It occurred out of nowhere. A second so quick and fleeting, lacking it will’ve been comprehensible. But in that second one thing occurred that I by no means thought would occur once more: I used to be totally engrossed in a new season of Westworld.

For the previous, what appears like years, I’ve been watching Westworld nearly out of obligation. Like a lot of you, I liked the primary season, loved the deepening of the mysteries in season two, and then was left chilly and confused by season three. So I went into the present fourth season not significantly excited, however complacent just because I’ve been watching the present for thus lengthy. But at a sure level up to now few weeks I noticed I used to be now not watching out of obligation. I used to be watching out of enjoyment. This present had turn out to be superior once more and I nearly couldn’t imagine it.

That wasn’t the sensation as season 4 began although. At the beginning of the present season, every thing appeared totally different. It was nearly as if the present had fully rebooted. Did that should do with one thing that occurred in season three? Season three ended so way back, and was so dense, bizarre, and complicated that even studying up on what occurred as a refresher didn’t assist. But now we had characters we acknowledged as totally different individuals. Characters who had been as soon as lifeless and gone, again and alive. Westworld is well-known for bringing characters again—the concept of robotic resurrection is constructed into its DNA—however this simply felt totally different. There had been some new characters too, however not that many, and over the primary few episodes the mysteries being posed felt nearly like the primary season. Intriguing, but additionally partaking.

In season 4 there’s no extra maze. No extra park. (Well, there was a park for a bit, but it surely’s a brand new park and wasn’t instantly clear the way it match into this season, or when that story was happening.) But at a sure level in episode 5, every thing grew to become clear: Westworld season 4 felt totally different as a result of it was totally different. In truth, it was the alternative of every thing that got here earlier than. [I’m going to ruin the overall big mystery to make a point here so, spoiler alert.]

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While the present was initially about people going to a park to work together with artificially clever machines, the artificially clever machines have now taken over the human world and made it their park. Humans are the playthings, not the machines. The machines are the boss. And whereas the primary few seasons had been about machines attempting to determine their place amongst people, now the present is about people attempting to liberate themselves from the machines. And it’s superior.

Characters are again as a result of the machines simply preserve bringing them again to mess with them. Time has handed as a result of that was essential to get up to now within the story. Characters are totally different in order that they don’t bear in mind what they’ve accomplished up to now. At that sure level, every thing simply made sense and was extremely cool and thrilling to observe once more.

So should you, like many others, fell off Westworld up to now 12 months or two, you’ll be pleased to realize it’s secure to come back again. The fourth season is nearly over, which suggests you’ll have loads of time to catch up as soon as it does. But every thing you initially preferred in regards to the present, however felt went away, has come again in new and thrilling methods. Sunday nights are now not an obligation, they’re an obsession.

Westworld streams Sundays on HBO Max.

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