Honestly this episode was nuts, but here's what I thought was important new information that I actually understood.
Elsie is alive
Or at least, she was. She was alive at some point after we last saw her in the abandoned theater. It was a bit unclear when exactly we see her in the cave, due to Bernard’s glitch, so she may have died in the interim, but she did not die when Bernard choked her last season.
They made a host version of Jim Delos
Not all that successfully; it glitches out after a few days, because of some sci-fi explanation I admit I did not fully understand. It seems like some sort of incompatibility between human consciousness and the fabricated part of host minds.
They are building hosts that are “different”
The code isn’t code, or at least not normal code, as Bernard says in the lab, It is likely that these are the human continuation hosts, like Jim Delos.
Bernard helped to create another human-host
We hear from Bernard that he remembers printing one of those not-exactly-a-host brains on Ford’s orders. We do not know who it was, as Bernard couldn’t remember, but it very likely could have been Ford. He also killed everyone in the lab, including the drone hosts.
Grace speaks Lakota
She seems to be familiar with Westworld as well, saying her knowledge of the language was due to her familiarity and interest in the storylines that other guests ignore.
Grace is absolutely Emily
Well called people who guessed this last week. You do not miss a trick. Well, she might not be Emily, but she is William’s daughter.
Stubbs is a captive of Ghost Nation for awhile
Between the time we saw him taken near the end of season one an when we see him on the beach, he is held prisoner by the Ghost Nation for awhile, and we have yet to see how he escapes.
Logan overdosed
Not surprising, really, given how we saw him at the retirement party. But Ed Harris confirms this to Jim Delos after he tells him that Juliet killed herself.
Note: This is based on my own likely flawed viewing of the most recent episode. Please let me know if I missed anything major, misunderstood something significantly, or otherwise screwed this up.
edit: added notes
Not sure if this was pointed out previously, apologies if it was.
I was re-watching Riddle of the Sphinx again on my tablet and got to the scene with James Delos dancing to Roxy Music. As he stares at himself in the mirror, I noticed that the the lights (reflected in his eyes) seem to "blink". Watching on the TV screen, it looks more like his eyes seizing up, hinting at his degradation.
He stares closer at the mirror as well, as if he sees it too and is wondering what is going on. Then everything seems to look normal, he just shrugs it off, and then (correction) he goes to pour milk/creamer in his coffee.
As a tech person, it seemed like a cool detail to me. It reminded me of the Dell LED error codes. Maybe I just "see" too much into it.
https://i.redd.it/z45juj8pqiu21.png
So firstly if this has been theorized on this sub before I apologize and don't assume credit for this theory as I'm also sure it will have been thought of at some point. We all know that whatever crimes or flaws Nigel (The Sphynx) is guilty of they seem rather nominal next to the sheer blatant psychopathy of Tyler, willing to sacrifice Nina to show premeditation in the crossword. Therefore how do we know that Nina's brother did in fact commit suicide as is mentioned by Nina. This is noteably never mentioned by Tyler who only tells of him entering the competition to 're-earn his mothers love by beating her new husband' surely this would have enraged him however the calculated Tyler who we can assume to have for a very long time dreamed and played out this revenge plan in his head would see an opportunity to manipulate Nina and turn her against him and set the whole plan in motion by murdering Nina's brother, who as we all know was later discovered to be Nigel's son and not Tyler's. Things that are interesting to consider with this theory are if Tyler knew that he wasn't his son before he murdered him or are we left with the assumption that literally nothing would have prevented him from sacrificing them both to achieve his revenge. It also gives a different meaning to the line in which Tyler says there was a 'thorough investigation' particularly in the way he pauses slightly as he says it. Perhaps a thorough investigation because it was ruled as suspicious. If he was so blinded by the allure of revenge to sacrifice the girl he had raised and cared for as his daughter for all these years then I think its very very likely he was capable of this. I always thought it seemed a little off the explanation of Nina's brother's suicide, him being disqualified from the competition perhaps was just an opportunity in which blame could be pushed onto The Sphynx and be used as motivation in the manipulation of Nina. Ofcourse this is all speculative but consider how everything is tied up so very neatly around Tyler as the puppet master, the ultimate manipulator and monster of the piece. 'It's crazy isn't it what the unhinged mind is capable of'.
