Westworld season 3

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Westworld
Season 3
Poster art
Starring
No. of episodes8
Release
Original networkHBO
Original releaseMarch 15 (2020-03-15) –
May 3, 2020 (2020-05-03)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 2
Next →
Season 4
List of episodes

The third season of the American science fiction dystopian television series Westworld (subtitled The New World) premiered on HBO on March 15, 2020, and concluded on May 3, 2020, consisting of eight episodes.

The television series was created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, and it is based on the 1973 film of the same name, written and directed by Michael Crichton. The third season stars an ensemble cast led by Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, newcomer Aaron Paul, and Ed Harris. Vincent Cassel is introduced as the main antagonist.

The third season initially received positive reviews from critics, though reception became mixed during the second half. Reviews praised the performances, visuals and change in tone from the first two seasons, but criticized the story, dialogue and pacing, as well as the perceived lack of thematic depth.

Plot summary

The third season takes place three months after the events of the second season, with Dolores having escaped Westworld along with a few processing cores ("pearls"), including Bernard's. Taking residence in neo-Los Angeles in 2058,[1] Dolores develops a relationship with Caleb, and comes to learn how artificial beings and lower-class humans are treated in the real world. Meanwhile, Maeve finds herself in another part of the Delos park, one based on Fascist Italy during World War II.[2][3] William, who also left Westworld at the end of the second season, is now haunted by visions of his daughter Emily and Dolores.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Westworld characters

Guest

Episodes

See also: Westworld (TV series) § Episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
211"Parce Domine"Jonathan NolanLisa Joy & Jonathan NolanMarch 15, 2020 (2020-03-15)3010.90[17]
222"The Winter Line"Richard J. LewisMatthew Pitts & Lisa JoyMarch 22, 2020 (2020-03-22)3020.78[18]
233"The Absence of Field"Amanda MarsalisDenise ThéMarch 29, 2020 (2020-03-29)3030.80[19]
244"The Mother of Exiles"Paul CameronJordan Goldberg & Lisa JoyApril 5, 2020 (2020-04-05)3040.78[20]
255"Genre"Anna FoersterKarrie Crouse & Jonathan NolanApril 12, 2020 (2020-04-12)3050.77[21]
266"Decoherence"Jennifer GetzingerSuzanne Wrubel & Lisa JoyApril 19, 2020 (2020-04-19)3060.77[22]
277"Passed Pawn"Helen ShaverGina AtwaterApril 26, 2020 (2020-04-26)3070.81[23]
288"Crisis Theory"Jennifer GetzingerDenise Thé & Jonathan NolanMay 3, 2020 (2020-05-03)3080.89[24]

Production

The Helix Bridge in Singapore was used for some shots in Season 3.

A third season of the series was announced on May 1, 2018.[25] Production began on April 13, 2019.[3] Parts of filming took place in Downtown Los Angeles and Singapore during June 14, 2019.[26]

Additional filming took place over a ten-day period in Singapore around July 2019, which was used to present a version of Los Angeles about 40 years out from the time of the production of the show. Showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy had considered how they would introduce the "real world" outside of the park in the early days of developing Westworld. They wanted to go in the opposite dystopian direction that the 1982 film Blade Runner had gone and instead show a more optimistic view.[27] The two had seen how Spike Jonze had filmed Her in Shanghai as a future Los Angeles, and took inspiration from many of Shanghai's designs.[1] Joy, who had been suggested to shoot in Singapore by her friend and architect Bjarke Ingels, said the city was apt for the show as "It's the ways in which nature entangle with modernity here".[28] The show's main cast, including Wood, Newton, Wright, and Paul had been spotted at several Singapore locations during the shooting period across Pulau Ubin, Chinatown and the Central Business District (CBD) within the city, and included specific landmarks such as the National Gallery Singapore, Esplanade Park, School of the Arts, the Helix Bridge, Marina One, the Parkroyal Hotel, LASALLE College of the Arts, and the Oasia Hotel Downtown.[28] Additional filming took place at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.[1]

