Westworld: 5 Biggest takeaways from Journey into Night

Westworld returns with a chaotic, marvelous season two premiere. But what are the biggest takeaways? Let’s discuss!

Westworld is back! And we are SO thrilled to start discussing and diving into the season two premiere. Last night’s episode was the perfect way to set up what is sure to be one hell of a season. Now, we definitely need a moment to process all the ins and outs of the episode. Following the aftermath of season one’s finale, we learned the fate of many characters–most of which *phew* are alive!

The season two premiere picks up, sort of, where we left off–about two weeks later. Bernard is confused, Maeve is angry as ever, and Dolores has gone over to the dark side. So what are the biggest takeaways from last night’s premiere? Let’s discuss!

Westworld is on an…ISLAND!

At this point, we’ve learned a lot about what Westworld is, but it was never revealed where it is. One of the biggest reveals in last night’s premiere is that is actually on an island–somewhere in Asia. This reveals comes from Karl Strand while talking to an officer explaining that Delos was given authority over this island by his country.

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Interesting, very interesting. And with the emergence of a random dead Bengal tiger appearing in Westworld, we can assume that the other parks are close by as well. We didn’t really see that coming, did we?

What the inside of a host brain looks like

In the first season we saw many host heads be cut open, but we never really saw inside of them until last night. Technician Antoine (Fares Fares) cut into a warrior host’s head in the premiere, so they could analyze the host’s most recent memories. Inside its head, was a filter like contraption that stores all the memories and information the host needs to function.

It’s interesting to see exactly how the host “brains” function–and how information is gleaned from them. Looking back at this particular host’s memories, we see a clip of Dolores moments before she shoots him in the head. Based on the feed, this took place approximately 11 days prior, which gives us an idea of the timeline we’re currently in.

Guest experiences and their DNA are being logged into records

Bernard comes across this fact when he and Charlotte find a safe house to momentarily escape the madness unfolding in Westworld. While Charlotte is trying to get an extraction team to come rescue them, Bernard notices that a drone host is removing the brain of a host and performing some sort of test on it.

Bernard inquires about keeping track of their guests in this manner, but Charlotte asks him not to go down that rabbit hole. What we do know is that Charlotte is trying to extract the data for ulterior motives via Peter Abernathy’s host body by invading the privacy of Westworld guests.  And what we can take away from this moment and scene is that something extremely sinister is at play here–and we will have to keep an eye on Charlotte as the season progresses.

Bernard’s tremor could have unforeseen circumstances

Last season, Bernard shot himself in the head after Dr. Ford made him. And it appears it may have caused more damage than any of us realized–based on Bernard’s behavior last night. Not only did he have a tremor, but after hitting his head, a clear ooze was seen coming out of his ear.

Has there been damage to his “brain”? It would appear so because he starts to have some sort of “critical corruption” causing him to malfunction–at least until he injects himself with another host’s bodily fluids.

The game is designed for the Man in Black

Even with Ford dead, he made sure to leave something behind for the villainous Man in Black. In one of the more eerie scenes from last night’s premiere, the Man in Black comes across a younger host Ford who tells him the game is meant for him.

Next: Westworld season 2, episode 1 recap: Journey into Night

He delivers this message in a mix of his young voice meshed with the older Ford’s voice–up until the moment, the Man in Black shoots him. With season two being referred to as “the door”, it will be interesting to see where Ford’s latest riddle/game will lead the Man in Black.

Season two is off to an amazing start, and we are just getting started! There is lots more to analyze, discuss, and dive into so be sure to check back daily for more things Westworld!

Westworld airs every Sunday on HBO at 9 P.M. EST!