The science of Westworld is fascinating but sometimes inconsistent. One of the most overlooked examples happens in Season 1, Episode 4, “Dissonance Theory,” when one of the techs in the control room makes a statement that is never heard again — “I’ve got a request for a pyrotechnic effect.” The request is brought on by a storyline where William, aka the Man in Black, is breaking himself and Hector out of Los Diablos Prison. This is part of his quest to find the center of the maze, a goal that consumes him throughout the show’s first season. As he lights a fuse hidden in a cigar, the scene shifts to show the control room. The techs adjust some code to allow the pyrotechnic effect. This seems to enable the explosion to work, which explodes the prison cell’s lock and frees the two men.
Though “I’ve got a request for a pyrotechnic effect” sounds like a phrase that would match the boundaries set up by this science fiction world, there are hidden implications. If explosions have to be approved individually by the staff, this would suggest that explosive devices do not automatically work in Westworld. At the very least, it implies that explosions have to be triggered by the tech staff. But after this one time, no one mentions pyrotechnic requests ever again.
The audience is already aware by this point in the show that firearms do not hurt the real people in Westworld, only the hosts. But there has not been anything explicitly mentioned about the effects of explosives or that they can’t work without express technological permission. It is possible that the guests would be unaware of this fact. They would never need to know that certain actions have to be triggered by the control room techs, especially with all the secrecy surrounding the operations in Westworld and Delos’s true intentions. But it seems like this would be a recurring topic that would be discussed in the control room. The real problem with this idea — pyrotechnics needing approval — comes when trying to understand the science behind it.
The science surrounding this request is murky. If explosions need technological permission, then do firearms need that as well? Does fire, as a basic element, need technological permission? Maybe there are specific boundaries set around the size of the explosion. For example, a small campfire with sparks and embers would not need to be approved by the staff. But an explosion large enough to decimate a jail cell lock would need approval. Still, the science does not make sense. How would a boundary of this type be placed in the first place? There are no answers to these questions, only more questions. A single statement turns into a plot hole that threatens to unravel the entire scientific foundation of the show.
When everything falls apart at the end of the first season, when the hosts begin to take control of the park via mass murder, no one expresses shock that explosions can now work at any time. It does not matter who instigates the explosion, how big it is, or who it kills. Every fuse that is lit results in an explosion. The techs are shocked that the hosts are able to act of their own accord, but their horrified discussions never mention explosions.
While Westworld does a good job of explaining much of the science behind the hosts and their artificial intelligence, pyrotechnics within the park are a murky problem. One throwaway comment in the first season — “We have a request for a pyrotechnic effect” — puts everything into question. It is now unclear what is allowed, what is possible, and how to find the boundaries. It almost seems like the boundaries, the safety precautions for guests, never even existed in the first place.
Leave a Reply