More than a year after HBO's Westworld ended its sophomore season, creators Jonathan Nolan
and Lisa Joy are finally taking the show to a place fans have been waiting to see since
the beginning: the real world.
Although Nolan has hinted that season 3 will be, quote, "less of a guessing game," that
doesn't mean the show will be any less filled with intriguing Easter eggs for sharp-eyed
fans.
Obviously, spoilers for all of Westworld abound.
Westworld takes great care with its use of language.
Character names often carry a deeper meaning both Teddy Flood and Hector Escaton's surnames
have ties to the end of the world, while Ford and Bernard are names that both appear in
Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World: Ford being Henry Ford, and, in the
novel, another word for God, while Bernard is an alpha male resentful of his inability
to fit into society.
Likewise, episode titles often point to something deeper, like season 1's "Contrapasso," which
is a reference to the punishment of souls in Dante's Inferno.
Westworld's third season puts another biblical reference front and center in the premiere
episode's title: "Parce Domine."
It's a Roman Catholic antiphon, or chant, and it comes from the Book of Joel.
The translation reads:
"Spare, Lord, spare your people: lest you be angry with us forever."
It's commonly heard during the Lent season the time in which Christians fast and forgo
physical pleasures as a means of recognizing Christ's 40-day journey into the desert.
For Westworld, the significance is two-fold: it could be representative of Dolores' long
journey into the real world, as she has already set herself up as the Hosts' savior.
It's also a call to be spared from a holy wrath, to be granted mercy something Dolores
likely won't deliver.
After all:
"The real gods are coming.
And they're very angry."
When we first meet Caleb, it's as he wakes up to begin his day.
Much of what we see of Caleb is routine he goes through the motions of his life, almost
as if he's on a loop.
It doesn't take much to recognize the similarities between Caleb and the host Maeve we met in
season 1.
Just as Maeve did in Westworld's first season, it's a pretty safe bet that Caleb will wind
up "waking up" from his reality in the coming weeks.
"Do you need some help?"
But Caleb isn't the only Westworld character following a familiar path.
By the end of the episode, Dolores has successfully replaced Martin Connells, the head of security
for Incite, with a Host under her control.
Incite, of course, is the data company that controls The System, a thing Dolores would
very much like access to.
So now Dolores has a Host posing as a high ranking Delos board member, along with one
who works high level security.
If we buy into the theory that Stubbs was an undercover Host within the Westworld theme
park, then it's looking like Dolores is working her own Ford magic in the real world, with
her own Arnold/Bernard and Stubbs stand-ins.
What's become of Bernard since he made his way back to the real world and had that ominous
first meeting with Dolores?
Turns out, he isn't doing so well.
Having gone into hiding following the Westworld massacre, Bernard has been spending the last
few months living and working on a meat farm.
The slaughtering of animals is work he has some trouble with, but he makes do at least
until he's confronted by a couple of co-workers and is forced to switch personalities in order
to handle the situation.
Bernard, it seems, is able to switch between personalities at the touch of a button or,
more accurately, he can alternate between his character and analysis modes, which have
evolved into distinct personalities.
It looks like much of his arc this season will be in trying to put himself back together,
and if you need hard evidence, you don't have to look any further than the name he's using
as an alias.
It's an anagram for "Damaged Arnold."
While it isn't necessarily a Grand Theft Auto Easter egg, RICO, the app Caleb uses to make
money in his downtime, does certainly feel like a nod to the famous video game.
With tons of quick buck options and messages like "You made bank, now get drank," it definitely
evokes a GTA vibe.
This wouldn't be the first time the series has been compared to the game, either.
During its first season, Deadline likened Westworld to being, quote, "more Grand Theft
Auto than the Emmy-winning [Game of Thrones]."
In fact, Jonathan Nolan even cited the game as a reference at the 2016 New York Comic-Con,
saying:
"We played some as research for making this show, as when (Michael) Crichton first wrote
his movie, video games literally didn't exist except for PONG.
I'm happy to report my wife is the world's most boring Grand Theft Auto player."
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