‘Westworld’ Season 4 Blu-ray Review: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of The Sublime

This week we learned that HBO Max is dropping Westworld from its catalog, making the home media versions of the show more precious than ever. Westworld Season 4 came out in an exquisite digital and Blu-ray combo pack just last month, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment sent over a copy for PopCulture.com to review. For fans of this legendary and tragically canceled series, this is a must-have for the permanent collection.

Westworld Season 4 aired this summer and took the dystopian sci-fi series even deeper into cyberpunk territory, to the delight of some fans and the frustration of others. In October, series co-creator Jonathan Nolan mentioned at New York City Comic Con that he was hopeful for a fifth season renewal, but just a couple of weeks later HBO announced that the show was canceled. If that weren’t bad enough, according to a report by Deadline Westworld is leaving the HBO Max streaming catalog along with several other titles as a way of saving money for the parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. That means that home releases like this are more valuable than ever.

Fortunately, fans will find that Westworld Season 4: The Choice looks great in its physical form. The season comes in a black Blu-ray case with a total of six discs inside – a snug fit that prevents any jostling or wasted plastic. Inside, a single insert contains the details on the digital copy and how to redeem it, but more on that later.

The technical details of this release are as high-quality as they come. The most expensive version of the collection includes Season 4 of Westworld on Blu-ray along with a digital copy in 4K Ultra HD. You can also buy the Blu-ray version alone for $34.99, or the DVD copy alone for $29.99. There is no option to buy the DVD version with a digital copy. Note that you can also buy this season directly from digital stores, but it won’t include the special features described in this review.

While the show itself is the main event, there are some extra perks for buying this hard copy. There are four featurettes in the special features – “Creating Westworld‘s Reality,” “Westworld on the Road,” “Westworld‘s Temperance: A Set Tour” and “Westworld: An Exploration of Humanity.” As the titles suggest, these featurettes offer behind-the-scenes looks at the filming process that may be interesting to film buffs, as well as commentary on the themes and creative direction of Westworld. For fans still heartbroken over the abrupt cancellation, these kinds of clips may be your best hint at what would have come next in the series.

Details including the special features box art are copied from the case to the dust jacket for those averse to redundancy. Both also warn prominently that the digital code is only valid through Dec. 31, 2024. Of course, since the show has been removed from streaming and its future availability is unclear, this digital code now counts for more than fans may have anticipated before.

Your digital copy of Westworld Season 4 can be redeemed through a Warner Bros. website that redirects you to Vudu. If you don’t have a Vudu account you will be prompted to create one, and once you’ve redeemed your code you’ll have access to your show on any device that can stream Vudu content. You will not need to pay a monthly subscription, however, it’s worth mentioning that this is not the best we could have hoped for in terms of digital availability. Vudu does not allow users to download a simple video file for movies they’ve purchased in this way, meaning that you will only keep access to your digital copy as long as Vudu stays operational. As more and more fans are finding out, digital purchases can be fickle, and can sometimes disappear from your library.

There’s no sign of that happening yet, but in the face of HBO Max’s media purge, it would be nice to be able to download a digital copy and dedicate some personal hard drive space to a masterpiece like Westworld. Vudu even connects to the app Movies Anywhere, which in turn makes most digital downloads available on Microsoft’s Movies & TV app. There, fans can download their movies and keep them for peace of mind, but unfortunately, the studios behind Westworld won’t allow that in this case.

Still, purchasing the Westworld Season 4 Blu-ray set will ensure that you can re-watch this abrupt finale for as long as you can keep the discs free of scratches. Knowing what we know now, it’s bittersweet to see the tagline “adapt or die” printed on this box, but it’s all fans can hope for now. Westworld Season 4: The Choice is available now starting at $29.99 wherever DVDs are sold.