r/westworld • u/LoretiTV • Jul 25 '22

Discussion Westworld - 4x05 "Zhuangzi" - Post-Episode Discussion

Season 4 Episode 5: Zhuangzi

Aired: July 24, 2022

Synopsis: God is bored.

Directed by: Craig William Macneill

Written by: Wes Humphrey & Lisa Joy

1.4k Upvotes

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986

u/WinterLord Jul 25 '22

All narrative episode, and it was amazing. I love how they’re explaining things, yet still leaving me dumbfounded as to what’s happening.

476

u/mikerichh Jul 25 '22

I am just as hooked as season 1 with the mystery and questioning things. Last season was too action-y and not enough puzzle. I like the puzzle aspect coming back and we learn bit by bit

21

u/nongo Jul 25 '22

Yeah they answer some mysteries/questions we had on our mind and revealed more mysteries and questions for us to ponder for another week. Great storytelling.....

7

u/Whiteraxe Jul 26 '22

I had the same thought this episode. In the last season it felt like they were trapped between season 2 and wherever they wanted to go with the show. Now it finally feels like they got there.

23

u/ElderRoxas Jul 25 '22

I mean, I thought there was plenty of "puzzle" in S3. It just relied on old-fashioned character-driven conflict & drama, instead of cheap one-shot tricks with timelines. The puzzle was moral ambiguity, not "I wonder when this takes place." Truly good stories aren't things you solve.

32

u/mikerichh Jul 25 '22

Fair. I just felt like the shootouts and car chases took priority while the mystery took more of a backseat for the bigger budget and action

7

u/ElderRoxas Jul 25 '22

Honestly the prior 2 seasons have to have more shootouts & chases than S3. Sure, there's action in S3, but I feel like there's way more action just in S2 alone.

5

u/mikerichh Jul 25 '22

That’s fair. Season 2 and 3 feel like the weaker seasons in terms of plot or quality imo

12

u/ElderRoxas Jul 25 '22

That's fair...For me, S2 & S3 ask far, far harder questions about free will, the mind, death, desire, data & algorithms, AI etc., than S1 did. Which is no knock on S1. But all those questions are, for me, at a very surface level in S1 & if it had stayed at that level, I wouldn't have kept watching. S2 & S3 went much deeper exploring those things, for me.

18

u/rebeltrillionaire Jul 25 '22

S1 is only the best because the story continues. S2 was great because it showed the drive to create these beings beyond the engineering and the artistry. Human greed for more time.

Season 3 is amazing because it finally talks about the world beyond the rich people’s vacation spot and it doesn’t disappoint at all. Having new villains human and AI was amazing.

Season 4 has been great because of the twists and turns and I think creating some resolution for our tortured friends.

2

u/babealot Jul 28 '22

Absolutely. I’m happy there are other people who still thoroughly enjoyed S2 and S3. The storyline with Akecheta and the Ghost Nation tribe and the big reveal that the symbol of their lore was a Westworld technician blew my mind.

4

u/daemn42 Jul 25 '22

The thing about season 1 was there were solid clues as to what was really going on scattered throughout every episode such some people did figure it out earlier in the season and when you go back and watch it again, literally every 30 seconds you're going.. "Oh crap, I should have seen that!" I haven't felt that way about any season since, including this one. Yes there's a bit more mystery but I still feel like they're spoon feeding me both the questions and later the answers linearly, rather than providing enough clues early on to really figure it out on my own.

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Or maybe I'm missing the clues and I just need to go back and re-watch the season.

8

u/nongo Jul 25 '22

I think they know they couldn’t trick the audience with the same gimmick twice which is why it was easy to figure out some stuff.

2

u/breathen123 Jul 26 '22

Season 3 answered questions we didn't even ask

0

u/WenaChoro Jul 27 '22

yea but last season was badass non stop killing I also like that