Plotlines

I’ve now finished the first three episodes (one disc, as I’m watching the whole thing on DVD) and I’ve totally forgotten how good this series is.

What you notice immediately is the pacing, because even if you already know what it’s about, the build-up is relatively slow and takes its time. You’re meant to understand precisely that this Western world exists, but also simultaneously the world outside, where all the maintenance and management of the hosts takes place.

Interestingly, you’re shown the Western world very precisely and in detail, but not the world outside. Right in this initial phase, you’re shown the living inventory, which is not only located over 80 floors underground, but was also probably once a kind of reception hall (the escalators and the globe in the background suggest this). On one hand, you become subtly aware of the size of this facility, on the other hand, you also see details that arouse curiosity and make the setting immediately more interesting.

Immediately, the neurons in my brain fire salvos with questions about the facility’s past! How long has it been around? Was it always a Western world setting? What’s on all these floors? And many more questions. It builds up incredible tension!

But it’s not just the whole scenario that creates tension, it’s also the actors. Here too, they’ve focused on people who have a very good presence, but don’t create it by making a splash everywhere, but rather by holding back, playing more subtly, but doing so skillfully, with passion and also with that certain something.

However, the intro surprised me a bit, because I always thought that the intro of 3 Body Problem reminded me of something, I just wasn’t sure what. But when the first episode of Westworld started, it was immediately clear to me. The mood, the visuals, and the music are also very similar. I found this an interesting detail, because both series follow a similar pattern.

Both series follow a rather calmer, but more intense narrative style. The pompous or overwhelming is not portrayed with great action or BOOM BOOM, but through subtle hints and visuality, like the above example with the living inventory over 80 floors underground.

But this leads me to another point, because you never really know exactly where the area of the facility is actually located. Is it above ground and really a real built facility? Is it underground and synthetically generated? And one of my central questions, what’s the deal with the black, buried church tower? Oh, I’m just fascinated by such things!

I vaguely remember or think I remember that Bernard later turns out to be a host as well, and I’m curious to see if this memory proves true or if there’s more behind it.

It has already been hinted at or shown through interaction with the hosts during maintenance that there were other scenarios and that these have already been used very frequently. I very much hope that they’ll dig a bit deeper here, because Shakespeare was also mentioned, which always makes me prick up my ears.

Of course, there’s also the story about the Man in Black, excellently played by Ed Harris, who seems to move outside the system but is still tolerated by the caretakers (shown in a scene with Ashley Stubbs). At first, I thought he was also a host, but it turned out that he’s a guest who has been in this world for a very long time and is looking for the entrance to the maze. With a map located on the inside of a scalp, he sets out to search for it. But if he’s a guest, then he knows that this world isn’t real, so why is he still looking for something that seems to be outside? Or is this maze also something that’s within the park, but located so far outside the city that it’s a much more difficult task? Because the map on the host’s scalp surely doesn’t just get there by chance, does it?

You can see, there are still many questions to be answered, and I haven’t even really started, because there’s certainly a lot more to say about Anthony Hopkins. Especially when you consider that the first episodes are from 2016 and the de-aging for his younger version looks superb. But also his strict behavior towards the hosts and the trimming of the employees, that they should refer to and treat them not as humans but as things. So directly counteracting the humanization of these machines. Interesting, because often in such series featuring synthetic humans, a different approach is chosen.

We haven’t talked about Bernard and his individual sessions with Dolores yet, either. What exactly is that about? And where do they take place anyway? The latter is an interesting question, because you rarely see exactly how access to the facility works, even though there is this elevator. But that seems to be far outside, and often Ashley Stubbs or Elsie Hughes, for example, appear directly in the city.

It’s this omission of small details, very precise and targeted, that arouses this curiosity in me and builds tension, so that you immediately want to know more and sit almost spellbound and captivated in front of the TV.

In fact, the series doesn’t just run in the background, I watch it very actively, without doing anything else, which is very unusual for me. But with this kind of series, there’s no other choice, because if it was just on in the background, I would simply miss far too much.