The second season of Westworld will debut on HBO is less than two months. However, after trailers and images from the new season were revealed, the story driving the new episodes remains as mysterious as the secrets of the host-filled theme park itself.
However, thanks to Entertainment Weekly, some of those mysteries are being solved–including one revolving around a major fan theory after the conclusion of Season 1. According to EW, Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), the co-creator of the park responsible for its hosts, is indeed very dead. When the character was gunned down by Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) in the Season 1 finale, many theorized that the man killed was actually a host modeled to look like Ford. According to executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, though, that’s just not the case.
It’s not the last you’ll see of Ford, though. Not only will a younger version of the character be seen in flashbacks, but he’ll be joined by Delos founder James Delow (Peter Mullan). Flashbacks also mean the return of Jimmi Simpson as William, before he becomes the Man in Black (Ed Harris).
Beyond that, the world will simply be getting bigger as the hosts begin exploring more. “If we were to describe the show as one camera angle, it would be a steady pull out revealing more and more context,” Nolan tells EW. “So as the hosts learn more about their world—and other worlds, and the real world—the audience is doing the same thing.”
Even as the scope of the series gets bigger, though, Westworld isn’t forgetting the puzzle pieces it already had in play. “There are things I actually said as Dolores [in season 1] that I had no idea of the significance of until filming this season, and now I’m going, ‘My God, [the showrunners] were telling us!'” Wood explains. “I think even when we’re in season 7, you’ll still be able to go back to the pilot and find clues that were right in front of you.”
Those clues point to how different hosts are handling what is essentially a robot uprising. “She’s playing the chess master. She has access to all of her memories, but now she’s in control,” Wood says of Dolores. “There are some scenes where she’s three different people in the span of a minute.”
Less sure of his next moves is Teddy (James Marsden). “Dolores is further along in her advancement, and he’s trying to catch up and make sure the manner in which we proceed still feels like the good parts of Teddy that he remembers,” the actor says.
It’s that pull Teddy is feeling between rebelling and staying true to his programmed personality that Joy says is at the heart of this new season. “The leashes are off,” she explains. “But the question is: How far are you willing to go until you become a reflection of the evil you’re trying to fight?”
There is much more to be learned from EW’s feature about the upcoming season, and so much more that fans won’t find out until the series returns. Luckily, you won’t have to wait long. Westworld Season 2 premieres April 22 on HBO.