【Romantic comedy Archives】

Westworldwon't be Romantic comedy Archivesback on our screens until 2018 -- so it's no surprise that the spoiler-averse showrunners, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, kept a lid on any details about Season 2 at the show's PaleyFest panel on Saturday night.

That didn't stop fans or the intrepid moderator from trying, of course: They grilled Nolan on everything from whether we'll see other theme parks in Season 2, like the previously teased Samurai World ("That'd be cool, wouldn't it?" Nolan coyly deflected), to whether Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) shot park creator Ford (Anthony Hopkins) in the Season 1 finale because she had developed her own consciousness, or simply because Arnold (Jeffrey Wright) had programmed her to. ("Isn't it more fun to just guess?" Nolan teased.)

One answer Nolan wasprepared to give, however, was the motivation that drove Maeve (Thandie Newton) to abort her escape attempt and instead head back into the park to try and reunite with her long-lost daughter from an earlier storyline -- a memory that kept haunting her despite her reprogramming.

SEE ALSO: 'Westworld' was never trying to trick you

"The way we designed it, the way we shot it, the beautiful performance -- in that moment, that’s really the first decision she’s ever made," Nolan confirmed. "For me, it’s a very emotional moment in the episode, because you’re seeing the birth of free will there."

Given the timing of Maeve's choice, Nolan's answer might give us a hint as to Dolores' own journey towards self-actualization, but we'll have to wait a while to know for sure.

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Nolan and Joy are in the process of writing Season 2 now, and while they declined to offer any actual specifics -- aside from joking (we think) that "it's a musical" -- Nolan did say, "It’s a 10-hour movie we’re making. We’re writing right now; we’re terribly excited about what we’re writing."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

He also quipped that "Reddit has already figured out the third episode twist, so we’re changing that one."

On the subject of the fans' penchant for trying to figure out the show's many mysteries ahead of time (some viewers figured out that Jimmi Simpson's William was the younger version of Ed Harris' Man in Black as early as episode 2), Nolan admitted, "It’s annoying sometimes when people guess the twists and then blog about it, [after] it’s taken two years to work it out."

Still, he said, "I’m not a big believer in the rug pull," adding that he and Joy had worked hard to lay the track for all of the show's big twists, so that none of them would feel like cheats when the reveals came. "You can’t complain when people are that engaged in what you’re doing."

As for what the cast would like to see in Season 2, Ed Harris had only one wish: "I just don’t want to be naked or wear a samurai suit," he told his bosses. "I’m the Man in Black, not the man in the samurai suit!"

We all know better than to argue with the Man in Black.

WestworldSeason 2 will premiere on HBO in 2018.

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