'Westworld' Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: 5 Clues We're Still In the Park

One thing is mighty clear in the latest trailer for Westworld Season 3: everything you thought you knew about this world is about to be challenged. The trailer teases newcomer Aaron Paul as one of the season’s protagonists along with fellow newbies Lena Waithe, Kid Cudi, and Marshawn Lynch, while series vet Evan Rachel Wood appears at the end of the trailer. Paul seems to be playing a day laborer and small-time criminal who is dissatisfied with where he’s ended up in life. All that might change when he crosses paths with Wood’s Dolores in a dark alley, but is anything really as simple as it appears to be?

It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s an illusion in Westworld, and this trailer is no different. I can’t seem to shake the nagging feeling that there’s more to Season 3 than meets the eye. After two seasons of mostly staying within the confines of Delos theme parks Westworld and Shogunworld, have we actually made it to the real world? Or are there clues in this trailer that hint at Season 3 taking place in one of the still-unexplored Delos theme parks? Is Season 3 set in some kind of Futureworld that mimics the real world but lets you partake in all of the activities you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get away with?

Let’s take a look at five clues that will make you think twice about the actual setting for Westworld Season 3.

5. That Outfit Feels Familiar…

Paul’s character sports a simple workman’s jumpsuit with pops of red, which reminds us of the uniforms worn by Delos park techs who specialized in refurbishing the Hosts and getting them back in working order. Paul’s character could very well be another Delos employee charged with doing maintenance on various aspects of the park that go unseen by guests and Hosts alike.

4. New Storylines to Follow?

In the first season of Westworld, one of the major arcs was the creation of the “Journey into Night” storyline that promised a bloodier, more brutal Westworld park experience for guests. The creation of engaging storylines that would keep park guests entertained has been central to the premise of Westworld. The programming of multiple storylines into Hosts has created layer upon layer of memory and backstory, later helping push those Hosts toward sentience as they realize what they’ve been through.

The trailer features a quick shot of a phone listing what look like different crimes, including “Smash and Grab,” “Robbery,” and “Trafficking.” Dollar amounts are attached to each job and Paul’s character scrolls through, seemingly trying to find the right one for him. It stands to reason that if this is a Futureworld-like park, then perhaps park guests have the option to scroll through on their phones to decide which activities or storylines they’d like to choose from, rather than engaging with Hosts to organically get roped into a story.

3. The Maze Has Returned

Perhaps the biggest indicator that something is afoot in Westworld Season 3 is the re-appearance of the maze. The maze as a symbol for a Host gaining sentience has been central to Westworld since Season 1. One of Westworld’s original park creators, Arnold, left maze imagery all over the park as clues to help his pet Host, Dolores, become a sentient being.

The appearance of maze symbol in the Season 3 trailer feels like another hint that both more maze symbols will appear in the season and that, much like Arnold’s maze breadcrumbs in Season 1, these new symbols will help other Hosts in this Futureworld-like park come into their own with the help of Dolores.

2. Where Does This Bridge Go?

Westworld Season 2 began and ended with Delos employees on a beach, revealing that Delos built its theme parks on remote islands. It’s been easy getting into the park but people have often found it difficult getting to the beach, much less getting out.

The appearance of a self-driving car on a bridge, heading to a beachy clime with buildings in the distance has me wondering if this shot isn’t from a scene showing an arrival into the Futureworld-like park — or a specially-sent car attempting to get someone (or something) out of there.

1. The Case of the Shape-Shifting Dress

One detail from the trailer, a woman wearing a dress that literally goes from day to night, may be the easiest to overlook but the most telling about where Westworld Season 3 is set. The physics of the futuristic dress imply some sort of function to change one’s look to match the surroundings. In this case, it’s a rooftop bar.

Both the dress and the bar feel similar in the luxuriousness and surrealness of previous bars we’ve seen on Westworld, including the pool bar at Westworld HQ on the outskirts of the park in Season 1, the lounge where two Westworld Hosts act as emissaries to help pitch the concept of the park to Logan (played by Ben Barnes), and the hotel in Rajworld in Season 2 where guests and Hosts could intermingle. Could this bar be a real-world bar? Or is this a place where guests can come to unwind after some fun and maybe meet a Host to pass the time?

Westworld III will premiere on HBO in 2020.