After last night’s premiere of “Akane No Mai”, the second season of HBO’s Westworld is now halfway done. A lot has happened, but there is still a ton of intrigue and mystery across multiple timelines, and we’ll get more answers in the seasons’ second half. These are the five biggest questions ahead of the final five episodes of Season 2.
How do Teddy and the other hosts end up drowned?
At the conclusion of the dizzying Season 2 premiere, Bernard and the Delos team led by Karl Strand work their way to a lake that none of them were aware Dr. Ford built. Hundreds of hosts, including Teddy, were dead floating in the lake, and Bernard revealed: “I killed them. All of them.” More on Bernard later, but if he is to be believed, we don’t have any clear idea of why or how exactly Bernard killed all those hosts. Dolores might have had something to do with it given she turned on Teddy in last night’s episode, and it looks like Teddy ends up not surviving the changes made to him.
What is the “weapon”?
During the second episode of the season, “Reunion”, Dolores is shown in the past in the outside world—first, with Arnold; then, with William. At the end of the episode, William showed Dolores a construction site and mocked her by asking, “Have you ever seen anything so full of splendor?” Then, in the semi-present, Dolores took Teddy to the same location, and she insisted it was a “weapon.” Dolores probably wants to get outside of Westworld using “The Door” (another mystery) that was also talked about earlier this season, but no one knows what this “weapon” is or what it will be used for.
What is going on with Bernard?
For much of the first half of the season, Bernard’s storyline was likely confusing for many people. As the episodes have progressed, things have become clearer with Bernard’s timeline. In the present-past (where most of the season is occurring), he worked his way from escaping with Charlotte, to being captured and freed by Dolores to help Peter, to getting away and finding Elsie. And in the present-future (with the Delos crew), he met back up with Charlotte and admitted to killing hundreds of hosts. In both timelines, Bernard clearly has something going on, but it’s not obvious if he even knows what he’s doing. He remembered killed all those humans in the control lab but doesn’t seem to remember why. Bernard is going to be a big key over the final five episodes of the season.
Who is the other human that is to be created?
This also has to do with Bernard, but it’s a big enough question on its own. William and Delos Corporation had been attempting for some time to plant the mind of a deceased (James Delos), i.e. human consciousness, into a host-like unit. We know from Season 2, Episode 4, “The Riddle of the Sphinx”, that Dr. Ford ordered Bernard to print control unit for another human, but Bernard doesn’t remember what human. Was Ford asked by someone else (like William) to get another control unit printed—perhaps of his wife or of himself? Is the other human Ford himself?
How has Maeve acquired this new power?
Dating back to Season 1, Maeve has had the ability to command other hosts to do as she says. However, it wasn’t working in last night’s episode when the Shogun’s ninjas ambushed her and the others—until, she somehow controlled the hosts without saying a word. Later, Maeve put her newfound powers to use by escaping what looked like an inescapable situation, destroying all the enemy hosts without lifting a finger. This power might have been something Maeve has had—but is just now discovering—since she maxed out her attributes in Season 1. Or it could be something else.
Ford coming back would be epic.
Oh yeah bro.
What happens to Elsie?
Good question. There’s a hole there.