Say No To Season 2

Published December 16, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Thanks to all three of you for a great instacast.

While it seems like a cop-out (pardon the pun?), all three of you are right with how you felt about the episode (I know you were all dying for my approval of your opinions…). While at first I was more disappointed at what felt lack-luster and surprise-less, after a rewatch and the instacast, I appreciate it more for its subtleties, and even more so, for what it didnt do (Lost; Game of Thrones; Westworld Season 2). This show gave us multiple time lines, multiple character perspectives, and origin stories, without trying to over-complicate the story for the sake of beating reddit (im looking at you Westworld II). I think the fairest opinion is simple, the last episode was good, but the season overall was fantastic, the ending was perfect, but being perfect meant no mind twists. I disagree with people calling it a Sopranos fade to black ending though, it was more Inception spinning top, does Angela float or sink, it doesn’t really matter.

I will however plant my flag in the “No Season 2” territory, with the caveat that if in a few years, perhaps another decade, a creative mind comes up with an idea to fill in the last 10 years in this universe (2019-2029 or further), while infusing the latest iteration of conflict happening in our world during that period, that would be acceptable.

What I feel made this season great is the back-filling that it did. The comicbook and movie end in 1985, the show picks up in 2019, and then after one episode dedicated to catching you up on the Watchmen world and how its functioning in 2019 (while also shocking and horrifying all us millennials who realized there is American History we were never taught), spends the rest of the season back filling what happened between 1985 and 2019 from almost every character’s point of view.

What the world does not need is a picking up where we left off series where we get to see if Angela sinks or walks, where you have the Big Bad be Lady Trieu’s mother/creation clone out to avenge her daughter/clone creator’s death, or even worse, the old Watchmen members (Veidt, Blake and Dreiberg) fighting crime with a new black and blue omnipresent being.

I appreciate the show for allowing us all to have a greater conversation about race, how to handle the divide that is clearly rampant throughout our country, and how extremist (be it Conservative or Liberal) will almost always lead to bad things. I also loved the love stories it told, that between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, creations and creator, husband and wife. This is a show that, like gene said, you can go back and watch all 9 episodes beginning to end, and we will appreciate it more now that we’ve spent the time theorizing, predicting, and reflecting.

It was enjoyable, different, and meaningful. It is just my opinion, but if HBO forces the creators to go back to this well to tap anything more out of it, this season will loose some of the power it had. It would be best to do the most different thing, and that is to leave well enough alone. But we shall see.

ON TO WESTWORLD NOW?!?!?!

Thanks again for these nine weeks, it has been fun once again watching something great with you all and talking about it until we are all sick of hearing about it.

Gillian

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