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode ,but something bothers me.When the episode ends and the ,,villain'' gets his revenge,he says something like ,, Isn't your middle name Hector by the way? / How funny '' and then he made a circle around some letters on the board and i can't stop thinking why.I thought it might be some anagram but combining some letters i thought are important i only got some weird words.Does anyone know if there is something hidden here or am i just crazy/dumb?
Aside from Oedipus's actual answer
What has 4 legs at dawn, 2 legs at noon, and 3 legs at sunset?
So I have to watch a film called The Riddles of the Sphinx by Laura Mulvey and can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know what is it about or what is it trying to do? I know there's an essay about it, but I wanted your opinion--specially about the way it has (or hasn't) "survived". Also, is it completely related to psychoanalysis, feminism, and the gaze?
High in the hills Oedipus limped on alone. It had been some days now since he had seen another soul. The late afternoon sun beat down upon his neck as he dragged his limp foot along this dusty trail, his only company the birds above. He had started out before the Sun had risen and was witness to its journey across the blue sky. Yet he hadn’t paused, nor would he, until he arrived at Thebes. He had heard that there great trouble brewed. But trouble was what he desired. Turning his back on his family, he realised the only glory he would obtain in this world would be of his own making. Cresting the hill, he leant on his staff. A clear view of Thebes and the surrounding plain lay below. This was where he would make his name, that much he knew. He began his descent.
The tall walls of the city rose up and dominated the sun drenched plain, like the silhouette of some man-made mountain range against the bright open sky. Marching towards them he prayed to the gods, to give him the strength to win glory. Vague rumours had informed him of the trouble of Thebes, but it wasn’t clear what exactly the trouble was. He believed in the heroics of Man and had taken it upon himself to shed some light on the problem. He would do what was necessary, or die trying. The gods of high Olympus would surely bless one as bold as he, one who had taken charge so as to avoid his fate as told at Delphi. The last fingers of the Sun pointed out over the horizon.
He drew close to those famous walls as the faint stars first twinkled in the darkening sky. No greeting or hail met him from the gates, just a gentle breeze rolling over the plain. It kicked up dust, watering his eyes to the shadowy archway ahead. He paused. He had the sensation of being watched.
“I would make myself known. I am Oedipus and I am come to the aid of Thebes.”
In front, something moved as smoke in the shadows. Squinting he gazed into the abyss.
“Would you now, brave Oedipus? What aid would that be?”
Emerging from the gloom with feline grace there appeared to him the most beautiful face. Her skin so smooth the structure so angular, like life breathed into a marble statue of a goddess. Oedipus stood straighter.
“I would know who I speak to first.”
“A question before that I reveal, and if you fail, you can join those, who lie by my tail.”
His eyes were only now becoming accustomed to the dark. He noticed what looked like little piles of earth behind the speaker, on the edge of the shadow cast by the gatehouse.
“A
... keep reading on reddit ➡First, if your interested, some history. Legend has it, The Sphinx would tell this riddle to her victims, a riddle deemed impossible, (but today quite simple.) When her victim got it wrong, she would tear him apart. Until one day, the great hero Oedipus solved her riddle, and she was so shocked, she ran off a cliff and plummeted to her death. This is the riddle, (please don't look it up, and put a spoiler tag on your guess!)
"What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 at night?
From the 1st record....hope you enjoy
https://preview.redd.it/4yh9rmtihrs31.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=874f45d40a76158ecd88c718dc6fb35ebb16861b
Remember The Riddle of the Sphinx which asks, "What goes on four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"
and Oedipus replies "Man, who as a baby crawls on four legs, then walks on two legs as an adult and in old age walks with a cane as his third leg..."
Well in the riddle, obviously the Sphinx never met a Zebra, who could reply "Me! I crawl out of bed in the morning, can walk on two legs after my meds, and then need three legs to get back up the stairs at night."
It appears that Major Craddock knows (or is programmed by Ford to know) he's in a game in ep 4. His comment about a "village elder" that can speak for everyone is exactly the sort of thing that would exist in a questline/game (dunno about IRL).
