Westworld - Season 3

Humanity’s biggest threat has always been itself – Serac

I will once again write down an unpopular opinion. Westworld season 3 was fabulous.
There it is, I can't take it back now. If you haven't scrolled down yet to leave an incensed reply, please keep on reading. Because I did give careful thought to why I think this season is excellent. Spoiler: Dolores, freaking, Abernathy.

Westworld is known for its ability to reinvent itself for each new season and this season is no exception. Season one focused on who is a human being and who is a host, season two on what humans do and think and what hosts do and think. Season three deals with only one question: how does our world differ from the one which was created in the Westworld park.

At the start of this season you as a viewer are subtly influenced. Brief, symbolic texts which hint at just one thing: be aware, things are not as they seem. Without spoiling too much: that turns out to be the case.

Great additions to this season's cast are Vincent Cassel (Platane) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad). Both are substantial additions with great background stories to an already strong cast of wonderful actors and actresses. Especially the latter are outstanding.
Tessa Thompson, for example, plays a magnificent Charlotte Hale who has to deal with existential schizophrenia.

Last season, I thought Thandie Newton, who plays Maeve, gave the best performance, but this season it was Evan Rachel Wood. She portrays the crucial host Dolores Abernathy and she does this wonderfully.
Some people will say that her performance was flat and she displayed not enough emotion. To those people I say: Wood plays a host, a robot without feelings, but still you can see a tiny bit of emotion at the start of this season which will grow into more towards the end of the season. And that is some highly-skilled acting.
And I haven't even mentioned Ed Harris and Jeffrey Wright yet....

Westworld shows its reputation of a profound series; the existential crises and vital questions are abundant. But this season there are more action scenes than ever and they are very well-executed. This is mostly because of the magnificent set. The futuristic look of the cars, buildings and sceneries are of true HBO quality.

Of course, there are some issues, absolutely. Mainly in the last two episodes because they were a bit disappointing, especially narrativewise. Some of the storylines are a bit anticlimactic which is a shame. If the writers had kept up the same level of the first five episodes, this season would have been better than the first one. Now unfortunately not, but it is still insanely good.

Well, now it's your turn. What did you think?

About the writer, Mdevreugd

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Comments (9)

Arjensky • 14 May 2020, 17:26

I thought Season 2 was so lousy that I quit halfway, but since I was curious about Season 3 I struggled through it anyway. And I don't regret that; I think season 3 is one of the better series of 2020.

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DAVE2804 • 14 May 2020, 18:46

I think Westworld is one of the best series of recent years. Even season two was even better than most of most series out there at the moment. I haven't seen this third season yet (shame on me!), But after reading your review it probably won't be long :) I got really curious now!

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anonymous • 15 May 2020, 03:14

I quit in the middle of season two. Not because I thought it was bad, on the contrary. It is a feast for the eyes, the acting is very good and there is also depth at times, which is very welcome in this time of dullness. My big problem was that I could no longer follow the story. I found it so confusing that I could no longer enjoy all that beauty. It may sound contradictory, but that's how I experienced it.

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Hangmat • 15 May 2020, 09:19

I understand very well. I can tell you that season 3 is a lot more streamlined in terms of storyline

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BlackBiker • 15 May 2020, 11:48

Yes, this was a great season. And indeed, you have to keep following the story carefully. I thought it was a nice side that they went out after the two park stories. And I am personally very curious about season 4. By the way, beautiful location in Valencia for the Delos headquarters. The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias where this is filmed is truly futuristic architecture and fits perfectly into the series and the story.

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RutMaas • 15 May 2020, 15:50

I didn't like season 3. Westworld remains a very interesting series, but I think a 9 for this season is very high. I think Westworld really did too short a number of characters in this season. Actually, I just think that Charlotte and Dolores had a nice storyline that really contributed something to their character and the story. I'm curious about season 4, but also a bit worried that we have already had the best of Westworld (season 1, imo).

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henrychristian • 24 June 2020, 06:57

One of the best shows on air!

Karzal • 25 July 2020, 12:45

Agreed! Although I personally wasn't all that pleased with the 3rd season.

Aspergio • 10 July 2020, 00:20

Westworld is sci-fi at its best! I think season 1 is the best there is among the huge range of great series, but also season 3 has again amazed me in a positive way. We are out of the simulated world and then you find out that the "real world" has also become a simulated world! The real people are the hosts here, their story has already been written. A brilliant sequel to a brilliant series and again I cannot imagine how it will continue. Looking forward to season 4!

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