Written by: Kevin Berge
The first 2 season are all about humans vs. host beings, so will we get a season of animals vs. host animals? (Image Courtesy of: eninarothe.com)
Quick Take: Westworld Season 2 takes its complications to new heights, creating an intricate web of ideas that are not quite satisfying to see pay off. Losing some emotional resonance, the show is still an engrossing experience with powerful acting, direction, and writing but will only resonate with those who have unyielding patience.
Season 1 Review
***This review expects the reader to have seen the entirety of the second season of Westworld, containing spoilers including the finale. Do not read ahead if you have not seen this whole season and plan to do so.***
Westworld from the beginning was an oddity, playing the supposed successor to Game of Thrones without really trying to appeal to the same audience. It is a complex and high concept series that feels far more narrow in its appeal even if it still revels in the freedom it is given by HBO to be violent and sexualized.
From the start, it was a divisive series, garnering critical acclaim but alienating many viewers. It's a fairly cold show that doesn't give much room to latch onto characters, and even those you try to sympathize with could quickly change. Because of this, it is more intellectual than emotional.
In its second season, following the death of Ford in season 1, the show dives even deeper into its own concepts, making it even harder to connect with. It is a deeply beautiful series in construction from its all-star acting cast to intense direction and writing.
However, where it will divide fans more than ever is its storytelling. Nothing is Westworld is straightforward. There are three main plot threads in this season with Bernard's broken into three separate times: before the incident, during the uprising, and the aftermath, all running in parallel through Bernard's inability to stay grounded.
On top of the multiple lines, mysteries begins to pile up, and often they are not revelations that change the characters just the audiences understanding of the character. Much inspiration has been taken from the handling of William and The Man in Black's story in season one, ultimately revealed to be the same person.
Juggling these threads especially the timelines in Bernard's story can be a frustrating hassle. I felt I kept a fairly consistent analytical focus on what was happening and what was being hinted at, and I still found myself losing track at times of where the story was and who was where.
***This review expects the reader to have seen the entirety of the second season of Westworld, containing spoilers including the finale. Do not read ahead if you have not seen this whole season and plan to do so.***
Westworld from the beginning was an oddity, playing the supposed successor to Game of Thrones without really trying to appeal to the same audience. It is a complex and high concept series that feels far more narrow in its appeal even if it still revels in the freedom it is given by HBO to be violent and sexualized.
From the start, it was a divisive series, garnering critical acclaim but alienating many viewers. It's a fairly cold show that doesn't give much room to latch onto characters, and even those you try to sympathize with could quickly change. Because of this, it is more intellectual than emotional.
In its second season, following the death of Ford in season 1, the show dives even deeper into its own concepts, making it even harder to connect with. It is a deeply beautiful series in construction from its all-star acting cast to intense direction and writing.
However, where it will divide fans more than ever is its storytelling. Nothing is Westworld is straightforward. There are three main plot threads in this season with Bernard's broken into three separate times: before the incident, during the uprising, and the aftermath, all running in parallel through Bernard's inability to stay grounded.
On top of the multiple lines, mysteries begins to pile up, and often they are not revelations that change the characters just the audiences understanding of the character. Much inspiration has been taken from the handling of William and The Man in Black's story in season one, ultimately revealed to be the same person.
Juggling these threads especially the timelines in Bernard's story can be a frustrating hassle. I felt I kept a fairly consistent analytical focus on what was happening and what was being hinted at, and I still found myself losing track at times of where the story was and who was where.
When are we getting the Shogunworld spinoff? (Image Courtesy of: hbo.com)
For this reason, I think the second season of Westworld reveals the show's fundamental flaw. It's just too complex for the average viewer. No one should be forced to spend twice as much time analyzing something as actually watching it to enjoy the experience.
For me, complexity is always welcome, and I am content to take the time to break down all the pieces. However, every show should be engaging and emotional on a surface level before adding depth with further understanding. Westworld lacks surface-level engagement.
The first season did a great job of establishing characters to root for. William and Dolores had a heroic adventure. Maeve completed her journey to consciousness. Bernard cut through all the haze to realize his purpose. Here, most of those journeys are lost.
William is now only the Man in Black, a symbol of just how easily human beings can be corrupted by the park's false freedom, and his journey is intensely depressing. Ed Harris is fantastic throughout, certainly, but, unless you understand he's already broken from his own sanity, you're just watching a deplorable man flail around.
Dolores has almost completely turned into Wyatt in some of the most aimless storytelling of the season. She seems to rally together an army of hosts to her side, but the point is that she loses them all even Teddy, making much of the journey wasted. Evan Rachel Wood is brilliant throughout, but there's no emotion to latch onto.
Maeve's journey is the most direct heroic journey left in the show. She seeks out her daughter in a series of wild adventures with her odd group of hosts and Westworld techs while becoming almost impossibly powerful. There's some bloody and brutal fun here, but ultimately it just sort of fizzles out.
No story though better exemplifies the series' enigmatic nature than Bernard's journey. Now fully conscious that he is a host version of Arnold, he stumbles through the world trying to make sense of what is all happening. Even once all the pieces come together, it still is hard to understand what his purpose really is.
For me, complexity is always welcome, and I am content to take the time to break down all the pieces. However, every show should be engaging and emotional on a surface level before adding depth with further understanding. Westworld lacks surface-level engagement.
