I think that was a pretty good base to build on. Lot of top notch talent for sure, and the premise looks like it could work, plus Steven Ogg! (Trevor from the videogame GTA5) Hopefully he gets some screen time.

It's got my attention.

It wasn't spectacular, but the end really grabbed me...Louis Herthum as Delores' Dad was just superb. Scary and pathetic and beautifully non-human and human at the same time. Just an outstanding performance.

Ed Harris is obviously trying to get some cheat codes to "win" the game....what the game is, is not clear. The scalp simply had computer wiring in it, not a map.

Promising show.

And the security guy at the park is the older brother of Chris and Liam Hemsworth! I guess everyone in that family is an actor!

I think Ed Harris is a host that knows what he is. He mentioned knowing Dolores for 30 years, I think he might be the 2nd oldest robot and is going to wake her up. She is the oldest and that will probably be useful to him somehow.

I do realize the fact that bullets can't hurt him hurts this theory but maybe he's figured out a way around that. Maybe the system thinks hes a guest.

Actually given the nature of the original movie (which I saw part of as a kid maybe 25 years ago) I think that is a very solid theory.

I thought they made it clear that Ed Harris was a visitor. He said, "I've been coming here thirty years." Teddy shooting him was the moment when the narrator explained that newcomers couldn't be hurt. Then Harris says, "I never understood why they paired some of you off."

Then in the speech he gives before he scalps the droid he calls him livestock/scenery and talks about how he plays the deeper game while the 'other' visitors just come to get their rocks off and shoot Indians.

There would have to be some sort of twist for Ed Harris to turn out to not be a visitor.

that was definitely a "i know that guy from somewhere but cant put my finger on it", i thought he was stamper from house of cards for a while. thanks for clearing that one up for me.

Well, the twist very plausible imo. They are clearly strongly leading you to believe he's a guest (for all the reasons you mentioned, plus the robot's inability to shoot him, the biggest one).

However nothing we saw exactly confirms he's a guest for sure.



I know we aren't supposed to nitpick the reality of such shows, but if I were running this hypothetical park my biggest concern wouldn't be the robots intentionally killing a guest, but a guest accidentally killing another guest thinking they were a robot, you'd need to give all the real people wrist bands or something.

Or just someone getting hit by a stray bullet in the crossfire.

You'd have to have liability waivers and insurance out the wazoo.

Guest can't get hurt.

Well it certainly appears everyone is using guns with live ammo, both the guests and the robots.

So far so good.

Ending gave me a chill, extremely well done.

I have a lot of confidence in Jonathan Nolan's universe building, and saw nothing to be concerned about in the first episode.

The vibe on Ed Harris's character is that he's a host, who figured it out. I think Hopkins's character is intentionally trying to put in invisible bad code because of how awful the guests are to his creations. He wants them to be as real as possible, and killin' is real.

It's been a long time since I've found a show I was this interested in right at the start.

I love that it's still fresh so just about any theory can still be plausible (at least for a little while). That fact alone gives it a "LOST" type vibe for me. Theory-crafting is often a very enjoyable part of watching a show like this...

It was beautiful to look at... as good as any movie out there. I already have a crush on Dolores.

Hopes are high for this one.

I thought her name was Mulva.

Post-episode extra footage with Jonathan Nolan re: Teddy vs The Man in Black

I don't see how Harris is a host unless he's got someone on the inside in the control room. It seems they monitor all the hosts pretty constantly and quickly note when they go off script - pretty sure Harris dragging the one guy out to the boonies and opening his head would qualify.

If I had to bet on a secret host, it would be the female assistant to the black guy. She seems to have a big affinity for what the hosts are going through (kissing the prostitute and then putting Wood gently to sleep). I could also see the him and Hopkins wanting to see if their creation can pass as real, and having it be his assistant would be the safest place to monitor her (similar to Bladerunner).

Grunch

So is Harris the equivalent of someone who goes to Disneyland to cause trouble and explore all the secret employee zones? Like when Arnold got off the universal backlot team in that episode of diffrent strokes?

I'm down with the theory that Hopkins put the MIB there just so he would have some fun. When he was talking to the old host and the doc told old Thor to put the gun down unless he wanted to shoot his boss.. It sounded fishy to me. Like well yeah, being the boss is the best excuse for being there isn't it. He has access to everything so he should probably be able to put the MIB there without people noticing.

He could also be invisible based on his age (prior to the technology infusion), and Ford could have basically "hidden" him inside the world like an Easter Egg (also note that Ford is full of nostalgia talking to one of his early creations in his introduction). I think they're playing both angles, and whatever it is should make sense. I also think it's quite possible that Ford wants to eff everything up, since it's not the same as when he started it, and he knows his own death is coming soon. What better way to leave a legacy than creating near reality with awareness in robots, regardless of the cost.

Damn that was awesome

I can see that.

Super impressed with the premiere. Really nice mix of scifi/mystery/drama combined with HBO's always amazing production.

Seems like there was a secret host in the movie. This "theory" is way too widespread.

Huh, sure looked like a maze/map to me, and it'd be weird to keep it strapped to his horse in view for himself if it's just wiring.