Westworld: 10 Most Problematic Continuity Errors | ScreenRant
Westworld is a series known for its stunning attention to detail and thought-provoking questions. After every episode, fans flock to the internet to discuss the clues hidden in every scene, every character gesture, and every piece of mysterious dialogue. Though it follows the exploits of androids and humans in the near future, continuity errors can ruin the suspension of disbelief and the illusion of realism.
One of the most difficult aspects of following the HBO series (other than its timeline) is deciding what to focus on. What's a sign intentionally placed by the creative team, and what's an error of the editing room? How much time is wasted on symbolism, and what amounts to continuity errors? Below are the 10 most problematic continuity errors in Westworld so far.
10 THE ANGEL INVESTOR
While Dr. Ford tirelessly worked to open Westworld, his partner Arnold got increasingly disillusioned. He decided that the only way to prevent Robert from opening the park was to take his own life. It's stated that an "angel" investor arrived amidst the scandal, offering the necessary funds to keep the park running.
William is credited to be this investor, except that he could only have brought funding after he visited the park with Logan Delos. Logan tells William in episode 5 that after Arnold's suicide, the park went into "financial freefall", inspiring Delos Inc. to buy more shares in it.
9 WHERE'S TEDDY?
When viewers first encounter Teddy and Dolores, they're participating in their "loop", consisting of bandits attacking the Abernathy homestead and killing Dolores's parents, the Man In Black dragging Dolores to the barn, and Teddy getting killed.
The second time viewers encounter the characters, Teddy is pulled aside by a return visitor to act as a "guide" away from Sweetwater, and the Man In Black is unable to get to Dolores. The next day, Dolores rides into town to fetch a doctor for her father and runs into Teddy. This is only possible if he died while escorting the other guests and his loop was restarted.
8 CIGARETTE HABITS
As head of park quality assurance and safety, Theresa Cullen was often stressed. Her high-powered job had a lot of responsibility attached to it, so it wasn't uncommon to see her lighting up a cigarette in almost every scene was in out of an effort to relax.
When Charlotte Hale, director of the Delos board comes to visit Westworld, Theresa's job becomes even more demanding. Charlotte takes a cigarette from her in episode 7 of Season 1 but puts it in her mouth the wrong way around. It looks odd to see someone like Charlotte Hale doing something so careless.
7 HECTOR'S GANG
When Hector Escaton's gang rides into Sweetwater, their loop dictates that they steal the safe out of the Mariposa saloon. Hector points his repeating rifle at a host on the ground and fires. As soon as he shoots, a cartridge flies from the gun. A repeating rifle doesn't eject used cartridges when fired.
Repeating rifles eject a cartridge only when their lever is wrenched, and only automatic weapons would eject a spent cartridge when shot. The spent cartridge does add dramatic flair to the scene, however improbable it is.
6 HANGMAN'S NOOSE
When the Man In Black runs afoul of Clementine and her gang, he gets knocked unconscious, only to wake up with a noose around his neck. The noose is clearly framed, and has 4 distinct loops comprising its hangman's knot as he tries to determine how to loosen it.
He pleads with the horse attached to the rope not to bolt, while at the same time endeavoring to cut the noose from around his neck. A few seconds later, the horse bolts just as he's able to use his knife, and as he falls to the ground, there are 6 distinct loops that appear in the hangman's knot.
5 MAN IN BLACK'S GALA ATTIRE
In the Season 1 finale, when the Man In Black is heading to the gala hosted by Dr. Ford, he's clearly seen wearing a tuxedo with white buttons and his wedding ring. When he "wakes up" after the carnage caused by Dolores, he has no wedding band and black button caps.
This has given rise to a theory that William is actually a host, especially since he awakens in Season 2 and appears to be on some sort of "loop". However, it may simply be a cause of Ed Harris being too expensive to retain for reshoots, so there wasn't an option to address the issue.
4 MASSACRE MOVEMENTS
In the Season 1 finale, the Gala Massacre involves the brutal slaying of dozens of park guests, including prominent members of the Delos board of directors. The Man In Black is one of these executives, and when he climbs out form the rubble, he witnesses the carnage of bodies strewn everywhere.
When Bernard returns to the scene of the crime fourteen days later, the bodies are in the exact same position, except that there is a man who slumped against a structure with a distinct blood splatter. It makes no sense for Delos security personnel to have moved him into that position.
3 THE PASSING OF THE MAZE
In the Season 1 finale, Robert Ford hands the maze to Bernard in a very distinct way. He shakes Bernard's hand with his right hand, before extending the maze with his left. Viewers are then greeted by a shot of Bernard's facial reactions, before the hands are focused on once again.
When the shot returns to their hands, it's Ford's right hand that's giving Bernard the maze. While a true continuity error, debate exists about whether or not it was intentional, and meant to indicate that the passing along of the maze didn't happen exactly as it was shown.
2 THE BEACH SCENE
In the beach scene that opens Season 2, Delos security personnel are rounding up groups of hosts that were responsible for massacring dozens of guests in the Season 1 finale. Bernard walks by a row of hosts (including Rebus) lined up to be shot by a firing squad, and the scene is shot at different angles.
This results in Bernard seeing the same host woman get shot twice. While it's true that Bernard de-addressed his memory which accounted for much of his confusion, but the beach events only happened once, and weren't part of a narrative that occurred in the past and future different ways.
1 TIMELINE CONTINUITY ERROR
In Season 2, after a disoriented Bernard finds Elsie alive in a cave, they discover a secret lab behind the rock edifice. Inside, Elsie repairs the cortical leak in Bernard's head. Bernard explains about his memory loss, and Elsie notices his memories aren't timestamped.
In the Season 2 finale, viewers discover Bernard scrambled his memories himself, in an effort to prevent Delos personnel from discerning what happened. However, this happens much later, after Elsie has already died. In this timeline, Bernard would have had to scramble his memories before he found out he'd scrambled them.