I agree completely.. character continuity was sacrificed for the story they wanted to tell. Which is also "out of character" for the writers IMO

This was the first time I felt like the plot lines were contrived. I find the show is usually exceptional at creating tensions and situations that feel generic and real.

A few thoughts…

Nah… it was incredibly lame of him to think he had anything… and lamer still to have not actually read them… (and he kept them locked away for years??) and Lamest of all to think such a scandal would be anywhere near the atrocity that is Kurtwell's existence.

I didn't say it worked great.. Just that there was intention to withholding the reveal beyond "for the viewers sake". Almost everyone knew (Fail), but the character's had to get there… hence the tedium as we waited.

So the 2 timelines is simply narrative trickery to us (she seems to be on one journey towards consciousness… but It's relevant to Delores' character. She is re-walking the path Arnold set her on… This time she makes it though. And the killing of her "maker" is by choice. We are watching her learn from her mistakes all…

I loved the end… The show itself was indeed over ambitious. Acting was great, concepts and philosophical monologues by Hopkins were fantastic. But it often felt like watching a puzzle, which distracted from the surface level entertainment. I feel like they wanted "Season 4-5" level of intrigue and Character empathy……

It is known

Ya, I suspected he had shot Arnold in the back given the infamy of the name.

Do you think Ford is the first sentient host? The maze then being literally the path he took to consciousness. The house perhaps being an artistic interpretation? We agree though, that is where the MIB is trying to get to currently.

If there are 2 timelines, I'd say that is the season 1 long arc and will be revealed in Ep 9 or so. Maybe he (Ed Harris) dies and the series transitions into a prequel for subsequent seasons…

I don't think it's one event… If there are 2 timelines I think the change has been gradual and solidified over 30 years. It doesn't mean he's been "like this" for those 30 years.

And… perhaps push you towards a jaded and cruel demeanor and an obsession with a "deeper game" going on there… and coming back for 30 years to find the truth

I think Ford is the original Host.. created by Arnold… Arnold wanted the hosts to have free will… that;'s dangerous… so Ford (the first sentient host) murdered his creator. All the memories are just designs… The family (gift) Arnold gave Ford was merely a way for the creator to add legitimacy to his own story-making……

the Flashback could be a memory generated by design… we saw Bernard "remembering" his past as well.

i think you are on the right track

I don't know…

I think they were foreshadowing Bernard pretty heavy in the previous episode as well. "I've been here forever" literally

Haha… indeed.

So… the name Robert Ford can't be accidental right? Any chance he shot his partner in the back? Perhaps he's also a host… and shouldn't have been able to (the first evolution)…. or Maybe I need more tinfoil…