Filming also took place in Los Angeles, using computer-generated imagery to fill in actual buildings from Shanghai, futuristic buildings inspired by those from Shanghai, as well as those from Ingels' unused portfolio.[27][29] The production team collaborated with Jon Favreau who led the advances in the special effects filming for The Mandalorian on how they combined full exterior filming with on-set filming and digital post-production to create virtually expandable sets at these sites as needed.[1] When filming interior shots that took place in Los Angeles, the production team had a mandate to try to show as much of the city skyline as possible through windows or other features.[29] Much of the city's brutalist architecture was also features given how frequently these buildings were repurposed from their original function.[29]

Some filming took place at La Fábrica near Barcelona.

While they had been able to film in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Millard House in Pasadena, as Arnold's home in the second season as it was available on the market, by the time they started filming season three, the home had been sold and they could not arrange filming rights. Instead, they opted to rebuild the home on set for this season.[27] With Ingels' help to negotiation with Ricardo Bofill's son, they were also able to obtain rights to film one day at Bofill's La Fábrica near Barcelona, which stood in for Serac's laboratories and home, though they had to later build additional sets with the building's design principles for later filming.[27] According to production designer Howard Cummings, they wanted to focus on concrete buildings that could look like the result of 3D printing.[27]

The structure of the third season is more linear than past seasons, which Variety's Adam B. Vary said was a "sleek, fleet, Heat-style-crime-thriller-with-robots" rather than a "time-twisting structure" from the second season.[1] Nolan and Joy stated that season 3 would have a much more comprehensible story line, with Nolan stating "This season is a little less of a guessing game and more of an experience with the hosts finally getting to meet their makers."[30] However, they also said that they were able to take a more direct narrative approach as, according to Nolan, "We're very lucky in that we're at a place with HBO where they let us make the show we want to make" without having to "dumb the show down".[1]

Music

Ramin Djawadi returned as the series composer. An orchestral cover of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" was featured in the main trailer and released as a single on February 21, 2020.[31][32] An orchestral version of Moses Sumney's "Doomed" was featured at the end of the episode "The Absence of Field", alongside the original song.[33] An orchestral version of The Weeknd's "Wicked Games", featured in the episode "The Mother of Exiles", was released as a single on April 5, 2020.[34] The soundtrack album for season 3 was released on May 4, 2020.[35] An orchestral version of "Brain Damage" from Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was featured at the end of "Crisis Theory", alongside the original song;[36] the song was also used in the first trailer for the season.[37]

Marketing

A first teaser trailer was presented at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con on July 20, 2019.[2] A teaser for season 3 was released on November 9, 2019, presented as a video advertisement for the fictional company Incite, Inc.[16] At the Consumer Electronics Show on January 9, 2020, HBO held a special event hosted by Incite, with "hosts" attending the invited guests' needs.[38]

The premiere date for the third season was announced on January 12, 2020, alongside a teaser trailer for the season.[39] The full season's trailer was released on February 20, 2020.[40] Additional teaser videos were found through an alternate reality game via the Incite website that was updated on February 22, 2020.[41]

Reception

Critical response

Westworld (season 3): Critical reception by episode

Season 3 (2020): Percentage of positive critics' reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes[42]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 75% for the season based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 7.05/10; the average episode score is 76%. The website's critical consensus reads: "Westworld succeeds in rebooting itself by broadening its scope beyond its titular amusement park while tightening its storytelling clarity – although some may feel that the soul has been stripped from this machine in the process."[42] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[43]

Reviews became increasingly mixed as the season progressed, with the episodes "Genre", "Passed Pawn" and "Crisis Theory" receiving the lowest Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings for the series to date.[42] Reviewers criticized the season for its dialogue,[44] thin characterization,[45][46] and depiction of the real world, which was said to lack the vastness and depth of the park.[36]

