Westworld’s second season won’t rely on multiple timelines, showrunner says

If you were left confused by Westworld and the multiple timelines showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy used to tell different stories, you may prefer the direction the second season is headed in.

Joy told an audience of fans and reporters gathered for a Paley Center event on Saturday that the first season needed to use multiple timelines as a way to explain what Dolores was experiencing. As they head into the second season, however, the showrunner wants to focus on different points of views and angles.

“I think as with season one, any basic different timelines were rooted in what the characters were going through," Joy said, as reported by TV Insider. "At that point, it made sense to do multiple timelines, because it showed how Delores felt, and that confusion. ‘I'm in love, but this guy is coming for me. [Only] then realize, I haven't changed, but so much time has changed and now he's this.’ The timeline thing is in service of landing that point of view for Delores.”

Joy added that they “didn’t want to necessarily repeat the same thing” and wanted to explore new ways of entertaining their audience. Early on in Westworld’s first season, one of the key discussion points among fans was whether or not the show existed in multiple timelines. There were clues, including differences in the clothes Dolores was wearing, but it wasn’t until the eighth episode that the multiple timeline theory was confirmed.

Joy and Nolan also used their time on stage to address some other rumors and theories that floated around. Nolan said Maeve was the first host to exhibit free will and joked about how much weight theories from Reddit carried in the writer’s room.

Westworld will return in 2018, and check out Polygon’s full write-up of the event for other teases the showrunners had for the series’ second season.