Westworld and the incredible visual effects for the season 2 finale

The Westworld season 2 finale gave us some epic moments, and none of it would have been possible without the incredible VFX team that makes every moment flawless and perfect.

Westworld has visual effects embedded within every moment, unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Honestly, VFX has reached such a perfection that the audience often has no idea that what they are seeing is actually placed in through complicated and tedious work.

The season 2 finale of Westworld was interesting and epic, and perhaps one of the biggest VFX moments of the season, if not the series. The entire season was leading up to this point, and when all the hosts gather to venture out past the world they were currently in, it was quite the sight to see.

A rip, only visible to hosts, emerged that represented a break in the world for the hosts and a place to go beyond–into the Sublime. By entering this world, the hosts are finally “free” of all the torment they had inflicted upon them by humans, and to accomplish bringing this moment to life through VFX was no easy task.

In an interview with SyFy Wire, the Emmy-nominated visual effects supervisor for Westworld, Jay Worth spoke about the season 2 finale and how it was perhaps the most difficult episode he’s worked on to date for the series.

Worth spoke about tackling shots for the big epic scene where Akecheta is running through, and how that required multiple locations and coordinating it to make it all look like one big shot.

"“The Gate environment, which was this whole climactic moment where Akecheta is running through, we shot that at two different locations, pointing in numerous different directions over numerous days and weeks. So getting all of those things to look like the same environment was a real challenge. We shot the final scene at a quarry up in Simi Valley, and we shot at a place called Pinnacles in the California desert. So we were able to put this quarry location into this Pinnacles location to try to make it look like we were in the same location for both pieces.”"

Worth spoke about many of the effects being added in after the fact, many of which go unnoticed by the audience. Even the thought process that went into creating the rip, and keeping in mind that it was not something the humans could see required a lot of adjustments and a complicated thought process.

It’s safe to say it was quite the group effort resulting in countless days and weeks of work, and a lot of planning which brought the moments of the season 2 finale together. From the subtle effects to the obvious ones, each one is intricate, detailed, and brought life to a very pivotal moment in the series, and what will lay the groundwork for season 3.

Here’s to hoping the VFX team for Westworld sweeps at the Emmys this year!