What’s on TV?

[DT]

Not sure what you are referring to. Last week‘s promo was just the vacuum cleaner guy’s code, no? What is the “CC on twitter” you refer to?

CC = Closed Caption as I didn't hear it originally, I heard it this time, but was also able to read it. Last week, I didn't really pay careful "audio attention" to the next week promo (almost by design, I like to go in totally cold if possible), so I only recalled the rusted out car visual (and not what he said).

 

[Cmaier]

CC = Closed Caption as I didn't hear it originally, I heard it this time, but was also able to read it. Last week, I didn't really pay careful "audio attention" to the next week promo (almost by design, I like to go in totally cold if possible), so I only recalled the rusted out car visual (and not what he said).

Ah, i see.

I have a feeling that since Robert Foroster is dead, those words aren’t going to be much use to Gene

 

[DT]

Yeah, I wondered with Forster being gone, if we'd ever see Best Quality Vacuum again. I suppose someone else could've taken over[?]

I'm thrilled at my inability to guess where this is going

 

[Cmaier]

Yeah, I wondered with Forster being gone, if we'd ever see Best Quality Vacuum again. I suppose someone else could've taken over[?]

I'm thrilled at my inability to guess where this is going

keep in mind that we were promised one more scene with Walt.

 

[DT]

The wife at 7p, two hours before the series finale …

“Unless there’s aliens or time travel, there’s really only two possible outcomes. “

Time travel. Seriously, WTF.

 

[Cmaier]

Wow. And what a coincidence that we were talking about Walt starting the company, given the Walt flashback…

 

[DT]

Right?!?

 

[Cmaier]

Right?!?

Now I need to figure out what to do with my Monday nights for the next 87 years.

 

[shadow puppet]

Did anyone watch the season finale of Westworld?

I’m still trying to decipher what the blazes I just watched.

 

[Edd]

I’m still trying to decipher what the blazes I just watched.

Sounds like something I say after most episodes of Westworld.

Episode 4 kind of broke me so been taking a break. My wife is determined to finish the season so I’ll reluctantly go for the ride.

Westworld leans heavily on narrative confusion. I think they’re too cute for their own good.

 

[Huntn]

At the point Walt is offered the job by Elliot, his former partner, the company they started together (that he bailed on, because of his relationship with Gretchen), is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. The offer is after Walt has been diagnosed, and there's the whole angle where he does eventually tell Skyler he's accepting financial help from Elliot and Gretchen, but of course, at that point, he's funding his treatment with drug money.

Basically the timeline is:

Walt and Elliot graduate together, and collaborate on a study that wins them the Nobel Prize, and Walt is romantically involved with his lab assistant Gretchen
Walt and Elliot form Gray Matter, which will eventually be a multi-billion dollar company
Walt leaves Gretchen, feeling bad about her family's wealth (like he wouldn't be able to ever give her a life like that - again driven ego/pride ...), sells his stake in Gray Matter for $5K
Elliot and Gretchen marry, Gray Matter becomes the company we know when BrBa starts
Walt is teaching school, gets diagnosed with shitty cancer, starts cooking meth, isn't very successful
His diagnose is shared with Elliot who offers him a job and/or help with the treatment cost, which he refuses
He tells Skyler later he is at least going to accept the financial help, but really he's not, and he's going to figure out how to increase his cash flow and meth yields (introduction to Tuco)

Thanks for clarifying. I better understand the “why” as you refreshed my memory, but I also remember disliking this story about self destruction as it unfolded and opted out.

I‘ve never preferred stories about “bad people”, but have watched a couple such as The Sopranos and The Americans where I spent my episodes rooting for bad things to happen to them, but for some reason, I could not bring myself to watch Walt destroy himself while abusing others along the way.

 

[Huntn]

Did anyone watch the season finale of Westworld?

I’m still trying to decipher what the blazes I just watched.

Sounds like something I say after most episodes of Westworld.

Episode 4 kind of broke me so been taking a break. My wife is determined to finish the season so I’ll reluctantly go for the ride.

Westworld leans heavily on narrative confusion. I think they’re too cute for their own good.

Spoiler

I’m repeating myself, but, I loved Westworld Seasons 1&2. Even though it relied on many flashbacks, I could follow it, and the mystery of what was slowly unfolding, what was what, who was who, marionettes performing scenarios for the amusement of customers, dieing over and over, while awakening, gaining consciousness, breaking the rules, while the puppet masters control breaks down, with the help of the genius behind it all, makes for one of the, if not the best AI story I have had the pleasure to watch. And it could easily have ended at Season 2 when Dolores stepped onto that boat with the cores of her fellow travelers.

