Being hailed as the “next Game of Thrones” before it even premieres is a lot of pressure for a show to handle, especially considering how GoT is moving into the twilight of its run and people are looking for another series to get hooked to. Based on Michael Crichton’s movie of the same name from 1973, Westworld is a western sci-fi drama that concluded its first season last week. The weight of Westworld’s cast and crew also lead to hefty hype and viewers’ expectations were “almost” impossible to surpass. But Westworld pulled it off with a stunning debut season, much to the delight of everyone who was looking forward to the show.
Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe with Sir Anthony Hopkins as Robert Ford
Westworld is a large futuristic theme park populated by androids dubbed “hosts” where visitors (“guests”) are given the opportunity to play out their wildest fantasies and “find themselves”. Westworld ’s plot largely deals with the hosts gradually becoming self-aware owing to an update in their code leading to complications inside the park and its management, told primarily through four characters – a host named Dolores, the park’s founder Robert Ford, a guest called William, and an old “Man in Black” who is trying to solve a mystery inside the park known as “The Maze”.
The brilliance of Westworld is apparent from its title credits onwards, which shows a pair of arms playing a piano and the hands receding in shock as the piano continues playing automatically; an allusion to the hosts becoming aware about their imprisonment. The show establishes its world and multitude of plotlines in a compelling premiere that offers viewers an idea about how deep Westworld’s rabbit hole goes. Westworld gets increasingly complicated with each episode, building suspense and tension across its many plotlines and then concludes in a ninety-minute long mindboggling finale, tying all its threads together perfectly.
Ed Harris’s Man in Black was one of the prominent characters in Westworld
Much of Westworld’s glory comes from its flawless execution. Since the number and complexity of the show’s plotlines is immense, it has to jump between scenes quite often. But these jumps have been planned with such precision that the transitions have a seamless flow, offering slight convenience to the viewer in connecting the dots. And contrastingly at the same time, it makes the viewer doubt what is real, much like the hosts themselves. Visuals play a large role in Westworld’s narration. In addition, it also features a magnificent and engrossing cinematography. Westworld contains gripping western gunslinger action sequences that make the show all the more appealing.
The success of Westworld can just as easily be attributed to its stellar cast. Sir Anthony Hopkins played the role of Robert Ford. Needless to say, the character was safe with him and he played the cunning genius superbly. The same could be said about Ed Harris’s portrayal of the enigmatic and ruthless Man in Black. The characters Dolores and Maeve, two hosts important to the plot, were excellently played by Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton respectively. Jeffrey Wright handled the role of Bernard Lowe, Ford’s assistant who turned out to be an instrumental part of the show. The supporting cast of the show consisting of James Marsden, Jimmi Simpson, and Ben Barnes all did justice to their roles.
Westworld features a grand cinematography making it a visually immersive show
The attention given to detail in Westworld deserves to be appreciated. Everything in the show from the way actors deliver their dialogues to the sequence of scenes all add in little ways to the show’s storytelling. Westword has some thought provoking moments and deep, philosophical lines that will prompt viewers to ask the questions the writers want them to. To top it all off, the show’s music was composed by Ramin Djawadi. Westworld’s soundtrack is haunting, catchy, and supports the mood of the show splendidly.
All facts considered, Westworld is, without any doubts, one of the absolute best new shows of the year. It was dramatic, thrilling, mysterious, visually pleasing, thought-provoking, and most of all entertaining, all the same time. Westworld is another huge win for HBO and the creators. A second season of Westworld is in the works, set to air only in 2018. However, if it’s anything like season, it is a given that season two will be worth the wait.
Tags: Michael Crichton next Game of Thrones Westworld Westworld series
