Tonight's 'Westworld' took us to some new places and reintroduced some familiar faces

Ethan Alter
·Senior Writer, Yahoo Entertainment

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the “Virtù e Fortuna” episode of Westworld

As Westworld has already taught us, in the not-too-distant future, entertainment-starved audiences with money to burn will eschew Disneyland’s Frontierland for a living, breathing version of the Old West. But what if you’re a member of the wealthy class who doesn’t harbor dreams of being the king of the wild frontier? Well, the big brains at Delos made sure to include some other theme park experiences on their island getaway. We’ve known since the end of the show’s freshman year that there’s a world filled with samurais not too far away from the world filled with pistol-wielding bandits. And the Season 2 premiere disclosed the existence of a Park 6, where Bengal tigers roam the landscape. Tonight’s episode, “Virtù e Fortuna” takes viewers into both of these non-Western worlds, though not for an equally long stay.

Viewers are introduced to a British Raj park — and a new character, Grace (Katja Herbers) in the third episode of Season 2 of “Westworld.” (Photo: HBO)
Viewers are introduced to a British Raj park — and a new character, Grace (Katja Herbers) in the third episode of Season 2 of “Westworld.” (Photo: HBO)

It’s only in the closing minutes, for instance, that we enter Shogun World territory, where Maeve and her growing band of travelers have inadvertently strayed. The first clues that they’re not on the frontier anymore? Gently falling snow and the decapitated head of a Japanese warrior lying beneath a tree. Thanks to a pre-credits sequence, we’re treated to a longer, if equally violent stay in Park 6, which turns out to be a re-creation of 19th century India under British Rule — call it Raj World. The change of scenery was drastic enough for a few Twitter users to speculate if HBO had altered the title of the show without telling anyone.

Don’t adjust your set, guys. Our vacation in Raj World is temporary — just long enough to meet the woman, Grace (Katja Herbers), who killed the tiger that the Delos security team found two episodes ago in our world and two weeks from now in the show’s timeline. When we first encounter her, Grace is enjoying what appears to be the latest of many trips to Raj World — then the uprising happens and she narrowly escapes death at the hand of both human and animal hosts. In our last sighting, she’s crawling through the banks of a muddy river and looks up to realize she has crossed the border into WestWorld. Safe to say she’s in store for one heck of a culture shock.

Despite the initial confusion over which show we were all watching, most Westworld fans rated Raj World as a five-star location.

Along with some new places, “Virtù e Fortuna” also saw the return of some familiar, much-missed faces. Here’s a ranking of the characters viewers seemed most excited to see again, based on the Twitter reaction.

3: Felix and Sylvester

These bickering Livestock Management drones — cheekily named after cartoon cats — may not be the smartest employees at Delos, but they know enough to say yes to whatever the hell Maeve asks of them. Vanishing amid the mayhem at the end of Season 1, they turn up again as hostages of Hector’s trusty accomplice, Armistice. (More on her in a minute.) Never one for emotional outbursts, Maeve does seem moderately pleased to be reunited with Felix. On the other hand, she barely gives the wily Sylvester a glance, and her preference lines up with fans’.

Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) reunites with her father Peter (Louis Herthum) in “Westworld,” (Photo: HBO)
Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) reunites with her father Peter (Louis Herthum) in “Westworld,” (Photo: HBO)

2: Peter Abernathy

In another life and with another program running through his computer brain, Peter was Dolores’s dearly beloved father. But that was before he was escorted to cold storage, only to be busted out again and hastily turned into a vehicle to smuggle valuable information out of the park. The rewrite performed by Lee at Charlotte’s request was clearly a rush job, because poor Peter’s mind is breaking down when we happen upon him for the first time this year. Initially held at gunpoint by fellow hosts — who don’t recognize him as one of them —he’s eventually found and cared for by his daughter in a deeply emotional scene that gave Twitter all the feels.

1: Armistice

With Daenerys and her dragons out of commission until 2019, leave it to Armistice to bring the firepower back to HBO’s Sunday night lineup. In a parallel that was lost on no one, the blonde warrior returned to Westworld in a literal blaze of glory courtesy of a flamethrower, leading Hector to remark in awe: “She has a dragon.” And you know what that means … bring on the Game of Thrones GIFs!

Westworld airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.