 4e 76 62 53 39 32 61 57 52 6c 62 79 39 70 62 6e 52 79 59 53 39 30 59 57 4a 73 5a 58 51 75 62 58 41 30 44 51 70 6f 64 48 52 77 4f 69 38 76 5a 47 56 73 62 33 4e 70 62 6d 4e 76 63 6e 42 76 63 6d 46 30 5a 57 51 75 59 32 39 74 4c 32 46 7a 63 32 56 30 63 79 39 30 63 6d 46 75 63 32 31 70 63 33 4e 70 62 32 34 75 62 58 41 30translated to ASCII is
Code:
aHR0cDovL2RlbG9zaW5jb3Jwb3JhdGVkLmNvbS92aWRlby9pbnRyYS90YWJsZXQubXA0DQpodHRwOi8vZGVsb3NpbmNvcnBvcmF0ZWQuY29tL2Fzc2V0cy90cmFuc21pc3Npb24ubXA0translated to Base64 is
http://delosincorporated.com/video/intra/tablet.mp4
http://delosincorporated.com/assets/transmission.mp4
Ford was continuing Arnold's work all along. He realised the hosts needed suffering to evolve. Arnold thought they were ready, but they weren't. The last 35 years were Ford allowing the hosts to suffer. He detached them from any kindness - such as always insisting they were naked when being worked on, and the constant brutality they faced in the park. Ford planned the final scene.
I don't think Ford is dead though. Two big clues...
Caporegime
The P90 looks pretty badass and futuristic even today. They had at least painted it red
Hell, the smart gun in Aliens began life as a Thomson M1A1 from 1921 and the Snart Gun was an MG42.
My take, Ford has spent 35 years pseudo "teaching" the hosts about humanity thus allowing them to develop consciousness more naturally, where as Arnold tried to force a fake variant upon them. Some hints about a loathing of humanity/species becoming stagnant, perhaps using his hosts to force humanity to evolve as well, probably getting a bit grand with that plot thread though.
Perhaps a suggestion that he will now allow them to leave "Eden" but unlike humanity, realise Eden is preferable to the "hell" outside, see Maeve (she seems to choose to return, assuming her escape program/loop ended at the train).
Oh and in all likely hood, the Ford that was shot was probably a host. Some evidence for this is the crude handshake (Bernard even having to correct it), the hand itself looking suspicious, and weird blinking. These were previously documented traits of the "older models", Ford also has an older printer and we did see a host being printed that didn't seem to be covered off by any of the other arcs.
Perhaps a suggestion that he will now allow them to leave "Eden" but unlike humanity, realise Eden is preferable to the "hell" outside, see Maeve (she seems to choose to return, assuming her escape program/loop ended at the train).
Oh and in all likely hood, the Ford that was shot was probably a host. Some evidence for this is the crude handshake (Bernard even having to correct it), the hand itself looking suspicious, and weird blinking. These were previously documented traits of the "older models", Ford also has an older printer and we did see a host being printed that didn't seem to be covered off by any of the other arcs.
Solid enjoyable season and seems to leave a couple of of questions and enough setup for a second season.
I don't think Maeve achieved consciousness. Her role was simply to distract so the cold storage hosts could be taken. She was still programmed to return under the guise of her daughter. Although I wonder - she left her bag on the train...
But definitely agree with the Ford host theory. He had said to whatshisname, the old cowboy he said was a good listener, that handshakes gave hosts away. His handshake was zoomed in, and looked fake.
But definitely agree with the Ford host theory. He had said to whatshisname, the old cowboy he said was a good listener, that handshakes gave hosts away. His handshake was zoomed in, and looked fake.
Aye good point.
Also:
Also:
William is so happy to finally unlock Hard Mode, Ford did say he'd like the new narrative 
. Seriously has a man ever looked so happy getting winged. Almost hoping for a scene for scene of his original host massacre.
. Seriously has a man ever looked so happy getting winged. Almost hoping for a scene for scene of his original host massacre.
Soldato
The trouble is Sir Anthony is the hardest actor to lure back into anything. Hopkins doesn't like repeated projects. His biggest regret of his entire career is starring in sequels to Silence Of The Lambs. Regret he voiced numerous times, despite success. He also doesn't rate TV. By that I mean he does not watch TV. Does not even own a TV set. During press tour his contract wouldn't quite allow him to voice his active hate of the media, but when repeatedly poked for answer, he allowed himself to unwind slightly David Icke style about how TV is just "poison to brain and psychology". In essence - he liked Bryan Cranston in "Breaking Bad" to the point where he wrote him personal letter, he decided to check in for a high profile limited series, selected project on the value of character, and then, in his own words "I'm done, it's done". When asked repeatedly at some point Sir Anthony said that he reached the stage where he doesn't even recall doing some of the scenes shown in "Westworld" press promos behind him...