In a game there is always going to be a single NPC who is easy to find and provides exposition to the player (guest) about something crucial to the quest such as where to find <insert McGuffin here> because the game makers know if one had to talk to everyone in the town they'd leave (or go all Billy post Logan stabbing Dolores on the town)...
By shooting this very character who does in fact exist in the town Craddock conveys to either MIB or the audience (or both) that the rules of the game have changed.
Just an interesting tidbit noticed on the nth watch through the best show ever made.
> I am light without shadow, I am old, I am wise.
>When hands are held up together, I can never rise.
> What am I?
“And if we solve it, we can pass?”
The Sphinx nods her head. “There are many answers, but only one is true. How you wish to answer is a choice I leave to you.”
Owen turned to the others. “We could try another way.”
Robyn didn’t think so. “But we might lose the trail. The archmage has a two-day head start. We have to solve this riddle or we might lose him.”
Owen saw the others nod agreement. Then he looks at you. “Any ideas?”
Edit: This has been so much fun! I’ve been answering these all day, and I have to go to sleep. So it’s time to finish the story. Thank you everyone for your guessing, your rhyming, your PM’s and just for making this such a great post!
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“The Full Moon,” you say.
Owen smirks at you. “Really?”
“It makes sense,” you explain. “That part about ‘Light without shadow’ could mean the full moon. All the moon phases have light and shadow except for the full moon.”
Owen thinks about it. “Why can’t that part be the sun?”
You continue, “I thought about that, but the second line is pretty clear.”
Robyn interrupts you. “The moon doesn’t have hands, remember?”
“The hands are the hour hand and minute hand of a clock. They point up together at midnight.” You take a sip of water from your canteen.
“Wait,” says Owen. “That could be noon instead of midnight.”
You smile. “I know, but there’s one more thing. The full moon never rises at midnight. It has to do with the fact that the sun is on the opposite side of the world at midnight.”
You notice the Sphinx has been listening to your discussion. She smiles, and steps aside.
“Robyn,” you ask, “think we can catch the Archmage?”
“Let’s find out.”
In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the titular riddle is “What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?”
This pertains to age: we crawl on our hands and knees as a baby, we walk on two legs as an adult, and then we may require a cane in our elder years.
Can this pertain to aging, immortality, and the James Delos/William plot?
You can distinguish with difficulty Bernard saying, “These violent delights, have violent ends,” when speaking to the tech and drone host.
Little detail if you didn’t notice at first like myself.
The Riddle of the Sphinx
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus must solve the Riddle of the Sphinx to enter Thebes. The riddle has been discussed previously on this sub, addressing the modern form of the riddle “What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?”
Oedipus answers, “man.”
There is another form of the riddle “A thing there is whose voice is one; Whose feet are four and two.”
The answer to this may be “a pastoral society,” a society in which humans and animals live in close association with each other.
I feel that this form of the riddle and answer pertains to the current situation in Delos Destinations’ parks better than the first form of the riddle and answer.
Oedipus // Seven Against Thebes
Oedipus kills his father, Laius.
Oedipus has to solve the riddle of the sphinx to enter Thebes. He has four children with his mother Jocasta: Eteocles, Polynices, Ismene, and Antigone.
After Oedipus is ousted, Eteocles and Polynices agree to share the rule of Thebes alternating every year, but Eteocles refuses to step down after the first year.
Ultimately, Polynices pleads to King Adrastus of Argos, to help him dethrone Eteocles. They assemble the Seven Against Thebes. Eteocles’ messenger informs him of this and he recruits the Seven Defenders of Thebes.
All of the attackers and defenders are killed, with the exception of Adrastus.
The Spartoi
The Spartoi are the ancestors of the Theban nobility, and are not true humans. They were grown from the soil after Cadmus plants the teeth of the dragon, that he slayed, which was guarding the spring of Ares.
Scared, Cadmus throws a rock at them, causing a battle amongst the Spartoi, from which only five survive: Echion, Udaeus, Cthonius, Hyperenor and Pelorus.
The events are sparked by the Oracle at Delphi, The Pythia, the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The Pythia was named after the original name for Delphi, Pytho, which comes from the ancient greek verb that means “to rot” referring to the smell of the decomposing Python that Apollo slayed at the same location.
