Westworld: Go behind the scenes of the Battle of Fort Forlorn Hope

During last night’s new episode of Westworld, “Virtù e Fortuna,” we saw the show’s first-ever battle scene. Sure, we’d seen gunfights and bank heists before, but nothing on the scale of what happened at Fort Forlorn Hope. This week’s behind-the-scenes video explains how showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy brought the battle to life. Check it out:

A lot happened at Fort Forlorn Hope, meaning there’s a lot to unpack. First, Evan Rachel Wood (Dolores) should be lauded for her ability to switch between Wyatt the vengeful goddess to Dolores the plucky farmer’s daughter. Dolores’ scene with her “father” Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum) was unexpectedly tender.

Next up is Dolores’ betrayal of the Confederados. She remembers what the group did to her in season 1; at Logan’s (Ben Barnes) behest, they captured, tortured and ultimately killed her.

When Major Craddock (Jonathan Tucker) confronts Dolores after she betrays his men, she tells him that “not everyone is worthy of the Valley.” She’s said that before, although we’re still not sure what exactly it means.

Finally, the crew gets into the set and the Battle of Fort Forlorn Hope itself. Production designer Howard Cummings was tasked with giving the fort an Apocalypse Now-ish vibe, which he did. “It’s not the Alamo, it’s not western, it’s actually sort of mid-western.” Cummings also created the bunkers in front of the fort, where the actual battle took place.

Much like the stunt coordinators and producers on Game of Thrones, the people behind the scenes of Westworld worked diligently to bring this battle scene to life, although Westworld has a ways to go before it matches Game of Thrones for spectacle.

SFX coordinators Michael Lantieri and Dave Pahoa say that the battle, which involved “a couple hundred” extras and stunt people, “involved a week’s worth of prep.” “It was just one big choreographed stunt effects sequence that had to be timed and planned and executed perfectly.”

Westworld marches on this upcoming Sunday with Episode 204, “Riddle of the Sphinx.”

Next: Westworld season 2, Episode 3 recap: “Virtù e Fortuna”

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