Written off when it was announced as yet another reboot or reworking of a known property, Westworld proved to be much more than that – for both good and, occasionally, ill. Before we go on, please note that there are SPOILERS for Season 1 here. Only read this if you're all caught up.
Based on Michael Crichton's 1973 techno-fear thriller, the show takes just the basic concept and added a layer of existential wrangling and the sort of twisty plotting that a TV show can offer, especially given the presence of JJ Abrams as an executive producer. But though the man who never met a mystery box he didn't want to conceal on screen is involved, the main credit goes to producers Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, who wrangled this thing to life, weathering production delays and, when the show aired, the thorny problem of social media in trying to keep its secrets under wraps.
Season 1 introduced us to the park itself, or at least the Westworld section (the finale revealed Shogun World, and we know from graphics in the control centre that there are other venues). Westworld, run by the Delos corporation, allows those who can pay the pricey fee to explore an Old West town and the surrounding areas, playing in a huge arena that offers different levels and experiences. Taking the family to enjoy the cowboys? You can. Looking to be a hero? Your white hat is waiting. Need to let off some steam and be a diabolical villain, killing some locals (RIP James Marsden's Teddy, again and again) and having sex with others? It's all possible! All the non-tourists in the place are Hosts, complicated artificial intelligences that look and sound human, but are all run by programs originated by Westworld's creator, Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins).
Across the season, we were introduced to various Hosts, including rancher's daughter Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), bar owner and brothel madam Maeve (Thandie Newton) and the aforementioned Teddy. Poor, tragic Teddy. Then we had humans who either ran the place, or ran wild in it, including Ed Harris as The Man In Black, a veteran player who had figured out most of the place's secrets, and was on the hunt for another.
Westworld was also a big puzzle in itself, with stories taking place across different timelines (many people figured out, for example that William, played by Jimmi Simpson, was a younger version of Harris' character) and there was a huge mystery about the "maze". In keeping with the spirit of the original, the Hosts began to figure out more about the situation and others, including Ford's right-hand man Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) were revealed to be Hosts. Maeve and Dolores in particular were ready to revolt and the season finale saw Ford shot death and the uprising come to fruition.
For all its lush vistas and careful attention to detail, the show wasn't perfect, sometimes choosing moving the mysteries along at the cost of character development, and the internet lit up with theories figured out long before the finale. With luck, Season 2 will have a more straightforward plot to follow, as the Host revolution continues and the humans fight back. There are still mysteries to be solved: "The Door" is one lingering narrative question that has popped up in the trailers, but with the world established (and Shogun World to explore), the hope is that the evolution of the series can drive the narrative more clearly. We're certainly ready for more now that the long wait for Season 2 is nearly over.
Or you could just watch the video below, which purports to explain all the plot lines... Or does it?
Westworld returns to US screens on 22 April on HBO. The show will be simulcast on Sky Atlantic and then repeated the evening of 23 April.