‘Westworld’ Episode 5: Is A Four-Minute, No Holds Barred Orgy Scene Too Much?


Many people tuning into Westworld because it is on HBO were complaining there just wasn’t enough nudity. That was until Episode 5 (entitled “Contrapasso”). A four-minute orgy was enough to titillate the HBO viewers looking for nudity. But, was it too over the top?

Spoiler alert: This article discusses Season 1, Episode 5 of HBO’s Westworld. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

HBO is known for its explicit cable content. In True Blood, it was copious amounts of sex involving humans and paranormal creatures such as vampires and shapeshifters. In Game of Thrones, the word “sexposition” was created specifically to describe scenes that involved important conversations between characters that were carried out with the backdrop of a sex scene to distract the eye.

[Image by HBO]

Now that Game of Thrones is nearing the end of its run, HBO has added Westworld to its line-up. This show is based in a theme park that contains hosts, or androids. Humans can enter Westworld for a staggering fee and do anything they want to the hosts — and that includes rape and murder. Then, at the end of the day (or as required), the hosts are taken out of the game and repaired or replaced.

While there has been some nudity in Westworld, it has mainly been behind the scenes when employees are tending to the hosts and they are naked during the process. For some HBO viewers, this was not enough. However, according to a report by The Sun, Episode 5 delivered a four-minute orgy scene that had viewers forgetting to listen into the important conversations being held over the top of the orgy in favor of watching the sex occurring in the background.

According to the show’s director, Richard J. Lewis, Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 120 Days of Sodom were the inspiration for the four-minute orgy scene in Episode 5 of Westworld he revealed to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We wanted to do something that’s epic. [Westworld showrunners Jonathan ‘Jonah’ Nolan and Lisa Joy] always wanted to do the biggest, best and most mind-blowing stuff, so we wanted to create the best sex orgy you can imagine. To that effect, we had some stylists. We really curated the scene to the T. Sometimes, to me, it has almost a medieval flavor. You can’t categorize it, because it’s so uniquely strange and beautiful in a way.”

For some Westworld viewers, though, it was simply too much when the nudity was not only full frontal but included simulated sex acts.

Dan Gainor, Vice President of Business and Culture at the Media Research Center, criticized the scene.

“HBO is a network that broadcasts Sesame Street re-runs. And yes, parents should turn it off, stop paying for it and block it,” he told FOX411.

Westworld is a disturbing reminder of the sick and demented way Hollywood views the world.”

Richard J. Lewis, however, wasn’t worried about it raising eyebrows among viewers, though.

“I think all of us have a modicum of taste that keeps us from taking it too far into the pornographic world and keeps it in the sensual world. I think that’s important,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

TV producer Geoff Skinner was also nonplussed by the four-minute orgy scene as he revealed his thoughts to Fox.

[Image by HBO]

“Good or bad TV, this is something that is on pay cable, and viewers who don’t like it can tune it out. It’s appropriate for the story they are telling.”

He also pointed out that it’s up to parents to monitor their children’s television viewing.

“Parents like myself should never allow a child to watch this until they are old enough to understand all of the thematic and semiotics that this show is trying to achieve.”

What did you think of the four-minute orgy scene in Episode 5 of HBO’s Westworld? Let us know by commenting below.

Episode 6 (entitled “The Adversary “) of Westworld will air on HBO on Sunday, November 6 at 9:00 p.m. The synopsis is below.

“Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) joins William (Jimmi Simpson) and Logan (Ben Barnes) on a bounty hunt; The Man in Black (Ed Harris) finds a critical clue in his search to unlock the maze; Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins) and Theresa (Sidse Babett Knudsen) discuss the park’s future; Maeve (Thandie Newton) is troubled by a recurring vision.”

[Featured Image by John P. Johnson/HBO]

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