When they reach their first stop, Grace immediately notices something’s awry. After an odd bit of foreplay (more on that later), the two spend the night together, and the next day head out on safari to hunt bengal tigers. (Credit to Westworld’s tireless Reddit fans, one of whom predicted this very reveal two months ago after finding some strange evidence buried deep within the show’s websites.)Īn unnamed man (Neil Jackson, listed as “Nicholas” on the episode’s IMDB page), strikes up a flirtatious conversation with a disinterested woman (Katja Herbers “Grace” on IMDB). It goes unnamed in the episode, but according to the show’s websites the park is simply called The Raj. It’s a different park altogether, one that seems focused on recreating the experience of hunting in India sometime around the turn of the 19th century when the country was under British rule. The birds, the surrounding architecture, and particularly the music choice - a sitar-heavy cover of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” from composer Ramin Djawadi - quickly make it clear that this isn’t some undiscovered corner of Westworld, and it’s not part of Shogun World, either. The season’s third episode, “Virtù e Fortuna,” opens with an image unlike anything else in the series: two peacocks. It turns out it wouldn’t even be the first new park audiences would get to see. With promotional clips offering quick glimpses of Maeve (Thandie Newton) wearing a kimono, it seemed all but certain that Westworld wouldn’t just be bringing audiences to this new destination, but that Shogun World might actually play a significant role in the new season. Earlier this year, the show’s viral marketing revealed the name of that new park: Shogun World. One of the things teased at the end of the first season was the existence of a second park, with the initials “SW” revealed as its logo. It’s about setting the stage and priming the audience’s expectations - even if that is in and of itself a misdirect. Surprises are part of what makes the show tick on a week-to-week basis, so the promotional dance is about much more than just hyping big moments. In the build-up to Westworld’s second season, HBO and the show’s creators were extraordinarily precise about what information they shared ahead of time, and when. Either way, we’re going to spoil the hell out of it. In other weeks, it might be something subtle.
Some weeks, it might be a huge plot twist. That’s why for the show’s second season, I’ll be diving into one particular spoilery revelation from each episode, to figure out what it means, how we got here, and where things might go in the episodes to come. Watching Westworld is like peeling an onion, one layer at a time. It’s also become famous for its reveals, from mind-bending bombshells that link two characters to simple pieces of backstory that bring new insight to a storyline. HBO’s science fiction drama Westworld isn’t just known for its talented cast and its philosophical musings about the nature of reality.