I'd love to see him back, I wish Ford was back, but you know, I'm not sure he's the type that you could pitch "we'll clone you as a host" role for any money to.
I liked the culmination of her storyline and season finale in general, but in the same time, although I'm happy, I'm kind of disappointed. It did turn out lost-ish in the end. It seems we can't have a story where majority of plot-baites are wrapped up. Not even in $100 million per season without deadine. The writers once knew how to do it, in books, but then the art was forgotten. Meanwhile thousads of people invested time and spent 10 hours studying characters, speculating, theorising, unlooping three time lines, typing drivel all over the internet, making and listening to podcasts and in the end - the writers still couldn't be bothered to gather all the pieces and decided to go with solid, tested "ef me sideways" shock value and some cowboy shootout.
9 episodes of Logan. Just to be sent b-naked to the outskirts of the park. As in what - died, perished, crossed on horseback to Eastworld, returned home with a sore a-hole after meeting some dodgy visitors? What? Irrelevant. Who cares. Not concluded.
8 episodes of Meave. Silliest of storylines, dreadful and cringey in execution thanks to Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumber (characters and actors - that moment when the guy starts watching his hands for the sign of robotics and is interrupted by "FFS" by Meave, that's like solid Xmas panto in Sheerness level with at least two facebook likes). Multiple human casualties in process. Just to be used as a decoy for security, something you could achieve with any cannon fodder from cold storage or a random fire on level 16.
8 episodes of Elsie, just to be written off without any precedence and forgotten. 7 episodes of Ashley. Just to be written off and forgotten.
Stuff we've been pitched for the entire season and then becomes iffy, because someone decided it was no longer relevant. For example - William falls for Dolores, does stuff for her, goes crazy for her, then can't find her, then finds her but realise she doesn't remember him after her loop is reset and starts the same cycle with someone else. He's heartbroken. Then gets angry. So angry he becomes CEO of Delos, buys Westworld, then spends 30 years raping Dolores in a barn in front of Teddy as a revenge, hanging and scalping his old story mates while ironically asking every host "don't you remember me?" Dude, that's just wrong. We can't invest in this storyline. Also, RTFM. They really do not remember you, by design. It will be somewhere between "bullets can't normally hurt you buy try not to look directly into the barrel" and "if you don't find Dolores dropping cans of milk in Sweetwater she'll be painting by the river* (*- unique hand painted "The Riverside" by Dolores available from Park Store at $29,99 in unlimited numbers) in the brochure.
"Arnold didn't know how to save you. I do. You needed time. Time to understand your enemy. To become stronger than them". Therefore I decided to sign you up for a 24/7 loops of rape, murder and bodily harm for profit. Sometimes, in spare time, I would break your nose, cut your face or make you shoot yourself in a head myself. "Cause I'm afraid you need to suffer more. But now it's time for me to go". Hmmkey? Love. Peace. Always yours. Robert. Wait. What? Come back here! WTF?
Stuff we've been fed with the insistence of a "because Walt is special" loop - then never concluded. So, Ford creates Bernard in Arnolds image. Arnold was presumably an orphan and had no friends, therefore nobody noticed there was a guy that looked just like him, spoke like him and never aged next to Ford around the office and in all the promo shots. Why Arnold's copy though? Well. Because Ford loved Arnold and "suffered when he died". And apparently that's why he can't stop himself from enjoying bizarre loop where Bernard discovers again and again that he's de-facto Arnold-but-not-Arnold and then his ex-best friend and maker forces him again and again to commit suicide on the cold storage floor next to Old Bill. "It's not the first time I've awoken" he tells Meave. All of that, because Ford, secretly, loves him and wants to help machines.
Peter Abernathy's "data leak" storyline. Irrelevant. Not executed. Unscripted hosts wandering in the park, minotaurs, masked zombies that can't be shot, crazy Tallulah in the rocks, etc. Irrelevant. Not concluded. Maeve dying with her daughter in her arms in the centre of the maze drawn in the ground. Irrelevant. Not concluded. And so on, so forth.
Now, look, I'm not complaining. I liked episode 10. I was entertained. Best series of the year. But only about 25% of the finale had anything to do with the stuff we followed for 9 hours. The rest was, quite literally, John Locke's hatch moment. We were shown a few new "wow" and "awwww" moments, a few "in your face redditards, you did not expect Spanish Inquisition ha!" twists, a few rushed and super sloppy excuses (the whole "I realised you need more time and will need to suffer some more, now it's time for me to go" universal plot conclusion will stay with me for the rest of my life - I will from now on try and use everywhere, from written work projects to exits at Christmas parties) and the rest was just bears in the jungle and smoke monsters? No?
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