We’re only three episodes into the new season of Westworld, and already the mysteries are starting to pile up.
As before with episodes 1 and 2, I’ll be outlining the major reveals from this week, and attempting to contextualize as much of it as possible. So without further delay, here’s what I think was worth noting in episode 3:
Welcome to The Raj
Well it’s official! A third park (out of at least six) has been concretely revealed, and it’s themed after India. While we can’t be completely positive about “when” this park is set, the decor and weapons (and in particular the the P08 Luger that’s featured in a big way) place is somewhere in the early to mid 1900’s.
Additionally, we know the park is called “The Raj” (and not Rajworld as was previously theorized), as revealed on a recently discovered website.
Heading to the main Delos Destinations website and asking the chat bot about The Raj reveals that it’s the newest park, a “luxury vacation destination that caters to every type of desire, set in British Colonial India.” In comparison, Shogun World is described as the most “advanced attraction,” perhaps hinting at the idea that each park has its own distinct “difficulty” level. The Raj might be more R&R oriented, while something like Shogun World might feature more aggressive storylines and hosts.
The events set in this new park also reveal a couple of interesting concepts:
- The tiger that washed ashore definitely came from The Raj, and now we know who killed it (although who that “who” is exactly is still a mystery).
- The parks border each other pretty closely, with very clearly marked boundaries that delineate “out of play” regions.
- Hosts in the other parks are also going rogue. We don’t know why exactly they’ve turned on the human visitors though, given most of the hosts in Westworld are still following their programmed loops.
And Speaking of That Mysterious Woman…
She seems to be in the park for a specific reason. She’s carrying a notebook with what looks like a map drawn on on its pages…
… And a symbol that we might actually have seen before (h/t to micklemitts on Reddit for the discovery).
Peter Abernathy is Just All Over the Place
The hunt for Abernathy seems to be at the center of all of the madness going on in the parks. Earlier in the season, we learned that Charlotte had enlisted Bernard’s help to track down Abernathy, and until they found him, Delos would not be sending outside help. We knew that help eventually arrives in the form of Strand and the Delos response team, so we assumed that at some point Charlotte is successful in delivering the package.
That turned out to be a bit premature. In this episode, we learned that even after Strand arrived, Charlotte is still looking for Abernathy. She may have gotten him out of Fort Forlorn, but at some point, she apparently loses him again.
Additionally, we also see the full extent of how messed up Abernathy is as a host. Having stripped down his personality in order to fit the park data into his brain, Abernathy is basically flipping back and forth between a near comatose shell and various scraps of the previous character roles he’s played.
There’s Something Weird Going on with the Ghost Nation and Guests
This is less a solid clue, and more of a string of “coincidences” that may be piling up to something big. There seems to be increasing evidence that Ghost Nation hosts have a very unique relationship with human visitors, and a special place in Robert Ford’s designs.
Very early in Season 1, we see that a Native American host named Kissy had a maze tattooed on the inside of his scalp. This is echoed in Season 2, when a Delos tech discovers the exact same symbol in the same place on a Ghost Nation host that Dolores had killed.
Later in the season, we learn that in some iteration of Maeve’s many lives, her home is attacked by Ghost Nation hosts (although this event seems to be mixed up with a memory of the Man in Black killing her daughter). In a separate flashback, we also see a Ghost Nation child drop a doll that looks remarkably similar to a Delos technician.
Ghost Nation hosts also “save” William’s group from Confederados, and much later in the season, a group of Ghost Nation warriors ambush Ashley Stubbs.
In this episode, during the confrontation with Maeve’s group, the Ghost Nation tribe members seem to recognize that Sizemore is different, and want to take him with them for some reason (also worth remembering that Hector is half Native American, explaining why he knows the language so well). Additionally, the female survivor of the tiger/host attack in The Raj washes ashore in Westworld, and is immediately confronted by Ghost Nation hosts.
And finally, in this blink and you’ll miss it moment. Here’s something that flashes on screen for just a second when Maeve is confronted by the Ghost Nation hosts.
Yup, another goddamn maze.
What does this all add up to? Well, nothing concrete, but a lot of instances of Ghost Nation hosts crossing paths with humans with very peculiar results. It is definitely worth noting that to date, we have never seen a Ghost Nation host kill a human. We’ve so far only seen them attack Stubbs, and he seems to be alive and well in Season 2.
Some fans are speculating that the Ghost Nation hosts may be programmed to help humans, and have a way to tell them apart from hosts. It does seem that they’re turning up in oddly convenient locations to bump into the wayward humans still alive in the park, and so far, we have no firm indication that they mean them harm.
It’s an interesting theory. Even if it’s wrong though, what seems clear is that the Ghost Nation hosts are special in some way, we just don’t know how yet.
Clementine is Back
The former Sweetwater prostitute has returned to the park, and is now among the ranks of Dolores’s army. It’s definitely worth noting that she, Teddy, and Angela were not a part of Wyatt’s gang, and therefore not pre-programmed to follow Dolores’s orders. However, she was seen at the Journey Into Night gala during the Season 1 finale, shooting up the party alongside other hosts.
During the battle at Fort Forlorn, Clementine knocks out Bernard (still struggling with whatever technical issues he was having in episode one), and drags him off somewhere.
Armistice, Felix, and Sylvester are Still Alive
All three of these characters were seemingly caught up in the violence at the Hub following the start of Journey Into Night, but here we find out that they’re all still alive. Armistice has a flamethrower now (and a new arm?), and has taken the hapless Delos techs Felix and Sylvester hostage.
Odds and Ends
- Now we know why Rebus (the host played by Steven Ogg) was so chivalrous on the beach, stepping in after a Delos soldier kills a female host. Bernard had previously reprogrammed him to be extremely compassionate.
- Park security can scan a person to check if they’re a host or not (possibly scanning for the explosive implanted in their spine?), but only at really close range.
- There’s something called “The Cradle,” and it’s important to Delos.
- Dolores is off to retrieve something in Sweetwater. We don’t know what yet, but it’s so important that she’s going after it instead of personally leading the hunt for her father, or continuing towards the “weapon.”
And finally, here’s the updated map from the Delos Destinations website. We can see Dolores heading east to Fort Forlorn, why Maeve hooks south before heading towards the Mesa and ending up in a story region known as the “Klondike.” I’m can’t remember if a reason was given for why she’s taking such a circuitous route towards the Ranch Land though.
