Westworld's Two New Parks Explained

Westworld's newest episode "Virtù e Fortuna" ventured into one of the six other parks owned by the Delos Corporation - and it wasn't Shogun World. HBO's hit series stunned fans during the season 1 finale by revealing there are other parks populated by artificially intelligent Hosts besides the Wild West-themed destination. The medieval Japan-themed park was teased by glimpses of Hosts attired in samurai armor, and it was expected the dead tiger that mysteriously appeared in Westworld came from Shogun World. Instead, the episode spends an extended opening sequence in an entirely different park modeled after British Colonial India.

In the episode, a man named Nicholas and a woman named Grace adventure into The Raj, Southeast Asia-themed 6th Delos park. As they explore the disquieting environment, they find that the Hosts are missing and corpses of guests are strewn about. Nicholas is killed by a Host but Grace is chased outside of the park by a Bengal tiger; after shooting it with a shotgun, they both fall into water. Later in the episode, both wash ashore on Westworld. Grace, who is alive, is captured by the Hosts of the Ghost Nation. The remains of the tiger were found by Bernard as we saw in the season 2 premiere.

Meanwhile, Maeve has been continuing her mission to locate her daughter, with Sizemore and Hector in tow. They find themselves underneath the park in an area unknown to Sizemore. However, after meeting up with Armistice and Westworld techs Felix and Sylvester, the group travels topside to a section of the park covered in snow, which they believe is north east of Westworld. According to the map of the park on the Discover Westworld website, this places them north east of Sweetwater.

When Sizemore discovers a body and removes the snow covering it, he sees it's wearing a samurai helmet. They're then attacked by a samurai, which means they've entered Shogun World. Therefore, Shogun World's location on the massive island that presumably contains all six Delos theme parks is north of Westworld itself. If Westworld is the "centerpiece" park, and possibly the largest, this means the Wild West attraction could possibly be bordered by other parks to its north (Shogun World), east, and south. To the west is the artificial sea built by Robert Ford, and the Colonial India park can possibly be found on the other side of that body of water.

It's unclear, however, what the actual borders of the island are, and from which direction the Delos Corporation members who arrived via the ocean and joined Bernard came from. We know the Mesa Hub is located on the easternmost side of Westworld, and the train visitors ride to the Mesa Hub must originate from even further east.

Beyond the topographical logistics of Westworld, the fact that a Colonial South Asia-themed park exists is unsettling. A holiday in Westworld makes sense; despite the harsh realities of the era, the American Wild West of the 19th century maintains a romantic appeal of gunslinging adventure. Shogun World also makes sense; feudal Japan and its culture of honor, samurai, and geishas carry an exotic allure of its own.

But what enticement would a recreation of Colonial India have to the wealthy one-percenters looking for a vacation? This concept seems more like a particular passion of Robert Ford, who must have been raised on the works of Rudyard Kipling like "Gunga Din". The enslavement and colonizing of South Asia by the white European powers from the 17th to the 20th centuries seems to be a particularly nasty fantasy meant to cater to the even baser instincts of a particular kind of wealthy clientele.

This is yet another clue as to the disturbing true purpose the creators of Westworld harbor in order to tickle the dark ids of those with the means to "find their true selves" in Delos' parks while relieving them of their fortunes.