HBO has been leading the way in the recent TV renaissance with shows such as Deadwood and Game of Thrones, in 2016 they added a series based around 80’s cult classic Westworld – where rich people can pay to play in a giant live action role playing theme park filled with human imitating androids called Hosts. In the original, people can shake off societies morality and unleash their inner dark side or get drunk in a brothel for a week.  Some of the Hosts gain sentience and begin exacting murderous revenge upon the people who have repeatedly enacted horrors upon them. To describe the show as a remake or re-imagining would do it a disservice, it takes the premise of the theme park and hosts but from there on out, it adds a universe of its own design.

The story operates with a similar approach to game of thrones, characters dispersed and partially isolated across the world with each getting their own arcs but weaving together in service of the seasons narrative. The shows park was built by Anthony Hopkins’ Robert Ford, a seemingly dispassionate overlord, who works to make his Hosts more human whilst denying them even the smallest of humanity. He staves off corporate interests that try to pry his creation away from him at any cost, while his partner Bernard (Guys Name Here) works the day to day upkeep of the Hosts. In the park we follow William, a patron of the park with his brother-in-law, exploring the limits of the game and themselves. William meets Dolores, a Host playing farmers daughter, resolves to help her as he sees something more than a simple machine in her. We also follow the enigmatic Man in Black (Ed Harris), a man who leads a violent path through the park looking to unlock the final secret the game has to offer. The other significant hosts are Thandie Newton’s brothel boss Maeve and James Marston’s mysterious gun slinger. Corporate espionage, murder, malfunctions and a sinister plot surrounding the hosts are but some of the occurrences on Westworld.

Production wise, you can expect the same high standard usually created by HBO. Diligently designed sets, beautiful locations and costume designs as well as excellent writing and performing. HBO has for some time seemed to be small movies made for television and their production seemingly rivals that of any that grace the silver screen.

The stand out feature of the show has to be the writing. Much of the shows writing is a meta-wink-wink-nudge-nudge commentary of the state of television, violence and narrative investment. Ford highlights the need for solid stories that give the player some greater understanding of either the self or the world. Others see the park and its users as violence tourists, paying only to maim and mutilate without the desire or ability to appreciate the subtler narrative stylings in Fords vision. The philosophy of morality, ethics, sentience and existence are woven in to the narratives wonderfully. The ongoing debate about the humanity (or lack thereof) in the Hosts is constantly thought provoking – especially when considering that as a species, we are not far from needing to have these kinds of discussions – providing some of the best conflicts in the show.

No story thread is left hanging at the end of the season, save those introduced in the final episode, separating from its other mystery based brethren such as Lost. Lost was known for its endless teasing and mystery but was known for failing to deliver satisfying conclusions to its mysteries, if it even bothered to sufficiently explain them. As such, the conclusion leaves you aching for more whilst still highly satisfied with the 10 episode arcs. Expect the hype leading to season 2 to reach levels that only Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones has previously reached, and expect Season 2 to take the narrative to new places.