Westworld Season 1 was in my opinion a perfect start to a tv show, one that treated it's
viewer with intelligence, gave us captivating performance, and using it's complex narrative
provided discussions on some of the most important themes that we all relate to as human beings. We
can all debate the direction of the seasons that followed, but I think that first
season is one that on rewatch becomes even stronger.
In this video, I'm going to be discussing why Westworld Season 1 is one of the best
first seasons of television. But before I get into it, if you want to keep up to date on any
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without further a do, lets dive into my video essay on Westworld Season 1.
So back in 2016, HBO introduced the high quality and genre-bending Westworld to the small screen,
saying it was the next project on their resume that had the potential to match that of
Game Of Thrones. Writer Jonathan Nolan also came out and said that he was aiming to create
one of the best tv shows of all time, and of course, having seen what Jonah Nolan and the
people involved had done up until that point, it made us incredibly excited. No one would have
thought that by the end of that first season, we would have gotten an initial 10 episodes
that were as strong as they were. And not to mention that a reimagining of Michael Crichton’s
Westworld would work this well all those years later. Lisa Joy and Nolan used the narrative
and the design of characters to jolt the viewers expectation when it comes to relating this to
a Western film, a sci-fi one or the television genre as a whole. The first season showed
that this series was one that was going to be inventive, compelling, yet doing so with the
backdrop of an older setting. A science fiction show with a western coat of paint. It gave the
Western genre new life within the television medium yet appealed through it's nostalgic
callback to to the Golden Age of filmmaking. Now, while other seasons have given us new theme
parks, new world and new characters, none have been as intriguing as what we got to begin with,
and in the first season, I think the Western theme and backdrop gave the narrative
the right context and it helped the audience to route for the characters at the very centre. As
we've moved away from that setting, the show has ultimately become less grounded and more
about dystopian science fiction. Granted, I've quite liked the ideas in the seasons
that followed, but I think what makes season 1 so successful,
comes in it's execution. The writing of the characters, the twists and turns they take
and the meaning of the narrative we are watching, make the whole thing
a compelling experience, if you stay with it. That brings me on to the first point and that is,
the brilliant plot of Westworld Season 1. Westworld is a show that you understand much
more on multiple viewings. Just like the hosts in a way it's built to last, and that's because
of the well-written set of characters, the important interconnecting timelines, and branching
stories within a singular one. The first half of the season takes you back and forth
between the history of the park, setting the tone for the eventual rebellion, and then giving you
strong character development surrounding it's host and human figures, whether that
be Dolores, Maeve, Teddy, William or The Man In Black.
Of course the latter two are the same person and it's just one of many of the cards that
season 1 keeps close to it's chest, and so geniously reveals later on. The premise of
the narrative was, What would you do if you could act without consequences? Set in a theme park
that is modelled on the Wild West, people could do whatever they wanted, and none of the androids
in the park could remember what they did, and it seemed that they were built to lose as
the Man In Black stated. But as we soon learn throughout the many time jumps, the hosts wern't
built to lose, they were built to survive. Or that's what grew in Ford's mind, following
the death of Arnold and during the 30 year period that both the central timelines take
place in. Hence the strategic and long lasting plan of Robert Ford. And so that this narrative
didn't just come across as one antagonist screwing humanity over with his toys, the
first season really put light on the worst aspects of humanity, presenting it's mystery alongside
central moral questions. By going a step further it showed the transformation of a
quite pleasant human character to begin with in William, eventually blurring the line between
protagonist and antagonist, and making you question the nature of your own reality too.
The narrative jumps in time as we come to see Dolores’s past and how it relates to the Man in
Black and his corruptive turn into the villain that searches for the maze that he thinks is
his to play. And yet he's corrupted after that very moment where Dolores doesn't recognise
him following her being put on another reset loop. Not to mention that Bernard carries on
the legacy of park co-creator Arnold as a host. And then there's also Maeve, who starts to
display a level of existential intelligence while questioning not only the nature of her reality,
but also how she moves forward after realising her place in this theme park. Maeve
forms her identity as she realizes it's lie but in the end, she comes to embrace her core programming
by going to find her daughter. The memories still define who she is, shapping her
personality and the choice that she makes with compassion. And ultimately, Ford manipulates
most of these character or narrative events, other then the final ones made by the hosts
themselves, to give the species the eventual freedom to make a choice. Something they've
never had but that he believes with knowledge, the trauma of the past and the sustainability of
their species, can push forward the Bicameral mind. The title of the finale which gives
us a classic feature length ending to Season one's Maze narrative.
