Entertainment NOW

2 • June 26 - July 2, 2022 Entertainment Now By Joshua Amy TV Media F rom its very first episode, "Westworld" has captivat- ed viewers with the prom- ise that "violent delights have violent ends." Over its three seasons to date, HBO's science fic- tion epic has fulfilled this promise and more. After two years, the promise of new worlds, the return of old friends and even higher stakes, fans are already theorizing where the series will take them next. Prepare to be dazzled once again when Season 4 of "West- world" premieres Sunday, June 26, on HBO and HBO Max. First launched in 2016, "West- world" is the nine-time Emmy- winning prestige TV adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1973 film of the same name – think "Jurassic Park" but with robot cowboys instead of dinosaurs. HBO's ad- aptation flips the script, however, and follows the perspective of the futuristic theme park's main attraction, its artificially intelligent hosts. The dark twist of the series is that Westworld is a playground for the ultra-wealthy to act out their darkest, most violent fanta- sies. During its three-season run, audiences have seen the hosts progress from the punching bags of the elite to self-aware freedom fighters working to emancipate themselves from humanity's control. Central to this struggle is De- lores (Evan Rachel Wood, "Across the Universe," 2007), a host who was programmed as the arche- typal rancher's daughter with a gentle soul. The first to gain sentience and retain memories of the actions inflicted upon her, Delores spreads the malicious code, thus granting conscious- ness to her fellow hosts and rais- ing a bloody rebellion. Running in opposition to Delo- res's crusade against humankind are Maeve (Thandiwe Newton, "Mission: Impossible II," 2000) and Bernard (Jeffrey Wright, "The Batman," 2022). Maeve is a host assigned to play the role of madam in the town's brothel, but she is plagued by memories of a past life with her daughter. Maeve's quest to find her daughter becomes her driving force and leads to her tenuous alliance with humanity against Delores in exchange for her lost child. Bernard, on the other hand, is a park technician who discovers he is, in fact, a host. He struggles to reconcile his humanity with this realization. Season 3 saw Maeve and Delores reach the real world, a fu- ture version of Los Angeles that's equal parts beautiful and bleak. Hell-bent on revenge and armed with the central cores of key host intelligences, Delores sets her plan to overthrow humanity into motion. Placing a copy of herself in the body of high-level park executive Charlotte (Tessa Thompson, "An- nihilation," 2018) and recruiting disaffected former mercenary Caleb (Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"), Delores sets her sights on the A.I. secretly steering humanity away from self-destruction. With- out giving too much away, after a shift in alliances, Maeve aligns with Caleb and Delores and joins the fight to destabilize the society that harmed them. This latest season appears to be upping the ante even further, although specifics about the story are scant. The Season 4 poster features an homage to Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" — two robotic arms reaching for one another with a human skull stuck in the way. The tagline reads "Adapt or die," hinting at a further escalation in the "dark odyssey about the fate of sen- tient life on Earth." Cover Story Tessa Thompson stars in "Westworld" The new west: New frontiers explored in Season 4 of 'Westworld' Ready Rental 3 x 4 Hayley Siefert 3 x 2 Letters & Numbers Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row,every column, and every 4x4 box contains the digits 1 through 9 AND the letters A-F. Solution on page 12. Advertise Your Business In Call Advertising at 217-477-5105

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