Westworld (HBO)

I cannot wait for this

Thoughts on the season thus far?

I'm liking it so far although it kind of doesn't feel that westworldly any more

Episode 4 has been the best of this season so far

Agreed, I've been liking things because I can see where the plot is going and it's not nearly as convoluted and full of one absurd twist after another like season two (which I did like), but at the same time I'm not really in shock and awe by anything happening either.

It's still Westworld, and while moving out of the park has been exciting in many regards, it's also a very different feel from the first two seasons that hasn't been as mystifying for me. Dolores seems intent to "unplug" everyone from their fates and grant them free will, like as you mentioned she does at the end of Genre, but how far does that chaos go?

Ultimately this season is going to come down to the inevitable Dolores vs. Maeve showdown, but then what? I'm really trying to figure out how the writers haven't cornered themselves into this being the final season aside from a fourth season of depicting an apocalyptic aftermath of when Dolores grants everyone their free will and chaos consumes them all. Perhaps it's some sort of cyclical thing where Dolores realizes that worlds do need someone to control them, like what Ford did with the original park, and creates her own sort of park/world as a result and becomes the system herself. Who knows.

I'm enjoying this season, but downtown LA and Singapore just aren't nearly as fun as the various Delos parks. I don't think we'll ever return to the heights of the first season, but I have warmed up to all the changes. You really can't stay in the Westworld park forever, they basically exhausted what can be explored there in the first two seasons. But how much gas is left in the tank for this series has me a bit skeptical.

There's definitely something up with Cal's backstory.

The nazi world doesn't really exist though, does it.

And I think Harris was brought back just for that ep to put a pin in any unanswered questions related to Delos.

I actually loved how they ended things with William last season and didn't think he needed bringing back.

Oh shit yeah I forgot that nazi world didn’t actually exist! I need to stop drinking when I watch things

I thought they extracted what they needed to make him a host and then hauled him off to a luxury psych ward. He was visited by Dolores who kind of tells him she won and then leaves and that's the last we've seen of him.

I could see him questioning his reality out loud being considered a key to him truly having free will, for example.

I liked this one, even if the therapy session was a bit of a ham fisted metaphor.

The image of Halores emerging from the flames of the car explosion like a phoenix was a great ending.