This post contains frank discussion of Westworld Season 3, Episode 1 “Parce Domine.” If you’re not all caught up, now is the time to leave.
Well we’re off to the races with our first real foray onto the mainland and into the real world of Westworld. All season, Vanity Fair’s Still Watching podcast will have weekly breakdowns of the episodes which you can find here.
But here you’ll also find a rundown of all the callbacks, allusions, and easter eggs you might have missed in the Season 3 premiere.
Where Are We? When Are We? One thing is for certain, Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan heard audiences loud and clear when they said Season 2 of Westworld was too confusing. Last year at Comic-Con, the duo promised that they would clarify things a bit more in Season 3. So when are we? According to the Westworld Twitter account we are in the year 2058. It’s been roughly three months since the events of Season 2. Not only that, but everyone appears to be on the same timeline. Rejoice! Where are we? Well that, too, is clarified by convenient little chyrons that tell audiences whether we’re in London, Los Angeles, or Beihai, China.
The Old Gods and the New: The title of the episode is “Parce Domine” which comes from an old Roman Catholic chant which goes “Parce, Domine, parce populo tuo: ne in aeternum irascaris nobis.” In other words: “Spare, Lord, spare your people: Be not angry with us forever.” Well if you’re in the market for angry gods, then Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) has just what you need.
