Based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 movie, Season One of Westworld brought us a tale of a fantastic theme land. This notion came to HBO for a series in 2016, one that explores the same concepts and pushes past the confines of the 88-minute movie.

We get more adventures in Season Two. This package includes all 10 episodes of Westworld for that span, and the plot synopses come from IMDB.

Journey Into Night: “The hosts revolt against the guests while searching for a new purpose. Maeve (Thandie Newton) sets out to find her daughter with some unexpected help.”

Season-opening episodes like “Night” need to remind us where we went last year and advance the narrative. “Night” does a good job of this. Like most season-launchers, it feels a little tentative since it needs to bring viewers up to date, but it doesn’t spoonfeed the exposition too badly and it allows us to get a grasp on potential future paths.

Reunion: “Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) remembers she's been to the outside world. William (Jimmi Simpson) makes a bold business venture.”

As occurred during “Night”, “Reunion” mixes flashbacks with material that pushes “new” events. It handles these well and actually seems a bit more interesting when it looks into the past.

Virtù e Fortuna: “Dolores makes her next move. Charlotte (Tessa Thompson) scrambles to protect Delos' most prized asset. Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) gets closer to the truth.”

“Fortuna” starts in an intriguing way, as we see a glimpse of a park outside of Westworld, and it ends well via a massive gunfight. In between it feels less compelling, though, as the episode tends to plod a little.

The Riddle of the Sphinx: “An enigmatic figure becomes the center of Delos' secret project. The Man in Black (Ed Harris) and Lawrence (Clifton Collins Jr.) follow the path to Las Mudas but run into trouble.”

Two elements buoy “Sphinx”. For one, the focus on Man in Black – one of the most interesting characters – adds life, and the revelation about Jim (Peter Mullan) gives us a good twist. These factors help make “Sphinx” one of the best shows to date.

Akane no Mai: “Maeve and her allies have revelations in a new world. Dolores makes a decision about Teddy (James Marsden). Karl (Gustaf Skarsgård) discovers something sinister about the hosts.”

As I mentioned earlier, I like when the show offers a view of other parks, and the time in Shogun World offers some intrigue. That said, the time in Shogun World feels like a bit of a distraction, as it doesn’t advance the overall plot as while as I’d like – though some revelations at the end add impact.

Phase Space: “Maeve continues her search for her daughter. Dolores calculates her next move. Elsie (Shannon Woodward) gets closer to the truth about Delos.”

A quieter episode than usual, “Space” largely eschews action for a more introspective character emphasis. It does well in that regard, especially as it views the relationship between the Man in Black and his daughter Emily (Katja Herbers).

Les Écorchés: “Bernard meets with an unexpected old friend. The Cradle is under threat. Maeve encounters a scene from her past.”

After the character emphasis in the prior show, “Écorchés” more strongly emphasizes exposition. Some of this falls into “Johnny the Explainer” territory, but the episode manages most of the narrative beats in a smooth manner and it turns into an effective progression of the season’s arc.

Kiksuya: “The telling of Akecheta (Zahn McClarnon) and the Ghost Nation's journey to consciousness. Maeve's life hangs in the balance.”

At no point during Season Two did I feel the desire to know Akecheta’s backstory, and “Kiksuya” doesn’t suddenly make me more interested. The nearly complete focus on Akecheta means it lives and dies with our interest in that character, and since I find myself less than enthralled with the role, this turns into an episode that doesn’t do much for me.

Vanishing Point: “The Man in Black confronts his troubled past. Charlotte forms a plan to kill all the hosts.”

With only one more episode left in Season Two, “Point” pushes us toward the year’s conclusion. It does so in a largely positive manner, mainly via the way it explores the Man in Black’s backstory and how his history impacts current events. “Point” pushes us toward the season finale well.

The Passenger: “Everyone converges at the Valley Beyond.”

That’s a vague episode synopsis, but I suppose anything more detailed would reveal too many spoilers. Expect a lot of major revelations and changes in this satisfying conclusion.

And also anticipate a teaser for Season Three. Stick around through the end credits for a hint of things to come.

Westworld appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on these 4K UHD Discs – mainly, as occasional scenes used a 2.35:1 ratio. Did Season Two look or sound any different than Season One? No, so please enjoy this lazy rehash of comments from my prior review.

