A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
Murtaza Ali Khan
There
is something about the long-form storytelling that makes it highly addictive
and ever reliable. Also, the thing with the long-form narrative is that one or
two good characters aren’t enough. For, it requires a lot more than that. We
are talking about an entire gamut of interesting characters fully capable of
being developed further and further, as and when required, episode after
episode, season after season. And can there be a better example than
‘Westworld’ to effectively demonstrate the enormous potential of long-form
storytelling, especially with its vast panoply of characters and endlessly mind-bending
scenarios? The HBO series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, based on the
1973 film of the same name, written and directed by Michael Crichton, finally
returns with its fourth season after a hiatus of over two years. Like always,
the bingeing option isn’t available. A new episode is being released every
week. So far three out of the eight episodes have been released. The eighth and
final episode is slated to release on 14 August.
While most of the ensemble
cast from the third season returns, the story picks up seven years after the
Quantum AI computer system Rehoboam was deleted by Caleb. William, who was
supposedly killed off in the last season, is back in all his maniacal glory. When
the owner of the Hoover Dam, which now houses a large server farm that contains
data that William wants from eight years ago, refuses to sell off the land,
William orchestrates a devastating chaos turning things in his favor. Meanwhile
a woman named Christina works as a writer in New York City creating stories for
the non-player characters in video games. She is repeatedly called by a man
named Peter, who claims she is controlling his life. What’s interesting is that
Christina is also essayed by Ewan Rachel Wood. Clearly, there is something
common between Christina and Dolores as evident from the casting choice. Also, Maeve,
now living in a remote area, is tracked down by hosts that she discovers were
sent by William. She drives to California to stop another host from killing
Caleb and his new family. So, Caleb and Maeve join hands to fight this
together.
When a show like ‘Westworld’
is at its best there is nothing that can touch it. When one looks back at the
first season of the HBO series, it brings back so many fond memories. Moments
such as when a humble creation threatens to destroy its master creator while
quoting Shakespeare, “I shall have such revenges on you... The things I will
do, what they are, yet I know not. But they will be the terrors of the earth.
You don't know where you are, do you? You're in a prison of your own sins.” Or
when the same master creator compares himself to musical maestros, “Mozart,
Beethoven, and Chopin never died, they simply became music.” Or when he equates
everything than humankind has achieved to the primal urge to attract a mate, “I
read a theory once that the human intellect was like peacock feathers, just an
extravagant display intended to attract a mate. All of art, literature, a bit
of Mozart, William Shakespeare, Michelangelo and the Empire State Building,
just an elaborate mating ritual. Maybe it doesn't matter that we have
accomplished so much for the basest of reasons. But, of course, the peacock can
barely fly. It lives in the dirt, pecking insects out of the muck consoling
itself with its great beauty.”
Unfortunately, the
brilliance of the first season is yet to be matched. After the hiccups of the
second season, Westworld hit a major roadblock after an abysmal third season.
It was as if the series was trying to create a fresh identity for itself. Given
the cerebral nature of the show it’s not very heartening when it appears to
borrow elements from a cyberpunk series like Altered Carbon. Yet again the
season totally rested on the shoulders of Evan Rachel Wood. Her Dolores seemed
totally committed to take the fight against the human race to the next level.
But in the moments Dolores went off-screen the show offered little excitement.
Also, since it was really the first time all the action was set outside the
Westworld theme park, questions did arise if it still should be called
Westworld?
A major positive from the
last season was Aaron Paul’s entry. It was pretty evident that the show would
eventually try to reclaim its title. Perhaps, that why’s after the
misadventures of the third season the show quickly returned to Delos' new park,
th
A version of this review was first published in The Daily Guardian.
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