UNspoiled! WestWorld

Oh boy.

This is the second-to-last episode of WestWorld's first season, and I'm feeling like there's absolutely no chance that these million plot-threads get tied off neatly by the end. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing; after all, a show that wraps up completely in one season doesn't usually have a ton to work with when the second season begins.

But I'm starting to get to a point where, because the show plays so much with perspective, implanted memories, and compulsion (and if my theories are correct, timelines as well), that I can't get anything nailed down enough to hold onto. There's so little that I can trust, and I'm really not sure how much of what I think has happened on this show has actually happened. Which leaves me in a place that isn't super conducive to podcasting, because I don't know where to approach formulating theories or even formulating basic conversations.

Now there isn't anything inherently wrong with playing with the heads of your viewers, and I appreciate that the writers are probably trying to get the audience to feel as disoriented and unsure as the Hosts are feeling, which is a cool idea in theory. It's just tough for me to get invested when I can keep saying, "Whatever, that probably didn't even happen", and trot right along onto the next plot point.

I hope that you all are enjoying our coverage of this, and I will see you again soon with a new episode!

I'm happy to bring you the next episode of WestWorld, and my apologies for having to wait another week before we got to it.

I have to admit to a certain degree of impatience and frustration as we keep going down these plot-roads and still don't really get any answers. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the show, but by the end of this episode we've only got 2 left to explain everything, and I don't know what could possibly be contained in such a short time when we're working with storylines as grandiose as an apparent robot uprising and AI hidden among the human employees.I don't know if there's an answer to some of these unresolved plot threads that would satisfy me at this point, if I'm being honest, which probably means it's a good thing that there's a second season coming up.

For now, I want to focus on one of the bigger reveals in the episode. We find out that the Man In Black found out about the maze during a moment right after he'd killed Maeve's daughter, when she attacked him back and carried the little girl's body outside and collapsed in the middle of the symbol gouged in the dirt. It turns out that the Man In Black was a man with a family, but his family was terrified of him, to the point that his wife finally killed herself because she couldn't bear to live with him anymore. They saw a darkness in him, and he decided to come to the park and let loose with his violent impulses to see if they were right.

Spoiler: they were.

Thanks so much for listening, and I hope you enjoy the episode!

Oh boy. Y'all must have been waiting for this for like a long time, right? This is reminiscent of the Mad-Eye reveal, although not quite so long in the making, and I bet you have all been so excited to get here.

Let's start of with the less-spoilery stuff, which is mostly centered around William and Dolores. William is falling for her, and he says that he's never felt this way about any woman, using the phrase, "You've unlocked something in me." To which Dolores has the very reasonable reply of, "I'm not a key, William. I'm just me." He is simultaneously falling for her and divorcing her from her own personhood (if one can use such a term regarding a robot) and I'm hoping that he starts to see how self-centered he's being.

Maeve, meanwhile, is about to lose her shit when she sees her friend "retired". What's so upsetting is finding out that the whole production that lead up to Clementine getting decommissioned was a farce, and that Maeve is essentially watching them kill her friend for no fucking reason at all.

And lastly...Bernard. Bernard the snuggly bear that we all were rooting for. Bernard the ghat-damn ROBOT. Y'all. I'm feeling so many feelings about this.

Thank you all so much for listening, see you soon!

I'm really excited to watch the next episode, as usual, but this is the kind of dense hour that needs to be rewatched before moving on. I may rewatch it once more before I move on to episode 7.

There's just so much going on here, and so many questions that we seem to be getting the answers to...and yet nothing is clearer, and I don't trust the answers I'm getting. Oh really, Theresa is the one who sent out the signals? And she just what, left her name right there in the programming so that Elsie could find it in two minutes of searching? IDK guys, this seems like a red herring to me.

And I'm really fascinated by the techs who are working to repair the hosts, not just Felix and Sebastian, but all of them. What's it like to get a job here? Are you paid well? Are you isolated like the upper tiers of management seem to be? How do you know that you're human? Like, know for sure?

How do any of us know?

Okay I went a little too deep with that, but seriously this is the kind of thing that I really enjoy. I can't wait to see if we get an answer to Maeve's question.

Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week!

I'm delighted to be here with the next episode of WestWorld, mostly because this means that I can go sit down and watch the next one. :D

Lord, where to start with what's going on in this episode. I mean, there's the discovery of the satellite uplink in the arm of the host who caved his own head in. There's the revelation that maybe Ford and the Man In Black are not on good terms with one another, and that Ford seems him as something of a nuisance. There's the moment where William finally turns his back on dickhead Logan and decides to leave the guy to reap the rewards of his shitty behavior. There's even more going on with Dolores and her visions of what seem like memories or past completed loops.

But mostly, we want to talk about Maeve.

Because this woman has not only figured out how to awaken herself from "dreams" AKA sleep mode, but she's decided that the best way to get answers about what the hell she's been experiencing is to just ASK. Which is ballsy as hell, and mad props to her. So she just sits up on the examining table, and waits patiently for Felix to turn around and notice her, and when he does, she addresses him BY NAME.

Felix, don't pee your pants, buddy. I know you want to, but don't.

Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you next week with a new episode!

In this episode, Maeve discovers a bullet where there shouldn't be a bullet, and Dolores is invited to participate in The Maze.

In which Teddy's world gets shaken up and he doesn't even know it.

In which we get to see the park through the eyes of a new Guest, and through the eyes of a [slightly] conscious Host.

In which Natasha expresses her simultaneous admiration and discomfort.