Anyone else here care besides me?

Season 4 of "Westworld" comes back on 6/26 on HBO. I am quite pumped up about it especially since I'm pretty sure this will be the final season.

Yep, I'll be watching it but maybe with 'Matrix sequel-like' expectations.

It seems that any sci-fi series that starts out well will degenerate into more CGI 'action' or fighting trying to divert attention from an increasingly ridiculous plot.

While I've been enjoying the show now just as much as I did when it first premiered, I can completely understand why some fans have tuned out of the series. The multiple time structure used for season 2 confused a lot of viewers.

I'm an old dude, and saw the original movie in the theater. I was interested in the series when it first started, but once it changed into a different kind of show, I just lost interest. I don't like getting into a show and then it completely changing to a different approach, I guess.

I assume you are referring to season 3? If yes, then I can definitely see where you are coming from. There were some major changes with season 3.

I thought all three series were visually stunning, but also being an old dude, I had to go online to get a walkthrough of what I just watched after every episode.
When the first series of Westworld first came out, I had just watched first series of ST:TOS which was produced almost exactly 50 years earlier and I found the contrast quite stark.
This made me realize that I'd generally prefer the 'televised theatre' of ST that doesn't require much effort to watch than these over-convoluted plots which only just make sense once the series is over.

Crime dramas seem to have gone this way as well.

Yes, after the changes with Anthony Hopkins’ and Jeffrey Wright’s characters, and a shift away from the park setting, as far as I could tell.

Mostly my issue with the show is Season 2. Watch first and last episode, skip the rest and miss nothing.

Season 3 was okay but I stopped watching on the second to last episode I think. I think season 1 was really good, but the writers dropped the ball afterwards and could have gone in completely different directions yielding a more interesting story.

For complex, evolving multi-layered plots watch "Mr. Robot" to completion to see this done right, or perhaps "12 Monkeys"(the series) to a slightly lesser degree.

A couple of my friends at work (fellow scifi geeks) described season 3 of Westworld as a "Blade Runner spin-off series". That's actually quite accurate!

I don't know if anyone else here saw the season 4 opener tonight but here's my spoiler-free review:


The show has reinvented itself again it seems with putting familiar characters in very unfamiliar circumstances. Don't try to find any answers or try to fully comprehend what is going on because this episode is 100% set-up for what will happen later in the season. If you have been watching the show since season 1 and you have a fairly good grasp of where the story left off at the end of season 3 then by all means, I highly recommend you watch season 4. If you are one of those who maybe watched the first season but then drifted away sometime during season 2 or 3 then quite honestly I don't recommend season 4 because you will be completely lost and frustrated!

Having said all of that, The producers of the series (Joy and Nolan) are absolutely fearless when it comes to making major creative changes in their story-telling. Even with these major changes though, you can clearly see a parallel between "Christina's" life and the life of Dolores during season 1. For clarification, "Christina" is played by Evan Rachel Wood but that's all I'm divulging right now. smile

Definitely a setting things up episode. Let’s see how it develops…

Based on that, I’d say the production budget has been slashed.

Personally, I have trouble differentiating the ‘guys with beards’ characters (Caleb, Hector etc) ,especially when the context changes all the time.

Anyway, I'll be tuning in for the next episode.

Two episodes in and it’s quite clear what the master plan is from “Charlotte” and William (host version). “Christina’s” storyline is still a mystery and we haven’t even seen Bernard yet but I think we will see him in episode 3.

"it's quite clear what the master plan is" Really?

I suppose Bernard waking up explains why things are kicking off again after a gap of a few years, but hard to guess why.

There isn't any link between the Christina thread and the rest as far as I''ve seen, which is probably some sort of simulation due to the 'supernatural' goings on.

I have a theory about where this might all be going, but that would pretty much rule out a Season 5 if they go that route.

No spoilers of course but that ending of episode 3 was really freaky and disturbing wasn't it?

Thanks for the 'No spoilers' as we're a day behind the release in the USA. Anybody who's into WW will have seen this by now, so I'm not so concerned about giving anything away and the following is mostly speculation...

Not sure about' freaky and disturbing' but a lot of effort was put into getting those main characters into that position. The flies remind be a bit of the X-Files black liquid, but no doubt their true purpose will be revealed later.
Nice to see Bernard again, but have no idea what he's up to.

I have to say that was quite a brilliant reveal concerning Caleb near the end of tonight's episode.

I don't bother trying to speculate anymore, but am enjoying this series more than I thought I would.

