Level 8 and Westworld Logo

Okay guys, I feel like I’m peppering you with emails. 🙂

Did anyone else notice the prominent placement of “8” as Felix and Maeve stepped off the escalator? Maeve asks, “Where are we now?” Felix replies, “Design.” The entire time, the number 8 is balanced in the screen with them, like it’s a third character in the scene. First a disclaimer: I was married on 8/8/08 at 8 pm, so I may have a personal bias for this number (!). But it’s hard to deny its intentional placement in this sequence. No other floor numbers are shown during Maeve and Felix’s walk. And it’s not not a happen-chance sighting… the scene is specifically framed so the 8 is included for that full portion of dialog.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert. I recruited Google. Thank you, technology. And here’s what I found. In numerology…

• “Number 8 is the number of karma and carries within it the Universal Law of Truth, that is ’cause and effect’ – ‘as you reap, so shall you sow’. The number 8 is the first number of ‘Free Will’- accruing our karma.” Also, “the number 8 is considered extrovert and is the highest feminine number. It’s attributes are ‘giving and receiving.'” Source
• “The 8 is the great Karmic equalizer, a force that just as easily creates as it destroys. When the 8 comes knocking, you can be assured that you will reap what you’ve sown.” Source

So it seems number 8’s meaning distills Design’s activities and role: they hold the balance of creation and destruction, not just in the day-to-day experiences they’re creating for each host, but the potential destruction these hosts have (at least) once before and could again bring upon their creators. And it all circles back to our earliest designer(s): Dr Ford and his elusive partner/off-shoot Arnold. I wonder if there are clues here about Arnold’s destruction. If nothing else, the #8 certainly seems like an interesting, subtle layer of commentary on karma by the show’s creators. Curious to hear your take.

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And I know you’re all excited about the non-dual-timeline discussion opportunities for this week. But Maeve and Felix gave us the perfect glimpse of Westworld’s logo while they were on level 8. Completely different. Can’t resist including it here:

Westworld’s logo on level 8

• L, below: screen at the top of the escalator when William arrives, episode 102
• R, below: screen when Maeve is discovering level 8 (design), episode 106

–Lysa

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