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Westworld, Season 2 — A Study Guide
We talk about plot, examine continuities, and dissect minutiae. What we don’t do enough, however, is question what Westworld is really about: data-mining, immortality, and the modern Prometheus.
There’s a common stereotype in Television that Season 2 of any show is always worse than Season 1. It’s understandable: a show wants to start off strong, using every punch it has, leaving themselves with less ammunition the second season.
Season 2 of Westworld was not bad. But it wasn’t as good as the first season, nor was it more entertaining. The mystery-box nature of the first season has become more tiresome, like all the obfuscation exists purely for the sake of obfuscation.
There has been one notable improvement, however, to the second season: while plot-points have become increasingly obscure, what the show is really about has become as clear as it’s ever been. Now that Season 2 is in the books, we have an entire year to speculate about where the show is going, so I want to look back and identify what Westworld is really about.
