‘Westworld’ Season 4 Finale Spoiler Review — “Que Será, Será”

Season 4 of Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s hit HBO dystopian science-fiction drama series, Westworld, has come to an end, and it spirals back to uncanny territory. The fourth season finale is titled, “Que Será, Será”. The episode is written by executive producer Alison Schapker & series co-creator Jonathan Nolan and is directed by executive producer Richard J. Lewis.

In this review, I will be discussing Westworld Season 4 Episode 8. There will be spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. With that said, reader’s discretion is advised.

Plot Synopsis

According to WarnerMedia, here is the synopsis for Westworld Season 4 Episode 8—“Que Será, Será”.

Like what I’ve done with the place? (I just cranked it to expert level.) (Advisories are forthcoming)

WarnerMedia

Discussion

Continuing from the perfect episode that is “Metanoia”, Westworld Season 4 comes to a phenomenal conclusion with its finale, “Que Será, Será”. With its near-hour-long runtime, the series is able to pack so much into its narrative while progressing at a moderate pace. Before we get into the meat of the episode, I will break down its fat, that is, the basic cinematic elements that all motion picture media possess.

The Basics

First, I want to discuss Zamora and Marsh’s hair and makeup teams, respectively. The Westworld Season 4 is rather rough in the action, and when we see Caleb Nichols (Aaron Paul) out of Charlotte Hale/ Dolores Abernathy’s (Tessa Thompson) captivity, the departments give him parted hair and red eye bags, indicative of how much he’s suffered in his glass cell. Something about this particular appearance in the character shows how harsh he has developed throughout the season, and I don’t think the crew involved in the characters’ looks get enough credit for it.

Secondly, I want to talk about Beebe and Robbs’s costume designs. Returning to what I said in the previous episode about Hale/ Abernathy, oh my goodness! The costume team does not fail in bringing something striking, and I also felt that way when it came to Clementine Pennyfeather’s (Angela Sarafyan) outfit. Unfortunately, in the former’s case, we only get to see Hale/ Abernathy in this specific costume once. I am curious as to how Westworld will bring her back in the final season, but I know for sure it will not be in that war-ready outfit…

Thirdly, Djawadi’s musical composition is epic, especially as the episode approaches its final scenes. As soon as Christina/ Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) learns what she must do, her city is erased and the score tops itself, and by the final shot: perfection. This is the best score the season has had, in my opinion, and I hope Djawadi gets an Emmy nomination for how this soundtrack turned out.

The Reveals and the Lesser Characters

Diving into the heavy parts of the episode: the writing.

The revelations with Christina/ Abernathy aren’t so bad. For those who have seen the episode, it is revealed that the character resided in a core consciousness for the entirety of the season. This must be why crossing paths with Ashley Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) and adult Frankie “C” Nichols (Aurora Perrineau) physically was an awkward sight last week, and that itself should have given the reveal away. Christina/ Abernathy’s ability to control human beings in Hale/ Abernathy’s city ceased to work because well… They are one and the same, and to have the William Host (Ed Harris) take the reins made more sense for the matter.

In a reveal of that reveal, we learn that everyone in Christina/ Abernathy’s “metaphysical” or rather virtual world is just a fragment of her consciousness, including her former partner, Theodore “Teddy” Flood (James Marsden). This was hinted at earlier in the season in a dialogue about Hosts being made in their “gods'” image, that is, the humans.

Before I get into the much larger picture of the finale, I do want to discuss some characters that I felt were underused. While Marsden’s character was used in a great amount of the season, I did feel that Westworld did not sufficiently utilize Pennyfeather, along with those introduced in this season, notably Maya (Ariana DeBose), Uwade Nichols (Nozipho McLean), Odina (Morningstar Angeline), and Jay (Daniel Wu). On one hand, there was so much runtime for each episode, so perhaps the primary focus had to be on the main cast. On the other hand, I felt as if the way they were written out of the season did not do justice, and there could have been a stronger way to do it.

Christina’s Narrative

Enough of how the writers craft the narrative arc of the season in their image. Let’s discuss Christina/ Abernathy’s narrative abilities in Westworld Season 4.

The William Host makes an argument about being created from the image of the human William. He states his belief to Hale/ Abernathy: “We’re fruit from a rotten tree. We might as well burn it all down … We’re as fucked up as our creators. Our whole lineage is damned.” Meanwhile, we have Maya — in a conversation with Christina/ Abernathy — who asserts:

What we see? It’s only part of a story, but beneath the ground? Everything’s connected and working together. There is violence and chaos everywhere, and you can choose to focus on all of that and that’s all you’ll see, but if you sit still long enough, you’ll sense an ancient order, a deep peace. And that’s what I choose to see. I see the beauty in this world.

