Westworld Season 2 Awards – The Westies

Hi Big D, Roger and Gene,

I’m a first time writer… I discovered you guys with GOT season 7, have listened to all of the Shat on the movies podcasts (love, love, love) and after i caught up with all of the Shat the Movies podcasts, i watched seasons 1 and 2 of Westworld, mostly because of you guys. I watched each episode then listened to three podcasts about that episode, and then watched the next episode, and so on, every step of the way. I just finished the fenaly of Westworld season two and I have to give this small bit of input/constructive criticism…

One thing that has come up time and time again is how if Westworld were to jump the shark, it would be because they said that ‘everyone was a host’, or perhaps everything was a ‘simulation’. While I agree that that revolution may not be very satisfying, i have to disagree on a fundamental level…

It wasn’t very long ago when I heard Elan Musk talking about a certain ‘banned’ hot tub conversation. It goes that if you believe that computers run simulations and if you believe that computers will become more and more advanced as time progresses then you must also conclude that computers will eventually be able to produce simulations which are indistinguishable from reality. If you believe that, you must then conclude that the odds that our lives and experiences are actually ‘real’ or in the ‘base reality’ are almost zero.

Having already introduced both the cradle and the forge where simulations are run with complete fidelity, what are the odds that anything we are watching could possibly be the base reality from the story tellers point of view. It’s much more plausible to conclude that we have been watching one of many simulations Delos has run to predict what could potentially happen if the AI in the hosts were to run amuck. Or, building upon that, it could be even more plausible to conclude we are watching a simulation of produced to predict the results of Westworld itself being created.

Anyway, keep up the good work! I feel like i know you guys and look forward to listening to your picking apart every detail of this awesome show… i have to admit i’ve fallen asleep a few times while the pod cast was on, so forgive me if nobody has mentioned this possibility before. I’d actually be surprised if nobody has!

Or, damn, maybe we’re in a simulation to see what an audience would think up as crazy possibilities of what AI could do if it were to run amuck in a theme park… huh? huh?