So, Who’s Even Coming Back For “Westworld” Season 2?

HBO’s Westworld wrapped up with a literal bang last night. Needless to say, if you didn’t watch, you may want to catch the first train out of this article.

Spoilers ahoy.

The first season's finale delivered answers to some of the show’s biggest mysteries. Like, is William the Man in Black? (No duh.) Was Dolores also Wyatt? (Yep.) And, will we ever care about Lee? (Not even briefly.)

But, as you’d imagine, much more was left hanging as a self-actualised Dolores opened fire on the Delos board members and their esteemed guests, kicking off the robot revolt and basically bringing the show in line with the 1973 movie of the same name.

If you were waiting all season for the inevitable robot-on-human violence, you’ll have to wait a little longer—until 2018—to see the ramifications.

For instance, will Anthony Hopkins’ Dr. Ford—who was last seen taking a bullet to the back of the head—be back for Westworld S2?

Showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy told EW, “Assume nothing.”

“We were very lucky to have one amazing season with Anthony Hopkins,” said Nolan.

“We loved working with him. As for the show, where it goes, the characters — we’ve well established we’re playing in a more advanced ruleset in terms of death and resurrection than other [projects] I’ve worked on.”

Nolan and Joy declined to say if anyone was definitively not returning for another season, though there are certain players whose time on the show seems to have reached a natural conclusion.

They include, tragically, Jimmi Simpson, and, less tragically, Ben Barnes. Now that Dolores has caught up to the most current timeline, ye olde William and Logan are unlikely to be seen again.

That is, unless Ed Harris’ Man in Black fails to survive his gunshot wounds and Dolores conspires to bring back William via his subconscious, just as Ford did to Albert via Bernard. But maybe we’re just in denial about this whole William-turning-evil thing. After all, when asked if he'd be back for S2, Simpson told Vanity Fair, "No."

The status of Elsie (Shannon Woodward) and Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth) went unanswered in this finale, but apparently, a previous cut of the episode offered an explanation.

“There were early incarnations where we tied up those arcs [in the finale]. I’m not saying how—I’m just saying we tied them up,” said Joy.

“I wouldn’t say ‘tied them up.’ I would say we unspooled them in an uncertain future,” Nolan added, unhelpfully.

So, either expect those answers in S2, or on some deleted scene unveiled in the coming months.

If you can’t wait until 2018—for a further explanation of Maeve’s sentience, or that Samurai World—let Nolan and Joy’s three word descriptions of the next season sate your appetite.

Joy: “Madness and transcendence.”

Nolan: “Total f***ing mayhem.”

See you in 24 months!

Photo: HBO