23 Things We Learned About The Ghost Nation In Westworld Season 2, Episode 8
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Westworld Season 2 spoilers ahead!
Westworld Season 2 hasn't been the most emotional TV journey. Many of our favorite characters from Season 1 have turned into cold-blooded killing machines, and for every reunion of Maeve with her daughter, there's been two unspeakable bloodbaths.
That makes Season 2, Episode 8, "Kiksuya," the exception to the season's rule. The episode followed Akecheta, a character who's been mostly in the background up until now. The Ghost Nation warrior took center stage this week, and we got to see the emotional journey he's been on apparently since the park's opening.
That's not all--"Kiksuya" also answered every question about the mysterious Ghost Nation, including ones that we'd forgotten we had, such as how they knew more about Westworld's nature than other hosts. This episode was packed with revelations, so here's everything we learned in Westworld Season 2, Episode 8, "Kiksuya."
1. The Man in Black survived.
Bill has lived to die another day, despite being shot like five times. Does this mean he's actually a host? Probably.
2. The Ghost Nation saved Maeve's "daughter."
They didn't kill her, like Maeve apparently assumed they would.
3. Maeve's daughter is apparently woke.
It seems Anna is remembering her past life with Maeve.
4. The Ghost Nation had contacted her before.
As we learn later in the episode, Anna once saved Akecheta, and the warrior repaid her by showing her the maze.
5. Sizemore has a heart?
Or an ulterior motive for saving Maeve. Maybe a little bit of both?
6. Akecheta had a past life.
Before his life was rewritten as the Ghost Nation, Akecheta lived a peaceful life with a woman named Kohana. He's spent decades trying to find her again.
7. Akecheta was the first of the Ghost Nation to "awaken."
He discovered Dolores and Arnold's bodies, and sees the maze for the first time, during the park's earliest days.
8. Akecheta is behind the Ghost Nation's obsession with the maze.
He indoctrinated the other warriors one by one, setting many of the show's events in motion many years earlier. He also is responsible for many of the maze emblems hidden around Westworld.
9. Akecheta remembers being redesigned.
After the park's beta period, Ford ordered a complete narrative redesign, including swapping Akecheta's peaceful life for a bloodier path.
10. This is what happened to Logan.
When young William sent Logan packing in Season 1, he wasn't immediately picked back up by the park's employees, like you might assume. He apparently wandered through the desert and likely almost died.
11. It was Logan who gave Akecheta the idea of another world.
"This is the wrong world," Logan muttered to Akecheta. Not that he could have had any idea what he was helping to set in motion.
12. Akecheta looked for Logan as he became more aware.
But, obviously, he was nowhere to be found.
13. Akecheta found the Valley Beyond.
He found the Valley Beyond--or "the Door"--before it was complete, and long before Dolores knew about it. This episode is changing the way we look at the entire show.
14. Other Ghost Nation hosts noticed their family members being replaced.
That's got to be a troubling realization.
15. Akecheta survived in the park for years without being killed.
"You're telling me that this host hasn't been updated in almost a decade?" This scene was still in the park's earlier days, it seems. Akecheta's journey was long.
16. Kohana wound up in cold storage.
Which means she's probably walking around in Dolores's army right now, since Dolores raided cold storage for troops at the end of Season 1.
17. Yup, Sizemore grew a heart.
This is not where I expected his arc to go.
18. Akecheta tattooed the maze on the inside of the warriors' scalps.
That explains that.
19. The Ghost Nation were trying to warn Maeve and Anna.
Not, as Maeve has believed all this time, to harm them. That changes one of the series' pivotal scenes in a major way, and it's unclear what Maeve will do with this new knowledge.
20. Maeve can communicate telepathically with hosts in the park.
This is revealed later in the episode, but it's first hinted at when Akecheta speaks directly to Maeve during his narration.
21. Akecheta had one fateful conversation with Ford.
Ford revealed in this scene that he knew even more about the park and the paths of the awakened hosts than we could have previously thought--although he didn't know everything. I'm so glad they got Anthony Hopkins to come back for a few episodes in Season 2.
22. Akecheta calls Dolores the "Deathbringer."
That's a badass nickname for the show's villain.
23. Emily is still chasing her dad.
It's surprising that she hasn't given up on him yet, although since he's probably a host, she may be in for a nasty surprise.