I have been asking this since season 2. Never seen a show drop so far so fast

Nolan can't write anything at length without losing his way. Westworld is abandoned.

when you recommend westworld to a friend just mention the first season only

This is a solid review. I watched season 4 and walked away feeling that the magic had been entirely lost. As you said, no stakes... I didn't feel anyone was in danger of any meaningful consequences, so I didn't feel invested, whatsoever. Character development went nowhere, and it felt like the show was afraid to let go of characters who had already completed their journey. I expected this channel to have more views and subscribers, then I realized I had found a mostly undiscovered gem :)

Halfway through the season 1 finale, I thought, "Holy shit, what an amazing ending." In my naivety, I assumed it would be just a 10 episode show. Then I realized they were setting up a second season. And then season 2 came out and it was so dumb, and kept getting dumber. I'm constantly amazed that this thing is still going.

Excellent breakdown. I have a special anger reserved for a series that has all the right elements- a dynamic concept with engaging themes, an incredible ensemble of actors supported by talented designers, and enough money to put it all together for a fantastic first season, And Then, to spectacularly crap the bed so completely with every following season, that by the end of it all, it’s an empty waste of time. Thanks for the thoughts, DDP. All the best.

I genuinely thought that Westworld was already done with. I more-or-less discovered it a couple weeks ago, binge watched it, and assumed the season four finale was the conclusion of a series that ended filming years ago. On top of that it felt like it was a piecemeal, rushed conclusion to a show that got prematurely canceled and the writers wanted to pin all their undeveloped ideas on. I can hardly see where it'll go from here, but you're right that they've already demonstrated that basically nothing that happens has any finality or lasting consequence, so I'm sure the whole cast will be well and good by mid-season 5

Season 2 had it's moments like the maze on the ground in front of maeve's house reveal and the aketcheta reveal of carving the maze on the scalps... those were answered questions leftover from season 1 but they answered them in a satisfying enough way. Now they're literally just having characters go up in smoke from the previous season (Lawrence-Dolores anyone?)

Season 1 = perfection. Very rewatchable. Season 2 = not bad, not great. Season 3 = garbage Season 4 = dumpster fire.

I tuned out of this show a long time ago. The first season is all the Westworld I need.

I miss the first season. If you told me that in 5 years' time, the show would be one of the worst on TV I would not believe you. Such a blunder. They had something special and they just fumbled it.

It's the problem with the writer's following what JJ Abrams (who pitched the show idea to Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy) calls the Mystery Box approach to storytelling. We all know how that approach opens really great, then soon falls apart into a mess from JJ's previous shows and films that followed this style (Disney Star Wars and Lost anyone?).

Your opinion is a welcomed thing. I just completed season 4 and unlike some shows, I felt relieved it was over rather than exhilarated for more. Of course by now I know there will be no more. I am terribly disappointed that this franchise was treated so casually with poor writing and over complex storylines. Plotwise, I never bought into the idea that Humankind was doomed. Outside of this particular city, I don't think anyone else was even aware that evil was lurking. People in the countryside can disperse in a way city people cannot, flies be damned. There was no logic to the "Humankind is doomed" idea. Thanks once again. I will seek out more of your content.

The first time i felt sad w/ this show was when they ignored the savages who apeared in the first season. I think the show deserves a more expensive reboot

Season One was GREAT. It had a good ending and I felt very little desire to see what happened next. I had dropped HBO and thus didn't care to try and see what happened next. At this point, I feel better that I watched only the first season. Nothing adds up to that one. I loved how the creativity had shifted from movies in a two hour format to series that had such long story arcs. When you have substance to fill those long story arcs, a planned progression forward of key reveals alonmg with proper world and character building, it can be compelling. But lacking that, it becomes tedious as they fill the time with empty subplots and FX. No thank you. I suspect after the debacle of the last season of GoT, we will see a return of creativity in movies once the superhero sagas finish running out of steam. I suspect, we will return to good murder mysteries and such that can be done in two hours.

Thank you for your dedication to this show!

Hoover damn already doesn't have enough water to generate power, Lol. Def world building problems

For the past couple years my brother has been screaming at me to watch Westworld past season 2, but just like The Last of Us, I feel like Season 2's ending was great and didn't need a sequel. Ellie gets the chance to live out her life as normally as possible, that's a great beautiful fucking ending. Dolores, Maeve, Charlotte and Bernard escaped the park, and Ed killed his own daughter which killed what was left of his humanity. Like gambling studio execs need to learn how to quit when they're ahead.

Season four was so nihilistic. It was bad - really bad - but oddly haunting. Like I was watching the ghost of a show that died alone in the desert of the real.

OMG! Agree so much! Thank you for clearly stating exactly what I've been thinking about Westworld and how the latter seasons have progressed.

