Westworld Thoughts

Published June 12, 2018 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi all,

You may remember me as ‘Rob (Crash_86)’ on Twitter, or more likely as the ‘if that guy sends us one more dadjoke …’ guy. I never seem to get the podcast absorbed in time to get an opinion in … until now.

I have a thought as to the ultimate role FErnArnold is to play once the series has completed. It popped in my head about 5 weeks ago, and as the season has played out I haven’t seen anything to cause me to back away from it yet.

I’ve been a gamer since Pong was in a cabinet and cost a quarter to play. I’ve played just about every style of game you can think of, from Platformers to MMOs. I know from listening to the podcast that Gene and Rog game as well, though I’m not sure what types the play. Anyway, here’s my though.

The second expansion of ‘World of Warcraft’ was ‘Wrath of the Lich King’. In it, a human prince has been possessed by a force that gives him the power to reanimate the dead, creating the undead Scourge. He uses the Scourge in his attempt to take over the world (that’s pretty over-simplified, but the gist is all we need). In the final raid of the expansion, you and 24 of your closest friends try to take the Lich King down directly. Once the Lich King has been killed, the ghost of his father comes to reclaim his spirit. He also tells you that with the Lich King gone, the (now) mindless Scourge will run amok, razing the world like locusts. His final words as he takes his son’s spirit away are, “There must always be a Lich King.”

In Westworld, the Hosts are the Scourge and Ford was the Lich King. He kept them in line and gave them purpose. Without him, the Hosts are now running amok.

The battle now is to see who will become the new Lich King of Westworld. Will it be Dolores? Maeve? Maybe even Hale?

I think it will be Bernard. Ford seems to have created him from scratch not to be his partner, but to become the new jailer of the damned. Things moved faster than Ford thought they would, though, so Bernard isn’t ready for that role. That’s why he set the pieces in place to help Bernard out. I fully expect one of the episodes to see Bernard snap his fingers and stop hosts in their tracks, just like Ford could do.

Anyway, that’s my thought. Please know that all of your hard work on the podcast is really appreciated!

Thanks!
Rob Puckett

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