Westworld Thoughts

Published June 6, 2018 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hello,

I love your guys’ podcast and look forward to analyses of the show.

One thing that has been mentioned but not really dove into is the level of “wokeness”/consciousness between Maeve and Dolores. In my opinion, on episode 203, it was very much in our face that Dolores is not exactly “conscious” despite her being the leader of the rebellion, and the evidence has been laid since the l end of season 1. Towards the end of season 1, Dolores is input with a new narrative — Wyatt. We think that the speech by Ford in which he references Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting is evidence that Dolores and other hosts really are gaining consciousness. While I think it’s possible certain hosts are and can gain consciousness, I do not believe Dolores is. Dolores is given the Wyatt narrative. In season 2, she is continuing to live this narrative out. Which is, as Teddy explained: “He claimed this land didn’t belong to the old natives or the new settlers, that it belonged to something that had yet to come… that it belonged to him”. In episode 203, when asked by Major Craddock of the Confederados what her name is, she replies “Wyatt”. And, even though she has access to her memories, this is not the same as consciousness. When she sees Peter Abernathy – she still very much sees him as her father and reacts as such on cue.

Compare this to Maeve. While Maeve, similar to Dolores, has “real” feelings for her daughter, Maeve has also come to terms with the fact that the daughter was programmed. She makes the conscious decision that even though she was “given” the daughter, and did not give birth to her / adopt her as we would construct a mother/daughter relationship, she still had real feelings for her given she actually cared for her as a mother. She has also gone complete off narrative. At the end of season 1, she breaks with her narrative when she gets off the chain, aborting the “infiltration” narrative, and instead making the conscious decision to seek her daughter out. She has also fallen for Hector, which we know from Lee is 100% not part of her narrative.

Dolores has given us zero proof she can make decisions without the Wyatt narrative, or apart from it. I am not sure what this necessarily means or where it will go, but find it intriguing. Perhaps Dolores is being used by Arnold/Ford to overthrow humankind and allow AI to be the new alpa predator/superior beings. This difference has to come to a head at some point.

Again, love the podcast. Thanks for allowing me to voice my thoughts.

Michael Cullen, Oakland CA

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