What You Can Expect From Westworld Season 2

Written by Nena Serafimovska

With season two of Westworld set to kick off this month, the third and most extensive trailer for the new season has finally dropped, and it packs a lot of punches.

Set to a foreboding classical rearrangement of Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box, the near three-minute trailer shows just how far off course the neat and orderly world of season one has veered; with an explosion of chaos and retribution, carried out by the hosts who have now become self-aware. So, what can we expect?

Ford’s grand plan

The end of season one revealed that Westworld’s original co-creator, Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), had purposely programmed the hosts to become self-aware over time. The show’s writer, Jonathan Nolan, has stated in interviews that season two will explore Ford’s intentions for upending Westworld. Whether it’s the work of a bitter old man who wants to destroy a life’s work that’s being taken from him, punishment for the human guests, or help for the hosts to escape into the real world, it looks like we’ll finally learn what’s going on in this season.

Delos Corporation in damage control

It looks like the Delos Corporation will be facing a barrage of problems when season two premiers. We can expect to see an army of self-aware hosts, led by Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maeve (Thandie Newton), spear-heading revolts not only within the park, but also against the human designer and technicians responsible for them.

Going multi-world

According to a new Delos Destinations website, there are a total of six parks. We’ve already glimpsed the Japanese Shogunworld in the recent trailer as Maeve makes her way through the Edo period crowds, and maybe even Futureworld, from the clip of Dolores at a cocktail party in a glamorous and modern high-rise building. If the 1973 film is anything to go by, then Medievalworld and Romanworld might be some of the soon-to-be disclosed destinations.

Based on the trailers, it looks as though Delos Corporation could have a hard time stopping the uprising from infiltrating the other worlds, and igniting rebellions there.

Westworld’s mysterious location

Another question that’s popped up from the trailers is – where exactly is Westworld? Is it an island? In the opening, we see Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) waking up with scores of Delos security troops arriving on a beach full of dead hosts and humans. Bernard also comes across a tiger that’s washed up on the shore. Clearly, Westworld doesn’t include tigers, so where did the animal come from? There are countless theories on Reddit about where these worlds are actually hosted. Are they like Jurassic Park? Secluded so that in the event of a breakout the hosts can never reach the human world? We may just find out in season two.

Returning characters

The trailers confirm that the major players Dolores, Bernard, the Man in Black, aka the older William, and Maeve will be back in a big way. Interestingly, Jimmi Simpson, who played young William, is also set to return, meaning we’ll get an insight into what caused his fresh-faced and morally upright character to morph into the savage Man in Black played by Ed Harris.

Mysterious drone hosts

Most exciting is the introduction of the faceless, white-bodied “drone hosts,” seen sneaking up on Bernard and lashing out in the trailers. It’s been hinted that these hosts relate to Delos Corporation’s secret project.

New faces

New (human) faces joining Westworld include rumoured Delos Corporation employee Gustaf Skarsgard (Vikings), Ghost Nation host Zahn McClarnon (Longmire and Fargo), Westworld host Betty Gabriel (Get Out), military officer Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom), Shogunworld host Hiroyuki Sanada (47 Ronin and Lost), Shogunworld geisha Rinko Kikuchi (Pacific Rim Uprising), and Delos Corporation founder James Delos, played by Peter Mullan (Ozark).

Westworld season two hits Foxel Showcase 11:30am AEST, 23 April.