Photograph by John Johnson/HBO

The penultimate episode of Westworld season 7 has arrived, and it brings with it a slew of twists and turns. While the show has been seeing a bit of a renaissance this season, “Metanoia” felt like a backslide. For as good as Westworld season 4 has been, this latest episode is a reminder that the show overall has been a bumpy ride.

As always, there will be SPOILERS for this week’s episode of Westworld below.

Photograph by John Johnson/HBO

Ah, Westworld, you have given us the best of times, you have given us the worst of times. This season of HBO’s heady science fiction drama about androids overtaking the Earth has been a return to form for the series…but unfortunately, that couldn’t hold forever. “Metanoia” is the second-to-last episode of the season, and it felt like a stark reminder of all the ways this otherwise excellent show can go wrong.

This episode is all about climaxes, featuring a big showdown at Charlotte Hale’s mind-control tower in New York City. While that should be exciting, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Westworld has spun an intriguing web of mysteries this season, but in reaching this climactic point where all our characters are converging, it chooses to focus more on its most convoluted plot ideas than the actual compelling relationships it’s been developing all season.

Out of the gate, it was clear that this was going to be a trippy episode, as Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) and Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) arrive at the hydroelectric dam we saw William (Ed Harris) take control of in the season premiere. As we predicted, this power plant houses the servers that contain the Sublime, aka the cyber dimension where many of the hosts from Westworld escaped to live in peace beyond the constraints of the mortal world. A few short minutes later, the scene repeats but with slight variations, showing how Bernard has lived through multiple versions of the same moment.

The issues with the episode start to become immediately apparent. Maeve and Bernard haven’t seen each other in decades, and are two of the oldest remaining hosts from the original Westworld park. How would they react to seeing each other again for the first time? What would they say, and how what emotions might swirl into the air between them? Westworld is utterly uninterested in examining that dynamic, instead focusing on the Sublime…for some reason? The episode never makes it clear why Bernard opens the door to the digital dimension. Presumably it will come into play in the finale somehow, but the fact that this all goes down without any real explanation to the audience, and without any of the other characters commenting on why it’s being done just make it feel like a plot contrivance.

Photograph by John Johnson/HBO

“Metanoia” should be one of the season’s most epic episodes but ends up a dry affair. It’s unfortunate, because the actors involved all do really excellent work here. Ed Harris is a blast to watch as he plays human and host versions of himself, Thandiwe Newton is charming as always, Luke Hemsworth has quietly become a scene stealer as Ashley Stubbs, both Aurora Perrineau and Aaron Paul exude emotion when they finally cross paths, and Tessa Thompson continues to slay it as villain Charlotte Hale. By the end, a swathe of main characters lie dead (for now), the tower has been destroyed, and all the humans in New York City have turned into rabid homicidal maniacs. This stuff should slap.

Part of me wonders if “Metanoia’s” issues could have been averted if Westworld season 4 had a few more episodes. Despite taking place in a world where the hosts have complete dominance over the human race, we only ever see the one host-controlled city. It makes the whole thing feel strangely contained; having more time to actually show what Hale’s domination of the world looks like before reaching this tipping point might have helped.

But the choices made in “Metanoia” make it clear that the problem isn’t just about time spent, but what the show is choosing to push to the forefront. Maeve comes back after 30 years and has an exciting showdown with Charlotte Hale, yet there’s no real examination of what it means for Maeve and a host who is essentially a copy of Dolores to clash like this. Maeve has a lot of history with Dolores; not even a mention of that? Season 4 also did a great job of developing the relationship between Caleb and Maeve, but she doesn’t spare him much thought in this episode despite being part of a rescue mission to save him.

Then there’s the idea of host “transcendence” that Hale is pushing on all her fellow androids. We find out in this episode that this involves transplanting their consciousness into huge, striking robotic bodies. But the reason why that’s necessary or desirable is never once explored. Can you tell I’m a little frustrated?

Photograph by John Johnson/HBO

There’s one set of characters we haven’t touched on yet: Christina (Evan Rachel Wood) and Teddy (James Marsden). Christina is a perfect example of the issues I’ve been having. Evan Rachel Wood’s performance is stellar. Marsden is great as Teddy as well…although at this point I’m starting to question the value of bringing him back. The show still hasn’t touched on why Teddy is around, not even a little bit. Who brought him back? If it wants to keep that as a finale mystery that’s cool, but the fact that the topic hasn’t been broached or teased in some way makes it feel like the reason for Teddy’s return is less important than just having him be around to act opposite longtime scene partner Wood.

“Metanoia” ends with Teddy telling Christina that the world is real, but that she isn’t. Whether that’s just Teddy waxing philosophical or it means that the two of them are in fact in the Sublime or something, it makes the journey they’ve taken feel pretty pointless. A lot will depend on if next week’s finale can justify this twist. Christina and Teddy saw Caleb in his holding cell in Olympiad Entertainment, so presumably they’re not in the digital realm…but who knows? At this point, it’s hard to be sure about anything, and even harder to care.

“Metanoia” totally dropped the ball on the careful build-up Westworld has been pulling off so well in season 4, and it’s a damn shame. The show’s preference for playing up the heady sci-fi concepts over the interpersonal relationships failed it here, as lots of characters with intricately linked pasts converged without much emotional punch. I hope that Westworld can turn things around in its season finale, but as of right now I’m a lot less confident than I was a week ago.

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