Character Rundown

Hi guys,
Great to have you back for Season 2 of Westworld – you have the best WW review podcast out there and the only one where one can listen to existential discussions of AI

Comments and opinions on episode 1 season 2

1. Like the world expansion and having some of the nagging questions from season 1 getting answers (such as where is WW? – fyi watched with captions on it said the soldier was speaking Chinese).

2. New characters – nothing special at this stage – the Head of Ops guys seems pretty cliché (hard ass ops guy – yawn!).

3. Existing character development

a. Dolores – not a big fan of setting her up to be a bad ass on a “kill the humans” (in a robot voice) rampage. I hope they don’t go down this road too much, as I think turning Dolores into too much of a bad girl type character could lead to a WW version of Negan from the Walking Dead (please please no!!).

b. Teddy – as a counter to “gone off the reservation (or ranch in her case)” Dolores, I think Teddy could potentially have one of the most interesting story arc’s for season 2 in terms of his internal conflict (love of Dolores vs. needing to stop her killing spree). I can see the penultimate episode this season ending with Teddy being in a position as being the only one that can “stop” Dolores and this will provide huge emotional conflict for Teddy.

c. Maeve – pedestrian performance in the episode …that been said Thandie Newton is so sexy cool in her use of the work F@#k :> The thing that made Maeve such a good character in season 1 was her feistiness and her emotional growth as she was becoming sentient. Season 2 will be a difficult to follow in terms of character development.

d. Sizemore – great as being an obnoxious wanker and enjoyed the interplay with Maeve. Don’t see his use in the show beyond that – I predict a mid-season “bit size”demise :>

e. Charlotte Hale – this role is totally miscast – just as in last season, she is very one dimensional, too unlikeable and has zero charisma – we need more than her just acting like a bitch all the time. Someone older/more experienced and in the model of Theresa makes more sense. Hope she gets her “dreamless slumber” sooner rather than later.

f. Bernarnold – the conflict within him will a lot of the focus for season 2….will he or will he not go to the host side. The injecting himself with the host version of the “5 hour energy drink” thing was a bit hokey.

g. Man in Black – to be honest not sure what he adds now we know he is William other than a final showdown with Delores. Another yawn!

h. Scenery & Music- after Maeve my favor characters and living up to their season 1 performances.

4. Big themes

a. In war there is very little that is binary aka good vs bad, black vs white hat – now a lot of grey hat people/hosts. This reflects the growth of the hosts to being sentient and more complex beings and the human’s reaction to this.

b. Hosts have more in common than they think

i. Anger (Delores – cross hanging and board guys beating the crap out of the guy in the barn),

ii. Fear of stereotypes – all humans think hosts are just malfunctioning killing machines. Hosts think all humans want to terminate them (probably true at this stage :>)

iii. Self-preservation (Berarnold, Sizemore and board suits types),

iv. Questioning of actions (Teddy/Berarnold),

v. One of most basic human/animal emotions is the need to nurture – this is well exhibited by Maeve in her quest for her daughter.

vi. Journey from being caring/ethical to being violent/amoral – is Dolores on the same path as William (Anakin to Darth Vader with better acting) – is she becoming the Woman in Black to his Man in Black???

c. Season 1 was about awaking, with season 2 about implications of awaking and the related (bloody/violent) journey of discovery

5. Wrap up

a. Hope the show runners keep the complexity of characters – don’t want all the hosts to behave one way and the humans another way – aka continue to show the contrast between the different awakening behaviors/reactions to sentience.

b. Please please wrap up the Maeve/Hector/Sizemore road trip before mid-season!

c. Hope they get the balance better in season 2 between answering and posing questions – episode 2 has been a good start.

All the best,
Tom Finn aka @chitownpaddy

Subscribe Now

• Android: https://shatpod.com/tv/westworld-android
• Apple/iTunes: https://shatpod.com/tv/westworld-itunes

Help Support the Podcast

• Contact Us: https://www.shatpod.com/contact
• Commission Movie: https://www.shatpod.com/support
• Support with Paypal: https://www.shatpod.com/paypal
• Support With Venmo: https://www.shatpod.com/venmo
• Shop Merchandise: https://www.shatpod.com/shop
• Shop Amazon With Our Affiliate Link – https://www.amazon.com/?tag=shatmovies-20
• Theme Song – “The Ecstasy Of Gold” (Hip Hop Instrumental Version)  by Dj 2 Bad
• Outro Music – By Simon Eric Haywood