Ever since the conclusion of the first season of Westworld, the show has teased us with glimpses of another futuristic theme park, this one set in Edo period Japan: Shogun World. Next week, in the fifth episode of the new season, we’ll finally see it up close and personal. Check out the trailer for “Akane No Mai”:
Westworld has taken a very Game of Thrones-ish approach to its structure. It has several plot threads going at any one moment, each of them involving a different selection of characters. We’ll follow several of those threads in any given episode, but not all of them. So to tonight’s “Riddle of the Sphinx,” we saw a lot of Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) and the Man in Black (Ed Harris), but nothing of Maeve (Thandie Newton) or Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood). We’ll pick up with both of them in “Akane No Mai,” with Maeve’s adventures in Shogun World getting the lion’s share of attention.
And I’m pretty psyched about it! We’ve seen that shot of Maeve wielding a samurai sword in several of the trailers, and it’ll be a kick to finally see her swing it. Moreover, I’m excited for Westworld to widen its canvas and take us to other parks. The World of Ice and Fire has the North, King’s Landing, the Riverlands, Essos and more; if Westworld is going to match it for scope, we need to see some new places, and as photographed by director Craig Zobel, Shogun World looks stunning.
“The Riddle of the Sphinx” was the best episode of the season yet. Can “Akane No Mai” keep the streak going?
Next: Eight new parks we want to see on Westworld
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