Beginning with one of the strongest first seasons in the history of television,Westworldlooked certain to establish itself as a modern sci-fi classic following its 2016 debut on HBO. This stunning adaptation of the original 1973 movie by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy initially had the plot, performances, visual wizardry, and command of its premise to warrant masterpiece status.
The mind-bending, genre-straddling tale of AI technology gone too far somehow appeared to be both one of thebest Westerns of the last decadeand one of thebest sci-fi shows of all time. Unfortunately, though, the rest of the series wasn’t able to live up to the incredibly high standard it set in season 1.
Westworld’s downward slide towards cancellation began with its second season, for which Nolan and Joy decided to overcomplicate the story they were telling.The clarity of vision that defined the show’s first season soon disappeared, and many of its plotlines became inaccessible, or seemed to prioritize style over substance.
It was impossible to imagine thatWestworldwould fall as far as it did after its jaw-dropping first season. By the time season 4 was releasedin 2022, however, the writing had been on the wall for some time. One of the most brilliantly ambitious sci-fi series of the 21st century was going out with a whimper.
Westworld Was Canceled 4 Seasons In, But Its Problems Started In Season 2
The Show Lost Control Of Its Plot & Characterization After Season 1
It’s no surprise that the series was axed when it was. As well as its declining quality,Westworldwas apparently costing HBOeye-watering sums to make. Yet, the show’s problems started long before it became prohibitively expensive to renew in 2022.
The mind-blowing reveals during the course ofWestworldseason 1 set up several tantalizing story arcs for its sophomore season. Theshow’s fanbase soon began to come up with theoriesabout what its simultaneous timelines and Bernard Lowe’s android identity might mean for Dolores Abernathy and the titular amusement park’s other Hosts.
Westworld’s writers took things far beyond even the wildest fan theories, though, asthe show’s plot disappeared into a maze of different threads created by the multiple timelines, and the development of its Host protagonists as characters came to a standstill. Sympathetic human characters also became harder to invest in, as doubts were cast over their true identities.
Westworldmay have been better served by the format of a single, long-form limited series, which could have set tighter boundaries for the show’s writers to work within, and possibly prevented them from overcomplicating things.
Westworld Seasons 3 & 4 Were Even Worse Than Its Second Season
Westworld’s challenging premise about a theme park populated by robotshad the scope to deliverone of the most enthralling science fiction universes ever depicted on the small screen. Our first impression of the show didn’t disappoint, as spellbinding performances from Evan Rachel Wood, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, and Thandiwe Newton, in particular, helped realize its beautifully rendered story.
The first season of the series was almost too good to be true. In a sense, it was, butWestworldstill deserved so much betterthan what happened to the show in subsequent seasons. Season 2’s mess of intersecting timelines, clumsy rehashing of season 1 plot twists, and prioritization of action sequences over characterization regrettably led the entire series astray.
Even worse, rather than addressing these complaints in seasons 3 and 4,Westworlddoubled down on its confusing approach to storytelling. Plotlines became even harder to follow, and continuity errors even crept into episodes of the series.Westworldremained a triumph of sci-fi cinematography in visual terms, but the show’s narrative structure no longer did justice to its groundbreaking premise.
Westworld’s Fate Wasn’t Surprising By The Time It Was Finally Canceled
While some fans hold out hope that a belatedWestworldseason 5 could redeem the show, it will likely never be able to match its masterful debut season. HBO’s decision to cancel the series in November 2022 was a long time coming, as it had already receded into the shadow of the landmark sci-fi Western it had once been.
The yawning gap in quality betweenWestworld’s first season and everything that followed it will keep us wondering what might have been.
Almost $400 million was spent onWestworld’s last three seasons, but expensive effects and set-pieces couldn’t mask thelack of coherent plotting or characterization throughout the show’s final 26 episodes. Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, and their team of writers did far more withWestworldseason 1 despite being limited to just over half the budget they spent on season 4.
Whenever we’re in need of a thrilling yet cerebral sci-fi series to blow us away, we’ll always haveWestworldseason 1 to rewatch on repeat. In fact, even the show’s other seasons fare better on second and third viewings. Still, the yawning gap in quality between the first season and everything that followed it will keep us wondering what might have been.
Westworld
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Westworld is a television series set in a futuristic Wild West-themed amusement park where advanced android hosts cater to human guests' desires. The series explores the themes of artificial consciousness and human morality as the lines between reality and artificiality begin to blur.
