westworld

After a first season finale that can best be summed up with the phrase “all hell breaks loose,” ‘Westworld’ has left fans on tenterhooks during its nearly eighteen month hiatus. But that hiatus is soon coming to an end with the show’s second season due to kick off on HBO in just over a month. And with that premiere date fast approaching, the cast and producers have begun to drop some clues to what fans can expect from the sophomore season.

Speaking at SXSW, actor Jeffrey Wright offered some hints of what the season holds for his character, Bernard. Revealed over the course of the season as a host – the sophisticated robots that populate the park – Bernard was last seen being reactivated after having been forced to shoot himself in the head. As you might expect, it’s an experience that will follow him into the second season. Quipping that Bernard has “some health issues,” Wright then explained just what that means for him going forward:

“He’s got some cognitive challenges as we enter the first episodes of Season Two and he has additional challenges that come up as he goes on board in terms of him being able to process.”

But what about the other bomb the show dropped at the end of its first year? That, of course, would be the nascent rebellion the hosts are waging against the park staff. With one foot in both worlds, which side of that divide will Bernard find himself on? Wright continues:

“Bernard is in a pretty peculiar position in that he’s got certain allegiances to both sides and I think that’s part of the consideration for him. I think given his robot brain situation and given kind of the social situation around him in terms of having been human and then discovering he’s a host, but he’s aspiring to kind of an awakening as the hosts are. The question for him at the beginning as you might expect is: “Where am I? Where am I in all of this?” We lead from there.”

‘Westworld’ stars Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, and Jimmi Simpson. The series is scheduled to begin its second season on HBO on April 22, 2018.