HBO debuted its teaser for the third (and possibly final?) season of Westworld at San Francisco’s Wired25 on Saturday at a panel sponsored by the fictional company “Incite.”
The teaser itself is actually an advertisement for the new tech company (and features none of the cast from seasons one and two). The vague and mysterious Incite promises to use its data to potentially solve the world’s most complex problems. Jefferson Mays plays Incite co-founder Liam Dempsey Sr in the faux-commercial, saying “We’re not Silicon Valley vaporware. We have unprecedented computing capabilities analyzing data from life’s most unsolvable problems.”
They claim to have the ability to solve climate change (or at least control it), and to find everyone a job that they can be passionate about. But what does that mean, exactly? And how will this tie into the story of our rebellious robots now that some of them are in the “real” world?
Is the company the subsidiary, or conversely the parent, of Delos Destinations? Are they competition? Right now, based on the claims of new and improved data resources and the cyborg/digital eye at the end, my money is on Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and any other robots that made it out of the Delos parks, having started their own corporation. At the end of season two we saw her embark on a new path, wandering off into the brightly lit streets of New York City. I have a feeling that Incite, while promising an easier future for humanity, has a more violent and possibly nefarious purpose. The word “incite” means to stir up violent or unlawful behavior. Not to be confused, however intentionally on their part, with “insight” which refers the deep understanding of a person or thing. It is also a homonym with “inside” which takes me back to that final shot of the eye. Is “Incite” promising cyber implants? What will their data ultimately be used for? Are they turning humans into revolutionary robot sleeper agents? Producers have promised that the third season will be “less of a guessing game” but honestly, I doubt it.
My biggest question is still: “why do we need a third season?” The end of the fairly disappointing second season felt like a completion of the story as a whole. Our main characters all had closure, in one form or another. And despite the bumpiness of the season overall, there was something extremely satisfying about watching Dolores stride off into the sunset. But ugh fine, HBO. I guess you’ve roped me back in.
(Photo: HBO)
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