by Nick Ferro, Contributing Writer
When it comes to Westworld, I was late to the party by about a year, although based on how often a new season drops, that is debatable. I am not a frequent subscriber to HBO, but a few years back when Game of Thrones season seven was about to release, I decided, while I had my subscription, I would check out other notable HBO shows I had heard rumblings about. I feel that I was lucky to not have that first season of Westworld spoiled for me, because if you know, that first season had a doozie of a story turn that I can honestly, and thankfully, say I didn’t see coming. I attribute my missing the signs because I was so hooked into the show; I binged all 10 episodes in two nights. Since I didn’t have weeks in between each episode to think about what was going on, I ended up being not only surprised, but my mind was blown in a way that I hadn’t felt since watching Lost.
To me, the first season of Westworld is still one of the best first seasons of television of all time, a 10/10. It not only had an amazing story, but it introduced characters who were unique, compelling, and who I genuinely cared for. The performances were all next level, and it shined a light on many newcomers who would go on to become big names a few years later. I enjoyed season two as well. It furthered the mystery of season one while deepening our connections to the characters. Season two did meander a bit, which left it easier to find flaws, and I ultimately was not as over the moon for that season, and rated it an 8/10.
Just when it felt that Westworld was maybe losing its forward momentum, season three came along and completely breathed new life into the show by taking us out of the park and into the real world. I really liked the third season when I initially watched it, but it has gotten even better with subsequent viewings. Season three was willing to take risks and be different. It introduced us to even more of a futuristic world of crazy technology and sci-fi themes in a show that was already as futuristic as you thought it could be. I ultimately felt that season three was a 9/10. If I had one nitpick regarding season three, it was the AI machine Rehoboam. I feel it was too similar to the machine created in Jonathan Nolan’s pervious show, Person of Interest, a show I really enjoyed, but I get the feeling was overlooked by many and felt like a retread of an idea that didn’t get attention when it was first introduced. Where season three of Westworld left off in the finale really opened the possibilities of season four, leaving me increasingly excited the closer it came.
Maybe my hype for the new season played into my expectations, but season four did not start out on a good foot. One of my least favorite story continuation styles is the “years later continuation after a cliffhanger” trope. To me this is the worst cheat that a storyteller can do, to either ignore or skip over the next part of the story. Season three ends with the idea that humans will no longer be controlled by an artificial intelligence that has mapped out every aspect of their lives. The surviving Hosts, all with different agendas, are left in a position to both help and harm the progress that could be achieved by the humans and a war is inevitable. Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) started humanity on a path, with Caleb (Aaron Paul) and Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) on one side, while Hale (Tessa Thompson) has turned to the dark side and is on her own new path. I was incredibly excited to jump into season four and see just how exactly a war between humans, hosts, and the corporate entities that sought to control them would play out. How the themes of God versus man, and free will versus destiny would be explored in a futuristic war. What the show would try and say regarding consumerism, corporate control, and how a futuristic government would handle what appeared to be the breakdown of their carefully controlled way of life. But sadly, that would have either been too expensive from a production standpoint or they just didn’t have a full season of story, because they just hit the “SKIP” button and dropped us in a world eight years later where those ideas had already been wrapped up in a nice tidy bow. As I said, this trope drives me insane because it always seems to happen in movies and tv shows that I really enjoy that end on a cliffhanger. I know that it may be a “me thing” and that it may not bug anyone else, but it is inevitably the corner piece in the puzzle that shaped my enjoyment of the season.
