Westworld Creators Answer Major Mystery

The co-creators of Westworld have just revealed the answer to a question fans have been pondering since the finale.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy revealed at PaleyFest this weekend that Maeve (Thandie Newton) was working on her own free will, not her programming, when she decided to abort her escape, exit the train, and go find her daughter. "The way that we designed it and the way we shot it... that is really the first decision she's ever made," said Nolan. "For me, it's a very emotional moment in the episode because you're seeing the first free will." This opens up a wide future for Maeve, showing that she is capable of bucking her programming while also proving that her unwillingness to escape wasn't just part of Ford or Delos' plan.

Nolan wouldn't confirm if this was the first time we ever saw a host use free will, still leaving fans with a lot of questions about the actions of Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) throughout the series. The creator said that it should just be more fun for fans to guess on Dolores' motives, one of many comments he made about the importance of leaving mystery in the show in an era where people are always trying to figure out twists online before they air. "It's annoying sometimes when people guess the twists and then blog about it, but the engagement is gratifying, on one level, because if someone guesses your twist, it means you've done an adequate job," Nolan said. "You can't complain when people are that engaged. It's very gratifying— but stop doing it, please."

While many fans did figure out some of Westworld's twists before they aired, even the cast was left in the dark during filming. "I didn't know the show, I didn't know the scope, so I honestly thought it was going to be kind of like a goofy CHIPs remake," joked Jimmi Simpson (via Deadline), whose character William was part of one of the season's big (and easily figured out) twists.

James Marsden, who plays Teddy, added: "We all had a lot of questions–a barrage of questions–but I got comfortable with not having all the answers. Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing, but when you let the show come to you, and reveal itself in its own time, it's much more satisfying."

Westworld isn't expected to return until 2018, and, so far, the only information we have is that Talulah Riley, who plays the host Angela, has been given a pretty deadly series regular billing. While Nolan joked that the season would be a musical, he remained pretty tight-lipped on any actual details, saying that they're writing right now and that they're "terribly excited" about what they have thus far. Executive producer Robert Patino also added that the story will "f*** with the metaphysical at some point."

As far as the popular fan theory that season 2 will introduce new worlds (including Samurai World, which we saw in the finale), the very secretive Nolan simply responded, "God, that would be cool, wouldn't it?" Actor Ed Harris added that he won't be donning a new outfit. "It's 'Man in Black,' not 'Man in a Samurai suit,'" he joked. "Samurais don't wear hats."

While we wait for Westworld to return, take a look at the biggest unanswered questions we have after the first season.