CNN's Brian Lowry wrote that "the show has become increasingly incomprehensible, at least for anyone not willing to put in the work trying to remember all the assorted connections, further complicated by the fact that dying in Westworld is often not a permanent state of affairs, amid the questions about who's truly human and who actually isn't."[47] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin gave the series a "B–" and said: "After spending three seasons struggling through maddeningly complicated time-loops, it's time the writers let Dolores, Maeve, and Bernard control-alt-delete themselves" while Darren Franich wrote that series had "lost its way" and gave the season a "C".[48] Reviewing the season finale for IndieWire, Ben Travers said: "Season 3 made a point of stripping away the rest of Westworld's building blocks: The park? Left behind. The maze? Gone. But the moral questions meant to keep you invested in the characters largely disappear, too. Season 3 doesn't bother developing its characters because it refuses to let them question the nature of their own reality."[46]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Westworld season 3
No. Title Air date Rating
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 DVR
(18–49)		 DVR viewers
(millions)		 Total
(18–49)		 Total viewers
(millions)
1 "Parce Domine" March 15, 2020 0.3 0.90[17] 0.2 0.58 0.5 1.48[49]
2 "The Winter Line" March 22, 2020 0.2 0.78[18] 0.2 0.66 0.4 1.44[50]
3 "The Absence of Field" March 29, 2020 0.2 0.80[19] 0.2 0.58 0.4 1.38[51]
4 "The Mother of Exiles" April 5, 2020 0.2 0.78[20] 0.2 0.61 0.4 1.39[52]
5 "Genre" April 12, 2020 0.2 0.77[21] 0.2 0.55 0.4 1.31[53]
6 "Decoherence" April 19, 2020 0.2 0.77[22] 0.2 0.56 0.4 1.33[54]
7 "Passed Pawn" April 26, 2020 0.2 0.81[23] 0.1 0.51 0.3 1.32[55]
8 "Crisis Theory" May 3, 2020 0.3 0.89[24] — — — —

