Like most popular shows these days, HBO's Westworld is chock-full of extra goodies for
eagle-eyed viewers.
We've rounded up the biggest Westworld Easter eggs that you might not have noticed on the
series so far.
Oh, and just so you know, pardner: there are spoilers ahead.
Bioshocking
Westworld's married creators, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, haven't been shy about how
much inspiration video games have provided to the show.
In addition to franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, the Bioshock
games and their incredible attention to detail have also been a major influence on Nolan
and Joy's series.
That's probably why the third episode of Westworld features a familiar face to Bioshock fans
— well, a familiar head, to be specific.
That sure seems like the head of Sander Cohen, a prominent resident of Bioshock's city of
Rapture, just hanging out on-set.
Dress for success
After the first few episodes, a lot of fans started comparing Westworld to Alice in Wonderland,
since both deal with a hidden fantasy world where nothing is quite what it seems.
"Where are you from?"
"Same as you, don't you remember?"
"Remember."
Not only that, but the Alice in Wonderland story has a part to play in the show as well.
In episode three, Bernard asks Dolores to read passages from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
So can it be much of a coincidence that Dolores looks kinda like most modern depictions of
Alice, with her blonde hair and blue dress?
From Alice to Abrams
Reddit user red_widow spotted another Alice-related reference in episode three.
Bernard asks Dolores to read this passage:
"Dear Dear, How queer everything is today.
And yesterday things went on just as usual.
I wonder if I've been changed in the night?"
That quote is also throwback to another flagship production from executive producer J.J. Abrams:
Lost.
In Episode 10 of Season 4, Jack reads the same passage to Claire's son, Aaron, as a
bedtime story.
"Dear Dear, How queer everything is today.
And yesterday things went on just as usual.
I wonder if I've been changed in the night?"
Play it again, Sam
Westworld doesn't just take its cues from Victorian-era literature and spaghetti Westerns.
It's also got a modern-day soundtrack — kind of.
Take a listen to the player piano in the Mariposa Saloon.
Episode one had Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun"...
Episode two had Radiohead's "No Surprises"...
And episode four featured "A Forest" by the Cure.
So, why fill the futuristic Wild West simulation with hits from college radio?
Jonathan Nolan explained at New York Comic Con in 2016:
"It's [...] to remind you that this isn't a Western, that this isn't taking place in
the 19th century.
It's taking place somewhere else — some time else."
Delos
If you didn't know, the premise of Westworld comes from a 1973 science fiction movie written
and directed by novelist Michael Crichton — the same guy who wrote that book about
the other theme park featuring exciting and dangerous attractions, Jurassic Park.
"Mine is about a futuristic amusement park, where dinosaurs are brought to life through
advanced cloning techniques.
I call it, Billy and the Clone-a-saurus."
"Oh you have got to be kidding sir."
Anyway, the original movie's version of Westworld is actually one part of a theme park called
Delos.
In the show, Delos is back, though in a slightly different form.
This time around, Westworld seems to be a park in and of itself that's run by a corporation
called Delos, Inc.
You see their logo pop up occasionally on the show, like when Bernard and Stubbs go
down to the cold storage level in episode one.
In that scene, you can see a globe with the word "Delos" featured prominently in the center.
And that isn't the only callback to the movie that the show's worked in…
The Gunslinger
In episode six, Bernard takes the elevator way down to Level B82 to check up on anomalies
in the park.
While he's down there, swinging his flashlight around the dark sub-level, the light falls
for an instant on a shadowy cowboy pushed back up against the wall.
Recognize anything?
That old cowboy in the background is none other than an exact, pose-perfect match of
Yul Brynner in character as the murderous Gunslinger in the Westworld film from 1973.
Jurassic Bird
So we know that the new Westworld references the old Westworld in more than just name and
concept.
But Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park gets a little nod, too.
Did you miss it?
In episode five, we see Felix, the technician, taking a stab at programming with a little
sparrow.
Just as he's getting started, Felix leans down to the table to coax the bird along,
"Come on, little one."
Where've we heard that before?
"Come on.
Come on, little one.
Come on."
Pretty cool connection!
Of course, there's really only one line from Jurassic Park that just has to find its way
into Westworld before the series ends.
You know the one:
"Hold onto your butts."
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!