The third season of Westworld explores some dark themes and provides a very entertaining and thrilling ride to the very end, while looking and sounding fantastic on this 4k set.
“In Season 3, the real gods are coming…and they are very angry. Westworld’s android hosts were never allowed to leave the park. But now, at the end of the game, they’re here: in our world. Delores (Evan Rachel Wood) escapes into the mysterious innerworkings of the technocratic elite, only to be surprised by the dark truth that ties her world and ours. Caleb (Aaron Paul), a struggling veteran trying to better himself, has a life-changing encounter, while Bernard’s (Jeffrey Wright) attempts to lie low under a new identity are threatened. Maeve (Thandie Newton) is thrown into a new kind of world, where she reunites with a couple of familiar faces before crossing paths with a mysterious figure who seeks her help. Created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy and featuring Tessa Thompson, Ed Harris, Vincent Cassel, Rodrigo Santoro and more, these eight engrossing episodes, produced by Killer Films and Bad Robot Productions, explore questions about the nature of our reality and the question of free will.”
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of this Blu-ray/DVD that we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.
Westworld may be one of the most diverse series in terms of continuous storylines that I’ve seen, certainly in relation to its source material, the 1973 film of the same name written and directed by Michael Crichton. If Crichton knows one thing, it’s writing about theme parks gone awry. But the story that spawned from his original vision has taken so many diverging paths and delved deep into exploring themes of identity, humanity, and existence in general, along with so many other things, especially in this third season.
While we were confined for the most part to the Westworld park for the first two seasons, in the third we are finally introduced to the outside world and can see how civilization has advanced, one of the burning questions in my mind throughout the earlier episodes. Despite being quite superior technologically, there are still a lot of parallels to the direction our species is heading. Free will is a big theme in the series as a whole, and now it isn’t just explored through the eyes of the Hosts, but every flesh-and-blood citizen of the world, who are governed by an AI and a system that guides them through life, mostly unknowingly to them. Through the series we learn the intricacies of this path and the developers, and some of the costs involved in creating a perfect society. Much like today and social media with AI algorithms feeding us information and predicting and perhaps molding our beliefs and interests, it really does beg the question the path we are heading toward if we allow this to continue unchecked.
Who is on the right side and the wrong side is unfortunately quite blurred, and I found myself often struggling with what I would do in facing the same situation. That’s the beauty of the writing in the show, as it provides very deep stories that makes you think. With the amount of characters carried over from the previous seasons, as well as the news ones introduced, there are a number of simultaneous storylines that are woven together that eventually coalesce at the end, also paving the way for a fourth season.
Everyone involved in this show is simply fantastic in their roles. Evan Rachel Wood continues to provide one of the most sophisticated performances of her career in this series, as well as Thandie Newton. Aaron Paul was a surprisingly good addition to the cast, proving he won’t be typecast or even give a hint of his character from Breaking Bad. In Westworld, I believed entirely he was the troubled character he was playing, and coming off of such a popular show that can be quite difficult to achieve. Ed Harris made an incredible villain in the first season, and continues to dive down a dark path after the events from the second season left him shattered, but Vincent Cassel’s performance is powerful, mysterious, another perfect choice for an addition to the show.
My only complaint about the series is the fact that with so much time in between seasons, there is absolutely no recap available at the beginning, because it does just jump right in. So, if it’s been awhile for you, like it was for me, reading a summary online may be preferable unless you want to start from the beginning again.
Here’s an episode breakdown:
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Parce Domine – Dolores sets out to find the architect of the Rehoboam; Bernard tries to blend in; Ex-soldier Caleb tries to find his way in neo-Los Angeles.
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The Winter Line – Maeve finds herself in a new park and meets a ghost from the past; Bernard makes his way back to Westworld.
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The Absence of Field – Charlotte grapples with reality; Dolores and Caleb begin to form a key partnership.
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The Mother of Exiles – Bernard and Ashley infiltrate a private charity event, while Dolores and Caleb make similar plans; The Man in Black prepares to re-enter society; Maeve comes face to face with an old comrade.
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Genre – Serac’s past is revealed; Dolores pressures Liam for access to Rehoboam; Caleb is dosed with an unusual party drug.
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Decoherence – As the world falls into chaos, Serac gains control of Delos, changing Charlotte’s plan; Maeve gets one last chance to stop Dolores; William starts his therapy.
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Passed Pawn – Caleb gets an insight on the true nature of his past; Dolores seeks out Rehoboam’s predecessor, while Maeve tracks her down; Bernard, Stubbs, and William escape from all the chaos.
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Crisis Theory – Dolores’ true intentions are revealed; Bernard confronts a ghost from his past; Maeve is conflicted; Serac’s voice is dominant; Caleb’s role is revealed; and William faces an unexpected villain.
Video
This set is presented in 2160p 4k Ultra High Definition Widescreen with varying aspect ratios. The set features Dolby Vision, which ensures that each sequences is calibrated to the best look possible, providing brilliant brights, deep darks, and rich and vibrant colors. The overall tone, which is reflected by the look of the majority of the show, is rather dark, so those deep darks and vibrant colors are essential in experiencing it in the best way possible. The video is very clear and detailed, even in the darkest of scenes. Everything taking place either in the park or some other reality is usually very bright and vibrant, looking fantastic on this 4k set. Given the fact that HBO only releases a handful of shows on Blu-ray, let alone 4k, this is the obvious choice.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos. This track is equally as impressive as the video, as the atmos track does provide some amazing audio. With flying vehicles buzzing overhead, gunfire, sword fights, and even that haunting score by Ramin Djawadi, a name you should be familiar with by now, this track went above my expectations and was one of my favorite things about the set.
Special Features
One of the benefits to owning physical copies, some very informative and entertaining extras included on both the 4k and Blu-ray discs.
- 6 Featurettes, Including 3 New and Exclusive: Escape from Westworld, Exploring Warworld, We Live in a Technocracy, A Vision for the Future, RICO: Crime and the Gig Economy and Westworld on Location.
- 4 Welcome to Westworld Featurettes: Analysis and Who Said It? With Evan Rachel Wood & Aaron Paul and Thandie Newton & Tessa Thompson
- Creating Westworld’s Reatlity: 7 special featurettes about the episodes
The third season of Westworld takes a wild turn, with some grim themes about humanity that we must learn to explore early on in our transition to a more technologically immersive world. Still providing some great mystery moments, fantastic action sequences as stunning performances, complete your set by picking up this 4k copy of Westworld Season Three: The New World.
