It seemed as though Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creators of HBO’s “Westworld,” had given up. No plot twist could ever escape the imagination of theorists, the element of surprise was dead, striving for a spoiler-free television show in 2018 was futile. Reddit had defeated them.

So, like a soon-to-be-exiled employee insisting “You can’t fire me because I quit,” they told their Reddit superfans on Monday they would reveal the entire plot of the second season in a 25-minute video, released less than two weeks before its premiere on April 22.

You can’t spoil me because I spoil you.

The theory: If all the plot details were known ahead of time, the community’s moderators could potentially squelch any open discussion of them, protecting the rest of the community from stumbling upon the truth. Everyone would get what they wanted.

If such a video were posted, it would upend every viewer expectation of secrecy and surprise in modern television serials. For those who chose to watch the video, spoilers wouldn’t drip out through questionable sources — they’d be confirmed, complete and present top-of-mind throughout the viewing experience.