Westworld: The Original Rewatch

March 9, 2018 5:33 AM - Season 1, Episode 1

As another day of fantasy plays out in Westworld - a vast, remote park where guests pay top dollar to share wild-west adventures with android "hosts" - top programmer Bernard Lowe alerts park founder Dr. Robert Ford about incidents of aberrant behavior cropping up in some recently re-coded hosts. Meanwhile, in the Westworld town of Sweetwater, a rancher's daughter named Dolores encounters a gunslinger named Teddy in the street - but their predictable narrative is upended by the appearance of a ruthless Man in Black and, later, by a supporting host's unscripted encounter with an artifact of the outside world.

Since the second season starts on April 22, I thought it would be good to start a series of rewatch posts for the first season so we can discuss the episodes again without having to worry so much about spoilers.

Link to the original Fanfare thread here.

posted by elsietheeel (7 comments total)

It would certainly affect the ethics-value-proposition if there was some sense of the demographic that was able to attend this theme park. Is this a secret refuge for the ultra-asteroid-owner-trillionaires or are hordes of post-disneyland regular folks shipped en masse in on the hyperloop subways that were briefly shown?

It's lazy fill in the blank science fiction. Real mystery is good, hand-wavy quick google for plot point less satisfying.

I was always betting on the man in black turning out to be the good guy.
posted by sammyo at 7:40 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think in the second episode they mention that it costs $40k a day, but we also don't have a sense of when in time it's taking place (brother-in-law calls someone Grizzly Adams, which is a reference that barely lands in this day and age) and how much $40k is supposed to be worth. But the sense is that it's for very rich people only.

When I rewatch I usually skip the first episode. I find it boring now, even though at the time I was mesmerized. I should put up a post for the second episode sooner than later.
posted by elsietheeel at 7:59 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

brother-in-law calls someone Grizzly Adams, which is a reference that barely lands in this day and age

that character is referring to JJ Abrams’ huge Grizzly Adams reboot in 2025
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:27 AM on March 9, 2018 [20 favorites]

JJ Abrams’ huge Grizzly Adams reboot in 2025

I would watch that.
posted by elsietheeel at 8:49 AM on March 9, 2018

Critics called Abrams' reboot "A luscious blend of untamed facial hair and lens flare."
posted by rmd1023 at 11:20 AM on March 9, 2018 [9 favorites]

we just started a re-watch and I'm pretty amazed by how much there is to pick up on the second watch. things you cannot know are significant are right out there from the first episode (ie the degree of Bernard's "interference" with Dolores) definitely worth the time. looking forward to season two!!

not to mention the Grizzly Adams reboot. I love untamed lens flare!
posted by supermedusa at 10:00 AM on April 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

Noticed the "You're not gonna die this time Arnold" during malfunction 39 minutes in.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:42 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]