The first season did a great job of establishing characters to root for. William and Dolores had a heroic adventure. Maeve completed her journey to consciousness. Bernard cut through all the haze to realize his purpose. Here, most of those journeys are lost.
William is now only the Man in Black, a symbol of just how easily human beings can be corrupted by the park's false freedom, and his journey is intensely depressing. Ed Harris is fantastic throughout, certainly, but, unless you understand he's already broken from his own sanity, you're just watching a deplorable man flail around.
Dolores has almost completely turned into Wyatt in some of the most aimless storytelling of the season. She seems to rally together an army of hosts to her side, but the point is that she loses them all even Teddy, making much of the journey wasted. Evan Rachel Wood is brilliant throughout, but there's no emotion to latch onto.
Maeve's journey is the most direct heroic journey left in the show. She seeks out her daughter in a series of wild adventures with her odd group of hosts and Westworld techs while becoming almost impossibly powerful. There's some bloody and brutal fun here, but ultimately it just sort of fizzles out.
No story though better exemplifies the series' enigmatic nature than Bernard's journey. Now fully conscious that he is a host version of Arnold, he stumbles through the world trying to make sense of what is all happening. Even once all the pieces come together, it still is hard to understand what his purpose really is.
And suddenly I realize this whole series was a test of my own fidelity, and I failed. (Image Courtesy of: thrillist.com)
At its core, this season is all about understanding identity on a broad level. The finale goes deeply into this idea, explaining that humans are actually less complex than hosts and driven by a base set of codes that always lead to the same destination. This is seen throughout the season, but it is not that simple.
Bernard fights his programming, just trying to ignore Ford until Elsie's death pushes him to accept humanity's brutality. Dolores is so obsessed with destroying humanity that she loses her own emotional connections, becoming more "host" than "human" in her pursuit. William is so driven to show that he can be more than what the world has made him that he only further destroys his own life, killing his daughter.
This show isn't strictly misanthropic, but it does heavily focus on Ford's hatred of humanity. His obsession has created this chaos, and he pushes many of the characters to their brink by seeing his philosophy. He may ultimately be wrong, but no one has proven him wrong just yet.
As a complete experience, there's a lot to love with Westworld. Beyond Wood and Harris, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and Tessa Thompson are all stellar here with a slew of great supporting performances. The best perfomance of the season may go to Zahn McClarnon who carries an entire beautiful (if overlong) episode "Kiksuya".
The direction and cinematography comes together to make some immaculate scenes and visuals with particular standout work from Lisa Joy in "The Riddle of the Sphinx" and Frederick E. O. Toye in "The Passenger". The writing is also generally quite strong with some beautiful parallels and repeated details in the dialogue.
However, the overall package is a mixed bag. The overarching storytelling is inconsistent with stories jumping at times or pushing too fast through scenes to be emotionally resonant. The whole season feels like it is trying too hard to get to the end of this arc to fully reset for the next season.
I honestly expect my personal enjoyment of this season will only grow on reflection, but I also completely understand criticism and frustration with this season. It goes so obtuse that it alienates most audience members. Engagement with the series is entirely predicated at this point on embracing the complex web.
It may be stunningly constructed, but its focus is far too narrow to be the breakout hit for HBO it was expected to be. At its best, season two is intense, engaging, and impressively intelligent, but, at its worst, it is a mess of rushed stories and far too much plotting for any viewer not completely invested.
Bernard fights his programming, just trying to ignore Ford until Elsie's death pushes him to accept humanity's brutality. Dolores is so obsessed with destroying humanity that she loses her own emotional connections, becoming more "host" than "human" in her pursuit. William is so driven to show that he can be more than what the world has made him that he only further destroys his own life, killing his daughter.
This show isn't strictly misanthropic, but it does heavily focus on Ford's hatred of humanity. His obsession has created this chaos, and he pushes many of the characters to their brink by seeing his philosophy. He may ultimately be wrong, but no one has proven him wrong just yet.
As a complete experience, there's a lot to love with Westworld. Beyond Wood and Harris, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and Tessa Thompson are all stellar here with a slew of great supporting performances. The best perfomance of the season may go to Zahn McClarnon who carries an entire beautiful (if overlong) episode "Kiksuya".
The direction and cinematography comes together to make some immaculate scenes and visuals with particular standout work from Lisa Joy in "The Riddle of the Sphinx" and Frederick E. O. Toye in "The Passenger". The writing is also generally quite strong with some beautiful parallels and repeated details in the dialogue.
However, the overall package is a mixed bag. The overarching storytelling is inconsistent with stories jumping at times or pushing too fast through scenes to be emotionally resonant. The whole season feels like it is trying too hard to get to the end of this arc to fully reset for the next season.
I honestly expect my personal enjoyment of this season will only grow on reflection, but I also completely understand criticism and frustration with this season. It goes so obtuse that it alienates most audience members. Engagement with the series is entirely predicated at this point on embracing the complex web.
It may be stunningly constructed, but its focus is far too narrow to be the breakout hit for HBO it was expected to be. At its best, season two is intense, engaging, and impressively intelligent, but, at its worst, it is a mess of rushed stories and far too much plotting for any viewer not completely invested.