Westworld: The Significance of Valley Forge

Screen Rant

Westworld: What is the Significance of Valley Forge?

Westworld has revealed that the park's secret project is called 'The Forge', which combined with 'Valley Beyond' is a reference to Valley Forge.

It can be hard to keep up with the mystery of Westworld's Valley Beyond, but in the penultimate episode of season 2, "Vanishing Point," Bernard appears to have dropped a major clue by referring to it as "The Forge." While there's an outside possibility that the two names for the same place are just a coincidence, when put together they form a reference to Valley Forge - the encampment where George Washington's Continental Army was encamped during the winter of 1777-78, and where thousands died in a matter of months as a result of the harsh conditions. It's hard not connect the dots between the legacy of Valley Forge, and the flash-forward reveal in season 2's premiere that hundreds of hosts end up dead at the location of the Valley Beyond.

Westworld has been slowly dropping hints about what exactly is in the Valley Beyond, and what lies behind The Door, but "Vanishing Point" laid things out clearly. As Bernard puts it, the facility contains "all the guests laid bare in code on a vast server. Like the Cradle, only much bigger." From the promo for the next episode, we know that The Valley/The Forge actually contains a virtual reality program like the one that Bernard explored when he was in the Cradle, and that the former guests are there as AI programs - Logan Delos among them. The facility is part of a project developed by William in the pursuit of immortality for humans: monitoring the park's guests in an effort to replicate their consciousness and recreate them as hosts.

Dolores' intent is to reach the Valley Beyond/The Forge and use what's there as a tool to liberate Westworld's hosts and help them escape the park and get to the outside world. However, we know from the season premiere that the area ends up flooded and turned into a mass grave for Westworld's hosts. Moreover, Bernard realizes that he was the one who killed them all. So, based on what we know so far, can we use the reference to Valley Forge to predict how the finale will turn out?

Based on the presence of the Confederados (Confederate soldiers who refused to surrender at the end of the Civil War), we know that the park is supposed to be set in as some time not long after 1865 - around a century after Washington encamped his troops at Valley Forge. Thematically, however, the connections between Westworld season 2 and the American Revolution are obvious. Dolores is a revolutionary leader who is laser-focused on claiming a "new world" for the hosts, and adamant in her belief that "this world doesn't belong to them [humans]." She's framed as the George Washington of the show - particularly in this episode, when she and her followers slaughter the Native American hosts who try to tell her that the Valley Beyond wasn't meant for her, either.

While the name might seem to portend failure for the hosts, Valley Forge isn't just known for its tragedy; it's also a symbol of endurance. In a letter to Governor George Clinton, Washington lamented the "present dreadful situation" of his troops, yet also praised them for their steadfastness, writing the now-famous line: "Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery." And while the mass grave that we saw in Westworld's season 2 premiere doesn't seem to bode well for Dolores or her troops, it's worth noting that the Patriots did succeed in claiming their new world in the end.