So, How Many Timelines Are We Dealing With in the New Season of "Westworld"?

"Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?" Only while watching Westworld.

Westworld finally returned last night and (*cerebrospinal fluid seeps out of ear and body collapses*).

Yep, one hour in and we can already tell it’s gonna be another mind-melting season, with deceptive timelines, overlapping narratives and unreliable memories. Also: lots and lots and lots of headshots.

Spoilers ahead, obviously.

From the first moments of Season Two’s premiere, "Journey Into Night", it became apparent that showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were gonna double down on the first season’s big twist (that Jimmi Simpson’s romantic hero William and Ed Harris’ Man in Black were the same dude, and that Evan Rachel Wood’s revolutionary cowgirl was getting her two timelines with both gents tangled up).

Now, it looks like Jeffrey Wright’s Bernard, who discovered he was a host at the end of Season One, will by the lynchpin for the next stage of the show, and the only thing tethering us to reality (though, given the "critical" injuries he’s facing, and the fact that his robot brain is not exactly being his friend right now, that may be risky). Think of him like the spinning top from the end of Inception, sort-of.

Here’s a guide to the timelines (that we know about):

#1: Bernard/Arnold and Classic Dolores

"Journey Into Night" opens with a wider aspect ratio than usual, putting black bars beneath what appears to be a chat between Dolores—in her traditional rancher's daughter dress—and the late Arnold, one of the park’s original founders, also played by Wright. So, does this take place several decades before the eventual robot revolt on Westworld? Or, is the newly conscious Dolores actually chatting with Bernard, the host modelled on Arnold? We’re… not sure.

#2: Bernard/Arnold and Fancy Dolores

During one of Bernard’s many meltdowns, he has visions of himself and Dolores, now wearing a sleek and very modern black dress (we’ve also seen her wearing a white dress in promotional imagery, below). Is this from way in the future, once Dolores gets out of the park? Or, is it a flashback to more of Arnold’s memories. Again, we’re… not sure. (Look, we can only work with what we’ve got.)

#3: Bernard on the Beach

Okay, we’re pretty confident that this timeline actually includes Bernard, who wakes up on a beach, several weeks after the robot uprising has been quelled, culminating in the discovery of hundreds of dead hosts in a body of water. One of those dead hosts appears to be Teddy (James Marsden), which at least indicates this is a different timeline to…

#4: Dolores and Teddy

… this timeline, where a newly savage Dolores goes on a human killing spree, telling Teddy she not only wants to take over Westworld, but the human world too. (That sounds bad for us.) We’re also going to assume that this timeline, taking place in the immediate aftermath of the massacre at Westworld, also includes Bernard running away with Charlotte (Tessa Thompson), and Maeve (Thandie Newton) forcing the annoying screenwriter Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) to strip.

Of course, all of this could be disproven by Episode Two.

It’s good to have you back, Westworld.

Westworld airs on Foxtel’s showcase channel in Australia.

Photo: HBO