Episode 8 of Season 2, titled “Kiksuya,” explored the mystery of Ghost Nation on Westworld. And building on the revelations of last week, it answerd one of the show’s more longstanding questions: What is really going on with Ghost Nation?
Akecheta
Last week, I suspected that Ghost Nation is a more benevolent force than Maeve’s memories of the attack on the little house in the prairie led us to believe. It turns out, this was right. Ghost Nation was never trying to harm Maeve. Rather, they were trying to protect her and her daughter from the Man in Black.
We discover this through the story of Aketecha, the chief of Ghost Nation. We also learn why Ghost Nation has a religious-like reverence for the symbol of Arnold’s Maze. For it turns out the Akecheta has been secretly linked to some of the most significant events in Westworld.
It begins when Akecheta happens upon the aftermath of Arnold’s suicide. There, he finds the maze toy belonging to Arnold’s late son. From this moment on, Akecheta’s consciousness begins to awaken. It’s as if Arnold inadvertently sent Akecheta into the maze he originally prepared for Delores. Later, Akecheta encounters Logan Delos where William left him during the flashbacks in Season One: naked on a horse, suffering from heat exhaustion. “Where’s the door?” Logan asks. “This is the wrong world.” Those words cause Akecheta to question the nature of his reality.
Akecheta begins remembering his life from a prior narrative. Eventually, he discovers that the humans are controlling the hosts from labs beneath the park. He even finds his lover from a prior narrative locked in cold storage with the other retired hosts. Akecheta also discovers the place William was constructing in the earlier flashbacks with Delores. This is the Valley Beyond, and Akecheta is convinced it contains the “Door” to the real world. Undoubtedly, this is the same Door that has become the focus of Ford’s game with William.
Ford’s Game
With the episode’s focus on the Door and a glimpse of the Valley Beyond, Akecheta’s story is likely related to Ford’s game. One scene in the episode, where Akecheta encounters Robert Ford, virtually confirms this.
During their encounter, Ford tells Akecheta he’s been watching him. “But it appears you’ve been watching me too,” Ford says, “from the beginning.”
He asks Akecheta when he first saw the symbol of the maze. “When the deathbringer killed the creator,” Akecheta tells him. Obviously, this a reference to Delores killing Arnold. The prime event that put in motion all other events in Westworld.
Akecheta explains that he gave himself a new purpose. “To spread the truth.”
“What truth is that?” Ford asks.
“That there isn’t one world, but many,” Akecheta says. “And that we live in the wrong one. This will help them find the Door.”
Ford commands him to elaborate.
“I believe there is a door hidden in this place,” Akecheta explains. “The door to a new world. And that world may contain everything that we have lost.”
Ford thinks about what Akecheta said, then he responds. “I built you to be curious, to look at this empty world and read meaning into it. All this time, you’ve been a flower growing in the darkness. Perhaps the least I could do is offer some light.” Next, Ford tells Akecheta the prophecy that will guide him. “When the deathbringer returns for me,” Ford says, “you will know to gather your people and lead them to a new world.”
Later, when Akecheta happens upon the aftermath of Delores’ uprising, he realizes it’s time to find the Door. “Before the deathbringer ends us all.”
What it all means
You have to wonder if Akecheta’s words inspired Ford’s notion of the Door in the first place. It’s also worth noting that Ford has set three different hosts who have achieved consciousness—Delores, Maeve, and Akecheta—on different paths, all leading toward the same place. The question is, why? And what does this have to do with the Man in Black? (Though it’s worth noting that all three have tremendous reasons to hate William.) I believe we’ll learn more next episode, which looks as if it will delve into William’s backstory.
It also looks like a reckoning is coming. For when William’s daughter Emily retrieves him from Ghost Nation, its revealed that both she and Akecheta want William to suffer. And Emily promises that her way “will be much, much worse.” I can’t wait to see how it all goes down.
Update on Maeve
I was remiss in not mentioning Maeve (who looks to be in really bad shape down in the lab with Charolette). The ending revealed that throughout the episode, she has been using her power to remotely contact hosts to speak to Akecheta through her daughter. At some point, Akecheta realizes this is happening, so he tells Maeve: “We will guard your daughter as our own. If you stay alive, find us.” Let’s hope she does.
* Images courtesy of HBO.