I just finished the finale and I have so many strong feelings about the show despite being emotionally disengaged essentially the entire time
this might be the most nihilistic piece of entertainment I've ever seen; the humans have little humanity and the androids have even less. without the violence & nudity (which are both presented with zero passion in most cases) the show would be basically unwatchable. otherwise, we're left with a narrative that is deliberately obscured - apparently to hide its lack of depth, not to enrich or build complexity.
the "maze" is frustratingly hollow - sure, we can imagine that the MiB is following clues or whatever, but in hindsight there's clearly no substance to it, so what exactly was he doing? I get that it's a primarily metaphor, but is this guy really so dumb that he'll waste all his time searching for a big nothing? edit: I saw someone explain that what MiB was following was actually parts of the game where the hosts could fight back, so the "maze" for him was actually mapped out by all the hosts who had completed their own "maze". sort of handwavey but at least it's something.
apparently I have very clear ideas about how the mechanics of this park would work, because the way they show the androids being built, mangled, and repaired made me bonkers. this is on me more than the show, of course... but you can't 3D print a fully functional biomechanical humanoid with skin that's applied by dunking it in a bath for
cheaper than just growing up a bunch of brain-dead clones. I loved the old-school robot designs and really wish they'd used those exclusively. repairs would make way more sense - no fucking way you're using two brain-dead techs to re-sculpt a 3D-printed android. I'm sure S2 is going to hit us with some shocking revelation about a host getting knocked up though
![Wanker :wank:](./images/smilies/wank.gif)
OH, and the MRSA? what in the fuck?
oh - and although it was endlessly entertaining to watch, the Felix & Maeve storyline was preposterous.
the dolores flashbacks & mental glitching was really tiresome. the wyatt shit was frustrating.
with all that off my chest, the good stuff: I really liked the William storyline, probably because he was the only character with any clear motivations and arc. anthony hopkins is untouchable and elevated a silly character to something greater. I now have an ultra crush on that Clementine chick, and was so relieved every time she was resurrected (first as a naked kill-bot, and then as a clothed kill-bot in the finale). I like that there's a lot of open-ended stuff to be explored in another season: what the "greater purpose" is, what's going on in the real world, whether that Ellen Page detective chick lived or not...
edit: I found this random internet comment about the frustrating inconsistency of the maze and I think it snobbily captures what I'm feeling... I forgave LOST for almost every dumb trick it tried to pull, not quite sure what's different here...
Well, they're doing what we were all doing as the show was going along - for the entire 9 weeks leading up to the finale - Nolan and Joy weren't telling us the story. We were telling ourselves what the story was - they let us.
The Westworld we saw on screen was simply a Rorschach - something upon which we could project what we thought we were watching and - in so doing - finding ourselves plenty to chat about the next day in the office.
Which is all they were ever after.
Nolaen and Joy wrote the ending - we wrote the rest, and they wrote what they did in such a way as we could string ourselves along thinking we're right.
Post Season 1 finale is absolutely no different - people are writing their own version of what they believe they saw and (of course) they're seeing it as cleaver, because (strangely enough) what they are seeing appears eerily similar to what they (the people proffering their theories) think...
I got bit by it, you got bit it - we all got bit it. Some of us just got wise. Others are a little slower on the uptake is all.
It's a large thing to take on board that you've been had. Con merchants and writers rely on that universally the same - not necessarily to different effect.
In the case of Nolan and Joy - they let us do a number on ourselves and that's what we - the viewing audience - did. We talked ourselves into believing what we were watching was smart.
It wasn't. In the end, it was trite.
People wise up when they do. All that can be said, really.
Hope you find something out there better.
You deserve it.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)