Jonathan Nolan Says ‘Westworld’ Season 2 Will Focus on Dolores’s Journey

Just about the only thing we knew about Westworld Season 2 was that it would debut sometime in 2018. Other than that, co-creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan have been resolutely cagey about divulging any and all secrets about what the next season of their hit HBO show has in store for fans — that is until now.

Nolan did a kind of Season 1 wrap-up for an official clip about what it was like directing particular episodes of the show, including the Maeve and Dolores characters in the finale. And wouldn’t you know, he lets some details slip out about what is going to happen in Season 2 like it’s no big deal.

“One of the main questions of the second season is where does Dolores go from here?” Nolan says in the brief featurette. Knowing that Westworld in particular is a show almost completely based on setting up questions to answer in Nolan’s patented non-linear fashion, this off-hand comment seems like it’s way more important than we initially realize.

“We wanted to start with a Disney princess and end with ‘Liberty Leading the People,’” Nolan also says, referencing 19th century artist Eugène Delacroix’s famous metaphorical French Revolution painting.

Actress Evan Rachel Wood, who plays Dolores, has said in interviews that Season 1 was just basically there to set-up what Nolan and Joy really want to explore in the show. “I think it was always that Season 1 was going to be this backstory and set up — getting to know the park and characters,” she told Vanity Fair. “I think Season 2 is really going to be warp speed. The show might really start in Season 2.”

It might have been a given based on the character’s violent actions in the Season 1 finale that the second season was heading towards Dolores exploring her newfound consciousness, but it’s great to hear it finally confirmed from the people that will make it happen.