Westworld Is Avoiding It's Best Storyline
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Westworld Is Avoiding It's Best Storyline

Instead of focusing on what goes on in the park, the show should focus on what the park does to people after they leave it

14
Westworld Is Avoiding It's Best Storyline
The Verge

Slight spoilers from the first season of Westworld.

HBO's sci-fi western Westworld has yet to approach its potentially best storyline yet.

So far the show has focused on what goes on inside the park, specifically whether the host robots are becoming sentient and what that could mean to the guests of the park. But the most interesting part of the world within Westworld is what happens when it's guests go home.

Without giving too much away, there are no rules in the park. You can rape, murder, steal, do whatever you want to the park's robot hosts. The next day they'll just have their memories wiped and bodies cleaned up to get sent back out with no memory of what's happened to them.

And that's been the primary of focus of the shows for the first four episodes, what if the robot hosts start to remember what is happening to them. Because part of the park's allure is how lifelike the hosts are, how they're basically humans. The series starts with some of the hosts having side effects after being given some upgrades, slowly, and albeit fairly predictably, the side effects spread.

To me, the most interesting thing that the show hasn't touched on is what happens to the guests after they go home. Guests can do whatever they want in this world, good or bad, or as the show puts it, white hat or black hat.

So depending on how your stay in the park goes, you can see some things. Even if you play the role of a good guy, you might end up seeing a total blood bath.

So when you arrive home, are you able to just turn off the things that you've seen? There's a scene where a guest of the park faces a western death cult and watches the rest of her companions get brutally slaughtered in front of her. In the real world, she's probably facing some sort of PTSD when she gets home.

Now the quick answer to that is, "well she knows it's fake" and sure, that's true. But the point of the park is that the line blurs between reality and fiction. The goal is to lose yourself in within the park. So PTSD is a real thing that might, and should happen to some of the guests.

Or say you decide to play the black hat in the park. You want to see how dark you can play it in the park. But it's all just for fun right? Besides you probably won't do anything that crazy. But somehow you fall in with a gang of hosts who send you down the wrong path, you end up doing somethings that you in the real world would never do. But it happens in the park. You end up killing like 10 people as apart of a stage coach robbery, and again, the park is real to you as it's supposed to be.

You then go back home to your normal life and are struck with the realization and memories that you're a much darker person than you thought you were before you went into the park. You went into the park thinking that you were a good person, you knew who you were. And you come out with that confidence shaken, you were wrong. You had no idea why you killed those people in the park, that was never what you had intended on doing. But it happened, and you're not like one of the hosts who has their memory wiped clean

You're now living with the fact that you're a much darker individual than you ever thought.

That is the story that Westworld is totally missing out on. The show could be a super interesting take on what happens the guest psychologically after they leave the park but it's totally focusing on what is going on in the park. The show is only four episodes in, so that may change, but as of right now, the show hasn't even touched it's most interesting feature.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

56338
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

36284
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

958202
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

188135
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments