Westworld (TV Series) Phase Space (2018) User Reviews

No winners in a game controlled by Dr Ford.

[mgidb · 9/10 · 27 August 2019]

Dolores presents the truth of Delos system in the past when she took the new path. William is trying to solve the puzzle of the new game by following the shadows of Dr Ford instructions but what is he really missing? I don't understand! Maeve finally reached her goal but why isn't she and her fellows out of the head gray liquid matter like Bernard, did they make an exception hor them! That what I expected is the former episodes Bernard VS Ford Ai will grow in the hive mind. Why Theo is back I preferred to cross him out of the whole story from the begging.

I knew it wouldn't be long...

[tadaia · 7/10 · 13 June 2018]

I initially didn't want to watch this series because it had JJ Abrams name attached to it. However, I loved the film when I was a kid and found the premise of the host's perspective intriguing. In general I've found the show to be excellent but I can see signs of LOST cropping up in the writing. This whole "fidelity test" nonsense is a cheat in the worst way and is basically a means for the show to say at any time that we didn't see what we thought we saw. I really hope we don't get much more of that.

Nostalgia and heartbreak...

[sachinkr-07449 · 9/10 · 28 May 2018]

The plot moved swiftly for all our heroes in another solid hour of this incredible show. I'm especially loving the Shogun world story line, the music, the action, the beauty, that goodbye. It was genuine, it was heartbreaking, it was Westworld.

Westworld is back to asking the "big" questions

[rhythmoriented · 10/10 · 28 May 2018]

I would rank this episode among the best of the series, behind the S1 finale (The Bicameral Mind) and S2 E4 (The Riddle of the Sphinx). In S2 E6 we learn more about "the cradle," get a better look at the relationship between William and his daughter, and the series finally moves ahead on the story-line of Maeve's quest to find her daughter (no spoilers in this review). Most importantly, Westworld is back to delving into perhaps the most important theme of this season: choosing one's fate. This theme has been thoughtfully depicted in recent sci-fi films Ex Machina and Blade Runner 2049, but now can be developed in an ongoing television series with less constraints inherent to a feature film's running time. As a plus, the strongest points of the previous episode - dominated by Shogun World - are carried forward (primarily aesthetics), and melded nicely into the ongoing self-determination theme . Finally, combat scenes are less chaotic and more meaningful. When it comes to sci-fi action, Westworld cannot compete with other productions such as Netflix's Altered Carbon, so I'm pleased to see writers back to emphasizing its strongest points: character development, layered storytelling, and asking the "big" questions.

Finally, an Amazing Episode

[wbayer · 10/10 · 28 May 2018]

After a relatively slow start, I was glad to see the action return in the back half of Season 2. This episode reminded my why I loved the first season so much. Man in Black's storyline continued to impress. Dolores' storyline, which had left me disappointed so far this season, finally took drew me in as well. This, complimented by the emotional moment in Maeve's storyline, made for a fantastic episode. Then, that twist at the end...

You can bet I'll be around for the rest of this season!

Who's running who?

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 28 May 2018]

Delores appears to have attained the capabilities Maeve had previously gained. I have not said what those capabilities are, so there is no spoiler here. Maeve lets Musashi choose his own fate. That appears to be the theme for this part of Journey into Night.

Delores, however, would rather cheat- Doesn't let Teddy decide for himself. Her method differ's from Maeve's.

Not sure how Delores/Wyatt is gonna save her "Dad". And Charlotte Hale has gotten things nailed down, so to speak.

BernArnold and Elsie find a Ghost in the Machine. But whose ghost? Only way to find out, is to go into the Machine.

Mauve's crew has a moment of true beauty, Akane also chooses her own Fate.

Lots of things happening at the same time here, if you turn your head, you will miss it. William is still playing Robert's game, but has Robert run out of hosts to taunt him with? Which just begs the previous question, "Who is a Host in this cluster of F's?"

And anyone ever wonder how Ford has been appearing to William? When is an Ice-Cream Cone not what it appears to be?

Events keep filling in between that time when BernArnold and Strand find that ocean that was supposed to be a Valley, The Valley Beyond. Got a notion as to where some of the Hosts really got to, we'll just have to see if it really happens that way.

Questions? Answers. Answers? Questions.

Now Westworld is back on track

[k_i_n_g · 10/10 · 28 May 2018]

Patience is necessary if you are watching Westworld. While watching a very first episode of Westworld (S01E01) you didn't know what was going there. Episode by episode the show become more interesting and make sense of so many things that were didn't make any sense before. Maeve part is little-bit out of focus, but the overall acting, direction, sound, and storyline is well maintained. Hoping more thrill in next episode.

Such a heartbreak

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 18 March 2022]

Way back in the first season of Westworld-back when Teddy was so young, so innocent-series creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy re-popularized a term from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: These violent delights have violent ends. What it suggests was both cryptic yet very obvious. However, after more than a year and a half of television spent in Robert Ford's park, nothing seems quite so obvious anymore. Even that quote becomes nebulous in a series that seems to have no beginning or end, and in which the timeline increasingly resembles an M. C. Escher painting. So begins "Phase Space," which with hardly the greatest artfulness turns the tables on us again. The hour starts in exactly the same fashion as season 2, with a seeming flashback of Bernard testing Dolores' diagnostics and seeing just how human she can become. Six weeks ago, it was a reminder of how far Dolores had traveled from being the smiling and benign rancher's daughter to a revolutionary who shows no quarter. However, as we learn tonight, this is in fact not what that sequence is at all. Rather Dolores is doing a fidelity test on Arnold... or maybe Bernard? By design it's not clear. What seems less by design is the sneaking suspicion that Westworld is erring very close to reaching the point of diminishing returns with this kind of narrative twist that throws the timeline into yet further chaos. There may be an unseen god among the hosts named Robert Ford. But he is reintroduced tonight playing the player piano... just like Dolores is in the same episode. Both are still playing games, even if one might be oblivious that she's still hitting the preprogrammed keys... Maeve is living. And it's that life which makes this episode worthwhile.

Getting repititive, tedious, Pseudo-Brilliant; and losing purpose

[nitish-shete · 6/10 · 28 May 2018]

I enjoyed few episodes of this season but now I am getting bored. Generally I have a lot of patience when it comes to TV show (Twin Peaks is one of my favourites). However, in Westworld, the biggest problem I am finding is the plot holes the size of crater that no one really talks about (I am saying this after re-watching first season - inconsistent character behaviours is just a starter)

Coming to this episode, it leaves the Shogun World behind where SW's Maeve makes a choice to stay behind. The gore in today's episode didn't seem necessary or justified to me. The story moved too slow and there wasn't anything holding together for me to consistently watch the episode, so it took me 2 hours to watch this episode, I was getting some respites in visiting Twitter and doing some household chores.

There is a big surprise when Dolores controls Bernard but instead of feeling overwhelmed by it, it passed like a drab shock to me. Then there is Bernard and Elsie storyline where they go to Cradle. I may have to re-watch something and I am sorry if I was not paying attention in some previous episode but tell me - Elsie already knows Bernard is a Host? When? How?

Anyway, the best trait of any mysterious narrative is that viewer should care for some characters from start to finish. However, here I am losing that trait. If the makers don't explain what seem like plot holes in next few episodes and answer few 'basic questions(only)' of what the hell is going on; I won't really care if the whole Westworld is located on another planet or if hosts take over the world or wipe out the entire humanity or if Maeve loses her daugher or if it turns out that Arnold or Ford are alive in control unit or William's wife has a big role in this whole drama or any other big bombs that makers intend to drop on us - because by that time I would have stopped caring about anyone in the show. There is a thin line between Brilliant and Pseudo-Brilliant - the show seems to be inclining itself towards latter.

Plenty of plot holes

[zemeros · 7/10 · 4 June 2018]

I continue being disappointed by the large number of plot holes in season 2

Don't forget, we are 6 hours into a TV Show

[nathanaelhorn · 3/10 · 22 July 2018]

The problem I have with Westworld this season is that nothing is happening, I had the same problem with the first seasons but the novelty, grandeur and story was new and untold. In this one, we follow the story line of a mother looking for her daughter, this could've been covered already were it a 2 hour movie, in a marvelous way, but in Westworld they keep dragging this on for way too long. The other story lines are also way to uneventful. The way we get from point A to point B is too boring and insignificant up to this point. If you are going to introduce a plot that points to the direction of hosts escaping the park and a mother looking for her daughter, at least make the journey there interesting, this however isn't the case in this season of Westworld.

Do the Hosts have internal organs like heart?!

[MahyarErshad · 6/10 · 24 April 2019]

Do the Hosts have internal organs like heart?! They did not have before!

Nothing again

[astom_23 · 7/10 · 22 March 2020]

What is the plot at this point, I am tired of Dolores really

Intrest in this show is rapidly dissapating

[skip-98756 · 4/10 · 28 May 2018]

Maybe other people like the direction this season has been going,but for me its going nowhere and becoming boring and tedious.i find i am watching out of curiosity to see where the uprising and awakening of the machines will lead though thats about it..The only way i get through all the bloodshed and mutilations each week is by fastforwarding till something worth watching appears, which often means cutting away 75% till whats left..there is so much brutality and disregard for life be it android or human, the whole vib of the show is Dark and full of despair and a real downer for consciousness of the watcher..there is zero and i mean zero balance of any liteness or humor ever on this series,just a heavy ,depressing vib thats a real drag to watch,even if you like scifi and love the artificial intelligence awakening theme, and i do very much, this show is loosing my intrest and if i continue to watch, it will be only to see how it ends...with my finger on the fastforward.

And yet another "strong woman "!

[hjames-13405 · 1/10 · 2 June 2018]

Continuing the quest to push an all-too-obvious agenda, yet another superwoman is introduced to show those stupid men how it's done. Now, even the MIB is not immune! The last truly masculine figure is now being schooled by an errant erstwhile young daughter! Just appeared out of nowhere, to keep the thing going. So far, season 2 is a big disappointment, and departure from the original premise of the show. Now, every scene has a fearless heroine leading a fawning confused male entourage. It's all becoming quite tiresome and predictable. Anthony Hopkins does resurface at the end of this episode, so perhaps there still might be some hope for the series.

Starting to lose me

[rfc-19739 · 5/10 · 20 February 2021]

I know this is kind of how the 1st season went but the last few episodes are all over the place. I start to worry that entire plot lines last 2 episodes only to be forgotten which just turns them into fillers. They seem to be able to make up their own reality that breaks from characters. If Maeve Millay can control hosts with her mind why do half of the stuff she is doing. she should never have to fight anything or anyone. The script just doesn't seem to be bound by any constant plot line. I felt the same way season 1 and they brought it all back together by the end hopefully they do the same here.

Heartless, with Variety

[theminorityreporter · 6 January 2020]

In a 'clever' reversal of power, Dolores' authoritarian role is enlarged as she's recast in a past scenario as Bernard's fidelity tester (testing fidelity to the founder, Arnold). Initially Bernard appears to be the one in control and he says that he thinks he has a choice to make but he isn't sure the choice is his. She then makes a 'correction' saying "No. He didn't say that. He said 'I'm not sure what choice to make'. He didn't question whether or not he had agency..." She has Bernard freeze all motor functions and takes the control tablet from him. Instructing him to sit and standing now herself, she advises Bernard of the reversal of their roles, thereby seizing agency.

This role reversal is a 'clever correction'; an attempt by the authors to retroactively indemnify themselves against the apt criticism made by some reviewers from the outset that women lacked agency in the show and were marginalized. Dolores' path and relationships in Season Two are not just service to the retribution theme, but attempted 'correction' for this lack of agency - scene after scene now with her overtaking others, especially men; simply just assuming power and simply just assuming that she should assume power (we're supposed to assume that, too). The application of this 'correction' here, directly in the show itself, as a response to criticism in the press/online, is a highly calculated and egotistical use of effort that would be better spent on genuine creative work. And even when done subtly, as in this scene, it's still insulting. The fact that the 'correction' is offered is no service to the audience at all, but is instead a service by the authors to themselves. It's a defensive attempt to rewrite history in the authors' favor and a selfish misuse of character and plot; a disingenuous ploy in service of that which the authors' mouthpiece, Dolores (ironically) holds most dear: survival.

Teddy appears to now be on par with Dolores in terms of coldness; callously issuing demands or blunt statements and then abruptly walking away. He suddenly and impatiently kills a man held on the platform near the train who fails to promptly give information regarding the location of Dolores' father; an act broadly out of character for him. The now-merciless bloodhound/thug Angela appears to appreciate Teddy's newfound meanness, but for Dolores it's the familiar device of color contacts and a touch of fake tears mostly in one eye as she appears a bit shocked and emotionally affected. Later, Teddy hands Dolores' useful human a gun and one bullet (for suicide, of course) saying "That's the last of my mercy. Better use it fast", then walks away abruptly. The gun is pointless because the human will be quite suddenly blown up in the train anyway - it's all just show about how Teddy's become quite the heartless killer. Dolores seems satisfied with Teddy's totally contradictory change of character, but only when she's doesn't seem dissatisfied with it. She's just whatever way about it whenever because it's just easier to write whatever drama whenever, and it's a great way to keep the audience guessing. The soaps have been doing this kind of thing for decades; stringing people along indefinitely with loads of overwrought contradictory emotional display and senseless inconsistencies in character and plot.

