What to make of Westworld's Season 2 ratings slump?

Vulture

The Season 2 finale was down significantly in viewers from the Season 2 premiere. Westworld still has "very good -- even great" -- ratings for a premium cable show, says Josef Adalian. Yet Westworld faces "a bit of an expectations problem." He adds that "the biggest problem for HBO is that, from the start, Westworld has been haunted by the ghost of expectations," partially due to its hefty price tag and and to its rocky path from script to screen. "While there’s no reason for HBO execs to panic over these numbers, season two of Westworld has not been an unqualified triumph, either," he says. Still, he adds, "it’s probably a good thing if folks stop thinking of Westworld as some sort of post-(Game of Thrones) messiah for HBO and simply accept it as another strong — if very expensive — cog in the network’s production machine," particularly when it generates so much fervent fan interest.