Westworld fans spent much of the HBO show’s first season sharing their hypotheses regarding its plot online, with users of the r/Westworld subreddit eventually figuring out pretty much every plot twist prior to its finale. According to the show’s creators, the impressive detective work of Westworld fans on Reddit has even caused them to change a plot twist in a season two episode.
A Westworld panel held at Paleyfest saw co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy discussing the upcoming season alongside key cast members and executive producer Robert Patino, with them touching upon the huge online following its first season garnered and the number of theories that circulated across the web as a result. According to Nolan, a popular fan theory has impacted a script they had written for season two’s third episode, causing them to rewrite the script after redditors had figured out a crucial plot twist.
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“We’re writing right now — we’re terribly excited about what we’re writing,” Nolan said (via Deadline). “Reddit has already figured out the third episode twist, so we’re changing that right now.”
Discussing the impact of social media on Westworld, Nolan continued: “It’s annoying sometimes when people guess the twists and then blog about it, but the engagement is gratifying, on one level, because if someone guesses your twist, it means you’ve done an adequate job [of structuring the series].”
He concluded: “You can’t complain when people are that engaged. It’s very gratifying — but stop doing it, please.”
A number of fan theories have emerged since the conclusion of season one, with many attempting to outline how the show will play out since Dolores killed Robert Ford and the hosts began their uprising. One of the most popular theories suggests that Ford didn’t die at all, and that he had actually created a host version of himself who took the bullet in season one’s final chapter. Another theory is that Ford has died, but that a host version of the Westworld creator is still wandering around somewhere, ready to take over his work.
It remains to be seen whether or not Westworld‘s season two script has had to be amended as a result of Reddit’s theories, or if Nolan was simply trolling his Paleyfest audience, but either way it seems that the show’s creators are keen to remain several steps ahead of their audience in season two.
