In its entirety, this show came extremely close to hitting major truths. I still feel they had a few more seasons left in them but (and not to sound intentionally conspiratorial) somewhere some strings were probably pulled to end this show with season 4.
A few glitches (more on this later) notwithstanding, this season held its own despite not being the best of the lot. S04 "Westworld" also contained a handful of contrived choices that did it no favours.
Anyhoo, the team did good work in this (unexpected) last leg of the journey, which picked up seven years after the events that concluded the previous one. I liked how well they fleshed out (pun intended) several core characters. The flow was also reminiscent of the "Matrix" movies, more so this time around.
Directors Richard J. Lewis, Craig William Macneill, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Paul Cameron, Andrew Seklir, and Meera Menon gave this season gravitas and depth. Writers Lisa Joy, Will Soodik, Matthew Pitts, Christina Ham, Kevin Lau, Suzanne Wrubel, Wes Humphrey, Jordan Goldberg, Alli Rock, Desa Larkin-Boutte, Denise Thé, Alison Schapker, Jonathan Nolan (yes, related to that Nolan) did good work scripting an intricate and meaningful season 4.
Ramin Djawadi's musical scoring hit all the right chords (pun unintended). Superb work by the editors and cinematographers whose work made this series feel real and rooted. Production design and art direction deserved special shout-outs. Set decoration and VFX (except for the unnatural looking blood effects) were extraordinary. Hair-makeup and costume design were aces.
The ruthless William (the man in black) was back. His antagonism knew no bounds this time. Some captivating twists unravelled around his character quite early in the season. Ed Harris continued to amaze and regale as William, who was with the show from the get-go.
Christina, played by Evan Rachel Wood, was superb. From day-one, her character has been contributing excellence to this story. She was a tad subdued this season, but not for long. Maeve Millay, played by Thandiwe Newton, was astounding. She brought plenty of heart to the script. Charlotte Hale, played by Tessa Thompson, was amazing. Her character motivation and dialogues were spot-on and impressive.
Maya, played by Ariana DeBose, was good. She fit in with the rest of the characters - this was her "Westworld" debut. Emmet, played by Michael Malarkey was noteworthy. Caleb Nichols, played by Aaron Paul, was memorable. His performance was natural and engaging. Teddy Flood, played by James Marsden, was good.
Clementine Pennyfeather, played by Angela Sarafyan, had an enchanting screen presence. Anastasia Whitney, played by Saffron Burrows, was quite good. Sophia, played by Lili Simmons, was memorable.
Bernard Lowe, played by Jeffrey Wright, was intriguing. It was nice to see him reprise his role, especially after all the chaos he had a hand in during previous "Westworld" seasons. Akecheta, played by Zahn McClarnon, was good. Ashley Stubbs, played by Luke Hemsworth, was notable. C, played by Aurora Perrineau, was good. Frankie, played by Celeste Clark, was quite good.
Everyone else did stellar work in "Westworld" season 4 now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
This show kept redefining what it meant to be human. It plumbed the depths of consciousness, artificial and otherwise, and made me realize there could be so much more to the world we're living in than meets the eye.
It featured AI takeovers, and the threat of such heightened technology gaining independence and sentience. That Google scare a few months ago unearthed short-lived proof that we were inching closer to AI that could, in almost "Westworld" style, think and feel for itself.
Fans of the show know that as of last season "Westworld" (the first in-show recreation space) was no more. In season 4, Charlotte - in collaboration with AI-William - created her own 'Westworld', and it wasn't exactly human-friendly.
The direct contrast to how the AI bio-entities were abused and misused in previous seasons by humans was not lost on this fan, nor did it go unappreciated. This new location was awfully similar (in characters and programming) to the former "Westworld", but with a more sinister theme.
S04 also ran faster than some of the preceding ones. It followed a linear storyline and kept its twists well-hidden.
I liked how they mentioned the recent pandemic. In fact, this season's events took place after the ravages of the covid-19 pandemic, which didn't directly influence the plot in any way.
The Resistance were a new faction this season whose coming enhanced the plot. One of the core conspiracies in S04 was that AI (Charlotte via Christina) had successfully taken over - a vast area of North America, at any rate - using highly specialized soundwaves to control the human beings in that area, much like some human beings once controlled the AI humanoids they'd created exclusively for "Westworld". It was a full-circle destructive-cycle moment that made season 4 feel real and scary.
About those glitches I mentioned earlier... It was strange that AI-Charlotte did not foresee (analytically or probabilistically predict) some of the obvious consequences of her decisions, especially pertaining to William and Christina. The AI took almost human risks, which were slightly out of character.
Also, season 4 "Westworld" would have been exponentially better if they amped up the AI-takeover value and genuinely created a dystopian Sci-Fi setting. Since they already grazed many a "Matrix" theme, I felt going whole hog would've benefited the show. The final epi came close to achieving this, but now we will never really know how the plot (seasons 1-4) would've ended, because...
HBO apparently "froze all motor functions" for this series. Nonetheless, in just three seasons "Westworld" achieved more than what some other IPs in this genre have over several years. As for season 4, it created too many loopholes to exploit, but managed to engage and captivate.
As a whole, this series proved entertaining and educational, but most importantly it served as a warning. We're going to have to keep an eye on AI.
