Westworld season 3

The first season of Westworld came in strong with a compelling and rewarding story that packed the level of quality expected from HBO but something went wrong somewhere in season two that saw two years go by after the release of season three for me to feel like continuing on this adventure. The second season started off well but quickly became overly complex and a bit of a slog to get through which alienated many of the show's fans, including myself. Maybe this wasn't the show to carry the mantle for HBO after Game of Thrones ended?

Almost ditching the old west backdrop entirely, season three feels like something of a reimagining of the two seasons before as Westworld delves deep into the murky grounds of corporate espionage and shadowy tycoons feeling a lot more comparable to Mr. Robot. Set in the distant future that emulates the feel of Blade Runner with flying cars in LA, Dolores is now in the open world to unleash her revenge against humanity and free her fellow replicants, no wait, I mean hosts! 

Featuring many returning faces, including Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Tessa Thompson, Jeffrey Wright and Ed Harris, while introducing Aaron Paul and Vincent Cassel, Westworld is season three is packed with talent across the board in a show has seemingly tried to learn from the criticism last time with regards to its arguably convoluted storytelling. I found you will still have to suspend you sense of disbelief here, particularly in the action sequences where any henchmen has the accuracy of a Star Wars stormtrooper, but season three is a generally entertaining improvement on what we saw previously. 

This might be partly due to a leaner eight episode structure that wastes little time and a story that offers plenty of twists and turns to give it all a steady pace. Some have argued the show lost something this season and if you enjoyed season two then you might feel the same, noticing quite a sharp change in direction which is hard to ignore. It almost feels as if several episodes or even a whole season were cut for time, but I hope the showrunners know what they're doing with an overall plan as there is an uncomfortable sense we're in the realm of Lost as the show goes on until the well runs dry. I felt this most noticeably towards the end in a surprising moment that risks rendering one character's development null and void. 

Season three is overall a general improvement for Westworld but still doesn't come close to the high levels of season one that offered a more polished experience. Westworld has well and truly left the theme park thriller it set out to be and risks becoming a more simplified show about a rebellion, which just doesn't seem as interesting given the lofty ambitions it established at the beginning. This season is a visually impressive thriller that moves along at a decent speed throughout and worth watching if you made it this far but isn't quite HBO's successor. Otherwise, maybe just stick with season one.