I know I’m a little late to the Westworld party, but after not watching it as it aired, I am now officially done with the hit HBO’s first season. After a few nights of watching Dolores, Teddy and Bernard, I can honestly say I think I have a new favorite show on HBO. Westworld is not a show you can simply half pay attention to, as it is a show for the thinking fan. The season one finale, in particular, was absolutely stunning, wrapping up many of the season’s biggest mysteries.
The show will probably be even more entertaining a second time around, with many of the head-scratching scenes in earlier episodes will make a ton of sense. But I want to go back to the season finale, titled “The Bicameral Mind”, which still has fans talking. Not only did the episode answer many questions, but it also raised a few new ones.
Following the tremendous hour and a half of television, some fans were left to wonder if Doctor Ford (Anthony Hopkins) is done for good. Others were asking if the term “mainland”, mentioned by Bernard, meant the park is located on an island. We were also left to wonder about the fates of Elsie and Stubbs, both of whom did not appear in the finale. But there is another question that I want to delve into.
That question is as follows: What other themed parks are there? During the episode when Maeve is leading Felix, Armistice and Hector through the facility, they come across an area with a big SW logo. Upon entering, they come across a bunch of hosts dressed as Samurais. Pair that with the note that Felix hands Maeve during the episode where it starts with “Park 1”, and the chatter of Samurai World began!
So it appears there are certainly more parks than just “Westworld”. Now that begs the next question: Which of these parks/worlds will we get to see in season two? With several of the shows characters unlikely to return following the events of season one, there will obviously be room to add in some new faces. And what better way to do that then introduce some new parks! So here are five potential “worlds” we could see in season two.
[Kenny]
Samurai World
Ok, so this is an easy choice. We already got a quick glimpse of this one, and we know it is already out there. With a tease like that in the season one finale, it would make plenty of sense to have the world play a role in season two of the show. With the hosts gaining consciousness I would image we could even see some of those who are members of Westworld making the trip into the Asian-inspired world.
Since one of the main attractions for people to go to Westworld was the ability to get violent, getting the chance to break out some samurai swords seems like an easy choice. If this world does get explored, I would say it is safe to say we will be seeing a few heads getting chopped off.
Medieval World
Speaking of seeing heads getting chopped off, what better place to do that than in a Medieval World? This world would allow for more swords and maybe even guillotines. We could get Kings, Queens, castles and court jesters. Given one of HBO’s biggest hits of all time (Game of Thrones) has a bit of that Medieval feel to it, we know it is something that the network knows. They know which elements work and which do not, so bringing this to life is certainly a possibility.
Fantasy World
This one could lead to a little extra imagination. Never before seen creatures could come to life on our screens, and maybe allow for some alien looking hosts. Also, there could be dragons (yes I am playing off the Game of Thrones idea again). But not just creatures, but maybe witch, vampire and monster type hosts. The bottom line here is there is plenty of room in terms of what could be included. That type of creative freedom could certainly open up a ton of storyline ideas. My only question here would be if this is too “unreal”, as the first season was extremely grounded and had a realness to it. Given that, it is unknown how far the show-runners would want to push the envelope. But if they do decide to expand things, I think this could certainly be an interesting angle to take.
Tomorrow/Future World
Now, this may be my favorite choice. Start with the idea of Tommorw Land in Disney World. Then expand off of that to include people flying around with jetpacks, hover cars and a bunch of really cool futuristic technology. As far as the world’s use of violence, we could see a bunch of fancy new futuristic weapons. I could certainly see Teddy, Dolores and Maeve struggling to work their way through a futuristic type of landscape, as it is almost the complete opposite of the Western-themed one they all know.
Dino World
This may be too similar to Jurasic Park to be used, but it would still be cool. The show did have a handful of reference to the film, with one particular Easter Egg sticking out in the finale. So we know the show-runners clearly take some inspiration from the movie, but how far is too far in terms of copying it? My best guess is it is a park that we would not get to explore very much, but rather one that we get a quick glimpse of. Maybe as some of the characters are working their way through the complex we see a T-rex host being trained in the background.
So what worlds would you like to see in season two of Westworld? Tell us in the comments!