Maya, portrayed by Ariana DeBose, in ‘Westworld’ Season 4, Episode 8 — “Que Será, Será”

This fragmented version of the protagonist who emanated from the original Abernathy has wise and poetic words.

Then, we have Christina/ Abernathy, who states something of her own:

This world is a graveyard of stories. Hosts and humans were given the gift of intelligent life, and we used it to usher in our own annihilation. Their kind will go extinct. They will only live as long as the last creature who remembers them, and that creature is me.

Christina/ Dolores Abernathy, portrayed by Evan Rachel Wood, in ‘Westworld’ Season 4, Episode 8 — “Que Será, Será”

Body Without Organs, Perhaps?

The revelation involving the tower and its maze, as well as the maze outside of Christina/ Abernathy’s apartment being of Abernathy’s own doing, seemed to be an easy answer — just as much as the fact that Maya was just another version of the character and not someone who was part of the season’s conspiracy. Since the beginning of the season, I thought that the mystery would be more complex than how it turned out. Boy, was I wrong!

While I did not hate this little twist in the character’s narrative, my expectations being somewhat wrong made learning that bit all the more enjoyable, and perhaps the writers did something clever in giving us a simple solution without it getting too messy. (I’m sorry, but that makes this season finale even better than last season’s finale.) Although, one phrase that Christina/ Abernathy says piqued my interest: “A machine without a body”.

This may be just a passing line of dialogue, but anyone who’s had to read up on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s philosophical texts might be familiar with the concept, “the body-without-organs”. I won’t get into it too much as that could make for an entirely different article. Although, I am curious to know if “a machine without a body” is anything like a BwO. If nothing, then we can disregard that…

The Crew of Westworld 

Westworld is created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy and is based on the film of the same name written by Michael Crichton.

Joy, Nolan, Ben Stephenson, Denise Thé, Alison Schapker, Richard J. Lewis, Athena Wickham, and J.J. Abrams serve as the executive producers. Jordan Goldberg, Matt Pitts, and Mark Tobey serve as the co-executive producers; while Don Bensko, Jay Worth, and Noreen O’Toole serve as the producers. Kelly Calligan, Halle Phillips, Skye Wathen, Caleb Duffy, and Susan Ekins serve as the co-producers.

Peter Flinkenberg serves as the director of photography. Anna Hauger and Ali Comperchio serve as the editors of the episode. Yoni Reiss and Brian Santistevan serve as the assistant editors for the episode.

Suzanne Wrubel serves as the story editor. Alli Rock serves as a staff writer on the show.

Ramin Djawadi scores the music for the series. Benjamin Cook is the sound designer, while Christopher Kaller serves as the music editor. Trygge Toven is the music supervisor.

Jon Carlos serves as the production designer. Mark Robert Taylor serves as the supervising art director. Chris DiLeo, Amelia Brooke, Rachel Aguirre, Rebekah Scheys, and Michael Navarro are the art directors. Elaine Jen, AJ Cisneros, Jeanine A. Ringer, and Mike Piccirillo are the assistant art directors.

Jay Worth, Mark Stetson, and Joe Wehmeyer serves as the visual effects supervisor, while Elizabeth Castro serves as the VFX producer. Jill Paget and Andrew J. Trainor are the VFX editors, while Stephanie Huerta Martinez is the VFX assistant editor.

Debra Beebe serves as costume designer. Margaret Robbs serves as assistant costume designer.

Jose L. Zamora is the department head hairstylist. Michael Buonincontro serves as key hairstylist. Dorchelle Stafford serves as the hairstylist, while Melissa de la Torre and Sandra Avila-Valencia serve as additional hairstylists. Elisa Marsh is the department head make-up artist.

Andrew Hull, Daniel Jennings, Sally Thornton, James Bolenbaugh, and David Chow serve as the set designers. Dan Caplan is the storyboard artist. Julie Ochipinti serves as the set decorator, while Ellen Reede Dorros serves as the assistant set decorator.

John Papsidera and Kim Winther are the casting directors of Westworld. Maddalena Zuppetta serves as the casting assistant. Sande Alessi serves as the extras casting director, while Shayne Hartigan is the extras casting associate.