Moving on, we cannot mention season one without talking about the great execution of it's big
moments. At the time it was one of the most watched first seasons of television and a big
part of that was to do with many viewers theorising and trying to grapple the head around
the show's biggest mysteries. And this is where the unforgettable plot twists come in. They
slowly developed throughout the first season, and from episode to episode, we were starting
to piece together what was going on, even if we were completely wrong about the biggest
twists. Whether it be different groups of characters not interacting with others,
the appearance of different Westworld Logos or characters hiding information.
The fact that we were watching multiple timelines 30 years apart, two central characters being the
same person but having changed, and how this was ultimately all used to kickstart the
awakening of the hosts was ingenius and not overly obvious. Sure, those who were smart
enough and payed close attention would notice the foreshadowing of the plot twists, but the level
of contained mystery made it impossible to work out clearly and what it meant for the story. In
the later seasons we've seen plot twists and multiple overdramatic death scenes that we
know will ultimately be reversed in a few episodes time, whereas the more interesting
turns in season 1, like the reveal of Bernard as a host, William being the Man In Black and Dolores
being guided by her inner awakening voice, were far more interesting and routed in the
core of questioning character. That moment where Dolores reaches her final purpose was definetely
was of the most important in making this season work and it brought all of our questions to a
head. She reaches her moment of self-awareness and realises the hosts place on the maze of
evolution. How the hosts are built to survive, how she was Wyatt, and that the voice speaking to her
the entire time was her own. This central idea of technology eventually overtaking
humans was showcased brilliantly in the final scene of the season making the show culturally
relatable too. The suffering, death, and fear that human visitors have recorded in the
hosts’ code and previous builds, aided by the introduction of Ford’s reveries, kickstarts this
process of consciousness for them. It allows Dolores and other hosts to understand that
they can change it all with time by their side. Dolores and her self-reflection process combines
perfectly with Ford’s plan, in which we get a chilling scene of the hosts descending
upon the party, kickstarted by Dolores choosing to murder him and the board members there. Of course,
it's a death that mirrors Arnold’s one 30 years ago, but the difference is that
Dolores did so by her own hand. It's the perfect ending that shows the rise of technology and the
breaking of the loop. This idea of the hosts remembering their past loops and pain, and
transfering that into individual character paths going forward is what made this whole
conclusion so exciting. We saw the evolution of characters in an interconnected narrative,
whether it be Dolores and her quest for revenge or Maeve’s desire for freedom.
Gaining consciousness carries just as much weight as freedom,
setting up a new game of violence in season 2. One that I actually think is
quite underrated on rewatch, but that's a whole other video for another time.
But this discussion of the narrative and the central understanding of its characters moves
me on to what drives these many faces we become attached to in that first season. And that is
through the brilliant nuanced performances on display. The most obvious one that comes to mind
is Dr Robert Ford played by Anthony Hopkins. Whether you mention the scene where Ford is
having lunch with Theresa, the many scenes he shares with Jeffrey Wright's Bernard Lowe
or the final monologue that transcends what this story is actually focussed on, it's just a
handful of the great acting moments that Hopkins showcassed. The scene with Theresa is probabaly
the best of those and we see the subtle facial expressions that demonstrate Ford's slow
but effective power over her and the Delos corporation. Nerdwritter1 did a fantastic video on
this and I'd recommend watching that to understand the many expressions he uses. He conveys
consideration, anger and ultimately threat in a few words of dialogue. It's this level
of acting that makes scenes in a science fiction as complex as this have that much more weight,
and it makes you as an audience member, think deeply about the position of everyone involved
and where this is going. What is the importance of it and what is the position of this
character we're trying to understand. It's the details that make these performances even more
enjoyable on rewatch, once we then know where this is all going. Hopkins made every line of
dialogue chilling and reflective as a human being to listen to, especially when you know
that this was clearly his plan. And then there's other performances like Thandiwe Newton’s
Maeve, who starts the season as a host following narratives, but quickly begins to uncover what
she thinks is a conspiracy. She played Maeve in many different situations, whether it be
with panic, seduction, revelation or even through moments of comedy. In my opinion, like Hopkins,
she should have won an emmy for this season, but in the seasons since, I agree with a
lot of viewers that they've really wasted her character's potential. And then there's
Evan Rachel Wood’s Delores, who delivers in pretty much every scene. We see her history, and we get
the emotional reactions that she has towards all of the strangeness going on, in the most
fitting of ways at the right time. Her chemistry with Jimmi Simpson's Young William, a human
who is changing too and equally looking for something that is real, becomes the backbone
of our care. Like the audience, her recurring memory works itself and it's all the more
compelling to relate to her in this first season. Imagine the acting job that she had being Dolores
but playing so many different aspects and versions of her, but still building a
character that the audience can sympathise with. Making robots with many different modes,
styles and years of history feel like they have a sense of character is due to the excellent
writing, but it's also due to the way the performer brings that to life and grounds it.