Only 4 more episodes to go so hopefully we'll get more answers to some of these mysteries.

And yet another brilliant mind fu** episode last night! This show just keeps surprising me.

I'm half expecting Charlotte to snap her fingers and change into Q. ''oh, come on Jean-Luc..."

HA! That would be a quite brilliant reveal wouldn't it?

Not really any wiser after E6, but I'm wondering what's gone on in the 'real world' in the last couple of decades.

I just have to say that Aaron Paul is an amazingly gifted actor. He really shined in that episode! I don't know about you but I'm getting a real Terminator/Skynet vibe now with this season.

The Skynet-esque route is certainly possible, but the plot is so convoluted that they could do anything and we won't know what until the last 5 minutess of E8, and only then if they definitely want to make this the last series.

I suspect she may be keeping real life Caleb in the same way as real life William, thus providing the means for a happy ending, but I'm sure they won't do that.

It's a darn shame that most likely WW will not be renewed for a 5th season because last night's episode was absolute brilliance in my opinion. I guess we will indeed be revisiting the scene from the season 2 finale where Man in Black meets his long dead daughter.

Yep, definitely a lot in common with that episode and I noticed 'Passenger' on Bernard's tablet.

I'm probably missing something but that 'Groundhog Day' stuff implies that no real humans exist at all.

I had not thought of that but I'm fascinated now to see if that indeed turns out to be the case. We will find out next Sunday!


I also really liked how Bowie's "Man Who Sold the World" was used at the end of the episode. It was such a perfect fit.

Oh my god, where to begin with the season (and most likely series) finale? I think it's quite clear that the producers of WW already knew they were not getting a fifth season because the way this episode ended, pretty much everything was resolved. I really see nowhere else the story can go from there without it being repetitious.

I wouldn't say 'everything was resolved' but I don't where it can go from there either. They'll have a go if there's money in it though.

Maybe I missed something, but I'd say that series didn't make sense at all.

I think I have a general idea of what the series was ultimately about but I just don't know why anyone should care now about Delores living in a completely digital world with the other hosts in a "rebooted" Westworld theme park? What are the stakes now? There's really no connection between that digital world (the sublime) and the few remnants of humanity left on Earth.

This series will almost certainly not be renewed anyway considering the recent major changes with the Discovery/WB merger and its poor live ratings. No one knows what the streaming numbers are except for HBO Max.

No official word yet from HBO regarding renewal/cancellation but I think HBO is still waiting for all the dust to settle from the merger with Discovery to make the official cancellation press release.

I've just done something that I normally can't be bothered to do and cancelled my $8 monthly subscription to HBOMax.
Just realised that the only thing I've watched on it is WW.

I take it then you are not a Game of Thrones fan? House of the Dragon has been really excellent so far but if you are not into the fantasy genre then you should pass on it.

No, the only GOT episode I saw was the very last one, and that was on old fashioned TV. Wasn't that impressed to be honest.

The books started off great, but around Book3 I started noticing a certain 'soap opera' vibe that got worse the more I read.
Books 1&2 were some of the best books I've ever read but I didn't even bother starting Book5.

Well, that's it:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/hbo-cancels-westworld-1235255955/
I wouldn't really call it a 'Shock Decision' though...

Not at all. Between the tepid ratings and the current cost-cutting environment of the new Discovery/WB company I fully expected this to be cancelled.

It's ok. It was a great ride while it lasted.

Meh. Season 1 was great. Season 2 was total trash. Season 3 was okay. I don't really care either way.


Samurai World.

That's when they jumped the shark.

But before that was the opening to season 2. There was no point watching anything but the last episode of that mess.

It's cool others like the show, just wasn't my bag, and I usually like Nolan's stuff.

And that's really all that can be said about it. We can talk about things like creativity, acting and writing all day long but ultimately a show either "connects" with the viewer or it doesn't.

One thing that can definitely be said about Westworld is that the show runners (Nolan and Joy) were not afraid to take creative risks with the show.

They apparently had Season 5 worked out, so at least they could tell us how it was supposed to end.
I'm sure there'll always be talk of resurrecting it, so they are unlikely to do that.

I suspect that not much thought goes into a series until they get the funding. That seemed to be the case for the earlier WW series and the new Star Trek.

https://deadline.com/2023/01/james-...cial-success-1235210962/#comment-3624829


I can see his point of view but the fact remains that we can't expect any business to keep putting out a product whereby they are losing money. Of course I am disappointed by the cancellation just like James is but I also understand the reasoning behind the cancellation