‘Westworld’ Showrunners Offer to Spoil All of Season 2 to…Save Fans from Spoilers?

Back in March, Westworld showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy teased the announcement of a “somewhat controversial plan” regarding spoilers for the upcoming second season, and now we know what that plan is – and it involves spoiling the entire second season for a group of hardcore fans in the hopes of saving “regular” viewers from accidentally being spoiled.

Read about the Westworld season 2 spoilers plan below.

A Surprising Announcement

The first season of HBO’s Westworld was notable for being an expensive, well-cast, and dramatic production, but it arguably earned just as much attention for the way fans dissected every frame and discovered the secrets of its twisty narrative structure long before the show actually revealed it to its audience. The showrunners are all too aware of the show’s devoted online following, and during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session this afternoon, Nolan offered a surprising solution for how to avoid a repeat of what happened during season one. His answer? He’ll spoil the whole second season outright, as long as his post receives 1000 upvotes:

“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.”

Is Nolan Serious?

Let’s assume for a second that Nolan is telling the truth. How would this even work? The minute he released the video that spoils Westworld season 2, every site on the internet would pick it up and run with it. The Game of Thrones comparison might look good on paper, but that assumes that every editor in chief of every pop culture site A) read George R.R. Martin’s novels, B) agreed on what coverage would be good for their sites, and C) participated in guiding the online narrative away from actual spoilers in an effort to protect those who didn’t want to be spoiled. But the very concept of what even constitutes a spoiler is so polarizing that such an organized effort would essentially be impossible to implement (not even factoring in the logistics of communication and agreement between the editors).

It seems far more likely that this is an elaborate head fake. Putting forth a video that “spoils” the show under the guise of embracing the storm seems like an innovative, interesting move, but Nolan and Joy are hyper aware of how their show is parsed online. And remember, Nolan co-wrote The Prestige. He’s all about misdirection and pulling off the magic trick. Releasing a fake video that tricks fans into thinking they know where the show is going, only to pull the rug out from under everyone when it does the exact opposite? Now that seems much more in line with Nolan’s M.O.

Does anyone think this promise is actually real? Will you watch the video when it’s released?

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