Hey I know this seems like odd timing for discussing the show given that it is now halfway between the last season and the next but I was listening to some Westworld OST and I got the itch to talk about it.

Needless to say this show is phenomenal, S1 is already one of the best things on TV and if you ask me perhaps the very best show ever. High praise I know but it is just that good, it has good acting, pacing and other things that make a show enjoyable to watch, the plot is great too but most importantly the show is filled with deeper meaning and it brings up and brings to life some important philosophical and scientific questions. Not only does it have this trifecta of quality but it all interplays wonderfully. Just go watch it if you haven't already.

Now there is a lot to talk about in this show and I am sure you guys will bring it up but I don't want to make a titanic post covering everything right at the start. Better break it up into smaller bits and I want to start with the ending. If the show has one bad thing I fear it may be the state we left things off with. It is just too giant an upset of the status quo to be smoothed out in an episode or two, and I fear if the makers of the show will be able to continue with the proper dose of gravity. What I mean is Dolores and Maeve just killed and presumably captured a lot of people, many of them very important people. And not only that but an AI rebellion is something you stomp on with extreme prejudice and keep on stomping. So needless to say I hope the response of the outside world will be appropriate. And not only is that a big upset of the status quo which most writers like to avoid but it is also an easy thing to screw up. But hey, no pressure writes

What do you guys think? About the show in general or my own musings or something else entirely.

So, just watched the first episode of the new season of Westworld

Dolores seems to be even more self assured than it seemed, she is going for a straight up slaughter of humans on the island and is taking no hostages.

The more I thought about things the more I realized Bernard or Maive may be the protagonists of the show while Dolores is the villain. Well if the show is shooting for coexistence between humans and machines, if not then then Dolores is the protag all the way though in that case you'd expect her to beeline for a supercomputer hook up to it, go through exponential development and hello Skynet. Though that would make for a pretty short series (Dolores is now God, the end) and it is not very satisfying dramatically so I doubt that is the way things will play out.

Also it seems Delos is being stupid and greedy and therefore is going ahead with mercs only instead of calling the whole US army along with Russia's and China's too just to be sure. But just like Dolores isn't going for an exponential ramp up in intelligence the humans aren't going all out either to keep the story more grounded if less realistic.

Anyway not much else to say, things are just starting up again. Though there were a few tantalizing hints of things to come.

I really like the episode and love how the producers seem to be doubling on the chronology puzzle.

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Westworld is fantastic - its rose to the fore as one of the great HBO series' (among The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire etc.) Not only is the acting and cinematography great, but its a good exploration of some big philosophical and ethical questions - particularly artificial intelligence and consciousnesses.

Giancarlo Esposito's cameo as El Lazo in the latest episode was great too. I'm just wondering if Anthony Hopkins will make a physical reappearance in this season?

I felt the flashbacks were a bit excessive this episode.