Apollo is born on Delos.
Cadmus goes on to found Thebes with the Spartoi.
What the fuck is this kid talking about?
I’m not entirely sure yet. But, the number seven arises in this show often. Delos and Argos are both connected to the three myths I mentioned.
I looked at the seven deadly sins and their corresponding virtues. I looked at the seven v
... keep reading on reddit ➡spoilers for s02e04 ahead: I seen some good analogies for how the Sphinx's riddle relates to delos plan to make people immortal. For those who are unfamiliar with the sphinx riddle, there is a sphinx who ask people who walks her path a riddle,the riddle goes, "What goes on fours in the morning, on twos in the afternoon and on threes at night?" if anyone answers incorrectly they are murdered. the correct answer is man, because man walks on all fours in early life, on two legs as an adult and with a walking stick in old age. the obvious connection is that the answer to the mystery of what Delos was creating and the answer to the sphinx riddle is man. another connection is that all "incorrect" James' clones were murdered because they didn't solve the riddle. But there's more to this story. after Oedipus solves the sphinx riddle the sphinx kills herself. So if the sphinx is an analogy for West world and man an analogy for immortality, my theory is its possible that James Delos planned on destroying West World after they perfected making humans immortal. And maybe Ford and William conspired against James sabotaging the immortal research in an attempt to save the park. i mean look at Elsie and Barnard conversation. the "mainland" doesn't even know of the robot uprising because Delos is keeping a lid on it in order to sneak data (which I'm assuming is human consciousness and research data on immortality) out of the park before they send the Calvary in. Sowing the company value the research more then the park.
The Sphinx is the Riddle not the Riddler, and the Riddler reads the OTHER Shelley
Many (most) of you are familiar with, at the very least, the novel ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley. But I want to talk about her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the uniquely remarkable connections that exist between his work and the AsoIaF series. I believe they expose some major thematic revelations we haven’t yet seen play out and could in The Winds of Winter, or (if we ever get it), a Dream of Spring.
I searched r/asoiaf in advance to make sure no one has gone in depth on this before, and in the process I came upon the following posts. While this entry will be a holistic/in-depth analysis of the relevance of multiple works by P. Shelley, these individuals deserve credit for catching ties between individual poems and/or characters in the series before me, and for adding another dimension to my analysis.
u/joeydyee - https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/8tw5dw/no_spoilers_curious_if_this_poem_inspired_the/ (Ode to the West Wind and The Winds of Winter)
u/zionius_ - https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/fqncdh/spoilers_extended_homages_in_asoiaf/ (Robb & Ozymandias)
u/chip_0 - https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/28hyak/spoilers_all_ozymandias_valar_morghulis_and_a/ (The Titan of Braavos & Ozymandias)
u/Bastard_of_Kronos - https://www.reddit.com/r/pureasoiaf/comments/fez4en/an_influence_of_ice_fire_gothic_horror/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share (Hymn to Intellectual Beauty Themes)
To their credit, numerous redditors before me have explored comparisons between Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley) and the series - particularly pertaining to Qyburns ‘creation’ of the Mountain. But notably, user u/zionius_ covered, in detail, an interview between Neil DeGrasse and George R.R. Martin in which he specifically referenced the novel and, more specifically, M. Shelley’s inspiration for writing the novel. You can find the full post here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/bflw98/spoiler
... keep reading on reddit ➡> I am a painting that cannot be drawn,
> A drawing of space in between,
> You will not find me if you look at dawn
> At noon I cannot be seen.
> I am light and shadow together as one
> And often am I concealed
> When passed down as knowledge from father to son
> I will then be revealed
“I feel like we just went through this,” Robyn cursed. “We can’t pass unless we solve the riddle, right?”
“Hey, we solved the last one,” said Owen. “Maybe we’ll solve this one too.”
Owen turns to the Sphinx. “We’ve been chasing after the Archmage all week. How did you get ahead of us?”
The sphinx shrugs, her face impassive.
“I guess that’s the only explanation we will get,” murmurs Robin.
Owen sighs. “We need to catch the Archmage. We can’t afford to lose time finding another path.”
Robyn turns to you. “Well, genius? You solved the last one. Any ideas?”
