After a critically acclaimed first season, “Westworld” changed its writing approach and took a huge step back with this second season. It's all right until episode four (one of the best so far), then it all falls apart from episode five onwards. All important questions have already been answered at the end of the previous season, leaving the characters without a clear purpose or a consistent goal. There are just too many cheap tricks, too many convoluted plot points and multiple timelines for their own sake, too many endless shootouts that end up in nothing, too many pointless flashbacks to bring back dead characters, and too much unexplainable plot armor. The non-linear storytelling in season one had the purpose of hiding a couple of major plot twists, but this time it's just to mislead and confuse the viewer so that we can forget the plot holes. It felt like they ran out of things to write and improvised on the go for some characters. In particular, Maeve's story arc has been the most painful to watch. Her adventures don't add anything to the plot, and they even ask us to elect her as the new hero and forget all the things she did last season. Wasn't it obvious that another host has been placed to play the child's mother's role? What purpose did Lee's sacrifice have? No one ever thought of shooting him as he is a human and a trusted Delos employee. He could have gained way more time by simply surrendering himself. Why didn't Maeve join the others past the door? (They need her in Season 3 with the others who got killed, obviously). Except for Akecheta, there are no good guys this time, but William is still the only character to be somehow fascinating. The big secret behind his wife's death was kind of underwhelming, but Emily's addition to the cast was appreciated. I just wonder how William could have forgotten about the card he received from Ford though. Not to mention that it took like ten minutes for his wife to find it, read the whole data, fill the bathtub, and kill herself, all while William and Emily were chatting downstairs. I hope he is not a host, though, as the "I was secretly a host" trick is starting to wear a little thin. Dolores went from one extreme to the other, but her character is still as thin. Teddy is completely useless, but that's not news either.
The season has its moments, and production value is still excellent. However, the above-mentioned "little problems" with the writing and characterization are so many that honestly, I am not sure if I want to keep watching anymore.
Review by manicureVIP 4BlockedParent2020-12-04T07:49:35Z— updated 2022-11-14T04:55:53Z
After a critically acclaimed first season, “Westworld” changed its writing approach and took a huge step back with this second season. It's all right until episode four (one of the best so far), then it all falls apart from episode five onwards. All important questions have already been answered at the end of the previous season, leaving the characters without a clear purpose or a consistent goal. There are just too many cheap tricks, too many convoluted plot points and multiple timelines for their own sake, too many endless shootouts that end up in nothing, too many pointless flashbacks to bring back dead characters, and too much unexplainable plot armor. The non-linear storytelling in season one had the purpose of hiding a couple of major plot twists, but this time it's just to mislead and confuse the viewer so that we can forget the plot holes. It felt like they ran out of things to write and improvised on the go for some characters. In particular, Maeve's story arc has been the most painful to watch. Her adventures don't add anything to the plot, and they even ask us to elect her as the new hero and forget all the things she did last season. Wasn't it obvious that another host has been placed to play the child's mother's role? What purpose did Lee's sacrifice have? No one ever thought of shooting him as he is a human and a trusted Delos employee. He could have gained way more time by simply surrendering himself. Why didn't Maeve join the others past the door? (They need her in Season 3 with the others who got killed, obviously).
Except for Akecheta, there are no good guys this time, but William is still the only character to be somehow fascinating. The big secret behind his wife's death was kind of underwhelming, but Emily's addition to the cast was appreciated. I just wonder how William could have forgotten about the card he received from Ford though. Not to mention that it took like ten minutes for his wife to find it, read the whole data, fill the bathtub, and kill herself, all while William and Emily were chatting downstairs. I hope he is not a host, though, as the "I was secretly a host" trick is starting to wear a little thin.
Dolores went from one extreme to the other, but her character is still as thin. Teddy is completely useless, but that's not news either.
The season has its moments, and production value is still excellent. However, the above-mentioned "little problems" with the writing and characterization are so many that honestly, I am not sure if I want to keep watching anymore.