Westworld: Crisis Theory (3x08)

This season of Westworld was not very good. After watching this finale, I'm left with a rather empty feeling.

Cons:

So, all along, Dolores was trying to save humanity, because humans taught her the good and beautiful things about the world, not just the dark, broken ones. She wanted to give Caleb, and other humans, the gift of free will, breaking them free of the super computer or whatever. This theme of free will is so basic and so cheesy that even Supernatural does it better. I felt like rolling my eyes during Dolores and Maeve's final conversation.

I just... don't care about these characters and their relationship. There's a moment when Bernard and Stubbs are having something of a heart-to-heart, and I actually think both actors are doing a good job of imbuing the relationship with a lot of meaning and grudging affection. But the story itself has not earned this. We haven't seen them together as friends, we haven't been given a chance to really sink in to their dynamic.

In the post-credit scene, we see that William is still around, and Charlotte is in charge, and now there's a Host William and he's fighting Real William, and... gosh, the first episode William was in this season felt like such an appropriate and spooky way to leave his character, and everything since then has felt like beating a dead horse.

What was the super-computer's plan?? I'll admit I was not paying the closest attention, but it kind of seems like basically an apocalypse was going to happen no matter what, so what was the computer even doing?? I don't know, it all seemed pretty pointless.

The very end was incredibly cheesy, with Caleb and Maeve looking out over a world turned to chaos, while "Dark Side of the Moon" starts playing over the credits. Ehhhh can we not? Like, again, I seriously think the same theme was better explored in a CW show that's lasted for fifteen seasons.

Pros:

There were a couple of twists in this episode that I liked on their own merits, even if they weren't properly capitalized upon. For one thing, the fact that Serac was the computer all along was pretty nifty. I liked that idea of it being yet another manipulation, nested in to a series of manipulations. There isn't some rich human out there running everything - he's just a puppet, and it felt like I should have known it all along, in the best way.

I also like Charlotte vs. Dolores, and Dolores' chagrin at realizing that her quest for free will has backfired in certain ways. Dolores was willing to sacrifice other versions of herself to the cause, but it genuinely distressed her to do so. When Charlotte shows up, Dolores is actually happy to see her and is relieved she's okay. That's such a twisted dynamic, to be at war with other versions of yourself, and I did like that they explored that slightly. Later on there's a moment during Dolores' fight with Maeve where Dolores says that every host is a copy of herself - that as the first one to properly function, she was used as a model for all others. I really liked this idea and how it spoke to Dolores' world view, even if I wish we could have gotten slightly more.

The fact that Bernard has the key in his head was another good twist, even though I wish more could have been made out of his connection with Dolores. That's a theme this season - a good idea, but not quite enough done with it. While this season I wasn't all that interested in Bernard, I'd say for a potential season four, Bernard's access to this other reality is the thing I'm most interested to learn more about.

While I'm not sure the writing really earned Caleb and Dolores' relationship, I do think that Aaron Paul is a fantastic actor, and his anguished conflict over his relationship to her was really fascinating to see. I wanted even more of it. He was horrified and confused by what exactly she was, but he also had so much trust in her, and was so devastated to see her in pain. I thought all of that came across very well.

So... that's where I'll stop. This whole season happened while I've been working from home, so I feel like it just started and now it's over. Strange times we live in - and I'm not sure this season of television really had a lot to add to the big conversations of the world today.

7/10