The Emotional Evolution Of The Hosts

Published May 6, 2018 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi!

Let me start out by saying how much I enjoy both your podcasts, Shat on the Movies and Shat on TV. I look forward to them each week and I appreciate your unique format for Shat on TV of discussion vs. just rehashing the episode.

So, I have more observations/questions than a prediction of any kind, but I haven’t seen anyone bring up what I am wondering. I may be taking things in a completely wrong direction, but I’m curious if anyone else has thought as I do.

We learn through our experiences, and the accumulation of those experiences, over time. The hosts do not have the benefit of those memories and learning opportunities. When they do start to remember, or become aware of what has been happening to them, they react as a child would with retaliation and revenge in mind. They do not have the benefit of understanding that humans are looking at Westworld from a completely different perspective than they are. They don’t understand that death is permanent because they have never experienced it. Basically they are very immature, if not sociopathic, due to their lack of empathy. Empathy has to be learned, through modeling by parents/others.

Maeve is really the only host who has motivations beyond herself; that being her daughter. Doloros has Teddy, but she seems to be completely unaware that her actions are having an effect on him. Teddy seems to have an understanding of right and wrong, but when he is shown what has been happening to him all his “life”, he reacts with anger and violence, even when the tech answers his question of “Why?”, with “It’s just for fun”. Teddy can’t take the position of the guests, he can’t understand their actions from their point of view – he has no experiences to draw upon and is therefor totally egocentric.

If a person were raping/murdering humans and said it was for fun, we would be repulsed and sickened because we understand the lasting effects of those actions. The guests are having their “fun” experiences only because they know the hosts are just robots (cyborgs or whatever), and they don’t think they are actually hurting anyone. It’s the same as when people play video games and kill others within the game. There is no lasting damage and it’s just fun. Westworld is the ultimate virtual reality game. However, the hosts don’t know they are in a game, and they don’t have any understanding of why someone would want to play such a game at their expense. The hosts’ anger is understandable, but maybe their anger should be directed at their creator that woke them up. As I’m writing this, I’m wondering why Ford wanted them to be self aware, have memories, in the first place. Wasn’t that cruel actually?

The hosts, in my opinion, were better off when they couldn’t remember what had happened to them. (Ignorance is bliss) They just got fixed up, reset, and sent off to replay their narrative – and consequently they were not self aware. It wasn’t until they started to remember their past that they began to change, grow, learn – and get angry.

So I guess I’m wondering if the capacity for empathy is anything Ford attempted to program into the hosts? Are the hosts capable of it? Isn’t empathy what ultimately makes us human? Psychopaths and Sociopaths are often referred to as “inhuman” due to their lack of empathy. Will the hosts ever be able to understand the motivations of humans? If they are ever able to understand it, will they be able to forgive? Will that ability play a part in the show?

Thanks for reading my ramblings, and keep up the great work!
Krista W

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