RIP Westworld

Published June 28, 2018 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hello Shat on TV,

I took a time to think about the season finale of Westworld in a hope that I would be less disappointed. Nope, still feeling the same. Even though I can appreciate certain scenes and philosophy behind the show, specifically in the last episode. The concept of free will vs determinism. Hosts have free will and are capable of making different choices and humans are the ones who thinks they have a free will but in fact every decision is predetermined by their background, environment and etc. However, the episode was extremely rushed without emotions and payoffs of story lines we were spending a lot of time previously. It felt like Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange, I was forced to watched incoherent pictures. As much as I enjoyed episode Akane no Mai and Kiksuya, I can hardly understand why they spent so much time on those episodes knowing of how much content they have to fit into the finale. I did not have an issue to follow the plot timeline and main characters but this episode felt forced and fake to me. They made a rule only to dismiss the rule two minutes later. It was just making a twist on top of a twist to “supposedly” confuse the audience. I hope that both Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan will take a step back and go back to the quality of the first season. They tailored this season to debunk fan theories and confuse audience instead of the great artistry of storytelling in first season. I am not certain whether I will return to the show. I did not engage in any forums or podcasts after the final episode aired as I do not want to listen more excuses for the show runners without constructive criticism. There is no point in theorizing, because if the show will continue in this fashion I already know all the answers. The answer is – all of the above. Just collect all the crazy theories out there and throw them on the audience at once and if they will not be happy Lisa Joy will do another interview with famous newsletter to explain what they tried to convey. The conclusion of the story as simulation on top of simulation with some VR in the mix will allow them to eliminate mistakes based on the fans feedback for next season and somehow to make the audience feel less smart because they did not “get” it. In any case I would like to thank you for all your hard work on the podcast. I followed you since the first Westworld, Taboo, and American Gods and I will rejoin you on your next project.

Greetings from Chicago,
Sarka

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