HBO has ended the futuristic epic years after the original inspiration got lost in ludicrous twists and shaky concepts.
The delightful first season ofWestworldestablished two distinct science-fiction worlds.
The humans were all outrageous workplace monsters: Wannabe deities, preening creatives, ambitious executives.
Jimmi Simpson and Evan Rachel Wood in ‘Westworld’.John P. Johnson/HBO
Season 1 stood up to so many interpretations, adapting Michael Crichton’s 1973 concept for the internet age.
Newton’s performance quickly dominated the show, shading humor into a strange tale of a simulation awakening.
Jeffrey Wright was poignantly lovable as baffled Bernard.
ThenTessa Thompsonarrived to RagnarokWest’s world.
All the whileEd Harrislingered as an apex predator who seemed to have memorized the show’s strategy guide.
Both universes had stratospheres.
The two worlds clashed madly, two narrative chessboards that could move together in unexpected ways.
So what the hell happened?
It was a show about Aaron Paul feeling sad about flashbacks.
The actors looked trapped.
I can’t go with the latter people, there were scary flies though I disagree with the former.
The theme park made an ideal setting, full of lavish personalities and endless new arrivals.
In an earlier TV era, season 1 would havebeenthe show:Fantasy Islandwith cyborgs.
SoWestworld’s first mistake was a problem of scale, getting too big too fast.
The second mistake was simpler:Westworldjust overdosed on twists.
The series kept trying to outdo 1’s timeline tomfoolery, with ever-crazier results.
I thought the show was making fun of how prevalent character death had become afterWalking DeadandGame of Thrones.
But thenWestworldlost its sense of humor and kept bungling major exits.
A TV show overdosed on serialization and sacrificed character specificity for easy shock.
Season 1 focused on a few core science-fiction concepts.
The default trend casts tech types as dark-wizard gods with infinite power.
Elon Musk might be scary, but he still worries about stock prices.
Peter Thiel obviously wants to live forever, which makes it rather poignant (sorry Pete!)
that none of us will.
The chessboards turned into checkers.
