#ww 2x08

[tzaharasykes]

“Your kind will come for you.”

[j-philly-b]

WW 2x08 was an amazing character study. The stillness and silence of the episode was so incredibly powerful, and really lent to the dreamlike quality of certain scenes. The fact that two of the best episodes these season (in my opinion anyway) have been focused on a single new character – Akane and Akecheta, and that each of those characters stories were intertwined with Maeve and her character progression cannot be a mistake.

I am curious to know whether Akecheta’s story is a parallel for any Lakota legend or spiritual journey. We see him start as the member of a peaceful tribe, whose curiosity about the world around him leads him to a discovery that sets him on a spiritual quest. A quest that he undertakes on his own, and spends years in virtual, if not literal, solitude, exploring, which leads him to experience death, and then a trip to the underworld, before he re-emerges with a higher level of understanding of the world around him.

(Honestly, just this once I am able to forgive the crappy security at the Mesa for the fact that they were able to use Akecheta’s discovery of the cold storage facility as a metaphor for his journey into the underworld.)

We know that for the hosts to reach a level of consciousness there is a component of suffering that they have to go through, of deep emotional resonance that seems to be the memories they cling to and that cause them to break their loops. The way we saw Akecheta’s heartbreak play out, culminating in the scene in cold storage has been one of the most emotional arcs I’ve seen so far, and one of the best uses of the soundtrack to date (but I’m partial to Nirvana, so that could be my own bias coming through). Then, to link his storytelling to Maeve, whose heartbreak and connection to her daughter is similar to his connection to Kohana? I don’t have words right now.

However, the best part, to me, is the fact that Akecheta’s journey was totally his own, not Arnold or Ford induced. Akecheta’s discovery of the maze appears to have been purely accidental, and his journey completely independent of anything else we’ve seen happening in the park.

And now we have almost everyone heading to the Valley Beyond in the final two episodes – Ghost Nation, Dolores and her crew, Bernard and the Delos squad, Old William and his daughter(?), am I forgetting anyone?

 Things I’m still thinking about:

- Based on the flood that started off this season, I assume that the destruction of all the human data/forged identities that were stored there in the cradle-like storage that Akecheta (and Dolores) saw being constructed is what caused the flood. But if that’s true, shouldn’t one of the Delos people be clued into exactly what was lost?

- How long with Abernathy’s brain bulb (I’m not the only one thinking that the brain units look like lightbulbs, right?) outside of a storage unit filled with cortical fluid? We saw how Bernard was starting to degrade when he sprung a leak, is Abernathy’s bulb safe being outside as long as it’s not being plugged in and used?

- Does Maeve’s daughter have a name? That she did not speak a single word during this episode was another powerful choice, but was still communicating emotion seemingly independent of the conversation between Akecheta and Maeve was compelling. How much independent memory does she have beyond her encounters with Old William?

- I’m still clinging to my Old William is a host theory. Seriously, how is that man still alive after a direct shot to the chest?

- I’m surprised we did not see Akecheta in a parental relationship with a member of his tribe. With that being such a strong theme this season I really expected to see him in one. But perhaps that’s why Maeve’s daughter was used as the conduit and is now traveling with him?

- Who is going to be the host that makes it out of the park? I had assumed it would only be one, and that it would be Bernard, but now I’m wondering if it will be more than one.

[j-philly-b]

Kiksuya - Remember

Akecheta - Fighter/Warrior

Kohana - Swift