Sharpness worked well. While the occasional wide shot betrayed a sliver of softness, the majority of material appeared accurate and concise. No issues with moiré effects or jaggies occurred, and I saw neither edge haloes nor source flaws.

Despite the Western setting, the series favored a fairly teal and orange palette – though on the dusty brown side of things. Within the stylistic constraints, the discs reproduced them in a favorable manner, and the 4K UHD’s HDR added some breadth to the hues.

Blacks came across as deep and dense, while shadows – important in such a dark series – appeared smooth and well-developed. The shows offered pleasing picture quality.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7,1, the series’ Dolby Atmos audio also satisfied. Music showed nice stereo presence, while effects added immersive material. The series’ occasional action sequences boasted fine use of the side and rear speakers, all of which brought us into the episodes well.

Audio quality seemed strong. Music was full and rich, while dialogue seemed natural and distinctive.

Effects offered clear elements with warm, tight lows. I liked the soundtrack across these episodes.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? The Atmos audio offered more punch and involvement than the Blu-ray’s DTS-HD MA 5.1, whereas visuals showed superior accuracy and colors. The 4K UHD brought improvements across the board.

The set includes a Blu-ray copy of S2. All of the package’s extras appear on its Disc Three, and we begin with The Truth Behind Delos. It goes for 12 minutes, 40 seconds and includes comments from series creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy and actors Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Shannon Woodward, Katja Herbers, Rodrigo Santoro, and Gustaf Skarsgård.

“Truth” looks at story/character areas and thoughts about how the series reflects current society. It proves to be moderately insightful and provocative.

With These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends, we get an 11-minute, 11-second reel with Wood, Nolan, Joy, and actors Tessa Thompson, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton and James Marsden.

“Ends” views the movie’s use of violence and some cinematic influences and choices. It becomes another reasonably compelling piece.

Bring Yourself Back Online contains three programs: “Reflections on Season Two” (14:51), “Of Love and Shogun” (15:19) and “Journeys and Technology” (15:19). Each one offers a panel hosted by actors Leonardo Nam and Ptolemy Slocum.

“Reflections” features Wright, Wood, Marsden, “Shogun” brings Newton, Santoro, and actor Simon Quarterman, and “Journeys” offers actors Angela Sarafyan, Ben Barnes and Luke Hemsworth.

The “Online” segments cover characters/story/themes as well as cast and performances. Some decent insights result, but these segments come with too much happy talk to turn substantial.

Finally, Creating Westworld’s Reality consists of 10 featurettes: “The Drone Hosts” (3:23), “An Evocative Location” (3:23), “Fort Forlorn Hope” (5:31), “The Delos Experiment” (5:59), “Shogun World” (12:57), “Inside the Cradle” (4:47), “Chaos in the Mesa” (5:28), “Ghost Nation” (3:19), “Deconstructing Maeve” (3:31), and “The Valley Beyond” (11:42).

Through these, we find info from Nolan, Joy, Wright, Wood, Sarafyan, Woodward, Newton, Quarterman, Santoro, Thompson, Barnes, Herbers, production designer Howard Cummings, visual effects on set supervisor Bruce Branit, special make-up effects artist Kevin Kirkpatrick, special makeup effects designer Justin Raleigh, writer Carly Wray, supervising location manager Mandi Dillin, key assistant location manager Tada Chae, additional photographer John Grillo, executive producers Roberto Patino and Richard J. Lewis, set decorator Julie Ochipinti, special effects supervisor Michael Lantieri, special effects foreman Dave Pahoa, special effects coordinator Alan Roberts, visual effects supervisor Jay Worth, art director Jon Carlos, costume designer Sharen Davis, head dyer Francine LeCoultre, key makeup artist Elisa Marsh, hair department head Joy Zapata, director Frederick EO Toye, and actors Peter Mullan, Lewis Herthum, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rinko Kikuchi, Zahn McClarnon, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Martin Sensmeier.

The pieces offer info about the design and creation of the drone hosts, sets and locations, story/characters, stunts, action and effects, costumes. These jump around a lot, obviously, but they still provide a good mix of details about aspects of the series’ creation.

Though not quite as impressive as the prior year, Season Two of Westworld brings a fairly good run of shows. It meanders a little too much at times but still ends up as a compelling overall narrative. The 4K UHDs offer very good picture and audio along with fairly informative supplements. S2 of Westworld works well as a whole.

To rate this show visit the prior review of WESTWORLD: SEASON TWO