It’s February and romance is in the air! For writers, though, the prospect of romance all too often leads to that most tricksy of tasks: penning the dreaded sex scene. Sure, there are writers who have made smutty stories into a craft all their own. They have my respect and my undying envy, because, for… Continue reading Pitching Woo: Tips for Writing Sex Scenes
The gang here at TGE covers a wide range of topics, but we share a love of the written word, of storytelling, of all the wild wonders that come with indulging in the wordsmith's art. While no one can tell you how to write, thanks to the wonder of the Internet, there are countless resources… Continue reading A Geeky Guide to Getting the Words Out: Writing Resources
Where Season One of Westworld focused on the allegory of the maze and the inward journey toward consciousness, Season Two kept its eyes on the horizon, escalating toward a showdown at the mysterious Valley Beyond. Who made it? Who didn’t? And the biggest question of all... how long do we have to wait for Season… Continue reading Westworld S2E10: Heaven Can Wait
As Season 2 of Westworld heads into the endgame, the penultimate episode adds some major twists to the stakes and character motivations. Normally, I’d follow the flow of the episode and wax philosophical about metaphor and story structure, but we’re in the endgame now. There’s a lot going on, so let’s cut straight to the… Continue reading Westworld S2E9: Are You Real?
Until now, Westworld has focused on the development of consciousness under the watchful eye of the hosts’ creators. We’ve seen the interactions between Dolores and Arnold where he takes a personal hand in guiding her toward self-discovery. Even the current uprising is hinted to be part of Ford’s “final narrative,” implying that the actions (or… Continue reading Westworld S2E8: A Flower Growing in the Darkness
Westworld is gathering steam like a locomotive in the hands of an angry robot mob, barreling toward the climax of season two. “Les Ecorches” moves into the endgame, raising the stakes, establishing new rules, and finally paying off plotlines and character moments that have been building since the beginning. By now, we’ve learned to look… Continue reading Westworld S2E7: Raising the Stakes
This season of Westworld keeps getting better and better. "Phase Space" returned us to the mysteries of networked minds and control cores, explored thematic parallels on motivation and perceived weakness and, in the final moment, provided confirmation of one of the season’s most talked-about theories. It’s all spoilers from here. Let’s get weird. From the… Continue reading Westworld S2E6: Cut to the Heart
Westworld inspires all kinds of armchair philosophy — careful examination of every nuance, googling every keyword for maximum allusions, wild indulgence in what the show is saying about the human condition - but it's more than that. "Akane No Mai" keeps the answers tantalizingly out of reach, but it also serves up some satisfying payoff… Continue reading Westworld S2E5: Mirrors
Westworld's "The Riddle of the Sphinx" is the strongest episode so far this season. Though it lacks both Maeve and Dolores, the focus on the mysterious machinations of the Delos corporation, the expanded capabilities of the host technology, and the increasingly murky timelines provides fascinating fodder for new questions and wild speculation. This is Westworld,… Continue reading Westworld S2E4: Who Wants to Live Forever?
Westworld's "Virtu e Fortuna" picks up the pace from last week. Just as its title references Machiavelli's juxtaposition of virtue (or will) and fortune (or fate), the episode continues to explore the balance between the hosts' programming and their new self-directed path. Dolores is well aligned with Machiavelli's idea of a willful leader, but it's… Continue reading Westworld S2E3: Write Your Own Story
