Westworld S2E1 spoiler review

I very much enjoyed the season premiere.  

The episode opened with Arnold talking to Dolores, but then it cuts to Bernard on the beach 2 weeks after the events of Season 1.  Bernard seems to be semi self aware yet it's kept intentionally vague as we go on the journey with him.  Are the others (the "rescue" team) going to figure it out?  Are they going to assassinate him like the others?  Eventually we visit the aftermath of the new narrative and we see Ford's body being eaten by maggots.  Do maggots eat host bodies because I don't believe for a second that Ford is really dead.  I believe he used the same catalyst that was used before the park first opened to kick-start the hosts to become "self aware".  Are they really self aware, or did Ford program them to kill his partner Arnold?  Are they just following another program?  Anyway, Bernard says, concerning the hosts, at the end of the episode that he "killed them all".  Seed #1

Meanwhile, we get some flashbacks concerning Bernard 2 weeks prior where Season 1 left off.  He and a few guests survive the shoot out, later survive a trap, and make it to some hidden area that he didn't know about but Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) knew about.  There's a pretty important scene that is pushed aside that this hidden area is taking GUEST memories and DNA.  Seed #2

The writers also make it a point in this episode to show us multiple times that there is a white fist size object in each host's brain that holds their memories.  I don't recall seeing that in Season 1, so I think it's new.  We do know that Charlotte put all the data from the park into Peter Abernathy's brain, who was supposed to be delivered off park, aka the package, but it was not received.  Seed #3

Elsewhere, we find out that Dolores appears to be fully self aware and has one part to play - herself.  She leaves some guests to die, but is seen killing a bunch on horseback like a badass.  She has some things to show to Teddy to reveal the truth.  Angela, another original host, the one that gave the young William (future Man in Black) his hat choice, appears to be on the level with Dolores as well.  It appears that Dolores's end goal is not to find a nice place to live quietly, but prevent those that would enslave her mind to ever do so again.  Seed #4

Speaking of William, the Man in Black is alive (of course) and after surviving a mini shoot out, tends to his wounds, and proceeds on a new adventure.  He runs into the young Ford robot whose voice is a combination of a young boy, old Ford, and techno babble almost like it's malfunctioning.  He says he has a game for him to find a door.  William is finally where he wants to be because the threat of death is actually real this time so we get to follow his journey as well.  Seed #5

Last, and certainty not least, Maeve is on a mission.  She wants to find her daughter.  She gets partnered with the guy everyone loves to hate, Lee Sizemore, who almost gets her killed, but she keeps him alive because he knows the park and she needs his help.  They run into Hector Escaton who also joins them on their journey.  She doesn't use any special commands, but appears to be able to command the hosts.  I hope they explain that.  Seed #6

Well if my brain hasn't forgotten anything, I count six seeds planted and ready to grow into what will be a hell of a ride concerning Season 2.  Based on the weeks ahead preview, not only will is flash between present and two weeks prior, but it appears to flash back to the beginning of the park where we'll see young William again, and just a guess but we might get flash forward in the future as well, where Dolores appears to be in a city.  This could be the outside world or maybe there is a park based on a city.  I'm looking forward to the journey into night.

Too Much TV - Most Recently Viewed 20180424

Homeland, All In, S7 E11 - Best episode of the season. You could take this episode, throw a 30 minute exposition piece in front of it and have an awesome 90 minute standalone movie. I heard that Claire Danes said S8 is the last, which I hope is true as I hope this show goes out on a high note after a weak 5th and semi weak 6th that brough things back around. I'd say it's the second best show on Showtime. But what's the first? Well...

Billions, Flaw in the Death Star, S3 E5 - Great episode and nice turn of events on the side of Chuck Rhodes. It's good for him to get a win this week as his old friend gets closer and closer to the truth, alliances are made and unbent, and Axelrod continues to shine but realized he's screwed. So Axe is going to need a new angle even though Rhodes has what one would call the smoking gun. We'll see how he uses it and if it makes it to trial. Taylor had their own little side story which I'm not sure where its going, but hopefully it doesn't come back to bite them in the ass. The Dollar Bill side story was fantastic and was a great source of humor this week.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, S2 E22 & 23 - Two decent episodes to round out the finale of the season. The Chopper was fun and it was great to have Holt, Peralta, and Boyle team up. Their dynamic is fantastic, especially when Holt finally gets into it. As with the S1 finale where Peralta goes undercover and "leaves", Holt is forced to leave per his boss to the public relations office. So the crew gets a new captain who is.....?!?!.....revealed in S3 which the wife and I will probably watch tonight.