Accolades

For the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, Thandie Newton is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Jeffrey Wright is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The series received nine additional nominations in creative and technical categories.[56]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Credited with the main cast in the episodes in which they appear.
  2. ^ Sarafyan only appears in one episode of the season, although credited as a main cast member.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Vary, Adam B. (March 12, 2020). "'Westworld' Showrunners on the Series' Bold New Direction for Season 3". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Alexander, Julia (July 20, 2019). "Westworld's season 3 trailer questions the relationships between hosts and humans". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Harling, Bruce (April 13, 2019). "'Westworld' Season 3 Adds Lena Waithe To Its Cast – HBO Will Air In 2020". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Sandberg, Bryn Elise (October 17, 2018). "'Westworld' Stars Score Big Raises Ahead of Third Season (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  5. ^ Bennett, Anita (May 19, 2019). "HBO's 'Westworld' Season 3 Trailer Introduces Aaron Paul". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 13, 2018). "'Westworld': Aaron Paul Joins HBO Sci-Fi Series For Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Petski, Denise (January 12, 2020). "'Westworld' Gets Season 3 Premiere Date On HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 30, 2019). "'Westworld': Vincent Cassel Joins HBO Sci-Fi Series Cast For Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "WESTWORLD Returns to HBO on March 15". Broadway World. March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Nemetz, Dave (January 12, 2020). "Westworld Gets Season 3 Premiere Date". TVLine. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  11. ^ Monroe, Jazz (May 20, 2019). "Kid Cudi Stars in "Westworld" Season 3 Trailer: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  12. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (May 20, 2019). "Westworld Looks Like Another Show Entirely in First Season 3 Teaser". TVLine. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Robinson, Joanna (April 12, 2020). "Westworld: How the Music Unlocks This Week's Big Twist". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  14. ^ Harris, David (March 14, 2020). "Westworld star Leonardo Nam (Felix): Fans will be "pleasantly surprised" with Westworld season 3". Winter Is Coming. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Harling, Bruce (November 10, 2019). "'Westworld' Season 3 Trailer Drops, Hinting At A New Direction For The HBO Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Muncy, Julie (November 9, 2019). "The Newest Teaser for Westworld's Next Season Is an Ad for a Menacing Tech Company". io9. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (March 17, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.15.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (March 24, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.22.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  19. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (March 31, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.29.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  20. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 7, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.5.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 14, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 412.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  22. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 21, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.19.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 28, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.26.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  24. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (May 5, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.3.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  25. ^ Otterson, Joe (May 1, 2018). "'Westworld' Renewed for Season 3 at HBO". Variety. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  26. ^ Steves, Ashley (June 14, 2019). "L.A. What's Filming: HBO's 'Westworld,' Season 3". Backstage. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  27. ^ a b c d e Reiner-Roth, Shane (April 2, 2020). "Westworld's production designer drew from global architecture to realize 2058". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  28. ^ a b Loh, Genevieve Sarah (July 11, 2019). "Why Singapore was chosen as a filming location for HBO's hit series Westworld". CNA. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  29. ^ a b c Slayton, Nicholas (April 13, 2020). "How 'Westworld' Uses Present-Day L.A. to Imagine the Future". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  30. ^ Hibberd, James (July 17, 2019). "Westworld season 3 to be 'less of a guessing game,' producers say". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  31. ^ Krol, Charlotte (February 21, 2020). "Hear a stirring piano version of Guns N' Roses 'Sweet Child O' Mine' in new 'Westworld' trailer". NME. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  32. ^ "Sweet Child O' Mine (From Westworld: Season 3) - Single". Apple Music. February 21, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  33. ^ "Top TV Song Last Week: Doomed by Moses Sumney". Tunefind. April 8, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  34. ^ "Wicked Games (From Westworld: Season 3) - Single". Apple Music. April 5, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  35. ^ "Westworld: Season 3 (Music from the HBO Series)". Apple Music. May 4, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  36. ^ a b Collins, Sean T. (May 3, 2020). "'Westworld' Season Finale: Brain Damage". Rollin Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  37. ^ Zemler, Emily (May 20, 2019). "Watch Aaron Paul Join 'Westworld' in Futuristic Season Three Trailer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  38. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 9, 2020). "HBO's 'Westworld' CES Incite Activation Has Creepy Fun With Data Sharing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  39. ^ Good, Owen S. (January 12, 2020). "Westworld's season 3 teaser trailer finally puts the show on a timeline". Polygon. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  40. ^ Kreps, Daniel (February 20, 2020). "'Westworld' Season 3 Trailer: Androids and Mankind Face Off in 'The New World'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  41. ^ Muncy, Julie (February 22, 2020). "Intrepid Fans Found A Set of Hidden Trailers for Westworld Season 3". io9. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  42. ^ a b c "Westworld: Season 3 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  43. ^ "Westworld: Season 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  44. ^ Handlen, Zack (April 26, 2020). "Secrets are revealed in an unrevealing way on Westworld". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  45. ^ {{cite web |url=https://tv.avclub.com/westworld-offers-a-shallow-hope-for-the-future-1843232670 |title=Westworld offers a shallow hope for the future |first=Zack |last=Handlen |website=The A.V. Club |date=May 3, 2020 |accessdate=May 5, 2020
  46. ^ a b Travers, Ben (May 4, 2020). "'Westworld' Finale Review: Episode 8 Makes It Hard to See the Beauty in All This Disarray — Spoilers". IndieWire. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  47. ^ Lowry, Brian (May 4, 2020). "'Westworld' will be back, but where it goes after that finale is anyone's guess". CNN. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  48. ^ Baldwin, Kristen; Franich, Darren (March 6, 2020). "Westworld season 3 leaves the park and loses its way: Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
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  52. ^ Pucci, Douglas (April 10, 2020). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: 'Tacoma FD' Tops All Scripted Telecasts in Total Viewer Percentage Lifts". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
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  54. ^ Pucci, Douglas (April 24, 2020). "Live+3 Weekly Ratings: ESPN Documentary 'The Last Dance' as Runner-Up in Raw Adults 18-49 Boosts". Programming Insider. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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  56. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 28, 2020). "Emmy Awards Nominations: The Complete List". Deadline. Retrieved July 28, 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Westworld_season_3&oldid=970121874"