Jurassic World vs. Westworld: Escaping The Park

This post deviates substantially from my normal blog posts, but I watched the Westworld Season 2 Finale and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom within close proximity of each other and came away with some interesting observations I wanted to share. Even though I don't review television, I wanted to discuss this and figured my blog might be a good outlet to do so. I understand that this comparison may seem strange, but it all will make sense soon. I'll go ahead and warn you now that this post will include spoilers for both Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and both seasons of Westworld so I wouldn't recommend reading any further unless you've seen both or don't mind spoilers.

Jurassic World vs. Westworld: Escaping the Park

I can recall when the first season of Westworld aired, plenty of comparisons were drawn to Steven Spielberg's beloved blockbuster Jurassic Park. That's largely because both are based on novels written by Michael Crichton, but they also share a very similar premise centered around theme parks where things quickly go wrong and the attractions run wild. I've embedded a video above that elaborates on more comparisons between the two, but the point of this post isn't to expand on those similarities. Instead, I intend to contrast Westworld Season 2 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in order to clarify why I feel the ending of Westworld's second season is more earned than the ending of Fallen Kingdom.

Ultimately, the goal of the screenwriters behind both Westworld and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was to get the hosts/dinosaurs out of their respective parks and into the real world. Their approaches were vastly different, but they each did it for the future of their respective franchises. However, Fallen Kingdom seems to exist solely to set up Jurassic World 3 while Westworld is far more interested in exploring its character's intricate narratives. Where Westworld has been steadily building towards the hosts escaping for two entire seasons, there was no prior inclination that Fallen Kingdom would take the Jurassic franchise in this direction. It's almost as if Colin Trevorrow didn't think to let the dinosaurs loose till well after Jurassic World and then decided he needed to dedicate the sequel towards getting them onto the mainland. Meanwhile, Westworld's endgame was slowly unraveled as the hosts awakened.

This can probably be chocked down to the differences of the medium these stories are being told in, but I'd like to think there's much more to it than that. As an HBO series, Westworld has the luxury of stretching its story across several episodes and intimately exploring its characters in an uncensored fashion. Conversely, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is confined to about two hours of storytelling with its eyes set on a PG-13 rating to hit its target demographic. Aside from that, there's a fairly substantial difference in budget and the type of story being told. While fairly high for television, the price tag per episode of Westworld is nothing compared to the kind of money being spent on each of the Jurassic World films. Those films have a budget around $200 M whereas the first season of Westworld had around a $100 M budget for all ten episodes (I couldn't find anything on the second season, but I'd imagine the numbers aren't that different). They also each have a very different sense of identity, with one looking to serve thrilling dino action while the other takes it time with subtle philosophical pondering about the nature of reality and so much more.

The Importance of Agency and Compelling Conflict 

With the more obvious distinctions out of the way, let's dig into what I feel makes Westworld's approach much more compelling. In Westworld, Dolores is hell-bent on making it to the real world no matter what the cost. Over the course of the two seasons thus far, we've seen her character's naive nature be stripped away in favor of a blood-thirsty rebellious spirit as she stepped into the narrative role Wyatt. As she became sentient, she became more determined to overthrow humanity. The goal consumed her to the point where she began to eliminate and reprogram hosts which she didn't see as fit for the journey ahead, including her beloved Teddy. Delores went from being a passive park attraction to a conscious being full of strength and resolve. She actively wants to carry out a violent worldwide revolution at any means necessary because she's seen the worst in humanity and thinks it should be irradicated. It's her grit and determination which makes her a significant threat, and that's derived from her agency as a character.

On the flipside, there's Bernard. He's a host based upon one of the host's creators named Arnold, and essentially sees both the best and worst in humanity. He's the Martin Luther King to Delores' Malcolm X. The Professor X to her Magneto. After witnessing Charolette Hale kill Elsie, Bernard realizes the best chance for the hosts to survive is to covertly bring back Dolores and allow her to carry out her plan disguised as Hale. However, he also understands that the hosts shouldn't simply replace humanity. He believes it's possible to preserve the hosts through non-violence means, but was aware this could only be accomplished with Dolores' assistance. Only then, would the hosts be left alone to find solace and sanctuary in the Valley Beyond (digital Host-Heaven).

The compelling component of this is the underlying conflict. These two characters are at odds, but are linked and require one another to achieve their agenda. Arnold created Dolores, Dolores created Bernard, Bernard brought back Dolores, and Dolores bought back Bernard. That dynamic is interesting to me and I'm fascinated to see it further explored in future seasons. So where does Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom fit into all this? Well, the closest thing to conflict in Fallen Kingdom is that everyone is called out on their bad ideas, but people go along with them anyways.

The persistent dilemma running through Fallen Kingdom is whether the humans should step in and act to save the dinosaurs or not. It's a question that arises about a million times throughout the film, but there's rarely any actual discussion or debate around it. The conversation is essentially as follows:

Character 1: "We need to save the dinosaurs."
Character 2: "That's a bad idea."
Character 1: "But it's our responsibility to save them."
Character 2 caves in and goes along with it.

Throughout all of this discussion, the dinosaurs have absolutely no agency in the plot. They are captured and taken off the island against their will, and don't even break free of their own volition. While I'm sure they're glad that they survived thanks to the humans intervention, they aren't active participants in their escape. Instead, a cloned human girl is the one who decides to push a button and set them all free. The dinosaurs in Fallen Kingdom never have the luxury of choice in their situation while the host rebellion in Westworld is all about the value of free-will.

And I believe that's precisely why Westworld's approach was more fascinating. The hosts in Westworld are fully fleshed characters who have the power of choice. The dinosaurs in Fallen Kingdom are nothing more than chaotic creatures meant to be the center of a thrilling set-piece. In the end, it's the lack of agency which makes the dinosaur escape from Isla Nublar far less compelling than Dolores finally leaving Westworld. Dolores' escape feels earned where the dinos had their freedom handed to them on a silver platter by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly.

Conclusion

To quickly wrap things up, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this. I understand that it's very different from my usual content, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless as I seek to find new subjects to discuss on this blog. I'd also just like to clarify that the intent behind this post wasn't to slander Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom or anything like that. I just happened to watch the two within very close proximity of one another and noticed some similarities that I felt might be fun to contrast in a written essay/discussion. Till next time, stay awesome!