Westworld returns for it’s third episode of the season–already!
Season 2 of Westworld is already off to an electrifying start. It looks to be getting even better with the upcoming episode titled “Virtù e Fortuna”. The Italian phrase translates to “Virtue and Fortune”. If the “fortune” bit of the title refers to literal money, it likely refers to Delos.
It could also be in the context of luck or chance, as in the “good fortune” of someone. Every character has suffered to some extent, but some have had better fortune overall or at the current moment.
Meanwhile, the “virtue” piece is even harder to pin down right now. Practically every character from Dolores to Maeve to the Man in Black could argue the virtue in their actions. No one can see themselves as the villain, inevitably leading to clashes between some of our favorite characters.
The episode teaser features a blend of beautiful shots and violent imagery, contrasted with whimsical whistling. Check it out along with the pictures below as we unpack what’s to come in the next chapter of Westworld.
Bernard and Dolores
While Arnold and Dolores shared quite a history together, Bernard and Dolores don’t know each other too well yet. This meeting doesn’t seem to initially be going too well for Bernard as he looks to be at the mercy of a gun-wielding Dolores. The collapsed chair next to him looks like the chairs where the Delos executives sat as Ford gave his final toast and was shot in the head by Dolores.
We’ll have to wait and see what brings Bernard back there, and if it’s in the more immediate aftermath of the uprising where he’s with Charlotte Hale, or if it’s two weeks later when he’s with Stubbs and the team sent in by Delos. Bernard, Stubbs and the Delos team already went through that area in the premiere, so it’s unclear what would draw them back there.
Dolores may spare Bernard
Regardless of the timeline, it looks like Dolores will spare Bernard, probably because he looks exactly like Arnold. Dolores exudes a tenderness in this picture she hasn’t shown for quite a while.
Thinking she’s reunited with Arnold could definitely bring that out of her, but she may be unable to look upon him with such compassion when she realizes it isn’t Arnold at all. As far as Dolores has come, seeing someone who looks exactly like Arnold but is actually a host made in the image of her old friend will be difficult to reconcile.
If they find a way to work together, Dolores and Bernard could definitely become a formidable team-up given their unique skills and strengths. The teaser seems to indicate Dolores wants to work with Bernard as she touches his face and speaks of how they deserve to survive.
Dolores heading into combat
Dolores will have more to deal with than just the complicated reunion with Bernard. Both this picture and several shots in the trailer show Dolores and her troops preparing for or engaged in combat. It even looks like they’ll be facing heavily armed human forces.
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This will be their greatest test yet as the hosts initially had the element of surprise in their favor, and they continued to press their advantage against the unprepared human adversaries left in disarray.
A prepared, organized, highly trained, and lethal group is a different matter entirely. In the picture above and in the teaser, it’s shown that Dolores is shot, and a number of other hosts will meet their demises.
Hector, Lee, and Maeve’s team-up
Episode 2 was much heavier on Dolores than Maeve, but this week looks to return to more of a balanced focus on the two of them. Maeve, Hector, and Lee Sizemore are already a bizarre, highly entertaining and insanely likable team-up. Fans will get to see what kind of progress they’re making in their quest to locate Maeve’s daughter after their run-in with Dolores and Teddy last week.
We don’t know exactly what’s stopping them in their tracks in the picture, but it may be the live tiger featured at the end of the teaser. The tiger pokes its head out of some greenery, and while that greenery looks leafier than the greenery bordering this creek, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that it’s the same general area.
A living tiger would certainly be enough to stop all three of them in their tracks, although their expressions seem to communicate curiosity more so than the expected panic of running into a tiger. If they do encounter the tiger, it’ll be interesting to see if it’s in Westworld or in Park 6 where Stubbs said the tigers come from.
A new park—possibly!
This last picture–also appearing in the teaser–is the most beautiful. For almost their entire lives Maeve and Hector have known nothing other than the scorching-hot, largely barren landscapes of Westworld. The only other world they know is the sterile environment of the park facilities.
Now two of the cleverest and deadliest individuals experience snow for the first time and watch it fall with childlike wonder.
It’s reasonable to assume Maeve, Hector and Lee will discover that Maeve’s daughter is no longer in Westworld, taking them to one of the other parks where it snows. This could be the first foray into Shogun World, especially since it’s confirmed that Maeve will travel there this season.
Next: Westworld season 2: 5 questions we have after episode 2
The other possibility is that snow has come to Westworld as a result of park borders breaking down and bleeding into each other. This has already started to happen with the dead tiger and body of water that weren’t supposed to be in Westworld in the first place. Snow could be next!
What do you hope to see in the coming episode? Let us know in the comments!
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Westworld airs every Sunday on HBO at 9 P.M. EST!