In the second installation of our series dedicated to the second season of Westworld, Andy Vandervell and Matt Reynolds explore the true nature of the parks and get exceedingly geeky about Greek mythology.
Matt Reynolds: So, two episodes down and things are starting to get complicated. What did you think?
Andy Vandervell: Starting? You're the king of understatement, Matt. This was a great episode. So great, in fact, I watched it twice. There are so many little details, meanings to extract from lines. And, unlike Lost, it feels like the writers know where they're going.
But the most important question of all: what is the weapon? Your thoughts, Matt?
MR: I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not a weapon in the traditional sense. It'd be kind of disappointing if, after all these riddles, it was just a massive gun or something.
I think the weapon might be something to do with the DNA collecting we learned about in the last episode. Could it be some kind of machine that injects human DNA into hosts, and lets them venture into the real world?
AV: Absolutely. Old William/Man in Black describes it as his biggest mistake, though I'm not sure if he was referring to its creation or the fact he showed Dolores. Probably both. One way or another, it seems everyone has been sharing their secrets with her over the years. She's one of the oldest hosts in Westworld, so god only knows what else is tucked away in that memory or hers.
There's also some pretty big nods to Greek mythology in this episode. For example, we learn from the host posing as a businessman to Logan Delos that the original name of the Westworld company was the Argos Initiative. Named not after the retail chain, but the Greek island and the ship that carried Jason and the Argonauts. Delos is also a Greek island and birthplace of the twins Apollo and Artemis, who were literally children of the Greek gods Zeus and Leto.
Yes, I've read Wikipedia.
MR: That is some next-level geeking out. I didn't realise I'd have to brush up on my Greek mythology to get through season two...
I'm stuck on some much more basic points, like the timelines in this episode. The scenes set somewhere in Asia were the earliest things we've seen so far, right?
AV: Yes, I think so, though it's hard to say for certain. The pitch to Logan in the restaurant seems to be present day and then we had the retirement party for James Delos, played brilliantly by Peter Mullan, some time after William's first trip to Westworld and his 'enlightenment'. I've got to say, Westworld handles non-linear storytelling expertly.
There were some nice call backs to the first episode here, too. For example, in the first scene Arnold tells Dolores dreams aren't real and she says his answer is "not completely honest". Now we have Dolores using her dreams, which she now knows are real memories, against her creators to kill the gods, as she puts it.
Read more: The Westworld season two opener raises a whole heap of questions
MR: That touches on something that's starting to grate on me a tiny bit this season. Does everyone in Westworld have to talk in riddles all the time? I feel pretty sorry for Teddy who, let's be honest, isn't the sharpest pencil in the box, since Dolores is constantly alluding to gods and other worlds that the poor guy doesn't seem to have a clue about.
The Man in Black is equally guilty of this, so it's no wonder that he doesn't have any friends and that the hosts would rather take themselves out of the game than be part of his army. I'm really not looking forward to the moment when he and Dolores meet and have a tedious metaphor-laden chat about what they think Westworld actually represents to them. Maeve is much more straightforward, I like that.
AV: Man, that scene with Maeve and Dolores. Once again, Maeve installs herself as #fansfavouritecharacter. I wondered in the previous episode whether her quest to find her daughter meant she was still following some kind of programming, but this scene brought it home that she's the only one out of her, Dolores and William who is following her own path. It doesn't matter whether her daughter was actually real or not, so far she is concerned she is and that's all that matters. I worry she's being set up for heartbreak, though.
And yes, Teddy is the poor sap in this story.
MR: Another thing I was wondering... Do you think the flooded area we saw in episode one is the same place that weapon is?
AV: I have no idea, but it's an interesting thought. You'd have to study the two shots forensically to work that out, but now you mention it there were similarities in the two shots. If they were digging a big hole, presumably it's under ground so it's plausible.
What was your favourite moment of the episode?
MR: It's an obvious one, but that moment at the reception where Logan realises that everyone else there is a host. I think that really drove home the fact that these hosts are seriously, seriously human, and could very easily pass by unnoticed in the real world – and actually was happening in the real world! When you think about the fact that was meant to have happened 30 years ago, it made me realise that there really is way less of a boundary between the park and the outside world than I ever thought there was.
Which brings me neatly on to creepy corporate entity behind this entire thing: Delos. In the scene where William is convincing Logan's dad to invest in the park, he very strongly hints that the purpose of Westworld is to collect loads of data on people while they're being their 'true' selves. Are the Westworld producers throwing some shade at Facebook and other data-hungry tech companies, or is there something way more sinister going on there?
AV: I loved the moment when 'Ford' says, "I'll see you in the Valley Beyond, William," and the host blows its brains out. Mainly, I enjoy the fact he's set up this elaborate trail to confound the Man in Black.
I think the shade is incidental, really. Surely the true purpose is the ability to effectively clone people? Whether it's about replacing people and controlling their replacements, or simply creating immortality, I think the 'true selves' argument is a bit weak. In business parlance, it doesn't scale well.
Would you permit me a return to Greek myths for a moment?
MR: Please do.
AV: Ok, well credit to a Reddit user for this one, but you remember the whole Jason and the Argonauts thing I mentioned earlier?
One of the members was Theseus, famous for the Theseus Paradox. It asks whether, if you replace all the parts of a ship over time, is it the same ship or a completely new one?
When you apply that thinking to Westworld, I think it's clear where this is all headed.
MR: You're going to have to spell that one out for me a bit more...
AV: If you replace all the constituent parts of a human, but they retain the memories and personality of one, are they still human?
MR: And we already know that Arnold – as in Bernard – is essentially a human re-created in android form. So the question is, who else has experienced the same human-android switcheroo, and has Delos done it to other people without their knowledge?
AV: I suspect the answer to that question lies in Peter Abernathy, but we'll have to wait for episode three to find out. I, for one, cannot wait.
MR: I guess I'd better brush up on my Greek mythology before I watch the next one...
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
