HBO's science fiction drama Westworld is not only known for its talented cast and philosophical reflections on the nature of reality. He has also become famous for his revelations, from explosive bombs that unite two characters with simple elements of the background story that bring a new perspective to a story. See Westworld is like peeling an onion, one layer at a time.
That's why for the second season of the series, I'm going to dive into a particular spoiler revelation of each episode, to discover what it means, how we got here, and where things could go in the coming episodes. Some weeks, it could be a big twist of the plot. In other weeks, it could be something subtle. Either way, we're going to spoil hell. Welcome to Westworld Spoilers Club.
In the preparation of the Westworld second season, HBO and the creators of the show were extraordinarily accurate about the information they shared before their time, and when. Surprises are part of what makes the program work week by week, so the promotional dance is much more than simply exaggerating great moments. It is about setting the stage and preparing the expectations of the audience, even if that is in itself a mistake.
One of the things that was mocked at the end of the first season was the existence of a second park, with the initials "SW" Revealed as its logo. Earlier this year, the viral marketing of the series revealed the name of that new park: Shogun World. With promotional clips that offered glimpses of Maeve (Thandie Newton) sporting a kimono, it seemed almost certain that Westworld would not only lead the audience to this new destination, but that Shogun World could play an important role. role in the new season.
It turns out that it would not even be the first new park that the public would see.
The great revelation?
The third episode of the season opens, "Virtù e Fortuna" with an image different from anything else in the series: two peacocks. The birds, the surrounding architecture, and particularly the musical option – a sitar version of the Seven Nations Army of The White Stripes by composer Ramin Djawadi – quickly make it clear that this is not an unknown corner of Westworld, and it is also not part of of Shogun World. It is a completely different park, which has no name during the episode, but seems focused on the recreation of the experience of hunting in India at some point in the late nineteenth century. (Credit to The relentless Reddit fanatics of Westworld one of whom predicted this same revelation two months ago after finding some strange evidence buried deep in the program's websites)