Westworld: 9 Mysteries That Season 2 Must Resolve
The hosts have woken up, and found that they are strong.
Westworld may very well have been the biggest surprise of the fall TV season. HBO's attempt to revive a nearly forgotten property, under the guidance of Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy, has buoyed a network in need of a hit drama not named Game of Thrones, and delighted fans around the globe.
Thanks to masterful storytelling and career defining performances from a number of actors, Westworld has succeeded beyond all expectations. A huge part of it (but crucially, not the only reason) has been how deftly the show's writing team has woven mysteries throughout the season - making them part of the very fabric of the series.
Luckily, Westworld has proven that it's not following in the footsteps of a show like Lost, which started strong, but became bogged down later in its run. Instead, the fledgling HBO drama answered many of the key questions it posed in season one. Fans now know who the Man in Black is. They know the meaning of the maze. They know who created it, and they know why the Hosts (Westworld's android population) are waking up.
That said, there are still plenty of mysteries left at season's end to carry into year two. Which of them are key, and most be resolved in the next chapter? Let's take a look.
9. Who Is Really Self-Aware?
Delores? Maeve? Teddy? Hector? Are they alive, or following their code?
One of the most entertaining and engaging mysteries of the first season of Westworld was determining who was actually becoming aware, and who was simply following their loop - or a modified loop.
It's safe to say that by season's end, three hosts are fully aware, and arguably sentient beings: Delores, Maeve, and Bernard. The waters are muddied a little by the fact that all of them have flirted with awareness before (Bernard specifically states that this is not the first time he has "woken up"), but in the end, they're safe bets.
What of Teddy, though? Is he following his loop, and saving the day, or has he really woken up? How about Hector, who after all, doesn't seem to have evolved from the shortsighted, shoot 'em all gunslinger he was programmed to be? Was Clementine waking up, given she was suffering from troubling dreams, prior to undergoing the android version of a lobotomy?
This is one mystery the show needs to clear up in the second season. While the "who is/who isn't" question has been fun, after a while, it could become tedious. By mid-season or so, all - or at least most - of the chess pieces should be on the board.