Westworld continues to revel in its multi-layered unpredictability – but that doesn't mean it's new
when it comes to delivering TV on cinematic scale. But – perhaps ironically for a show with a foot so squarely in the future – it’s just as in thrall to the past.
While the terrain is familiar, however, Westworld rarely gives you an opportunity to get comfortable. In a world where the android Hosts can be reborn and rebooted, and – as confirmed in season 3 – lifelike VR simulations are possible, every character’s personality is fluid and unknowable. The actors have effectively become a repertory company, taking on new roles to suit the story, but unlike in, say American Horror Story, the show doesn’t always signpost who or what they are.
If Westworld is a game, however, it’s one where the rules are constantly shifting. Where most of the best sci-fi and fantasy has a fixed set of rules to keep things ‘real’ – whether they involve faster-than-light space travel or the use of magic – Westworld feels like it’s making stuff up as it goes. If