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T10 WHATS UP! April 22 - 28, 2018 Men," 2000) isn't quite that cognizant, with the heroic gun- slinger propelled more by love than self-realization to assist another host on her quest. That host is the enigmatic Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood, "True Blood"). No host still operating has endured the life Dolores has, seen what she's seen, or would be a more likely candidate for becoming fully sentient. In fact, the rebellion so im- peccably orchestrated in pro- motional material for season 2 of "Westworld" seems largely to fall within the hands of Do- lores and Maeve, both of whom are now ready to help their kind rise above and usurp the technological throne from their creators. Al- though season 1 gave us the first step in this direction, sea- son 2 promises even bolder and more confident hosts, no longer willing to play nice and be trampled upon by the guilt- less whims of humanity. Each of the main androids is forging his or her own path along the outskirts of the frontier, ven- turing into the park's other "worlds" in search of greater freedom and a deeper truth. As season 1 established, leaving the park entirely won't be easy. It will, in fact, require the help of humans. Dolores and the hosts must therefore decide: stake their claim over the park itself, or find a way to move beyond its borders, to map out a life for all of their kind in a brave new world. Although "Westworld" isn't the first big series about an- droids to captivate audiences around the globe, no other se- ries has managed — so far — to explore the prospect of the singularity in such a thought- ful and layered way. In draw- ing out the self-awareness of Dolores and her fellow hosts, series creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan were able to humanize these androids, giv- ing them a softer voice. View- ers understand and support their motivations, because they're able to see themselves in the struggles and hardships endured by the hosts at the hands of their own decadent, careless species. Newton opened up about this in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. When presented with the script for season 2, Newton admits that she was "completely shell- shocked" by the direction in which Joy and Nolan were tak- ing the series. "It was abso- lutely not what I thought was going to happen," she said. Newton was quite tight- lipped regarding what would or would not be occurring during the second season, whether on the macro level re- garding the entire world of the series, or at a micro level when discussing her character Maeve and her own motiva- tions: "As far as I know — be- cause I really don't know — as far as Maeve knows, she has a degree of command over what she's doing." She admits that, whether be- ing instructed to or otherwise, holding back information is essential to the viewer experi- ence, though, because "it's de- layed gratification" that allows us to "enjoy discovering" what will happen next with the se- ries. If the first season of "West- world" left audiences with one primary lesson, it's this: truth is entirely abstract. Hosts we believed to be self-motivated were long manipulated, those we thought to be human only acting so. A creator's relation- ship with his own creation is often multifaceted and seldom one-dimensional. Everything that Dolores, Maeve and the other self-aware hosts believe they know about humanity will be tested as they try to forge their own paths in what may simply be yet another maze they're being coaxed to run by their master's hand. Discover the new worlds that await the beloved hosts of "Westworld" when season 2 premieres Sunday, April 22, on HBO. Thandie Newton as seen in "Westworld" continued from page T2 Strange new frontiers: Sentient hosts stake their claim over 'Westworld' TV FEATURE