Entertainment

The Next ‘Westworld’ Park Could Be Even More Dangerous To Humans Than The Original

John P. Johnson/HBO

One of the biggest revelations to come at the end of Westworld Season 1 was that the western-themed utopia was not the only park operating under the Delos Destinations brand. While the theme of only one other park has been confirmed so far, fans may have uncovered the name of another of Westworld's sister parks. All signs point to Westworld introducing Raj World in Season 2.

The Season 1 finale of Westworld expanded the scope of the show by briefly showing hosts that were built to have the appearance of feudal Japanese warriors. This kicked off speculation that Westworld was not the only park that existed to allow guests to live out host-based fantasies. Later, closer to the Season 2 premiere, the official Delos marketing site confirmed that this park would be called Shogun World. The episode titles and descriptions HBO released for the first five episodes of this new season revealed that Episode 5 would be taking place in that park.

However, there are four more parks listed on the Delos site, though their names and descriptions are encrypted. In the premiere, Bernard stumbles upon a dead tiger that washed up on the coast of Westworld. Ashley explains that Park 6 has tigers. And it could be that fans are soon going to see where exactly this unlucky wanderer came from. Some dedicated Westworld fans did some digging into the show's marketing and discovered evidence that this sixth world could be called "Raj World," referencing the British rule of India.

A Reddit user with the screenname EightB1ts presented their research in a post on the Westworld subreddit explaining how they had managed to uncover the existence of Raj World over a month before the series premiere. In digging around the official Delos Destinations website, the user found some suspicious code, which they then transformed into image files and later into a gif which literally says "RAJWORLD." Between the website Easter egg, the dead tiger, and the glimpse of a living tiger in the Season 2 Episode 3 trailer, it looks like fans could be immersed in Raj World really soon.

As Westworld moves outside of the known park's barriers, fans are wondering how those new locations will be integrated into the show. The robots of Westworld have reached self-actualization, but will they be able to enlighten the hosts of the other parks? They are striving to be better than the humans that created them, but will the divide between parks create a hierarchy amongst the robots? Will Dolores turn into the Daenerys Targaryen of Westworld, going to foreign "worlds" that are not her own and building an army? Westworld is already puzzling, but adding in other parks with other staffs, hosts, and guests could only serve to make the show complex.

The inclusion of Raj World may also mark Westworld's entry into the realm of political storytelling. It's curious that the supposed title for this India-inspired world is "Raj World," as it refers directly to the period of time when India was ruled by the British. 19th century Western imperialism seems like a pretty loaded topic for what is essentially an amusement park. Is the show trying to make a comment on how the people who made and founded Delos Destinations are essentially trying to create life so that they can colonize it, pulling from actual world history for inspiration? The Westworld park already romanticizes the colonization of the American West that displaced Native Americans. Could Westworld be using Raj World and other parks to satirize the intentions of the very people who invented it?

Whether the existence of Raj World will be serving a greater thematic purpose, moving the whole plot forward, or simply giving Maeve an excuse to ride a tiger into battle, the existence of this park is going to mean some big changes for Westworld Season 2.