In the New York unit, Barbara McNamara is the extras casting director. Rachel Musson is the extras casting associate, while Patrick Kline is the extras casting assistant. Geoffrey Ehrlich is the art director, while Lucy Pope is the assistant art director. Candice Cardasis is the set decorator. Ashleigh Williams is the head of the make-up department.

In the Cabo unit, Aleph Alighieri serves as the extras casting director.

The Cast of Westworld 

Evan Rachel Wood plays the protagonist of Westworld, Christina, once known as Dolores Abernathy.

Thandiwe Newton is credited as Maeve Millay, while Aaron Paul portrays Caleb Nichols. Ed Harris portrays William, also known as the “Man in Black”.

Jeffrey Wright appears as Bernard Lowe, while James Marsden portrays Theodore “Teddy” Flood. Tessa Thompson portrays Dolores Abernathy (previously Charlotte Hale), while Luke Hemsworth portrays Ashley Stubbs. Angela Sarafyan portrays Clementine Pennyfeather.

Ariana DeBose guest stars as Maya, Christina’s roommate. Aurora Perrineau portrays adult Frankie “C” Nichols.

Jonathan Tucker appears as Major Craddock, while Steven Ogg returns from the first two seasons as Rebus. Morningstar Angeline appears as Odina.

Michael Malarkey appears as Emmett, Christine’s boss at Olympiad Entertainment. Aaron Stanford appears as Peter, a man who is affected by Dolores/ Christina. Brandon Sklenar plays Henry.

Jhemma Ziegler co-stars as a Host woman. David Atkinson plays a biker, while Sean Freeland plays a surly Host. Marti Matulis, Mark Steger, and Joey Wilson play Drone Hosts.

Performances and Character Developments

Thompson’s fight scene with Harris at the dam is radical. From the moment she puts on inpenetrable armor until the very shot of her removing her core consciousness and crushing it, I was in awe of the whole thing. It is cinematic, and as a scene from a science-fiction television series, it is one of the best things that I have seen in the decade thus far. I only hope that the show can top this in its final season.

Sarafyan did not get enough spotlight in this season, so seeing her in this finale, with the way she performs, is wicked. Her entire scene in the pharmacy is brutal, not just in the way that she kills Ashley Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) by stabbing him through the left eye, but also in her mannerisms when interacting with the Nichols. Pennyfeather is an unblinking presence, with the actor adding bitterness to her speech. I can liken her performance to that of Laurie Metcalf’s Mrs. Loomis in Wes Craven’s Scream 2 (1997). I will admit that I was at the edge of my seat at this scene played out. Sarafyan is hot and badass in her character, and the way she dies? *Chef’s kiss*.

Paul and Perrineau are poignant as the parent-and-child duo, Caleb and Frankie Nichols. Paul does magnificent in the way he displays his tremors in his suffering appearance. The characters’ farewell from one another is painful, and observing the way they make a hug to depict that sorrowful “goodbye” shows how convincing and meaningful their dynamic is. I really did want Caleb to follow his daughter and her partner to sanctuary, but that is not what the writers had planned for him. Perrineau’s acting when Frankie learns she will have to lose her father again is just as hurtful.

The Spiral Towards the Final Season: Final Thoughts on Westworld Season 4 and Its Finale

“Que Será, Será” gets its name from the classic 20th century song that translates to, “What will be will be”. It is bittersweet, but it also holds an ambiguous meaning in the fate of humankind. At first, I did not particularly like that Dolores Abernathy created the maze for herself. However, after a second watch, it does make sense for this to be the solution to the mystery. In fact, it is the only way.

Returning to Westworld was also the only logical choice for the series to make. After two seasons of being outside of the park, why not end the television series in the one place in which it started? Also relevant to the narrative choice is Christina/ Abernathy’s closing monologue as she walks back into the themepark: “One last loop around the bend. Maybe this time, we will set ourselves free”. With there being spirals in this season and in the show overall — or as this season calls it, “loops” — the writers made a smart choice in making that uncanny return.

This fourth season of Westworld easily improves from its third season. My only issue is this finale makes use of riots, which the previous season had already done. It feels redundant and pointless, with the stakes not being thrilling enough, unless you count the subplots with Maeve Millay (Thandiwe Newton) and the Nichols family. Overall, I felt this season was more palatable and does not make use of an end-credits scene to hint at what happens next. Instead, it is pretty straightforward.

Westworld Season 4 is now airing on HBO and streaming via HBO Max!

Have you seen Nolan and Joy’s series? If so, then what are your thoughts on it so far? Let us know! For more Westworld updates as well as drama and science-fiction-related news and reviews, don’t forget to follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!