If you have watched any or all of HBO’s Westworld so far you may be thinking to yourself that it feels a little like there is something much deeper going on in the show but you’re not quite grasping it. That’s ok, most of us feel this way, I think, even if we feel we get most of it. In fact, the writers of the show likely intended for us to feel a little confused, which is why they employ the use of jumping timelines, frequent flashbacks and so forth to make a relatively complex plot even more complex. The entire show, both seasons so far, seems carefully designed to carry a much deeper hidden meaning that the writers want you to take your time unraveling and figuring out.
This idea was hinted at by the writers in this little scene from episode one, “You’re smart enough to guess there’s a bigger picture, but not smart enough to guess what it is…”
Another teaser as to what the show is all about is hidden near the end of episode one in the the muffled words of a supposed lunatic father, Peter Abernathy, when he asks his daughter Delores, “Do you want to know the question you are not supposed to ask?”
That question, I believe, which we do not actually hear in episode one, is essentially, “What am I?” This is the question none of us are supposed to ask, at least from a Gnostic perspective.
To better understand the deeper secrets of the park I feel a basic overview of Gnosticism is in order. Gnosticism was actually a very popular early form of Christianity which existed as far back as the very first century AD. In Gnostic thought, we humans are actually all spiritual beings trapped in an illusion or prison made out of flesh and blood by an evil god who caused us to forgot what we really are so that we remain in our prison or trap of the material world forever. Gnosis, therefore, (the Greek word meaning “knowledge”), refers to our awakening to our true nature by knowledge of what we really are so that we can escape the material world and become free spirits again. The question, therefore, that we are not supposed to ask is, “What am I exactly?”
In Westworld, Peter Abanathy, (Dolores’ father) as well as she and all of the rest of the inhabitants of Westworld are merely sophisticated robots created to live out routine lives in continual loops over and over again for the sole purpose of entertaining their “guests” in the magical theme park of Westworld.
Here humans (aka “the guests”) can visit the park and fulfill their wildest old west fantasies including rape, murder or just visiting a good old fashioned local brothel for whores and whiskey.
In the Gnostic interpretation of Westworld, the theme park of Westworld represents our earth (or our material world). The robots that live in the park represent us as humans here on earth and the “guests” or humans in the series are representative of the “gods” or higher spiritual beings that come and go at will and play with an enslaved humanity for their own entertainment.
Early in the episode we see Dolores being interrogated in a futuristic laboratory after having recently died a horrible death. As she is interrogated we see flashbacks to her most recent life (or so we think) and watch it play out throughout the episode until her untimely death where we end up full circle back in the laboratory. The first question Delores is asked is if she knows where she’s at. She informs the interrogator that she is in a dream.
This, then, is the beginning of the Gnostic theme in the series. When Dolores is actually out of her body (i.e. dead) she is told that she is only dreaming and is made to believe that her fake life, the one she lives in the theme park, is reality. A simple test is then performed by the interrogator to ensure that Dolores has not “awakened” to her true spiritual nature by asking her directly, “Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?”
Over the course of the interrogation (and the episode) the interrogator asks Dolores if she would have any problem if she knew the real dark truth of the park, that her entire life is just an amusement for the guests. It is explained to her in excruciating detail as we watch her tragic ending unfold.
Despite everything that happens to us, in the Gnostic view, we are literally programmed to love God (or the gods) and make excuses for why there is evil in the world and why it is so horrible here on earth in our prison.
Dolores goes on to explain via her programming how she feels about her world by saying “Some choose to see the ugliness in this world, the disarray. I choose to see the beauty….to believe there is an order to our days…a purpose.” Further she says of the newcomers, “The newcomers are just looking for the same thing we are, a place to be free…to stake out our dreams…a place of unlimited possibilities.”
But during episode one Dolores’ father, Peter Abernathy, has a moment where he sees something that violently shakes his view of reality and makes him begin to question who or what he really is. In the episode, this is represented by Peter finding a photograph of a busy modern street in a place like New York City. The photo shocks him out of his dream-like state and he begins to wonder where this other future place is and why the woman in the photo is dressed like she is. However, when he shares the photo with his daughter she is completely disinterested and pays no mind to it at all.
I believe the above scene can be taken as a metaphor for those who are becoming spiritually awakened among us. Those who have “seen things” which shake our understanding of reality and try to share it with those around us are often blown off or dismissed as being obsessed about nothing. For the average person, living in their dream is a comfort to them. They do not wish to be awakened and shake up their belief in reality, therefore, any evidence presented to them that would shake their core belief in reality is dismissed as nothing important at all. In the Gnostic understanding, this of course is our programming by an evil god that does not wish for us to wake up.
Many believe that the character played by Anthony Hopkins represents the so called evil or delusional god of Gnosticism. His character is the lead designer for the park and it’s robotic hosts and thus he is a fitting representative of the one that wishes to keep mankind enslaved. He is often seen as being troubled over what he has created as if he’s having second thoughts about it all.
Additionally the character played by Ed Harris (the man in Black) is believed by most to represent the devil who opposes god. He is here in the park to understand why “god” created this place and why he allows all these horrible things to happen to his creation. In a way, the man in black almost seems sympathetic to the human condition and enslavement.
When Abernathy “dies” in the theme park he comes face to face with his maker (Anthony Hopkins) and begins to quote Shakespeare to him which is meant by the writers to give more clues to the shows deeper meaning. His quote suggest that he knows his life in the theme park is all an act, a great stage on which we are playing the fool. Even his name means nothing for a name is just a name. Whatever role he is playing this time around is just that, a role, it is not who he REALLY is.
But in the episode we are given clues that one day the poor robots are going to become awakened and realize what they really are and when they do there is going to be a reckoning.
In the end Dolores is questioned about the secret her father tried to tell her before she died. What did he ask her? Did it awaken her or is she still asleep?
The “gods” are satisfied that Dolores’ programming is still intact. She has not been awakened. But as the episode ends Dolores (whom early it was said she couldn’t hurt a fly) has a fly land on her and she slaps it dead. This is the sign that Dolores HAS become spiritually awakened and has begun to break out of her programming.
There is actually quite a bit more that I’ve left out of my episode one review but this has been quite lengthy already and I’ve tried to narrow the discussion to the topic of Gnosticism for now. There are many other hidden elements in the story as well, references to Alice in Wonderland, Buddhism, American Indian culture, and more.
But that’s for another article.