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Edit: Thank you everyone for guessing! It’s time to share the answer and finish today’s story. See you next time!
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“Let’s try, ’You are a Constellation.’”
Owen looks at you. He blinks his eyes twice in what you have come to think of as a ‘paladin doubletake,” then says, “What?”
Robyn rolls her eyes at this. “Okay, even I get this.”
Owen looks at her next. “Can you two explain it to me?”
You smile. “Constellations appear in the night sky. You can’t paint one on canvas because you draw them in the night sky with stars.”
Robyn joins in. “They have light and shadow, literally, because all they are is just a few stars that kind of shape a thing if you know what to look for.”
“And people pass that information down with legends and myths,” you continue, “which is how most constellations get their names and shapes.”
Owen finally catches on. “And sometimes they’re concealed by clouds. Got it.”
The Sphinx smiles at you, then speaks:
> You continue to impress me
> With your cleverness and skill
> Hurry now and chase your archmage,
> Punish him for those he killed.
With that she steps aside. You and your friends hurry across the bridge, wondering if this is the last time you will meet the Sphinx.
Good evening my friends! Slightly drunk here, but I had a thought while rereading the books. Hopefully, this comes out semi-coherent, but I wanted to open this topic up for discussion. I love prophecy so mysterious beings that may or may not symbolize guardians of heavenly knowledge intrigue me!
I've done a bit of background research on sphinxes in history, and where they show up in the books as well. Maybe we can piece something together out of this yeah?
The Sphinx in Historical Mythology
So the Egyptians were crazy about sphinxes but their exact meaning remains a bit of a mystery to us today. They guard temples and tombs mostly, so they seem to signify some kind of relationship with the supernatural. This connection to the supernatural seems somewhat interesting and confounding though, because it is symbolized with completely human concepts. A lion, a human, a snake, a bird, what have you.
What makes the connection supernatural is the union of these separate natures into one, creating a new being within the realm of understandability yet something utterly insane to contemplate to regular humanity. That would be like, a human being, a rock, and a squirrel existing in one body, with all natures co-operating side by side together. Like, wtf? My own personal theory is that GRRM is incorporating some form of Catholic Trinitarian theology into the idea of Ice and Fire forming a union here (he did grow up Catholic and that's hard to rub off, I know), but I'm getting ahead of myself. In any case, the concept of sphinxes revolves around strength and wisdom. Celestial and supernatural wisdom, to be precise.
Here is an article talking about the symbolism behind male/female pairings of sphinxes, a common occurrence in Egyptian culture. It's not a long read, but basically, the male and female sphinxes complete each other and allow for heavenly knowledge to be received. A lot of Egyptian and Greek mythology deals with subduing (or mastering) certain aspects of human nature to achieve a semi-divine state. We might call that a conflict with oneself, no? Something Martin is quite fond of.
Where am I going with this? Well, sphinxes have been quite involved with ASOIAF. All the way in book one, in fact.
The Necessary Quotes
So, if you go to A Search of Ice and Fire, you'll find that there are a total of 30 mentions for sphinxes in the whole damn series. Not a lot right? But I would argue that this is just
... keep reading on reddit ➡Tourism in Greece has been a key element of the economic activity in the country, and is one of the country's most important sectors. Greece has been a major tourist destination and attraction in Europe since antiquity, for its rich culture and history, which is reflected in large parts by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe and the world as well as for its long coastline, many islands, and beaches.
The Egremnoi sand beach in the Greek island of Lefkada, noted for its blue crystal waters, is a popular tourist destination.
Greece attracted 26.5 million visitors in 2015, 30.1 million visitors in 2017 and over 33 million in 2018, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world, and contributing 18% to the nation's Gross Domestic Product. Its capital city Athens, as well as Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Corfu, Crete and Chalkidice are some of the country's major tourist destinations.
In recent years, Greece has also promoted religious tourism and pilgrimages to regions with a significant historical religious presence, such as the monasteries in Meteora and Mount Athos, in cooperation with other countries.
I was one of those tourists.
It was around 11:00 at night, and I was walking back to the Royal Olympic Hotel from partying at the Parthenon with my friends, my
... keep reading on reddit ➡
