‘Westworld’ May Spoil All of Season 2 to Spite Reddit
Freeze all spoiler functions. Just as Westworld fans were gearing up to decode every aspect of Season 2, the creators have introduced a controversial (read: insane) plan to spoil the entire season on Reddit to thwart aggressive theorizing.
Creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy shared the idea as part of a Reddit AMA, promising that 1000 upvotes would earn posters “a video that lays out the plot (and twists and turns) of season 2.” The hope is apparently that those seeking spoilers can have their fill in advance of the April 22 premiere, and subsequently “protect the rest of the community, and help to distinguish between what’s ‘theory’ and what’s spoiler.” Nolan had previously alluded to a “controversial” Reddit strategy, likening the idea to Game of Thrones readers protecting viewers unfamiliar with the books. Here’s the (abridged) post:
Many thanks for your great questions and thoughts. As I’ve said before, I’ve been a member of the reddit community for years (no I’m not going to share my original username…). And I greatly enjoyed watching the friendly folks at this subreddit guess the twists and turns of the season.
It creates a larger problem for us, though, in terms of the way your guesswork is reported online. ‘Theories’ can actually be spoilers, and the line between the two is confusing. It’s something we’ve been thinking about since last season. The fans of Game of Thrones, for instance, rallied around and protected the secrets of the narrative in part because they already knew those secrets (through season 5).
We thought about this long and hard, and came to a difficult (and potentially highly controversial) decision. If you guys agree, we’re going to post a video that lays out the plot (and twists and turns) of season 2. Everything. The whole sordid thing. Up front. That way the members of the community here who want the season spoiled for them can watch ahead, and then protect the rest of the community, and help to distinguish between what’s ‘theory’ and what’s spoiler.
It’s a new age, and a new world in terms of the relationship between the folks making shows and the community watching them. And trust is a big part of that. We’ve made our cast part of this decision, and they’re fully supportive. We’re so excited to be in this with you guys together. So if this post reaches a 1000 upvotes we’ll deliver the goods.
It’s hard to know what to make of such an unusual promise, as it seems unlikely the video would successfully shield fans against spoilers. The first season definitely became an emblem of puzzle-box TV as a whole, and it’s true that Reddit crowd-sourcing unraveled many core twists before the series had a chance to. It’s possible Nolan and HBO are confident enough in Season 2 that viewership would be unaffected by a lack of weekly theorizing, but just as likely the video itself is a ploy to disseminate misinformation. Westworld “fake news,” as it were. It worked for Game of Thrones.
The post has not yet reached its required upvotes, but is Westworld really better off releasing spoilers ahead of time?
Gallery: TV Twists That Fans Figured Out Way in Advance