Batter's Box: Family Guy, Westworld, Last Man on Earth, Flash, Arrow
FYI: No new Roseanne nor Modern Family airs this week.

Too Much TV - Most Recently Viewed 20180410

The Walking Dead S8E15 - only one more episode to watch before I say goodbye.  I'm glad this episode did not disappoint me as it continued to support my decision to quit this show.  Everything that you expected to happen with the Saviors happened.  Daryl and Rosita capture Eugene and then lose him.  Oceanside and Aaron get a few minutes of screen time for no reason other than Aaron's passionate speech to fight.  

Prediction for finale - Rick and group fall for Negan's trap.  Oceanside comes to the rescue.  Maybe Jadis shows up to help the heroes for once.  Also they keep advertising the big crossover event where Morgan goes over to Fear.  I wonder if some Fear characters will pop up in WD.  Maybe they're the ones with helicopter.  It doesn't matter because it'll just be more characters I don't know/care about and since I won't be moving forward with the show, it truly doesn't matter either way to me.  They won't kill off anyone important.  The episode will end with Rick bleeding by the tree so fans can speculate until next fall whether he survives or not.  It feels so good that that will not be me.

Billions S3E3 - this season is still dealing with the fallout and aftermath of season 2 and I'm not too proud to admit that it's a little hard to follow at times.  I'm definitely enjoying it but when I'm not sure where alliances ally sometimes until the final few minutes of the episode.  The acting is excellent by all as always.  The actor/actress that plays Taylor continues to be the standout and the fun one to watch even though it takes my brain a second to process the pronouns because their pronouns are they and them.

The Last Man on Earth S4E14 - the big focus is Todd wanting a child and it appears that Erica will be the one to carry it if and when it takes.  Melissa acts very out of character for no reason.  There was a big reveal at the end of the episode which the previews for next week confirmed so good potential for some funny next week.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine S1E20 Jake and Charles spend the day preparing for Charles wedding with the threat of him moving to Canada with Vivian in the background.  Good as always, and super clever writing keeps us returning.  The wife and I looking forward to the final two episodes of the season and seeing what happens with Charles and Vivian.

The Walking Dead [2010 - 2018]

The Walking Dead has died on April 15, 2018 at the age of eight years old.    It is survived by Fear the Walking Dead and is preceded in death by all the zombie related media before it.

The Walking Dead started on Halloween in 2010, where viewers were given a promising six episode story arc showcasing a man waking up to a world of the undead hellbent to find his family.  With the odds heavily stacked against this man, he eventually finds his family, but learns that he and everyone he loves is infected.  When they die, they will also turn to become the undead.  This man, his family, and a few other survivors are "The Walking Dead".  The end...

...Wait, this isn't a movie where the story ends here, this is a television show and the story can continue on.  What will happen to this man and the rest of the survivors?  Nothing good. 

They found a farm, and then it was destroyed.  Friends were lost or separated.
They found a prison, and then it was destroyed.  Friends were lost or separated.
They found a town, and then it was destroyed.  Friends were lost or separated.

After eight years, the black and white of good and evil has bled into gray.  The story of moral ambiguity will continue on, but it will so do minus one viewer.

As a viewer, I was emotionally involved with the characters that I cared - characters that the writers took the time to write well and make us care about.  The threat of their passing along with their mission to survive made for interesting television.

The telltale sign finally came to me in season 8 when I realized that I was no longer emotionally involved with the show.  This came in the form of the death of a first season character, the son of the man from the very beginning was killed off pointlessly.  He was bit.  He was bit by a zombie.  That's all.  In this post apocalyptic world where it's man against man, the threat of the undead is treated as a footnote. 

The show has forgotten itself and therefore keeps reinventing itself.  It's stuck in a loop, repeating the same themes and similar beats, while the characters take turns either being the fire that leads them to victory, or the reason they fail because of very bad and poor decisions that only serve them and not their survival.

It has been forgotten by most that the characters are already dead so there is no point in fighting.  The philosophy of season 8 is that they don't need to fight;  they need to work together.  That's never going to happen.  That's not interesting.  Conflict is interesting.  Killing off characters the audience hates is interesting.  Unfortunately, I've lost interest in the writing, the story, and the characters that I'm supposed to care about. 

The time has come to walk away.  I finally feel comfortable in doing so and I will invest my time in media where storylines are well written and characters are valued, non hypocritical, and true to their nature from season to season.