Westworld: The gun mystery

Westworld is full of mysteries galore, but one of the most interesting ones are–how do the guns work?

According to an article on Wired, there is a lot more to analyze when it comes to understanding how guns work on Westworld. The guns on the show are able to kill the hosts, but for some reason don’t kill the humans. Why is that?

Science fiction editor, John Joseph Adams, believes the creators must have an idea behind this mystery. In the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, he asks for someone to explain how the guns work, because it makes no sense! After all, the Man in Black should have died, but alas, he lives.

In season two, there is a mention of “sim bullets”, so perhaps there is something specifically unique about the bullets, according to the host of the podcast, David Barr Kirtley:

"“Maybe all the bullets have little incendiary things in them that cause them to self-destruct if they’re flying in the direction of a guest. But in one scene they just hold the gun right against someone’s chest, and I don’t see how the bullet’s not going to kill you from that range, even if it is sort of programmed to self-destruct.”"

That’s a very interesting notion and may be exactly what is going on. But as he points out, when the gun is at point-blank range, how do the bullets not kill the intended human target?

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According to writer Sara Lynn Michener, she thinks maybe the guns are what special, rather than the bullets.  Her theory is that maybe the gun has two different types of bullets, and based on the target (human or host) that is what bullet is released.

This still begs the question as to why no human is ever harmed by any weapon when they are in Westworld.

What are your theories on this? Share them below!