Time jumps aside, this season was just as beautifully filmed as the previous — every bit of this world looks amazing, from the costuming to the set design to the futuristic re-imagining of real-world locations. There is a tower in the season which you don’t get to see until a few episodes in; however, they implement the design of this tower into the architecture of the city, most notably on the light posts, which I thought was a clever touch. They also turned Times Square into a beautiful oasis of buildings and green foliage, which made me wish I could visit that version of Times Square. Westworld season four gets an A+ from me for keeping up with the tradition of making a truly gorgeous-to-watch show from start to finish. Also in the plus column are once again the acting performances from everyone involved. Some actors have to play two different characters, or get to play different characters altogether in their new roles in the real world. I always love when an actor gets to play around with their characters, and it is always used most effectively in Westworld. I especially love when those two characters played by the same actor haves to interact with themselves in a scene. Ed Harris is once again crushing his role as the sinister villain, but Thompson is truly horrifying by comparison. There is a scene where she makes people dance and then has three of the people come together to make a throne for her to sit upon, and it’s incredibly unsettling. For a second time, Jeffery Wright somehow manages to play an incredibly complicated and enigmatic role in a way that should be frustrating to watch because of all the mystery he’s shrouded in. But it isn’t because of the charm he brings to said role.
The crux of what will make or break this season for you is the story work and the decisions made by the writers regarding the characters and their choices. Because of the mysterious nature of the show, I won’t be going into any details other than to say where our characters find themselves at the start, and an idea of where it might take them. Maeve and Caleb are forced out of hiding by hosts that are trying to capture them and threaten Caleb’s family, which sends them on an undercover mission to try and infiltrate the new Westworld Delos has created. Hale and William (Harris) are perpetrating a complicated and mysterious plot involving a cartel, the Hoover Dam, replacing politicians with Hosts, and robot flies, in one of the only plots that actually seems to pick up where the last season left off. Bernard (Wright) and Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) set out on a mission to save the world from Hale’s machinations, but their story is the one shrouded in the most secrecy for the audience to discover slowly as the season progresses. Each of these stories play into the big picture of the season, with twists and turns along the way. Everything moves along at a steady pace until about halfway through the season when something is revealed which sets the story in a different direction. The reveal that occurs was one that I was very much on board for and was excited to see play out. Only the new direction takes the show down a path in the final episodes that was not what the previous episodes had been leading up to. It had me asking two questions, the first being, “is this the final season?” and the second being, “if this is the final season, did they give the season enough episodes?” What I’m most annoyed about is that the answer to the former seems to be a big question mark, which leads me to think the answer to the latter is no. I feel like they could have built on the big reveal with two to four more episodes, before continuing with the final four episodes in a season of their own. The big reason I feel this way is because of the one storyline and character arc I haven’t mentioned yet: Dolores’.
In this season Wood is back in a version of her loop from the first season, but this time as a character named Christina, who lives in an apartment in New York with her roommate Maya (Ariana DeBose). It’s not until the last two episodes that we are told what exactly is going on with her, if she is in the real world or not, and who the people around her are. Her story appears to be completely unrelated to the main plot of the season, and is the biggest mystery throughout. However, for me, the resolution to this particular mystery has the worst payoff and was disappointing at best. Throughout her scenes, they kept hinting that she would remember who she really was and, in a sense, reset back to where we left her at the end of season three. I kept waiting to see this transformation so she could take up the mantle as the leader who would bring together the individual factions that have formed against Hale’s empire.
As I am writing this, I have not been able to find a definitive answer as to whether the show will continue, probably because Warner Bros and HBO is on fire at the moment. If we never return to Westworld, I feel they chose a bold way to close out the show, and I must give them credit where it’s due for the decisions made. If it does get another season, my hope is that they find a way to continue to give us an original and interesting story that once again takes the show in a wild, new, and exciting direction. However, after feeling like they rushed this season a bit, I am slightly concerned that the writers are working around real world issues of contract negotiations and studio interference. The finale said to me, “this is the end… unless ratings are good, and we get green lit for a fifth season.”
If you are a fan of Westworld and are all caught up, I believe that season four is worth your time, because you will most likely enjoy the twists and turns that the show brings. You may be a bit out of sorts when it comes to the final few episodes, but overall, I think this season will leave you plenty to chew on. If you fell off the show due to seasons two or three not being for you, then I don’t think that season four will bring you back to the fold in any meaningful way. I will end on this thought: if this was the final season, then the tagline, “These violent delights have violent ends,” was a brilliant bit of writing that played out very effectively in the final episode and I appreciate “a closed loop.”
Score: 7/10
You can follow Nick Ferro on Twitter and Letterboxd