Watching Westworld - 204 – The Riddle of the Sphinx

In Westworld episode 204, “Riddle of the Sphinx”, we’re asked to consider if mortality is a core feature of humanity, or is it merely a bug to be fixed later in code? What is “good enough” when it comes to consciousness transfer?  If you can be copied and therefore replaced, does that mean you are no longer real, as Arnold stated at the outset of the season?  Aside from these heady topics, we discuss Bernard becoming lost in his reveries, the triumphant return of one of our favorite techs, and if William is in for something of a redemptive arc, or is he, as he himself maintains, just playing Ford’s game “to the bone”?  All this, tons of feedback, and a bit of speculation and crazy theories at the end!

Beltalowda - A podcast for The Expanse - 305 – Triple Point

This week’s episode of SyFy’s The Expanse, “Triple Point”, finds our crew preparing to storm Io and rescue Prax’s daughter by force, only to find a sizable portion of both Earth and Mars’ fleets converging upon them. The final 15 minutes of this episode might well be the most tense The Expanse has ever been. Meanwhile, Jules-Pierre Mao and Dr. Strickland make a break through, Alex gets another missive from home, Amos is really worried about what he and his fellow crew members’ hi-jinks are doing to poor Prax, Avasarala lies, and James and Naomi find common ground. Next week promises to be amazing, see you then!

Watching Westworld - 203 – Virtu e Fortuna

The latest episode of Westworld, “Virtu e Fortuna” adds an enigmatic new character, an entirely new park, and depicts the first formal battle of the Great Host Rebellion of 2052. There is a lot to unpack, and seemingly everything seen just leaves us with more questions. We discuss the dual natures of Dolores and Maeve, Bernard making a crucial discovery of what’s in one Peter Abernathy’s head, and try to puzzle out out what the tiger hunter has to do with the story and how she relates to the other characters.  Not to mention all the great feedback we’ve got from the Westworld fans and the crazy/cool theories and speculation we get up to at the end of the podcast.