With it officially being locked in for a second season, Westworld is a must watch for Game of Thrones fans not getting their fix in the off-season. The show’s concept is based on the 1973 film of the same name which was created by Michael Crichton; the mind behind the Jurassic Park novel as well as many other popular science fiction books. Creators of the show are Jonathan Nolan, who has worked on projects such as The Prestige, The Dark Knight trilogy, and Interstellar; all projects of his older brother Christopher Nolan. Helping him is Burn Notice writer Lisa Joy. Taking on role as producer is renowned writer and director J.J. Abrams. But if who’s behind the scenes is not enough to convince you to watch the show, the all-star cast will with Anthony Hopkins as the brains behind the park, Ed Harris as a mysterious Man-in-Black, and Evan Rachel Wood as Delores who seems to be a typical artificial intelligent host of the park at first. Joining them are the likes of Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden and Thandie Newton as well as many more.
All of this genius on and off the camera adds up to a methodical and organic world that will hold your attention for seasons to come. The concept of artificial intelligence may seem overdone in Hollywood but this is the first time it is being explored as a series on this scale allowing writers to take their time with character development both of the humans and robots. A common problem with film is the pace in which events occur. Often times you get one scene or line of dialogue explaining why things are going haywire-- something that is actually completely left out of the original film. This series takes its time using repetition to drill in points it's making. An example of this is Delores each time she wakes up in bed and we get the shot of her face as she opens her eyes. Repeated many times throughout the first few episodes but it never seems to get repetitive. Each time we see this scene, we understand that although it looks familiar, the character of Delores is a little different each time. It’s this methodical writing that could only be explored over the course of a season or seasons.
If there is anything to be said about the show Westworld, it is how well it conveys mysteries. Every aspect of this show is mysterious and boy does it do it right. The writers are not simply leaving out major details and keeping us ignorant. It feels as if it’s all right in front of us and we’re just not putting the pieces together. The show encourages fan theories by paying them off with reveals that still shock us even though we had our suspicions. One thing is for sure, the pay offs down the line are going to be the most rewarding for those who started now with the first season.
