Westworld is a television series set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, exploring a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.
After much ado, Westworld is officially back! At the end of Season 1, we learned that Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) had spent years preparing the hosts to fight back before freeing them to do as they please. We also came to learn that Westworld isn’t the only park of this kind, as Maeve Millay (Thandie Newton) stumbled across Shogun World. We were left with many questions, and it’s finally time to get some answers!
In Season 2 we pick up right where we left off. Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) wakes up on a beach where he is found by Ashley Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) as well as what looks like contracted private security. Karl Strand (Gustaf Skarsgard) is leading the operation to recapture Westworld from the freed hosts, and has established a base of operations on the beach nearby. While securing different areas of the park, they come across a dead Bengal Tiger, which we learn is from one of the sister parks. This is the first-time different parks have crossed paths. Next the team traces a group of hosts to an unmarked sea that seems to have popped up out of nowhere. All the hosts are drowned, and Bernard realizes that he killed them.
We also see a flashback of Bernard, Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson), and some other board members the night all the hosts escaped and Ford was killed. In an attempt to escape most of their group is ambushed and killed, but Bernard and Charlotte are able to get away and go to a secret bunker. While in the bunker, Charlotte communicates with someone from the outside world and requests an evacuation, but they refuse until she ensures that Peter Abernathy escapes the park. His host contains valuable information that is needed, so Bernard starts attempting to track him down.
Teddy Flood (James Marsden) and Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), on the other hand, are on a killing spree. Teddy seems uneasy about all the killing they’ve been doing and tells her all he wants is a small corner of Westworld. Dolores has bigger ambitions, however, and not only wants to take over Westworld, she wants to escape and take over the real world. We also catch up with Maeve, who has enlisted the help of Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) and Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro) to help her find her daughter.
So pure chaos has erupted on Westworld. Dolores has gone from the sweet and innocent farmhand to a full-blown murderer. The Man in Black is still around and attempting to unravel Ford’s mystery behind Westworld. We get a taste of worlds colliding with the Bengal Tiger that had strayed into Westworld. Poor Bernard is still a complete mess as he deals with ailing “health,” continuous flashbacks, and apparently mass host murder. And of course, we get to catch up with the always exciting and self-aware, Maeve, who will not give up the hunt for her daughter. The scenes from upcoming episodes look very promising as the story behind Westworld keeps spinning down the rabbit hole. Most of the story was spent catching us up with characters and setting the table for things to come, but boy is it great to be back.