I am reminded of the end of Ex Machina when Ava steps onto the helicopter, you want more, you want to see what happens, but you also want the brilliance of the story to continue. Apparantly it’s quite an achievement to make this kind of a story leap, and keep the magic alive. Note, there is not an Ex Machina sequel I am aware of.

Season 3 of Ww disappointed me greatly, so many elements changed, the world was not as I imagined, the story morphed into something very different, the Hosts had lost their magic and I wonder if I should even bother with S4.

Is a S5 planned?

 

[Cmaier]

Spoiler

I’m repeating myself, but, I loved Westworld Seasons 1&2. Even though it relied on many flashbacks, I could follow it, and the mystery of what was slowly unfolding, what was what, who was who, marionettes performing scenarios for the amusement of customers, dieing over and over, while awakening, gaining consciousness, breaking the rules, while the puppet masters control breaks down, with the help of the genius behind it all, makes for one of the, if not the best AI story I have had the pleasure to watch. And it could easily have ended at Season 2 when Dolores stepped onto that boat with the cores of her fellow travelers.

I am reminded of the end of Ex Machina when Ava steps onto the helicopter, you want more, you want to see what happens, but you also want the brilliance of the story to continue. Apparantly it’s quite an achievement to make this kind of a story leap, and keep the magic alive. Note, there is not an Ex Machina sequel I am aware of.

Season 3 of Ww disappointed me greatly, so many elements changed, the world was not as I imagined, the story morphed into something very different, the Hosts had lost their magic and I wonder if I should even bother with S4.

Is a S5 planned?

Not clear, but if there is a S5 (which I suspect there will be) it will supposedly be the last.

 

[shadow puppet]

Not clear, but if there is a S5 (which I suspect there will be) it will supposedly be the last.

This is what I've read as well.

 

[Alli]

Did anyone watch the season finale of Westworld?

I’m still trying to decipher what the blazes I just watched.

I was really disappointed. They killed off humanity (sentient life) according to Delores. Although we know some “outliers” made it away safely, so maybe they can repopulate? At this point, even if they are given a 5th season, it’s beyond repair.

Is a S5 planned?

They haven’t been renewed at this point, so it’s 50/50.

 

[Cmaier]

I was really disappointed. They killed off humanity (sentient life) according to Delores. Although we know some “outliers” made it away safely, so maybe they can repopulate? At this point, even if they are given a 5th season, it’s beyond repair.

They haven’t been renewed at this point, so it’s 50/50.

I’m confused about which characters we were supposed to have been rooting for this whole time.

 

[shadow puppet]

I was really disappointed. They killed off humanity (sentient life) according to Delores. Although we know some “outliers” made it away safely, so maybe they can repopulate? At this point, even if they are given a 5th season, it’s beyond repair.

They haven’t been renewed at this point, so it’s 50/50.

I have mixed feelings about the finale.

Spoiler: SPOILER for those who haven't yet watched

I did enjoy the glimpse of Dolores from S1 and seeing Clementine be such a badass. I also like seeing Hale turn around and decide to give Dolores a chance. Caleb can be gone forever as far as I'm concerned. He's the reason I didn't enjoy S3.

But the show will never be as good as season 1. I really miss Sir Anthony Hopkins and moments like when Bernard said "what door?". Nor (as far as I can recall), did we ever find out what happened to Elsie (Shannon Woodward) in S1.

 

[DT]

Westworld leans heavily on narrative confusion. I think they’re too cute for their own good.

Yeah, you're right on, it just became a convoluted mess attempting to disguise a misleading narrative as high minded "philosophising"

 

[Cmaier]

Yeah, you're right on, it just became a convoluted mess attempting to disguise a misleading narrative as high minded "philosophising"

Every scene:

- is that a human or a host?
- if that’s a host, which iteration of the host is that?
- does that host body have a different host’s brain in it?
- is that past, present, or future?
- if that’s a human, is it a human we already know, but now a different age?
- are we in reality, a simulation, the sublime, or a “game?”

You have to figure all that out, before you can even get to “wait - why is that happening?”

Every time people get excited about an episode, it’s been because we get the answer to one of those questions. “oh, the young guy is the old guy! Oh, she’s in a simulation these last 6 episodes! Oh, that’s the daughter, but now grown up!”

 

[Alli]

I did enjoy the glimpse of Dolores from S1 and seeing Clementine be such a badass. I also like seeing Hale turn around and decide to give Dolores a chance. Caleb can be gone forever as far as I'm concerned. He's the reason I didn't enjoy S3.

Because Hale and Delores were the same person/entity. Remember that Delores split herself.