The futuristic theme park at the center of Westworld is massive, filled with epic desert landscapes and multiple towns inhabited by unique characters and robotic animals. The entire world is meticulously crafted and organized except for one thing — the flies. The pesky insects keep turning up for much of the series' pilot, and through dialogue, it's indicated that there is some kind of fly problem going on. Could the flies in Westworld be a hint at what's to come, or are they simply an example of how the robotic hosts are changing? Either way, their presence is significant.
The hosts of Westworld are seemingly programmed not to harm a living thing, be it a guest or a bug. Throughout the pilot, there are multiple shots of flies crawling all over the hosts, who just sit there and don't even appear to notice — including the fairly disturbing sight of a fly moving across Teddy's eyeball. However, this all changes at the end of the pilot, when Dolores feels a fly land on her neck and instinctively swats it dead, shortly after telling Bernard she would never hurt a living thing. The implications are obvious: If Dolores is able to break her code to kill a fly, what else could she be capable of?
The DiscoverWestworld website lists the terms of service for Delos Destinations (the company that oversees the park) and they state, "All livestock within the Delos parks are Hosts, with the notable exception of flies. All humanoid and animal Hosts within Delos parks work to keep guests safe ... all Hosts utilize the Good SamaritanTM reflex to prevent bodily harm." So the flies are absolutely not robotic hosts, which means the hosts are killing a living thing if they are swatting down the flies that used to freely crawl on them.
In the first two episodes of Westworld, there's been talk amongst the engineers of a glitch going around that causes hosts to start having memories of their past lives and all the terrible things the guests have done to them. As the hosts start to become more aware that they're being abused for the purposes of entertainment, will the guests soon get swatted away too?
There are a lot of mysteries in Westworld, so many that it feels like every single detail is hinting at something larger. A fly isn't just a fly when it lands on a host in Westworld. As Dolores continues to spread whatever it is that she's spreading (A virus? A hack? The notion of self-awareness?) and more and more hosts become awakened, will Westworld's fly problem go away? Furthermore, will Westworld's guest problem go away if the hosts decide to rise up and fight back? There are a lot of questions and not many answers, but one thing we know for sure is that Westworld is no longer a safe place for insects — and may not be safe for humans much longer.
Images: John P. Johnson/HBO, Giphy (2)
