Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are offering “Westworld” fans the deal of a lifetime: the chance to find out everything that happens in Season 2 ahead of its April 22 premiere. The problem? Not all of them are down for it.
On Monday, the husband and wife co-creators of the HBO sci-fi hit, did an AMA on Reddit that ended in this shocking proposition: The two said they would reveal the entire plot to the sophomore installment of the series on the “Westworld” subreddit before it airs, with a video full of “twists and turns.”
“We thought about this long and hard, and came to a difficult (and potentially highly controversial) decision. If you guys agree, we’re going to post a video that lays out the plot (and twists and turns) of season 2,” Nolan and Joy wrote in a post on Reddit. “Everything. The whole sordid thing. Up front. That way the members of the community here who want the season spoiled for them can watch ahead, and then protect the rest of the community, and help to distinguish between what’s ‘theory’ and what’s spoiler.”
The catch is, Nolan and Joy said they will only give up the goods if that post was “upvoted” by 1,000 Redditors. As of time of publication, the post had 747 points (and we have no idea how we feel about that).
So while Reddit is currently halfway to getting arguably the biggest spoiler drop this side of the “Game of Thrones” leaks, the comments section is a very mixed bag.
The top post beneath the showrunners’ original (so the one that was the most “liked” after theirs) made a strong case for why this is a bad idea.
“You probably shouldn’t post it,” Reddit user Hordemaster63 wrote. “Uploading the entire plot of Season 2 beforehand will result in the spoilers being shared everywhere on the internet, which in turn makes it harder for people to avoid. Previous examples of this include when plot points, or at times, entire episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’ leaked, and many unsuspecting fans on social media ended up getting spoiled beforehand. People who read theories know that there is a possibility of them turning out true, but if the entire plot was to surface on the internet, I think it would do more harm than it could prevent. Just let the actual episodes reveal the plot, the way it’s meant to be.”
It’s important to note Nolan said at SXSW last month that they “love to f– with Reddit as much as possible,”and had a “somewhat controversial plan” they were working on to interact with the community. We’re betting this is it, and we have no idea how it will all play out.
“This is an initiative from the ‘Westworld’ showrunners,” a spokesperson for HBO said in a statement to TheWrap. “We suggest you stay tuned to Reddit for their next move.”
See Nolan and Joy’s full Reddit post below.
“Westworld” Season 2 premieres on April 22 at 9/8 c on HBO — possibly, spoiled.
Hey Reddit!
Many thanks for your great questions and thoughts. As I’ve said before, I’ve been a member of the reddit community for years (no I’m not going to share my original username…). And I greatly enjoyed watching the friendly folks at this subreddit guess the twists and turns of the season.
It creates a larger problem for us, though, in terms of the way your guesswork is reported online. ‘Theories’ can actually be spoilers, and the line between the two is confusing. It’s something we’ve been thinking about since last season. The fans of Game of Thrones, for instance, rallied around and protected the secrets of the narrative in part because they already knew those secrets (through season 5).
We thought about this long and hard, and came to a difficult (and potentially highly controversial) decision. If you guys agree, we’re going to post a video that lays out the plot (and twists and turns) of season 2. Everything. The whole sordid thing. Up front. That way the members of the community here who want the season spoiled for them can watch ahead, and then protect the rest of the community, and help to distinguish between what’s ‘theory’ and what’s spoiler.
It’s a new age, and a new world in terms of the relationship between the folks making shows and the community watching them. And trust is a big part of that. We’ve made our cast part of this decision, and they’re fully supportive. We’re so excited to be in this with you guys together. So if this post reaches a 1000 upvotes we’ll deliver the goods.
Hasta victoria siempre!
Jonah and Lisa