'Westworld' turns TV viewing into a game, but that's not enough

Westworld isn't the first TV show to engross audiences in a sprawling mystery, encouraging you to scour every scene, every scrap of dialog for a morsel of meaning. It's something we've seen with Lost, The Prisoner and Twin Peaks. It has video games in its DNA -- after all, the entire show is about incredibly advanced live action role playing. Creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy also treat the show's narrative like a giant puzzle, where clues are doled out carefully and audiences are often left to figure things out on their own. Viewers took the bait, filling the vacuum with countless podcasts, recaps and online conversations all focused on "solving" Westworld.