At time of writing Westworld has been renewed for a 4th season, with a statement suggesting that it will run for a full six seasons. I hope it can find its feet in a meaningful way in the next season, because for now it appears to be a very general plot searching for something in the way of depth. After the second season, I felt it was trying to repeat the tricks of the very strong first season, but did benefit from digging into the ideas of AI and humanity. The third season sees the war taken out of the park and into real life, and it is delivered in a comparative straight way. At first I thought this was good, because I was watching for the 'different timelines' thing again; however after a while the plot started to get messy, have convenient writing, and not be quite as interesting as it appeared.
The huge budget helps to cover this, as we have great setpieces, effects, casting, and locations; all of it makes it look like a fantastic show - it is only the writing that lets it down. The world expands rapidly, and a lot of it doesn't wholly gel together in a way that will satisfy and reward as you watch. At 8 episodes though it is short enough to carry you along in its wake, and to be fair I did quite like burning through it in less than a week, but even with rewatching some of it, and reading about it, I must admit I didn't find it particularly compelling or that it set me up for any more seasons.
If you have watched 2 seasons already then this shorter season is worth a look; just don't expect it to be as good as it was in that first season.
