Westworld Season 1: A Sci-Fi Masterpiece Amidst Series' Decline

Westworld could have been one of the biggest sci-fi TV shows ever if the last three seasons of the HBO series held up as well as the first. Based on Michael Crichton's 1973 film, HBO's four-season Westworld is a tale of two shows. One is of the acclaimed first season, and one is of the complicated next three seasons.

At one point, Westworld was spoken about in the same reverential tones that people used to only use for Game of Thrones. It was HBO's heir apparent and a sci-fi series like no one had experienced. A decade later, we're left with an unfinished story, and most people haven't even seen that.

Westworld Season 1 Exists Separately From The Rest Of The Show

Westworld season 1 feels separated from the rest of the show. Not in tone or style, say whatever else you want, the series has strong directing and producing throughout, but in story. Season 1 is almost a self-contained story, looking back, while seasons 2–4 are like an extended sequel.

True to the title, Westworld season 1 takes place almost entirely in the Western-themed portion of the park. In later seasons, we go to different areas and then to the outside world. Season 1 lays out the philosophy of the show, what it means to be a human, and for the most part, it answers it.

Season 1 has some of the best writing you will find in a sci-fi TV show, a genre notorious for muddying dialogue and plot with unnecessary language and exposition. Seasons 2 through 4 have a noticeable dropoff. Even as someone who finds seasons 3 and 4 underrated, I can very easily observe the shift in quality.

Why Westworld Couldn't Replicate The Excellence Of Season 1

Westworld began to fall off after season 1. The writing began to suffer, and the performances and story followed. As interesting a decision as it was to exit the Western theme, it took away what made the series special in the first place, and Westworld began to look like any other sci-fi series, albeit one with a huge budget.

Maybe more critically, after season 1, Westworld isn't really a story that needs any more telling. As complicated as Westworld may seem with its mysteries and characters with hidden agendas, it's pretty simple. People make robots; they gain sentience. It's not much more complicated than that.

Season 1 gets to the bottom of this, showing that the robots (hosts) are indeed sentient. Seasons 2 through 4 open up new questions, asking how the hosts became sentient and what they will do next, but those aren't questions that necessarily need answering. It makes those seasons feel ancillary.

The Tragic Fate Of Westworld Doesn't Make Season 1 Worse

Even if you did stick with Westworld past season 1, your reward was a show canceled after season 4, despite plans being made for season 5 to be the final season. Despite all this, Westworld season 1 still holds up as one of the best seasons of a sci-fi show ever.

It's still a fascinating 10-episode season filled with fantastic character arcs, beautiful and satisfying moments, and mysteries that are clearly answered. The end of Westworld knocks it from the highest pinnacles of sci-fi TV shows, but its first season still ranks among the best things you can watch.