HBO is in a bit of a predicament. Game of Thrones will be ending in two years and they don’t have another drama series that comes close to its ratings or critical acclaim. Westworld is the network’s attempt to have another hit series before Game of Thrones goes off the air and if the pilot is any indication they have nothing to worry about. Westworld is a marvelous, intriguing and unpredictable show that is guaranteed to be your next TV obsession.
Without having seen Michael Crichton’s original 1973 film, I can confidently say that I have never seen anything like Westworld. Those who are fans of extensive world-building will no doubt find the series to be right up their alley. Though the “wow factor” will most likely be lost on viewers who are familiar with the original or are even aware of the general plot (I managed to avoid trailers and reviews before watching the pilot), you can’t deny that this is impressive stuff.
If you wish to go into the series blind, (and I highly recommend that you do) then stop reading now.
In the future, members of the upper class get their rocks off by going to Westworld, a sort of amusement park themed after the Wild West. Westworld is inhabited by near-perfect cyborgs (known as “hosts”) that follow multiple storylines programmed into their hard drives. Patrons (known as “guests”) pay to enter Westworld and interject themselves into the various story threads. The actions of the patrons (which tend to gravitate towards the violent and/or sexual) dictate which story threads the cyborgs follow before the day ends. The park then resets and they begin the next day as if the previous day just restarted. Think Groundhog Day meets The Purge.
Overseeing all of this is an unnamed company run by Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) and his team of technicians. Lead programmer Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) begins to notice that a recent update to some of the cyborgs has led some to malfunction in subtle ways.
Developed by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (Person of Interest), and co-produced by J.J. Abrams, Westworld drops you right into the middle of the action and doesn’t waste a lot of time on exposition. Viewers are left to figure everything out for themselves. It is a dense series and by the end of the pilot episode there are still plenty of questions left unanswered, but the intrigue is there.
The societal commentary and themes in Westworld are easily apparent (man’s inclination towards violence, the existence of a moral code, etc.), and while it may sometimes be too on the nose, it still makes for compelling television. The pilot doesn’t delve too deeply into these themes yet since it is focused on the initial exploration of its two different worlds, but the seeds are most definitely planted.
HBO chose to hire Game of Thrones‘s Ramin Djawadi to score Westworld and that choice pays off in spades. The score is hypnotic. Djawadi’s creative use of original music and covers (there is a climactic battle set to an orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’s “Paint It Black” that is simply mesmerizing) cement his place as one of the best composers working today. The special effects, as expected, are also top notch (HBO reportedly spent around $100 million to produce the season).
Westworld is dense television, but it’s also rewarding television. If the pilot is anything to go off of, then HBO has a surefire hit on their hands. Boasting an A-list cast, a thought-provoking narrative and outstanding special effects, Westworld is destined to become the talk of the Fall television season.