Is Game Of Thrones Just Medieval Westworld? The Theory That Will Blow Your Mind
Although the later seasons of "Westworld" would take place well outside of the series' titular theme park, at its beginning, the show centered around a Wild-West amusement park populated by "Hosts" — near-sentient androids who live in this simulated frontier and are programmed not to harm humans.
In addition to Westworld, the series has introduced several other theme parks that simulate life in a different era — including the World War II-themed "Warworld" and the Japan-based "Shōgunworld. In Season 3, we even see two engineers working on an android dragon, presumably for a medieval fantasy theme park. This entire sequence is one big easter egg, with the dragon in question being Drogon from "Game of Thrones" and the two engineers being played by "Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
While this could be a cheeky nod to another HBO series, Reddit user u/dylanduin suggests that this brief scene could imply that Westeros itself is just another theme park, and most of the "Game of Thrones" characters are Hosts. On top of seeing these engineers "building" Drogon, the user also points out the parallels between the Maze symbol in "Westworld" and the mysterious spiral pattern used by the White Walkers. Because that spiral pattern was never explained in the final season of "Game of Thrones," u/dylanduin suggests that it is a symbol meant only for the androids in the park — similar to how the symbol of The Maze was meant to lead the Hosts toward sentience.
Bronn is enjoying himself far too much in Game of Thrones
Following this assumption that "Game of Thrones" is just a medieval "Westworld" theme park, the user claimed that practically everybody we meet within the series is a Host except for one particular character.
"All of the characters are Hosts except for Bronn," writes u/dylanduin. "He's an actual human park visitor. The whole world was just an amusement park for him to enjoy." Bronn (Jerome Flynn) is the most likely candidate for a variety of reasons, namely his inexplicable importance to the plot through all eight seasons, despite being just a lowly sellsword who appears from thin air. Even more convincing is that Bronn makes it through the entirety of "Game of Thrones" without hardly a scratch, which is near-impossible in a show famous for killing off its main characters.
U/dylanduin suggests that Bronn only survives to the end of the series because the other Hosts are programmed not to kill him, allowing him to waltz through the story and reap incredible awards along the way. Perhaps the most convincing argument towards Bronn being the "guest" is the sheer fun he has during his story — winning nearly every battle with ease, collecting castles and gold-like loot from a dungeon crawler, and ending the series with a seat on the King's Small Council. As the user writes, "Bronn is playing the Game of Thrones like it's Skyrim."
Other characters who could possibly be 'guests' in this simulated world
Although this theory certainly casts the entire "Game of Thrones" story in a radically new light, it's worth noting that the parks in "Westworld" don't only include one human participant — and in fact, there are usually hundreds or thousands of "guests" wandering among the robots.
The poster appears to have accounted for this snag and goes on to describe which other characters could be a human visiting the simulated world of Westeros, all of whom never met Bronn and never had the chance to discuss the "real world" that lies beyond the park. One possible candidate is Howland Reed (Leo Woodruff), who inexplicably survived a battle with Arthur Dayne (Luke Roberts) and is the only person aside from Ned Stark (Sean Bean) who knew the true identity of Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Maybe Reed got tired of the park and stopped visiting after Ned Stark went home.
More likely is Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju), another character who seems to have way too much fun — living the wildling lifestyle in excess and surviving every battle to the end of the series. Another probable candidate is Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman), who, like Bronn, appears out of nowhere and immediately seduces the Queen-Host Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).
The user also expands upon all of the wacky, unlikely things that happen to Bronn in the show, giving a season-by-season breakdown of how and why the Hosts let him have so much fun. While this particular theory is more of a comical thought experiment than a real canon hypothesis, it does provide us with a hilarious twist on the usually grim world of Westeros.