That seems to be entirely where the show is going. Either Ford is greatest cop-out character ever, or between his relation to the boy-droid and his dialogue on boredom, his remark on Shakespeare in episode 1, and his 'long planned storyline', he's essentially trying to re-introduce realism (the philosophical term) into this world so that choices -in some neuroscience views, a brain exists solely to make choices, even if they don't really make sense or are 'choices' in how we like to think of them as driven by volition- are not just made in a moral void with no real meaning, but where choices have weight.
It's an old topic in philosophy / theology, with variants of it being Plato's Gyges ring of invisibility (while wearing this ring, you can do anything you want and get away with it: would you? Should you? Could you?) and the slogan of Assassin's Creed: "nothing is real and everything is permitted". A gaffer, in an older philosophy topic by Opiate put it as following: "you cannot have morals without realism". What that means is that before you can talk about the emergent property of morality, you can need to have concepts that are defined as real, weighted, substances and that there are relations between those concepts where interactions can be said and felt to be 'moral'. If you didn't feel anything, either because you're a psychopath or you are in a place where nothing is real by default, like a video game, you would no reason to behave in a moral manner at all.
And, like with a video game, you would also be bored as shit once you realize that. Once everything is fake, nothing matters anymore, and even random 'choices' become meaningless, random, exercises in nothingness (how about a rousing bout of nihilism, eh?). A game that can play itself without any real help for a conscious being is just not fun to play. Both Hopkins (Ford) and Ed Harris's character even spell this out directly: "you're the most real during severe emotions" and Ford saying "everything is magic, except for the magician", meaning they're both bored with the game as is, both at different angles of how to proceed with that. Ford is the designer of the whole place and understands its intricacies, the game holds no further mystery for him until the game itself changes. MiB / Harris is a guest who's played too much and also knows the game, but believes there are deeper levels yet untapped that he might still uncover. Really no different from the average gamer and designer relation, in that sense.
Ford's rejection of 'the boy', who is either a reproduction of himself or a sibling ("my dad too", same clothing, similar voice pattern), is meaningful in that regard. Instead of trying to satisfy himself by creating reproductions of things -people- he knows, he seems to want to create something 'new', that is, new people that are not simply reproductions.
See his line about what the bored mind can conceive.
And what is acting and fiction if not another magic circle wherein we want to believe that something is real that isn't, for awhile? So that, and the idea of the perverted viewer (or other guests, as shown) being in on the carnage, is absolutely happening. That is: Ford's newer story being the return of morals (realism) where things can be unexpected and weighty / real. Whether that's just his hubris, boredom, or other motivation, remains to be seen. But in my limited experience with Shakespeare, revenge is a common motivation in his work. So is fear of rejection though (Othello).
Btw, the bit with the snake was a reference to the original movie where a snake biting a guest is one of the first signs of errors in the robots. And like a magician requiring no curtain, Ford could control it without any effort, and then rejects the boy by sending him off.
Additionally, the need for real sex, even with no talking, and the narrative guy throwing a tantrum tie into the "more real when emotional" theme. It's how the show is showing them to be (presumably) real. Notice that the kid complete dropped the act when Harris forced it to.
I love the presentation of this show, but for me that's fairly obvious in terms of where these characters and story in general will go for that bit (and it's a similar theme as Nolan's Prestige: what happens when the magician gets bored? ). What happens after that is anyone's guess, but that's another season, I would say. Also if I'm wrong then I have no fucking idea where it would go since this theme is ancient, satisfying, and proven in the field. Anyone familiar with the story of the Rabbi and the golem? Same thing. Particularly the sex part, actually.