In the centre of the Westworld maze is a human, a stick figure ensnared within a nondescript pattern. Someone walking through the physical manifestation of such a maze might find one of the two exits that could lead to freedom. But the human at the centre is stuck, the contortions of the maze holding them firmly in place. The only escape is to unravel the maze altogether.

At this stage, the maze’s appearance in Season 4 is a reflection of the series as a whole. Any symbolic significance has been thoroughly robbed by a narrative that made a choice to sacrifice character for mystery and now has very little of either to show for it. There is no pathos. No catharsis. No thrill. Instead, the audience is drowned in a sense of relentless, pummelling ennui while a voice fervently whispers that that ennui is in fact intellectual depth. The audacity.

Westworld has had its fair share of stagnation—the second half of season three is a particularly glaring culprit—but never before has it felt so deeply inert. Death has no meaning in this series. Character has very little meaning in this series. And it’s all a rather sad affair considering the sheer calibre of acting talent that is on display. 

At the end of season three, the show posits two particular futures: humans revolting against algorithms determining their lives and Tessa Thompson’s Dolores launching a massacre against humanity. It’s incredible to start this season with Aaron Paul’s nondescript Caleb and realize that the show has skipped to a seven-year time jump and we get to see neither of these elements play out in real time.

“You are scarred by the war.” What war? When did it happen? How did it happen? What was its scope? How long was it fought? Who were the factions? What was Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) doing during this war besides blowing up Rehoboams with Caleb? What was Caleb’s experience in this war that left him so scarred and apparently paranoid? What was Dolores doing with the robot army she was building so rapidly seven years ago? Nothing. We receive no answers in the first half of the season so any sense of momentum is cut loose before it begins.

I don’t know if show runners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan lost interest in their story or if HBO indeed ordered a final season to preserve the Westworld brand but at a wildly reduced budget. But season four feels like the swan song of a story once promising and now reduced to finding bits and pieces of its former highs to justify its return. Even the introduction of a new Delos park, an event that was at least fun in former seasons, has no sense of place and the characters introduced are so bored to be there, their body language transcends the screen and ensnares the audience.

Perhaps the longest running joke about Westworld is that it’s a show that somehow made a story about a robot uprising boring. I don’t entirely agree with that assessment because, until about season three, there was at least something the show was trying to say even if the execution fell flat. But here the story feels so inert because the show has run out of things to say. It has run out of dimensions to provide its characters with. It has not even broken down into a nonsense of action that would be at least enjoyable.

The highlights have been there. Anthony Hopkins. The twists where character and plot melded together instead of clashing incoherently. Evan Rachel Wood’s Dolores turning into a vengeance-obsessed revolutionary. Maeve’s determination to break out of the prison that was the Westworld park. The surprisingly emotional character arc for Ben Barnes’s Logan. The episodes “Riddle of the Sphinx” and “Kiksuya.” Ramin Djawadi’s astoundingly gorgeous score.

There are some stunning shots this season and the production and costume designs remain unparalleled. But those can only go so far. The beauty now instead just reminds me of how hollow everything else has become and the promise unfulfilled. “These violent delights have violent ends” but sometimes the ending isn’t violent but rather a whimpering, undignified crawl that slowly just bleeds out of energy, passion, and trust.

First four episodes watched for review.

Notes:

– I would be shocked if this show got a fifth season, if for no other reason than I don’t feel any sense of energy left here
– If the second half of this season somehow turned around in quality and worth-your-time-ness, I’d be happy to report that
– After Westworld completely wasted the time and talents of Payman Maadi in season three, here they’re doing the same to Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose. It’s kind of incredible
– The idea that Tessa Thompson’s Dolores would replace power brokers with robots is interesting, but in real time – not in the aftermath
– What are Maeve’s powers?

Key Quotes:

– “What if I’m not the one who’s broken? What if it’s the world that needs fixing?”
– What accidental self-reflection is “A shabby imitation of a man I knew.”