NO
OLLY RICHARDS,
CONTRIBUTORTO ILLUSTRATE THEdifference
betweenWestworldandGame Of Thrones,you
only need to ask one question: what is the show’s
story?Game Of Thrones, from itsirst episode,
established it was about the battle for the Iron
Throne. Every episode has brought us closer to
inding out who would claim it and why they want
it. After a wholeseason,Westworldhasn’t truly
told us what it’s about. We know the robots
believe they’re real and don’t want to be killed for
entertainment anymore. They’re now ighting
back. Okay, but what is the endgame of that
ight? What are we aiming for? It’s not clear.
Westworldhas much more in common with
LostorHeroes, and like those it confuses teasing
with storytelling. It’s not trying to help us get to
know its characters better, but to continually
show us that what we thought we knew about
them is untrue. They exist to facilitate twists,
props in parlour tricks. There is nobody to invest
in. The humans have mostly been dispatched
and the heroes are now exclusively the ‘hosts’,
whose stakes couldn’t be lower. Dolores, Maeve
and Teddy all have the same motivation: to
prove they are more than machine. There is no
variation in their stories because they haven’t
lived lives. They haven’t formed relationships.
Death or suffering inGame Of Throneshas
consequence. When Joffrey dies, it has multiple
knock-on effects for others who love or hate him.
If a host dies, it affects nothing. Each individual’s
existence matters only to them. It makes the
show a series of dead-ends.Westworldis a great idea for a TV show,
with lots of huge themes to explore. What
is it that makes us human? Without fear of
consequences, what are we capable of? A great
idea, yes, but a frustrating show, because it’s
only glancingly interested in exploring those
themes. If it wanted to investigate them it would
balance the robots with empathetic humans
(see:Ex Machina).Westworldis more concerned
with examining itself as a TV show, continually
rearranging its elements like a Rubik’s Cube
being twisted by someone who has no idea how
to solve the thing but just likes the colours.
Game Of Thronesis a story of people who
all want the same thing, power, for very different
reasons. The stories within that are ininite.
Westworldis a saga of automatons that all
want the same thing, autonomy, for the same
reason: it’s better than what they currently
have. That’s empty. Like the hosts,Westworld
has no soul.