Twists and Turns - Westworld Season 2 Thoughts
“Twist” shows need to be careful not to let their shows become dominated by season-after-season self-oneupmanship. Shows that become known for their twists often get side-tracked by trying to pull bigger and bigger tricks on their audience, but that’s not what truly satisfies us.
It’s how Orphan Black lost its way. Season 1 was a mindf*ck. Season 2 progressed the twists. Then Season 3 was a total mess. Then Season 4 comes in and starts out with an episode going back to the beginning and showing us the story of one character we all desperately wanted to know better and just . . . followed her story. It was the best episode the show had in a long time.
Now Westworld is in a similar position. Season 1 was arguably defined by its twists. But for the fans, it was the characters we truly wanted to see more of. We came back to watch Maeve find her daughter. We stayed because the show made us fall in love with new characters we didn’t even know. I think back on the season, and the best episodes, in my opinion, were 4 and 8. 4 had the self-contained twists of unraveling the James Delos storyline, and it all felt very “Westworld,” but that had more to do with the idea of narrative cycles that was introduced so well by Jonathan Nolan in the pilot and perfected with such grace by Lisa Joy in “The Riddle of the Sphinx.” It was a twist on the one-episode scale, and it was so effective. 8 was a character profile, focusing almost exclusively on Ake. And it was beautiful. It was the true unexpected gift of this season.
I’m not saying not to pursue further twists if that’s something the show is interested in. I’m not saying not to pursue non-linear timelines. I feel that in some sense, Jonathan was going for the same type of timeline scramble that Christopher achieved in The Prestige. The Prestige can be frustrating because of that non-linearity, but it worked incredibly well on that smaller scale. What I really mean to say is that if the show becomes so focused on repeating the twist reveal, then that will be evident in the quality of the episodes. Repeated twists will cease to be satisfying. If they put character first, as all stories should, the rest will take care of itself. Westworld has asserted itself as a forerunner in current prestige TV and twist media. But it will become lost in its own maze if it lets “twist” become its identity. Season 3 needs more “Kiksuya” type episodes if the show is to survive. The best stories are profiles in character. If the show wants to remain a great story and not just a flash-in-the-pan, it needs to sort out its priorities.