Watching this (and Que Sera) for the first time in June of 2024, after the end of sentient life on Earth. Has there been a video about how much of the series finale was written with the understanding that that was indeed the end?

as a longtime person of interest fan it's a bit surreal to watch this nolan show that - despite the budget being seemingly limitless - fails at just about everything that poi pulled off

Everyone’s character arc ended a long time ago, which makes it rather dull. This show needed to be three seasons tops. There might be a case for watching seasons 1,2, and 5 in any rewatch. We’ll have to see. I think if the characters were better defined the perceived lack of world building wouldn’t be that much of an issue.

Comprehensive and fair assessment. Good job.

I’ll never forget what it was like watching Westworld when it first came out I made a list on Reddit and predicted the entire ending after only watching the first four episodes First and only time I’ve ever done that

I've only seen season 1 so this was an interesting watch to say the least lol also love the sunglasses I've got to get a pair like that

Westworld past season 1 is a great example of a gradual degradation.

I hated season 2 but absolutely loved seasons 3 and 4. I think season 4 is weakened by us not getting a season 5. I think so many people dislike later seasons of Westworld is because of the tone shift and change in genre. Season 1 is fundamentally a western. Every host is a trope of western film and literature. Guests fill out even more tropes (William plays "The Man with No Name"). But what made season 1 fun is how the show navigated these tropes. For example, the "Hooker with a Heart of Gold" is flipped on its head because the audience knows all of the hosts are essentially used for sex work. Even though there are actual prostitutes in Westworld, guests are free to rape/murder any of the hosts. But season 3 is cyberpunk. It's abandoned the western setting and gone full Blade Runner. A lot of people wanted to continue watching a western, but got dumped into a completely different genre that was asking completely different questions. Season 1 is asking us to analyze The Man with No Name, while season 4 is asking us to analyze the same character as a bounty hunter akin to Boba Fett/Rick Deckard/Officer K.

You broke it all the way down for me and I was saying the exact same thing since season 2. Season 1 was flawless!

hell yes glad to see a new vid from you homie

I gave up after season 2, only stayed for the samurai scenes

There is no doubt in my mind that S1 was the best and only S2 continued some of its narrative quality in diluted form, but I still liked the rest for its exposition of concepts. Humans being as programmable as machines, corporate AI controlling all of society except for "outliers", the ability of AI to act prophetically by simulating millions of outcomes in advance... even though it rushed these things through I feel mentally enriched for having seen it.

I liked season one because it seemed to be a science fiction rumination on Buddhist philosophy. And I liked season two because it dealt with the difficulty (or impossibility) of breaking free from our childhood programming. But I kind of guessed that the show was going to start limping from that point on because in the first two seasons there was a real underlying sense that the only real hope for humanity at this point was a full scale revolutionary movement against…well, basically everything that our current world structure is built upon. And I doubted that the creators of the show would have the guts to deal with that honestly. Or that they could get a major studio to back such a plot line. And sure enough, seasons 3 and 4, while toying with such ideas, mostly just seemed to be babbling incoherently and getting more incoherent with each passing episode. I’m glad the series was cancelled. And I find a strange sense of perverse joy that because of that it unintentionally ended with all human and robot life being snuffed out of existence. The End.

This finally put into words how I felt, the characters aren't entertaining to watch anymore, and I feel like I watched season 4 just because I wanted to see what happened.

Great analysis. I think I liked the subsequent seasons more than you did, and I found 4 to be a strong indicator that they were heading back in the right direction (although they hadn't actually arrived yet). Season 2, as problematic as it was, had one of the very best episodes of the entire series. All that said, like you, I was hoping to see a 5th and final season that would bring it all together and make it all work. I think it's too bad that HBO/Discovery pulled the plug, because now we'll never know if they would have stuck the landing. The first season did everything right that Season 4 did wrong (per your analysis), and truly was pulling for a return to form. Having this be the ending is very unsatisfying. To some extent, I can't help but wonder if having a quick scene earlier in the series of D&D from Game of Thrones fame wasn't a foreshadowing of an unsatisfying conclusion.

I binge watched the whole show over the last couple weeks and was left quite disappointed. It seems most people are. Probably the biggest downfall of this show was the fact that everything was inconsequential. The only humans (with significant roles) that end up dead and never show up again are Theresa, Elsie, and Williams daughter, as far as I can recall. There's many others that "die," but get to live on as hosts or in the augmented reality. Also William gets shot like 20 times but always recovers perfectly fine. By the second season you realize anytime a host gets taken out, they'll be back pretty soon. And season 4 opened two interesting storylines but never expanded on them. The whole host transcendence thing and why hosts were killing themselves...

at 6:39 I literally nodded my head at the screen.

Yep, this is the show I have love-hate relationships with as well. There was really good potential there and it's a shame it wasn't realized.

