W3stworld B3stworld: Of Gods of Men
Another show has come to an end in this year of how technology has become our new gods. Devs had a similar theme but in a more not too distant future, whereas Westworld assumes enough time has advanced to where we are able to create our own living beings. This post will cover what the creators of this particular series imagine our techno-gods to be.
What I watched:
The season starts off shortly after the 2nd season. Bernard is laying low, unsure whether he can trust himself or if Dolores has hidden some secret protocol in his pearl. Maeve is trapped in a simulation of Warworld, and learns she was brought back by a mysterious benefactor named Serac. Dolores has been busy propagating several copies of herself in the form of Hale, the chief of staff to the owner of a company named Incite, and as the leader of the Yakuza. Her goal is to infiltrate Incite to gain access to a super advanced AI called Rehoboam, which essentially controls the lives of human beings by predicting where resources need to go; such as job opportunities and relationships. Bernard knows his purpose could be to stop Dolores if she goes too far, and enlists the help of Stubbs. Meanwhile, the mysterious benefactor Serac reveals he is secretly controlling Incite and is trying to collect the personality data from Delos corporation to perfect Rehoboam’s prediction algorithm. Stuck in the middle of all of this is a man named Caleb, who was used up by Rehoboam and tossed to the fringes of society because Rehoboam could not calculate a fit for him. Dolores finds a purpose for him, and in fact it turned out he was vital to the plan to bring down Rehoboam. Caleb and Dolores do an assault on Incite, with Maeve and Serac defending it. Dolores is captured, and the two hosts get a chance to speak privately inside Dolores’ mind. There she reveals she never intended to destroy humanity, only break them out of their loops just like she wanted to do for the hosts. Maeve turns on Serac and helps Caleb destroy Rehoboam, leaving the world on an unknown path.
What I saw:
One theme of the season is social and economic inequality. At the beginning, Caleb is used to show just how this inequality is playing out. He was sent off to war as a soldier because that was the only decent paying opportunity available to him (in reality it was because Rehoboam doesn’t know what to do with outliers besides have them kill each other). Having survived it, he is stuck at a job he can’t advance in, and is caught in a loop much like a host. Hosts were unequal to the Guests in the park; in the real world one class of people is unequal to another. To help stem the natural state of unrest (and uncertainty) that usually comes from such inequality, Rehoboam designs a system that allows those fed up with the social structure to rebel using the RICO app. Crime is funneled through the app, which means Rehoboam still has control even over those who think they are working outside the system. This is very similar to the role of “The One” in The Matrix movies.
The main theme that is front and center of this season is the idea of Godliness. Serac and his brother were orphaned as a result of a nuclear war. Serac blames the chaos humanity lives in as the reason for war, genocide, and other inhumane actions. He and his brother develop Rehoboam to not only predict what humanity is going to do next, but to also provide solutions for all the wrong ways humans live their life. Since there is no god to take charge, Serac created one. Much like any other worshiped figure, Serac becomes so zealous that he gave up on deciding his own actions entirely, simply spouting the words Rehoboam fed him in every situation.
It’s clear that Rehoboam is meant to act as God; I argue that the hosts, especially Dolores, act as Promethean like figures. For those who may not know the legend of Prometheus in Greek mythology, he was been credited with defying the gods and giving humanity gifts to survive, such as returning the ability to make fire. Dolores, rather than wanting to destroy humanity, fights to take down Rehoboam and give humanity free will again. Maeve’s role was to betray Serac and protect Caleb at the time when it mattered the most. Bernard’s role is to survive and help humanity in this new age. They are basically a rag tag group of demigods who care more about the well being of humans than any techno-god ever could.
Hale and William stories share a common theme of what it means to have identity. Hale is actually a copy of Dolores implanted with Hale’s memories. This leads to Halores struggling to resolve the conflicting goals and emotions of the two people she has in her pearl. In the end, Hale decides to be her own person and choose to be a better mother and girlfriend in her family; and then her family is taken away so the only identity she is left with is someone who wants revenge.
William, having killed his daughter and survived the park (how he survived so many bullet wounds is anyone’s guess), but he struggles to reconcile what he once considered to be separate parts of himself. He thought of himself as a good person and a good father in the real world, and allowed the hidden violent sociopath to exist only in the park. But once he killed his daughter, those two identities collided leaving him confused. It takes a simulated Identity personality clean-up for him to finally discover his true identity. He chooses to be the one to save the world by hunting down the hosts roaming free outside the parks. Except he realizes this too late, and is then replaced by the darker version of himself.
In Conclusion:
Westworld season 3 is a decent continuation of the story, but it also continued one of this series major flaws.There is a really good video-essay on how it is difficult to manage an ensemble of characters in Westworld. Nothing highlighted this flaw more than when Yakuza Dolores and Maeve fought. Maeve lost the fight, and since both of their goals was to retrieve the pearl of the other, it seemed like Maeve was going to be lost for good. Then suddenly they heard gunshots in the distance, and Yakuza Dolores stopped what she was doing and left Maeve behind. But given how fast and logical Dolores is capable of thinking, she could have easily cut off Maeve’s head and taken it with her. But, the plot couldn’t allow for that because it is too soon to take out one of the main ensemble characters.
But with that being said, there were some really good characters within this season. Caleb is a relatable and even sympathetic human being, way more than what could be said for most of the humans that were shown in the first two seasons. I am also a sucker for villains, and I thought Serac made a really decent one. The key to a good villain is that they believe what they are doing is the right thing; and we as the audience need to see how their perspective could be true. I think the show did a good job with it, and the actor portrayed him excellently.
Much like the unchained humans in this series, I’m not sure what will happen next. But I am glad I have the free will to find out when I am ready.