The Super Powered Fancast

Westworld

HBO

Season 2 Episode 1

Journey Into Night

The second season premiere opens on a familiar scene with Bernard having a conversation with Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), who has picked up an insight that worries Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) as they talk. His fear of what she could become is evident when he begins to have flashes of events unseen and wakes up on the beach, seemingly unaware of everything that’s happened.

Delos Security has set up a base on the edge of the park and a group of heavily armed mercenaries looks like they are preparing for war. The full aftermath of the massacre from last season has yet to be revealed, but there are some great visuals in this first few minutes that begin a deeper mystery, including why Dolores has decided to start killing Hosts as well as guests. This causes Bernard to flash back to the attack and we get to see how the guests react to their new surroundings.

Dolores and Teddy (James Marsden) are on the hunt for guests throughout the park. When she catches a group of them, she decides to give them a lesson in the nature of her existence vs the people she has captured and she comes up with a pretty scary realization. At the same time, the man in black (Ed Harris) seems to have found new purpose in this new park, free of the rules. As interesting as the other stories are getting from a narrative perspective, his story seems to be the most fun so far.

Maeve (Thandie Newton) has returned to find her daughter and she’s going to use the writer to do it. Her reunion with Hector (Rodrigo Santoro) is an interesting dynamic as well and shows a deeper connection that should add more depth to her story. I also enjoy the fact that they aren’t completely autonomous when it comes to what they say and do, especially when the writer explains about writing the lines she’s saying.

The bigger mystery is what Hale (Tessa Thompson) is doing in her own underground lab. The fact that she is extracting the DNA from guests as well as records of their experiences broadens the mystery even more. There is a lot in this episode to unpack and I can’t wait to dive deeper into this mystery.