Oh, no, someone has an opposing opinion! 
HBO's "Westworld", starring Anthony Hopkins/produced by J.J. Abrams
- Thread starter Ensign_Redshirt
- Start date
The surprising thing to me is that they made S4 in the first place, given how little buzz and viewership S3 got despite airing at the very start of the pandemic lockdown.
Somewhat related, I bought the first three seasons on Blu in order to watch them for the first time. The first season comes in beautiful cardboard packaging with lots more artwork and inserts than it needed to, giving the set a grand, intriguing feel:
The second season came in a smaller cardboard package with just an insert or two, and wasn't as stylish, but it was still nice. The third season, however, just came in a normal plastic case. It felt like HBO was tacitly acknowledging "yeah, things didn't go the way we'd hoped with this one."
I resold the second and third season sets on eBay, and will be skipping watching/owning the fourth altogether. But I'll hang on to that first season set.
Somewhat related, I bought the first three seasons on Blu in order to watch them for the first time. The first season comes in beautiful cardboard packaging with lots more artwork and inserts than it needed to, giving the set a grand, intriguing feel:
The second season came in a smaller cardboard package with just an insert or two, and wasn't as stylish, but it was still nice. The third season, however, just came in a normal plastic case. It felt like HBO was tacitly acknowledging "yeah, things didn't go the way we'd hoped with this one."
I resold the second and third season sets on eBay, and will be skipping watching/owning the fourth altogether. But I'll hang on to that first season set.
^ I can easily imagine a great "Escape from Westworld" second season told from the perspective of new human characters, who must find a way to survive, and then fight their way to an escape from, increasingly sentient hosts. There could be fascinating tension within a human group, with some who just came to soak in the historical ambiance looking down on the more violent people who came for thrills and sadism, but needing to rely on them for their fighting skills. It wouldn't be a trippy/meditative philosophical season like the first, probably, but it could still be a damned fine one. I think the creators' insistence on maintaining the tone of the first season in a series increasingly ill-suited for it was the show's downfall.
It is the same philosophy with the Batgirl movie...
I don't believe that it is.
If anything, it's akin to what happened with Netflix's GLOW, only it's going to cost HBO a lot more money.
What happened with GLOW?
Netflix renewed the show for a fourth season and then cancelled it after the pandemic shut everything down, but still had to pay the cast.
By the time HBO pays the cast of Westworld, as well as Jonah and Lisa, it's likely going to cost them as much, if not more, as it would to just go ahead and shoot a fifth season.
That sounds like a similar decision but a much different circumstance.
And the third season was so silly, and such a copycat of Prelude to Foundation, that I generally never believed it would get renewed for a fourth season. And I didn't bother with the fourth season.
It was good, better than 3.
Same. What happened at the end of the 3rd made it feel like they were bracing for cancellation. It didn't feel like something they'd be coming back from.
That was your mistake. It was the most entertaining of all the seasons, and overall second best, after season 1.
Well then let me rectify...oh wait, I don't care.
Okay, so, now that Westworld the series is done, it's time to ask: what, in your opinion, is the particular moment the show Jumped the Shark, or took a clear turn for the worse?
To me, that moment was when William killed his daughter in an idiotic fit of paranoia. It was ugly and nihilistic, and while it wouldn't be accurate to say the show ignored that development, it didn't pay it off sufficiently to justify it, either.
To me, that moment was when William killed his daughter in an idiotic fit of paranoia. It was ugly and nihilistic, and while it wouldn't be accurate to say the show ignored that development, it didn't pay it off sufficiently to justify it, either.
What don’t you like about White Lotus? I thought first season was great at least. Dark satire on class and privilege, reminds me of a modern day Rules of the Game.
I think this is going to be different for everyone, but for me in particular, it wasn't any particular plot point, but rather what's reflected in the direction of the show since the end of season 1. Season 1 was great, and I think everyone agrees that the show was off to a great start. Personally, I feel the production team read the room wrong in terms of why it was popular, and increased the wrong things in season 2. By the end of the season, other seasons felt unnecessary. But YMMV.