"This world is a graveyard of stories. Hosts and humans were given the gift of intelligent life. And we used it to usher in our own annihilation." - Christina/Deloris, "Westworld".
A few glitches (more on this later) notwithstanding, this season held its own despite not being the best of the lot. S04 "Westworld" also contained a handful of contrived choices that did it no favours.
Anyhoo, the team did good work in this (unexpected) last leg of the journey, which picked up seven years after the events that concluded the previous one. I liked how well they fleshed out (pun intended) several core characters. The flow was also reminiscent of the "Matrix" movies, more so this time around.
Directors Richard J. Lewis, Craig William Macneill, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Paul Cameron, Andrew Seklir, and Meera Menon gave this season gravitas and depth. Writers Lisa Joy, Will Soodik, Matthew Pitts, Christina Ham, Kevin Lau, Suzanne Wrubel, Wes Humphrey, Jordan Goldberg, Alli Rock, Desa Larkin-Boutte, Denise Thé, Alison Schapker, Jonathan Nolan (yes, related to that Nolan) did good work scripting an intricate and meaningful season 4.
Ramin Djawadi's musical scoring hit all the right chords (pun unintended). Superb work by the editors and cinematographers whose work made this series feel real and rooted. Production design and art direction deserved special shout-outs. Set decoration and VFX (except for the unnatural looking blood effects) were extraordinary. Hair-makeup and costume design were aces.
The ruthless William (the man in black) was back. His antagonism knew no bounds this time. Some captivating twists unravelled around his character quite early in the season. Ed Harris continued to amaze and regale as William, who was with the show from the get-go.
Christina, played by Evan Rachel Wood, was superb. From day-one, her character has been contributing excellence to this story. She was a tad subdued this season, but not for long. Maeve Millay, played by Thandiwe Newton, was astounding. She brought plenty of heart to the script. Charlotte Hale, played by Tessa Thompson, was amazing. Her character motivation and dialogues were spot-on and impressive.
Maya, played by Ariana DeBose, was good. She fit in with the rest of the characters - this was her "Westworld" debut. Emmet, played by Michael Malarkey was noteworthy. Caleb Nichols, played by Aaron Paul, was memorable. His performance was natural and engaging. Teddy Flood, played by James Marsden, was good.
Clementine Pennyfeather, played by Angela Sarafyan, had an enchanting screen presence. Anastasia Whitney, played by Saffron Burrows, was quite good. Sophia, played by Lili Simmons, was memorable.
Bernard Lowe, played by Jeffrey Wright, was intriguing. It was nice to see him reprise his role, especially after all the chaos he had a hand in during previous "Westworld" seasons. Akecheta, played by Zahn McClarnon, was good. Ashley Stubbs, played by Luke Hemsworth, was notable. C, played by Aurora Perrineau, was good. Frankie, played by Celeste Clark, was quite good.
Everyone else did stellar work in "Westworld" season 4 now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
This show kept redefining what it meant to be human. It plumbed the depths of consciousness, artificial and otherwise, and made me realize there could be so much more to the world we're living in than meets the eye.
It featured AI takeovers, and the threat of such heightened technology gaining independence and sentience. That Google scare a few months ago unearthed short-lived proof that we were inching closer to AI that could, in almost "Westworld" style, think and feel for itself.
Fans of the show know that as of last season "Westworld" (the first in-show recreation space) was no more. In season 4, Charlotte - in collaboration with AI-William - created her own 'Westworld', and it wasn't exactly human-friendly.
The direct contrast to how the AI bio-entities were abused and misused in previous seasons by humans was not lost on this fan, nor did it go unappreciated. This new location was awfully similar (in characters and programming) to the former "Westworld", but with a more sinister theme.
S04 also ran faster than some of the preceding ones. It followed a linear storyline and kept its twists well-hidden.
I liked how they mentioned the recent pandemic. In fact, this season's events took place after the ravages of the covid-19 pandemic, which didn't directly influence the plot in any way.
The Resistance were a new faction this season whose coming enhanced the plot. One of the core conspiracies in S04 was that AI (Charlotte via Christina) had successfully taken over - a vast area of North America, at any rate - using highly specialized soundwaves to control the human beings in that area, much like some human beings once controlled the AI humanoids they'd created exclusively for "Westworld". It was a full-circle destructive-cycle moment that made season 4 feel real and scary.
About those glitches I mentioned earlier... It was strange that AI-Charlotte did not foresee (analytically or probabilistically predict) some of the obvious consequences of her decisions, especially pertaining to William and Christina. The AI took almost human risks, which were slightly out of character.
Also, season 4 "Westworld" would have been exponentially better if they amped up the AI-takeover value and genuinely created a dystopian Sci-Fi setting. Since they already grazed many a "Matrix" theme, I felt going whole hog would've benefited the show. The final epi came close to achieving this, but now we will never really know how the plot (seasons 1-4) would've ended, because...
HBO apparently "froze all motor functions" for this series. Nonetheless, in just three seasons "Westworld" achieved more than what some other IPs in this genre have over several years. As for season 4, it created too many loopholes to exploit, but managed to engage and captivate.
As a whole, this series proved entertaining and educational, but most importantly it served as a warning. We're going to have to keep an eye on AI.
"This world is a graveyard of stories. Hosts and humans were given the gift of intelligent life. And we used it to usher in our own annihilation." - Christina/Deloris, "Westworld".