A crucifixion-type torture scene is depicted at headquarters where Mr. Abernathy is bolted through his body in several places to an examination chair with a power driver. As he screams through a gag, Hale says "Sit tight old man, you're about to get your deep and dreamless slumber". This is gratuitous cruelty plotted for dramatic impact - even if he doesn't respond to voice commands we know now that he could be hardwired and at the very least his pain program could be adjusted. It's also illogical because he's hard to handle in his current hyperactive state; even a heartless hack would see the benefit in making him more controllable.

Back at Shogun World, 'Saint Maeve' has completed her latest 'miracle' of taking on a huge group of warriors herself with a couple of swords. She looks a bit tired after all that vanquishing of all of the invading warriors that she just selflessly did all by herself because she just gets to because she just suddenly can. So, it's quickly back to super-sympathetic mode and her touching connection with the grieving Akane.

The Shogun's blood is stained on Akane's hands and clothing and in a streak across her chin, and she sits by the body of Sakura tenderly stroking her hair. She then produces a knife with a long blade and brutally plunges it into Sakura's chest, proceeding to perform the gory act of ACTUALLY CUTTING HER HEART OUT as Maeve looks on with a combination of empathy and reverence. There should be no empathy or reverence shown here, just horror. I've heard of a Japanese funerary ritual of delicately placing a knife upon the chest of a deceased loved one to defend from evil spirits, but this kind of heinous desecration - no. Akane then holds the heart in her now twice-bloodied hands as Maeve tears off a sleeve from her own kimono as a 'selfless offering' for the sacrilegious ritual. They wrap the bleeding heart in the sleeve and as the melodramatic music continues Akane morosely holds it close to her face, adding a fresh stain of Sakura's blood to her cheek by contact with her own irreverently bloodied hand. Bloodshed and gore once again falsely associated with motherhood, and a cultural violation as a Japanese funerary ritual is absurdly combined with a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican sacrifice practice. Westerners are such a dumb lot; they'll just go for any stupid mashup they're given. This one's really lightyears beyond stupid, though - it's more on the order of a cultural smear campaign. Sakura's heart is ultimately BURNED 'ceremonially' in a mortar to the sound of the same melodramatic strings that played through the evisceration of the heart. I can't help but wonder if the authors expect to top this falsehearted, wallowing, bloody miserable melodrama in the future.

Just before the gory sword duel scene, when we see Hector his face is made up very darkly and orangely but his neck remains unsullied and is quite light. I can't blame them for not wanting the grimy build-up of cosmetic muck to rub off on what he's wearing.

When Akane asks Maeve to assist their friend Musashi with her 'magic' and prevent the gory sword duel Maeve refuses to do so, saying "We each deserve to choose our fate. Even if that fate is death." "We each" apparently means only people other than those who Maeve chooses to kill with her 'magic' thereby choosing their fate for them. The authors just needed her to say this line so they could temporarily suspend her completely unfounded and frankly ridiculous psychic skills to accommodate the gory sword duel scene. Too bad they didn't care to work their arbitrary 'magic' for Sakura.

The man in black appears to think his daughter may be a host created by Robert to torment him. It's a reasonable suspicion since she just appeared before him on horseback one day somewhere out in this huge park having been washed up from an altogether different park. Still, he seems to change his mind at times and they have a fireside heart-to-heart chat about their depressing family issues that improbably brings tears to his eyes. He then deserts her instead of returning home with her as agreed. Nothing good can come of their relationship because it's a relationship on this show. In fact, it's likely to be bad because he's all about disappointment and she probably is too. But we're not at full apocalypse yet...

At the site where the host backups are kept Bernard subjects himself to an excruciating craniectomy, saying "pain's just a program", in order to have his brain ball marble thing extracted and subjected to some virtual space process (he appears to have only just the one marble and he's losing it). Elsie offers to turn down his pain program but he says there's no time. We know by now that this takes mere seconds and could've been done in the time it takes them to talk about it, so it's just an insulting excuse for a dramatic depiction of agony and a chance for the authors to attempt to prove how 'clever' they are by finding some pithy way to distort of the concept of pain. It's all about pain and how pain isn't but how it will be contrived to be for superficial effect.