They only planned for 1 season and that's good enough. The story was finished perfectly.

This show just proves how humans can be brilliant and dumb at the same time. The self-destructive human mind is capable of creating something awesome and destroying it as quickly as they did something great. Your analysis is very nice..it helps me to understand why I did not care anymore since season 3..while I was blown away by the first season ..maybe this show is the reflection of nowadays show business were protagonists came and go without care from those powerfull people who made them shine for a while on and behind the screen.?

I really hate shows that have a great first or second season and the third and fourth seasons a bland at best. I feel like I jumped of the dock swimming towards a something I was made to perceived as a better land.

All the characters felt the same to me once season 3 hit. They all had that depressed aloof face with some heavy handed metanarrative that their backstory conveniently ties into all the matters at hand.

You should track down the Westworld movie sequels and the original series from the 70’s

I stopped watching in season 3 because of Mav. Really felt wholey unearned. Was confusing (not in a good way). Also, there was no nudity to keep me distracted.

it’s a one season show. a great one season show.

You've hit on all the points I was thinking about. I feel the show got way too complex for its own good, with its layers upon layers, and it's almost like it became a running joke when someone would be told, "You''re not real, you're a host!" The trick was so overused. And once they began doing that to the worlds themselves it became hard to care for either the characters or the world due to its lack of stakes. Ultimately, its concepts was its downfall through its execution. Host dead? Nope, think again! And again! And guess what, the world you live in isn't real! I liken it as 'The show that cried wolf". There are only so many times a trick can be used before it loses its effectiveness on the viewer. When a show keeps pulling back and revealing it's a lie, there are only so many times I can care.

"Is teddy real? Or what's his deal" Love the rhyming! And your channel is underrated. Subbed!

I’m glad someone is talking about it. All the podcasts seems to support this decline.

Yeah I know. I've been watching all the seasons and I'm confused as, well you know 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Well done.

I just learned season 4 exists 😂

Hah! thanks for reminding me that season 4 is actually a thing. Completely forgot about it. I was on the fence about watching it, but now I think I'll give it a skip.

I think the main takeaway here is that you should shift your focus heavily into Succession-related content. (Please)

Had to look up if Teddy was real?? The season makes it explicit.

season 5 is supposed to be the final.... and its gone.

cool glasses though

I had high hopes and expectations for season 4. It started off good story wise . yet somewhere along the way they Dropped the ball. Only to have the same people die all over again. So what was the purpose of bringing them back? Just to re tell the same thing. I hope the show doesn't get re newed if we only going to get the same old stuff. I 'd rather watch the worst episode of Westworld than another repeat of season 4. Just saying.

Te amo

Bruh this might just be me but why does she kinda look like Lt Corbis?

idk if your more angry or angsty ‘bout this 😮

The Michael Crichton screenplay & film "Westworld" was superb. Somewhat cheesy & basic by 2020+ standards regarding CGI, acting & viewer standards (maybe?), but "Westworld 1973" fulfilled it's plot, which is the actual 'basic function' of any novel, film & series... Or at least it should be to any sensible reader/viewer. That's why I still read & listen to good books. I shape the entirety of the landscape, characters & their interactions within the parameters of the story.

This doesn’t even begin to cover way this piece of crap got canceled

Thank you for torturing yourself for our entertainment.

You asked, "What is Westworld now?" You're clever enough to know it is merely propaganda now. Let's face it, TV programming is called 'programming' for a reason. The myth of Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey" is just that, a myth. The stories of heroes & heroines killing scary beasts for the betterment of their community is a 'set of values' to be acknowledged & equated when circumstances prove such to be necessary. Case in point: Why do the stronger defend the weaker in any culture? Such an action is necessary for the continuation of their community. This ideal has been stressed in theology, philosophy, mythology/legend & self-help books. Most clearly in Robert J Ringer's "Looking out For Number 1". Life is a choice of Rational Selfishness & Rational Selflessness. I want to succeed: Rational Selfishness I want to protect: Rational Selflessness To write anything of 'value', the writer must understand themselves in the circumstance of all of their characters. Sadly, most writers today for corporations do NOT realize this or ignore such. Money and influence are cruel and eventually lethal taskmasters!

I know how to fix Westworld, get rid of all the SJW misandrist BS

You sound like Elliot Page pre transition

This show fell off hard 😂😆😃😃

Welp, another waste of my time! The lesson carved into my skull, just don't watch GarbageFlix! Western entertainment has become GRABAGE! Take shelter in anime! Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Solo Leveling, may these products deliver us from the GRABAGE! Not gonna watch any western series and movies unless at least 10 other plausible youtube critics praise!

Earned a sub.

do you still play the soundrack? 🥲

s4 sucked and was boring andf had no idea what was going on, it was bad