Graves & Post-Mortem

Published November 11, 2016 · Updated July 6, 2022

The early graveyard scene in Contrapasso reminded me of a diagram recently uploaded at discoverwestworld.com. Here are some brain ramblings, not completely thought out, but I’m curious to hear your take.

First, the bell hanging from the cross grave markers caught my eye. A Google search revealed that these bells provided a safety notification if you were somehow buried alive. Apparently it was a legitimate fear in the 18th and 19th century, especially during the height of cholera. Interesting. Especially when put up against this contrapasso theme… “You want to live? Yep, we’ll let you live… in this grave!” Seems horrifying, yet…

A Host Intake Protocol diagram was posted last week at

Westworld Livestock Flowchart

discoverwestworld.com, showing that, “undertaker hosts will bury host units in specified graves, which then bottom out into shafts for transport to the mesa.” Here’s a handy little screen cap:

So my thoughts…

We know that at some point in time, hosts were buried in these bottomless graves. Whether that’s the case now seems uncertain.
The bell suggests being buried “alive” and “aware.”
Is it possible these graves and the adjoining underground shafts somehow became (or become) an access point for a host uprising and that’s why Deloros keeps flashing to the graveyard? We see Maeve using a similar tactic now, entering the complex to gather information under the guise of being “dead”… perhaps the goal (past or future) was/is to take over / overthrow the puppet-masters/gods by journeying through death’s path, these shafts.
Which brings me to this thought… could the underground shafts be the maze? Essentially, you have to die to live (be born again, if you feel there may be underlying Biblical themes). Recall how the little girl told MIB that the maze wasn’t for him. Perhaps it’s because the maze is for the host uprising.

Couple other random items that I haven’t heard mentioned anywhere yet:

When Dr. Ford joins MIB and Teddy at the table, he brings along a bottle of whiskey labeled with “Lawrence”… perhaps his way of subtly saying, “I know what you just did. Let’s drink to Lawrence.” A quiet power move.
On discoverwestworld.com’s map, Pariah is within or at least closer to the “Old Territories” than we’ve been in the past. Does the set design of Pariah remind anyone of Medieval World (one of the areas where the “virus” first appeared in the original movie)?

Look forward to all 3 iterations of your podcast each week. Thank you for encouraging this community discussion! – Lysa (pronounced “Lisa”) St Louis, MO

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