Westworld

This series is so hard to rate as I both love and dislike it...I waited to see episode one of season four, mainly because my husband who loves the series is convinced that they are going to turn the ship around and I will start loving the show again. *sigh*

I am going to start by being honest, I love Yul Brynner. No one plays an enigmatic character better than he did...which is why he made the original 1973 film Westworld for me. I am not a science fiction fan (I'm an actual scientist, I know it's rare), but it was easy to see and understand why the 1973 film had such a cult following. It also made it easy to recommend when I met individuals who liked science fiction but had never seen it. A big part of the film is the mystery or the unknown. You have lots of unanswered questions and your mind is left open to think about the what if's. I would go a step further to say that it sparks the imagination and creativity, kind of like a good book.

Now focusing back on this HBO series...the production is amazingly good. It seems that no money was spared to bring to life this beautiful production. I love the use of the player piano to do current day pop songs a wonderful touch that just showed that in season one they got it...got the charm, got the allure. Anthony Hopkins is fantastic as Dr. Robert Ford and to this day remains my favorite character in the series.

Season one gives the viewers something more than the film does, it gives us a better look behind the curtain into the creation of the parks and the writers...this was interesting. I would say season one is great television and worth watching which is high praise from me, because as mentioned I don't care for science fiction.

Season Two was not as memorable, but it explores more the rich entitled nature of those who own the park and are rich enough to use it to do bad things. (I think this was done to build sympathy for the robots?)

Season three was a completely forgettable waste of time that for me was when the series really "jumped the shark" so to speak. Very little time was spent in the park...lots of killing, rioting in streets, an algorithm making decisions for the humans....sorry I already had another nap.

Season four...ok I just watched episode one with my husband last night because he is a huge fan and has really been looking forward to it. He, who I introduced the original film to years ago, is convinced that this season is going be better than the last (which he also didn't care for). But that is the difference between him and I...the big reveal at the end of episode one...didn't care and that ultimately is the problem, they left me at the end of season three not caring.

They have shown us the awful things that the humans do in the park...the humans are bad and the robots are bad, what is left to care about in this new "future world" they have created? I am sad to say that I don't think going back to the park is going to fix the apathy that the show runners created in season three.

I am giving this series a 7...because I don't know how to rate a 8-9, that goes to 5-6 and then down to 0. I hope for my husbands sake it gets better, but I am not sure I am willing to watch much more.

I will give a shout out to some phenomenal acting by Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Thandiwe Newton, and Jeffrey Wright. They are quite the contrast to Evan Rachel Wood who is giving the stoniest performance ever and truth be told I don't know if it is the actress or the direction she is being given, but she is hard to watch...including episode 1 season 4 (human...what a joke?!?). Also I want to give another shout out to two characters I really enjoyed: Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) and Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro)...both were interesting and added a lot for me. Finally, the character I wanted to see meet with a violent end: Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) (yes there is some holdover from Veronica Mars...I'll be honest), but I harbored a lot of dislike for this character and was left less than satisfied.

My rating is for season 1 only. Season 1 was amazing and was followed up ok with the 2nd. It should have ended there. Seasons 3 & 4 make you wonder if the people responsible for them ever watched the first two. The last season was like having to watch the Game of Thrones final episode 8 times in a row.

Initially, the series began to feel disjointed to me by season 4, however I decided to give it another chance. I'm so glad I did!!!

I binged watch all 4 seasons and gained an appreciation for just how masterful this storyline is. There are so many clues and Easter eggs leading up to season 4. I highly recommend those who claim to love season 1 so much to go back and watch it all again.

In my opinion, I think part of the problem is that many viewers overly romanticized about the world/game of Westworld. They wanted the show to "park" right there, but this show is not about the game. The game is just the beginning of something bigger and darker. And yet at the same time as the world gets darker we also see the oppressed, the abused and misused rise to the top.

It may be messy but it's beautiful. "There is beauty in this world" I think it was mastetfullh done! I hope they get the green light for season 5.

Season 3 has earned some unhappy faces among the public. I wasn't impressed with season 3 at first but after a second watch everything fit together. My complaints on season three the first time around revolved around my perception that the writers got lazy, as it appeared like deliberate obfuscation to make it seem more intelligent than it was. But after the second watching I scolded myself for having such a negative opinion.

I liked the first season but liked the second one a little better. I hope they make a season 4 but from the complaining and river of tears on this review board, my guess is they are done. Compared to most of HBO's TV series, even with the much complained about season 3, Westworld is still the best TV on HBO. That said there was some clunkiness in season 3, and the characters changed their personas a bit too much for my liking.

And for those who complain that the show left the theme park, I think that was apparent from the first season that leaving the park and taking over the planet was the point.

Westworld is one of the best sci-fi series I've ever seen. Like most people here have already pointed out...Season 1 was just incredible! Season 1 was so good that I binged the entire season in a little over a day. I just couldn't stop watching it. I personally like Seasons 2, 3 and 4 more than most, there just not as good as Season 1 so people complain about it. This is a great sci-fi series that is intelligent and thought provoking with plenty of twists that will keep you entertained throughout every season. If you're a sci-fi fan and you haven't seen this yet then stop what you're doing and go watch it immediately!