I want to get a couple more TV reviews in
Oct. 31st, 2016 06:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunabee34before I start taking notes on this week's new episodes. :)
1. We watched the second episode of Westworld which I liked even better than the first (don't spoil me if you've watched farther than that, please).
In this episode, Logan comes to Westworld for the first time with his friend William who has been before. We learn that you don't get a true orientation to Westworld because the point is to figure out how to play on your own, but you are met in the facility by a host who shows you to your kit (weapons, clothes, accessories) and even asks if you'd like to get the party started before you hop on the train to the frontier. My first thought while watching this is that this operation must cost a fortune. Logan has multiple outfits and accessories to choose from, all bespoke and handmade. I'm wondering if we're in some kind of Star Trek future that's eliminated poverty or where money doesn't matter, or if this is a luxury for the super wealthy. I'm inclined to believe the latter, and if so, the amount of money it must take to run Westworld is astronomical. Think about how many outfits and how much scenery, props, etc. get destroyed by guests on a routine basis.
The focus on what makes someone real, human, alive continues in this episode. Logan asks his greeter if she's real and she responds, "If you can't tell, does it matter?"
Many of the characters suggest in this episode that Westworld is a way to find out who a person truly is, to delve deep into the psyche and discover truths about yourself. I'm not sure many of the guests we've seen so far should be proud of what their time in Westworld says about them, but Logan is clearly not cut out for the violence and mayhem of the game. He is clearly put off by the casual violence that William engages in and he doesn't sleep with anyone in Westworld because he has "someone real" waiting on him outside.
After watching the first episode and the beginning of this one, I was convinced that the man in black is the ghost in the machine, that the showrunners don't know he's noodling about in their world. Well, the last half of this episode jossed that idea. The showrunners know he's there, and he gets to do what ever he wants. I am speculating at this point that Ford and the man in black were friends at some point, maybe still are, and a great deal of Westworld was created specifically for the man in black to play with. IDK The man in black says he's continuing to discover aspects of the game even though he's been playing for thirty years (which again begs the question of wealth; either he has the kind of wealth that allows him to play or he's been given carte blanche to basically live in the game without paying for it). The man in black is looking for the entrance to the maze which he believes is the deepest level of the game. He's told the maze isn't meant for him but still gets directions. I wonder if the entrance to the maze is the tower thingy that Ford goes to look at in the game. I also wonder if the little boy host that Ford speaks to is actually an avatar of himself as a child.
When I was watching the show, I thought that Dolores was hearing the man in black in her head talking to her, telling her to go dig up a gun, etc. The wikipedia article says the voice is Bernard's, and we do find out that Bernard has been having secret conversations with Dolores about who knows what, so IDK. In any event, Dolores whispers the infectious phrase (these violent delights) she hears from her father to Maeve, and Maeve starts remembering other storylines she participated in and behaving differently. She remembers having a kid and being attacked by Native Americans (and the man in black shows up in that memory which made me think he was the one also speaking to Dolores).
Another interesting point is when Sizemore creates a new narrative, complete with new hosts and is shot down by Ford. Josh said of Odyssey on Red River, "It's the expansion pack!" LOL I was really surprised that Sizemore would be able to waste so many resources building the hosts and the narrative just to get shot down. Again, what kind of budget is this place working with?
Misc points of interest:
Comparisons between what the showrunners do and witchcraft, god complexes
Focus on creating order from chaos
Bernard jokes that boss lady might be fined for smoking (inside or at all?)
William totally treats the game like a video game (no, no, don't talk to this guy; we'll get caught up in a side quest)
Bernard and boss lady are lovers! Yay!
Elsie's future glasses are awesome
She's convinced the hosts don't dream but Dolores and Maeve are shown doing so; (and what an awful reason to introduce the idea of dreams without giving them the capacity--so that if they wake up at the wrong time, the experience can be explained as a nightmare)
Westworld is underground
1. We watched the second episode of Westworld which I liked even better than the first (don't spoil me if you've watched farther than that, please).
In this episode, Logan comes to Westworld for the first time with his friend William who has been before. We learn that you don't get a true orientation to Westworld because the point is to figure out how to play on your own, but you are met in the facility by a host who shows you to your kit (weapons, clothes, accessories) and even asks if you'd like to get the party started before you hop on the train to the frontier. My first thought while watching this is that this operation must cost a fortune. Logan has multiple outfits and accessories to choose from, all bespoke and handmade. I'm wondering if we're in some kind of Star Trek future that's eliminated poverty or where money doesn't matter, or if this is a luxury for the super wealthy. I'm inclined to believe the latter, and if so, the amount of money it must take to run Westworld is astronomical. Think about how many outfits and how much scenery, props, etc. get destroyed by guests on a routine basis.
The focus on what makes someone real, human, alive continues in this episode. Logan asks his greeter if she's real and she responds, "If you can't tell, does it matter?"
Many of the characters suggest in this episode that Westworld is a way to find out who a person truly is, to delve deep into the psyche and discover truths about yourself. I'm not sure many of the guests we've seen so far should be proud of what their time in Westworld says about them, but Logan is clearly not cut out for the violence and mayhem of the game. He is clearly put off by the casual violence that William engages in and he doesn't sleep with anyone in Westworld because he has "someone real" waiting on him outside.
After watching the first episode and the beginning of this one, I was convinced that the man in black is the ghost in the machine, that the showrunners don't know he's noodling about in their world. Well, the last half of this episode jossed that idea. The showrunners know he's there, and he gets to do what ever he wants. I am speculating at this point that Ford and the man in black were friends at some point, maybe still are, and a great deal of Westworld was created specifically for the man in black to play with. IDK The man in black says he's continuing to discover aspects of the game even though he's been playing for thirty years (which again begs the question of wealth; either he has the kind of wealth that allows him to play or he's been given carte blanche to basically live in the game without paying for it). The man in black is looking for the entrance to the maze which he believes is the deepest level of the game. He's told the maze isn't meant for him but still gets directions. I wonder if the entrance to the maze is the tower thingy that Ford goes to look at in the game. I also wonder if the little boy host that Ford speaks to is actually an avatar of himself as a child.
When I was watching the show, I thought that Dolores was hearing the man in black in her head talking to her, telling her to go dig up a gun, etc. The wikipedia article says the voice is Bernard's, and we do find out that Bernard has been having secret conversations with Dolores about who knows what, so IDK. In any event, Dolores whispers the infectious phrase (these violent delights) she hears from her father to Maeve, and Maeve starts remembering other storylines she participated in and behaving differently. She remembers having a kid and being attacked by Native Americans (and the man in black shows up in that memory which made me think he was the one also speaking to Dolores).
Another interesting point is when Sizemore creates a new narrative, complete with new hosts and is shot down by Ford. Josh said of Odyssey on Red River, "It's the expansion pack!" LOL I was really surprised that Sizemore would be able to waste so many resources building the hosts and the narrative just to get shot down. Again, what kind of budget is this place working with?
Misc points of interest:
Comparisons between what the showrunners do and witchcraft, god complexes
Focus on creating order from chaos
Bernard jokes that boss lady might be fined for smoking (inside or at all?)
William totally treats the game like a video game (no, no, don't talk to this guy; we'll get caught up in a side quest)
Bernard and boss lady are lovers! Yay!
Elsie's future glasses are awesome
She's convinced the hosts don't dream but Dolores and Maeve are shown doing so; (and what an awful reason to introduce the idea of dreams without giving them the capacity--so that if they wake up at the wrong time, the experience can be explained as a nightmare)
Westworld is underground
