‘Westworld’ Season 2 Shoots Into War With New Photos

“There is beauty in who we are. Shouldn’t we, too, try to survive?”

The poignant words serve as the official description for the upcoming episode of Westworld, the third hour of season two: “Virtù e Fortuna,” written by Roberto Patino and Ron Fitzgerald, and directed by Richard J. Lewis. And while there’s a soulful quality to the quote, the photos released by HBO ahead of Sunday night’s airing tease a much darker episode ahead.

For instance, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Teddy (James Marsden) are seen together in one photo, guns at the ready, smoke and bodies in the distance. Dolores’ troops, the horde at the command of Wyatt, stand with weapons in hand, masks drawn, Angela (Talulah Riley) at the helm. These violent delights will have violent ends, and they’re only just beginning.

Related Stories

TV

'Westworld' Showrunner Lisa Joy on How A.I. is Turning the Sci-Fi Show Into "a Documentary"

Movies

'Creed III' Star Tessa Thompson on the Word She Refused to Say and the Future of the Franchise

In another photo, Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) lies on the ground, roughed up and covered in dust and straw, staring up at someone holding a gun. Judging by the white dress, and judging by the next photo…

…it appears to be Dolores, with whom Bernard has had minimal interaction. Of course, Dolores and the inspiration behind Bernard’s likeness, Arnold, go back a long way. Perhaps that’s why Dolores looks at Bernard here with kindness in her eyes, lightly touching his face; however, it doesn’t explain why she potentially has the man at gunpoint in another scene.

Dolores and her company aren’t the only ones on the move. There are three new photos featuring Maeve (Thandie Newton) and Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro), in three very different contexts. In the photo above, the pair are with Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman), who looks positively ridiculous in that hat. 

Sizemore is gone from the next two images, though perhaps he’s the subject of Hector and Maeve’s gaze in the above photo, the two of them standing in what appears to be an outpost, based on the concrete walls. Certainly not their most familiar surroundings, but Maeve and Hector know a thing or two about navigating the Westworld underworld all the same.

The final image of the lot is the most exciting one, as Maeve stares up into the sky, snow falling upon her face. It’s hard to imagine snow in Westworld itself, leaving one to assume Maeve and her allies have reached a new section of the park — and based on previous promotional material, her newest destination could very well be Shogun World. Let the hype for a sword-slinging Sizemore begin here, just as long as he ditches the hat.

What do you make of the new Westworld photos? Sound off in the comments below and keep checking THR.com/Westworld for more coverage.