Maeve and Hector are very orange when they reach the location where her child is supposed to be. She approaches the scene alone, sees the host she regards as her daughter, Anna on the porch and has a touching heart-to-heart talk with her. Disappointingly but predictably, the child has been reassigned to a new mother and the Ghost Nation warriors ride in on their horses as usual. Since Maeve told the others to stay behind, this is a good opportunity for her to run helplessly with the child and then disappointingly but predictably slip and fall to the ground where she and the child can continue to be helpless before a Ghost Nation warrior 'wraith' some more. Her crew belatedly engages the Ghost Nation warriors in battle.

Felix decides life's not worth living and leaves Sylvester and Lee (who is calling for help, remarking that they are mortal) to continue being Maeve's tool, acting as if they're incomprehensibly callous for not joining the life-threatening battle between the Ghost Nation warriors and Maeve's crew. If he dies he's totally guaranteed not to be repaired and returned to service because he is human. I can't help but notice that he's merely dark orange verging into red now. Maybe embarrassment has given way to his suicidal tendencies, or maybe he's decided to save face and just continue obliging Maeve instead of admitting his original failure to critique her appropriately (a pathetic and useless kind of self-preservation). Either way, it appears he's more at peace now that he's made this stupidly illogical decision.

Bad season all over the place

[fabrcsakai · 1/10 · 17 January 2021]

There's not much to say, it's a bad episode in a bad season

No no no

[dantascezar · 2 May 2021]

Totally unnecessary Japanese thing. Could it all out. I admire Japanese people and their culture, but there's no point in all those scenes and talking and whatever.

Episodes 5 and 6 could have been edited into only one.

Just my opinion.

Weird Boring Cinemotagraphy and More Elsie Whining

[aboethius · 5/10 · 19 November 2022]

More lousy scenes and dialogue from Elsie. When will the Hollywood clowns learn that if you must make women or anyone appear intelligent then just do it by giving them intelligent, witty, or insightful things to say or do. Instead they take the cheap boring way by making others look stupid. So we get to see the bad acting of Elsie sitting at a terminal whining about people off-screen being idiots. Convenient for her to be basically in conflict with people off screen who cannot explain or defend themselves. People come home from work to relax while watching shows like this, not to be reminded of that arrogant cognitive-empathy-deficient person at every job who wanders in and within 10 seconds thinks they know everything better than the people who have been working on something for much longer. Also, you clowns invented these utterly fictional gung-ho security forces, so it is becoming a tiresome straw-man complaint about the human condition every time Elsie whines about them destroying a clone or something. Besides Mrs. Know-It-All Elsie, if you haven't noticed yet, you have utterly failed at your job by losing control of your programs with possible criminally negligent results, so take the self-righteousness down a notch please.

Terrible experimental-like cinematography in the so-called heart-to-heart scene between William and his daughter. First of all, some of what she says in unintelligible. That is unacceptable. It is ridiculous for any English-speaking American to need subtitles for an American English show. They make it worse with the cinematography because in the beginning the camera moves away from the speaker before they are done speaking. It is as if the camera person is being inpatient which makes no sense for this type of intimate dialogue. Then they zoom in, out, around, and in and out again, sometimes with melodramatic cheesy results. Is this an NFL football game or an important and emotional discussion? Many times you cannot see William's eyes for no great reason. Also, there is a fire behind the daughter for a moment and then mostly not, in no meaningful pattern in what can only be described as drunken random cinematography. It's all made worse with the sleep-inducing so-call dramatic stock music that comes up the 2nd time mom is mentioned. I suppose the audio people missed their cue the first time the mom was mentioned about 15 seconds earlier. All of this does nothing special except to distract and reduce the actors' performances and expressions.

Moving the camera away before characters finish speaking is reminiscent of people not listening to each other well in a conversation. Maybe that could be useful for some things, but they stray away from it quickly, so it is inconsistent. So maybe it is bad editing also.

But I suppose this all makes some sense considering that these show-runners hate humans. Obviously, this show is overladen with misanthropy. It is a subtle point that I am making now that would take too long to explain but I feel like even this scene is sub-consciously infused with misanthropy when it has no business being there. The viewer via this random camera is like a detached 3rd person with an attention problem, as if humans aren't worth attention. And, the actors are just props for these directors to play with as if they are hosts also. Ohh yeah...now we are getting meta, but it is an irony these fools appear oblivious too.

On the other hand the inconsistent cinematography does match the inconsistent and contradictory over-generalized dialogue.