'Westworld' Season 3 Episode 1: Examining Maeve waking up in a Nazi world in post-credits scene
Spoilers 'Westworld' Season 3 Episode 1
Season 3 of HBO’s most ambitious science fiction series ‘Westworld’ began with an audacious burst.
For a show that has balanced old-world Western charm with cold, clinical futuristic labs and visuals for two entire seasons (you can add a bit of colonial India and medieval Japan to the mix), Season 3 has been decidedly different visually — neo-futurist urban architecture, elegant and sleek vehicles, neon cities, tech-infused lives.
Season 3 of this Jonathan Nolan-Lisa Joy story almost feels like something more in the line of Syd Mead’s aesthetics (minus the steampunk elements) than anything the duo has envisioned for the series so far. Except for one scene. Post-credits.
As much as it was a treat to watch Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy slowly beginning to work towards her plans for retribution, three months after the events of Season 2 where the Hosts killed hundreds (mostly employees and board members of Delos) at Westworld and other similar theme parks, Maeve (Thandie Newton), was missed.
The Mariposa madame-turned-leader of the resistance, the only Host with the abilities to alter the code of other Hosts telepathically, has been one of the best-written characters on a show that has no dearth of strong writing. Hence, it was a treat, even if for a few seconds, when viewers saw Maeve at the end of the episode.
Maeve, dressed in clothing that looks like it belongs to the late 1930s or the early 1940s, wakes up in an apartment. Soon, she discovers a dead man on the floor in addition to another man tied to a chair. The latter looks battered, and judging by Maeve’s knuckles, it is presumable that she was responsible for his condition. As Maeve removes the captured man's gag, however, she discovers that he speaks German. She looks out of the window and finds that she's in a Nazi-occupied town during World War II.
There are two possible explanations for this, but let’s look at where Maeve’s story was left off in Season 2. The last time we saw Maeve, she was clearing a path for her “daughter” and Akechata to escape to the Valley Beyond, a virtual world that serves as a sort of afterlife for the Hosts. Over there, the Hosts would not exist in their physical forms, rather it was a kind of cyberspace where their digital consciousness could exist, far away from the grasps of those at Delos. Far from the humans who had thus far enslaved them. Maeve, however, was not among the Hosts who escaped. Before she could even attempt to enter the Valley Beyond, she was shot down by Delos' security.
Explanation one: This Nazi World (let’s call it that for the sake of convenience) is yet another theme park in the Delos range of experiences. Yes, admittedly, it is a little extreme to envision a Nazi theme park. Then again, if there can be an early 20th-century British colony among the many delights Delos offers, there is certainly room for a slice of the Third Reich. And given the rise of Neo-Nazism one can witness right now, capitalists are bound to make money off of it.
And given the number of times Maeve has died and has been put back into use, it is altogether unsurprising that she has been repurposed again.
There is the alternative, of course, that I feel makes more sense.
Season 2 of ‘Westworld’ saw carnage everywhere. Human beings were killed. Hosts were destroyed. All visible parks had turned into security threats. So much so, that we saw in Episode 1 of Season 3 that the Delos board members were eager to sell the parks off. In such a case, one has to imagine why another park would still be in active use, let alone in existence.
It is also highly unlikely that post the massacres at Westworld and other parks, humans would be interested in keeping active Hosts, even with wiped memories. Let us assume that humans don’t know or comprehend the full potential of Maeve’s abilities. Even presuming that, it is unimaginable why they would wake Hosts up and put them in another “narrative”.
What is likely then, is that this Nazi World may just be a simulation. Maeve isn’t physically there. Her mind is. It may just be a test program to calibrate Hosts better. Yes, it sounds like a bit of a stretch, but it is more likely than the alternative.
This does not, however, mean there isn’t a theme park similar to the one where Maeve supposedly wakes up. On DelosDestinations.com, a real website that lists all theme parks owned by Delos, there is mention of a park called Warworld. The message one sees when they open the page for Warworld says, “Delos Destinations regrets the temporary closure of Warworld. We are undergoing unscheduled maintenance to improve several safety and structural systems, to maximize the experience of our guests. Existing bookings for experienced guests will be honored at a later date. New prospective guests should refer to our video resource catalog in preparation for a future stay, and will be notified once park reservations are reopened. Please check back in again soon. Your life without limits will resume shortly.”
Either situation feels strange. But that has been sort of the theme of ‘Westworld’. Everything that happens, happens outside the realm of the expected.
The next episode of 'Westworld' airs March 22, on HBO.