Westworld S4, Now TV

If you’re anything like me, then you might have forgotten that Westworld still existed.

After a spellbinding, almost flawless first season, HBO’s sci-fi epic lost its way somewhat.

Characters were redefined, the stage became problematically more grandiose, and things generally just got a little silly.

Its hard to stay emotionally invested in a show when its stakes are compromised by the fact that almost any character can be brought back from the dead without question.

And yet here we are. Season four of Westworld has come and gone, and it’s hard to draw any specific conclusions on whether the show’s shelf-life should extend beyond this.

Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are clearly still having a lot of fun with their cash cow, and it’s hard to deny its base appeal. The cast is a real joy and some of the cinematography is truly wasted on the small screen. Ramin Djawadi’s score still gives me all the feels too.

But there is no denying the suspicion that Westworld is not nearly as clever as it thinks it is.

Sure, the deep-rooted philosophical throughlines are still there. At this stage, however, they are a mere accompaniment to the crash, bang, wallop nature of a show that has become indulgent in spectacle.

Gone are the days when character arcs would be fleshed out over the length of a series. In this iteration of Westworld, characters are killed off and brought back within minutes.

This still makes for entertaining television. It’s just not all that rewarding anymore.

I suspect HBO might squeeze one more season out of this before they retire the hosts for good. And at this stage, I’d say that’s the best course of action.