Television

'Westworld' Season 2 Teaser: Everything Is Completely And Totally Fine

Westworld Season 2 date
By Ben Pearson

We've only seen a few brief glimpses of actual footage from the highly-anticipated second season of HBO's sci-fi series Westworld, but as we inch closer to the show's return, the network is starting to open the valve a little more. We know a new TV spot is coming during the Super Bowl this weekend, and in the meantime, HBO has unveiled a new Westworld season 2 teaser trailer that hints at the chaos that's been happening with the park since the events of the season 1 finale.

Westworld season 2 teaser

The teaser opens with an "unknown user" – possibly Delos employee Elsie Hughes (Shannon Woodward), who disappeared last season and is presumed dead – pleading with the audience. "If you can see this message, please get help," this person begs. But that message is quickly cut off by a system override and instantly loads "Journey Into Night," the final narrative created by Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) and also the title of the season 2 premiere episode. Spoilers for season one, but that season's finale concluded with Ford's unveiling of his new narrative...and it didn't exactly end well. Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) executed Ford and led an android uprising against the Delos employees who had gathered in the park.

The teaser picks up with a new user, Delos executive Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson), who types, "Narrative unveiling successful. Ford took it in stride. Restructuring/downsizing on track." Might this mean that Charlotte is a host instead of a human? Or is someone using her identity to attempt to persuade the outside world that everything is just fine inside Delos? Or is she just trying to cover her butt as Delos works to contain their robot problem?

The teaser also links to a Delos website, which has a few entries in the "corp alerts" section; one teases a boots on the ground campaign outreach event in Minneapolis, and another is a tribute to Robert Ford and a celebration of Journey into Night. There's a line in that entry that I think is worth taking a closer look at:

"Under Dr. Ford's leadership, Westworld grew from a singular theme park into an entire constellation of entertainment havens, solidifying Delos Destinations as a company without peers."

First of all, the plural usage there ("havens") once again confirms that Westworld is one of several parks, as previously teased by the robot samurai we saw in the season 1 finale. But beyond that...is that reference to a constellation an indication that Westworld and the other parks are set on the surface of a different planet or planets, as one prominent season 1 theory suggested? Or is it just a case of the showrunners trolling a fan base that's guaranteed to pick up on a little detail like that? Hopefully, we'll find out when Westworld season 2 hits HBO in Spring 2018.

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