The casting was fantastic for that first season, and the more we learn about the other host
characters, the employees, the board and the creators,
it's understansable why many fans were expecting this kind of development to progress
with more seasons. Each actor portraying their role of a human or host leaves the
viewer in ambiguity and every character holds up an already strong storyline.
And then there's the movie level production of Westworld Season 1. Much shows and franchises
today that use high budget visuals and digital world building, tend to lose the level of
authenticity that made the great franchises of the past stand out. They could have used
a budget on the size of Game Of Thrones to put actors on a soundstage or in front of
greenscreens, but instead, the visuals and art direction were carefully created,
giving us the perfect balance between a futuristic and technological park with the grounded and
filmed-on western environment. To be honest, the visuals of the recent seasons have been done well,
but it still doesn't have that grit or textured feeling that we had back in season 1
and 2. And when reflecting back to season 1, I cannot not mention the legendary music and score,
composed by Ramin Djawadi. It captures the mystery and emotion that takes up the tone
of the show and also the characters that operate in the world. The music was an
important part of the story, featuring fitting and connecting covers throughout. We had Exit Music
(For A Film) by Radiohead as the exit music for Ford in a feature length episode, we had
Dolores linked to Fake Plastic Trees and Maeve witnessing the truth of her existence to a cover
of Motion Picture Soundtrack. It contained some of the best covers of iconic music yet it also
had an impactful score that all felt seemless and not over the top with the many covers
it displayed. The production, whether we discuss the visuals, the set design, or the music,
is at a high level because it was grounded within the story we were watching. None of this
stuff just appears to be cool because it linked into the very nature of the show.
The use of setting with a western theme park and technological
facilities fit the genre. The use of cinematography and visuals correlated
to the vastness yet emptiness that this control the humans have had will lead them too. Even the
tilts and positioning of characters in the frame show the progression and change in control that
we will eventually see. And the music showcassed the feelings of the very characters in certain
moments rather than the use of dialogue. It's feels like a full story in that sense and
if I had to be honest, every season of Westworld feels like a full story on it's own. That's
probabaly the one thing I love about every season we've seen, knowing that it operates
on it's own yet sets up what's to come via its ending statement. And
this is especially true in Season 1 and 2. In speaking of other seasons, while they have been
fine, the first season is undoubtedly the best so far. It kickstarted this show with mystery,
yet gave us satisfying turns and allowed the audience to reflect on human nature
with another species that is yet to come. If you're interested in science fiction, artificial
intelligence and what it means to be human, then this season of TV is for you. The original season,
while escalating the action and the stakes by the time we reached The Bicameral mind,
focussed on executing it's character moments and tied up all of it's lose ends in a satisfying
way. In comparison, the finale of Season 4 didn't really provide satisfying answers
when it came to the characters we followed throughout that season. Like every season of
Westworld, the ideas were strong, but I didn't think it delivered on the mystery that it tried
to bring back to this show. Yes the idea of a final season testing whether the hosts
and humans can get along in a sublime version of westworld
is very intriguing when it comes to looking ahead. But characters like Maeve, Bernard
and Caleb could have had much more meaningful arcs come the finale and I hope that the final season
can bring that sense of fulfilling character journies back to this show. Season 1 was
on a different level when it comes to character progression and ultimately
story progression and to this day, it still remains my favourite first season of TV.
But that was my video essay on the first season of Westworld. I think it was a season that maintained
a high level of writting and production that I don't think we've equalled since,
and although I personally love season 2 more and more on rewatch, I think the last 2 seasons just
havent reached it. Still, I enjoy theorising and tuning in each season, and I still
hope that a final season will be one that delivers a solid end to this show. At the end of the day,
at least we still have that amazing first season of TV to look back on. But what
are your thoughts on Westworld Season 1 and do you agree that it's up there with some
of the best first seasons of television? Let me know down below in the comment section.
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