Westworld is that kind of show that you secretly wouldn’t understand without spending a few hours scrolling through Reddit. The Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy show is intricate, full of dense details, insane plot twists, Easter eggs, and acoustic covers of Kanye West songs. The mysterious show is finally returning with season two on HBO next month, but if you want to take star Evan Rachel Wood’s advice, you should probably re-watch the first season. During a recent interview, Wood told Entertainment Weekly that even she has found new details and clues upon re-watching.
“I’m going back to things in the first season,” Wood said. “That’s what’s so cool about the show, what [showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy] worked so hard on.”
“There are things I actually said as Dolores 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 continued. “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.”
Wood also pointed out that the clues aren’t just hidden in dialogue or in major plot points. She even finds clues in paintings and other objects when she walks on set.
“Every time I walk on a set, I’m like, ‘What did you guys put in here?’” Wood said. “The pictures on the walls, the books on the shelves… there’s forethought with everything.”
Wood’s wonder echoes what Jeffrey Wright (who played Bernard Lowe) said last week at SXSW in Austin, Texas. He remarked that he re-watched the first season after he wrapped shooting on season two. “There are a lot of things there,” he said. “Having just finished the work we did this season, there are some things there that I missed.”
At the same SXSW panel, show runner Nolan revealed that he is aware of the heated Reddit threads that the show inspires. "We love to f*ck with Reddit as much as possible,” he admitted. He also said that they’re working on "a somewhat controversial plan" to significantly change how the show engages with fans in its second second. "We're figuring out how to interact,” he added.
Westworld season 2 premieres on HBO on April 22.
