Go behind the scenes of “Kiksuya” and learn all about the Ghost Nation

Last night’s episode of Westworld, “Kiksuya” is being hailed as the best episode of the series to date, including by us. Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair even compared it to Game of Thrones‘ “The Door.”

Part of the reason “Kiksuya” hit so hard was because it was such a departure for the show, focusing on a character and group of hosts we had only ever seen in passing before. What inspired the change? Star Zahn McClarnon (Akecheta), creator Lisa Joy and writer Carly Wray (who’s also developing one of the Game of Thrones spinoffs, by the way), among others, dive into it in this behind-the-scenes video:

I definitely appreciated the way “Kiksuya” upended our expectations about the Ghost Nation, who up to this point had been portrayed as stereotypical killer Indians from old westerns. But what I liked best was the tight focus the episode kept on a small group of characters, and on the emotions they were experiencing. It sounds like the producers were of the same mind. I also really like this quote from Joy:

"In a season that is full of love stories — Maeve and her daughter, Akane and Sakura, Teddy and Dolores…It’s not only a season about the people that we fight. It’s a season about the reasons we fight, and that’s because of the people we love."

Are Dolores and Teddy in a love story? If so, it’s a very offbeat one.

The second season of Westworld has caught some flak for not feeling as interesting as the last one, but Joy’s quote puts it into a new context. I’m excited to see if they can follow through in the final two episodes of the year.

Next: "Kiksuya" may be the best episode of Westworld yet

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