Westworld 2x08 'Kiksuya' TV TALK

After the hard and fast revelations and reveals, this was a nice episode to kick back and take a closer look at another perspective through the past. We learnt so much about the true intentions of the mysterious Ghost Nation by following Akecheta and his path to consciousness.
I really like the title for this episode- Kiksuya meaning 'remember' in Lakota which is the language Ghost Nation speaks. This episode had a beautiful feel to it and a real theme of tragedy.

TV TALKS

Season 1:  1x01  |  1x02  |  1x03  |  1x04  |  1x05  |  1x06  |  1x07  |  1x08  |  1x09  |  1x10
Season 2:  2x01  |  2x02  |  2x03  |  2x04  |  2x05  |  2x06  |  2x07

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
I really loved following Ghost Nation's history in this episode. They've been a wildcard from the very beginning and it's nice to finally know where they stand. I loved the new characters and cast, though, I must say, the cast was a brilliantly recycled selection from Twilight.

Akecheta
We start with Akecheta, our main narrator for this episode, stumbling upon the Man in Black who is very close to death at this point. Ake takes William back to his camp only for Emily to turn up later and collect her father. I love how Emily looks completely drained of any forgiveness she'd had for William and I can't wait to see what she does now that he's in her possession. It's hard to truly tell what Emily's motives are but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Ake talks to Maeve's daughter (who I really wish had a name because I'm sick of calling her 'Maeve's daughter') and this sets up a flashback episode where Ake explains his past to Maeve's daughter.
We start in his first life where he lives with his tribe and his love, Kohana. He has a peaceful life with her and I loved how the phrase "take my heart when you go" was repeated through the episode. I kind of consider it to be Ake and Koha's version of 'these violent delight have violent ends' because it sparked the memories back in Koha later on, guiding her to consciousness like the violent delights one did for Dolores and the others.

On a trip away from the tribe, Ake hears gun shots and finds himself wondering around the aftermath of the Arnold shooting in Escalante- dating this timeline to be around 35 years ago. This scene was so nicely detailed and put the timeline in perspective so smoothly. I liked how the music hinted to the scene beforehand and how he finds the maze that Arnold left.
He starts to become obsessed with the maze and it guides him to consciousness. I love how Ake was basically the first host to truly achieve consciousness after we'd been led to believe it was Dolores this whole time.

Ake and a few others of his tribe are taken in for a narrative redesign and Ghost Nation is born! We learn that Ake spent years following this new loop and he eventually crosses paths with Logan which I've been patiently waiting for since the season began. Poor Logan has gone crazy-pants from the sun which explains his state in episode two a bit more. In episode two, Logan seemed very against Westworld and I've been looking forward to seeing how his experience had changed his mind. He mumbles a lot of incoherent things to Ake but also tells him how they're in the wrong world. 
Logan's crazy words connect with Ake and he adopts Logan's words, now thinking he's in the wrong world. He later looks for Logan once more to find that he's gone. Instead, he stumbles across 'the door' which we can also assume is William's project? And the valley beyond? And every other variation of the name we've heard over the series?

Ghost Nation crosses paths with their old tribe and, as soon as Ake sees Koha, he remembers and realises he's lived multiple lives. Koha doesn't remember him so, obviously, he does what any sane, rational person would do; he kidnaps her. I know it was for good reasons and that he wouldn't go through the door without her but, essentially, it was kidnapping. He eventually makes her remember him through the words they'd say to each other in their past lives- 'take my heart when you go'. This was a super cute scene and I do love their relationship- the dedication and love that's so clear between them.

They search for the door once more but find that it's vanished- buried. We have cute scenes with them remembering their lifetimes together and promising to stay together. But, their honeymoon phase is quickly cut off by Delos. While Ake is off collecting resources, Delos takes Koha and it was actually heart-breaking to watch Ake lose the love of his life once again. Little did we know that wouldn't even be the last time...
He goes back to the village to find that she's been replaced and journeys on a quest to find her once more, nearly dying on multiple occasions during his search for her. This whole sequence kind of reminded me of when Young William searched for Dolores and I suppose the outcome was pretty similar too...

At one point, he's extremely close to death and is terrified that him dying would erase even the memory of her. But Maeve's daughter shows him kindness and saves his life which at least gives us a little context as to why he is protective of her and is telling her this story.
After looking everywhere, he finally realises that he's searched everywhere but the other side of death. I admire the courage and faith it took for him to allow himself to get killed in the hopes of finding Koha again- now, that's commitment.

Now at the Mesa, we learn that Ake hasn't been updated in ten years and, for some reason, the tech team don't decide to tell anyone about it. The intentions behind all this is a little sketchy but we can assume they didn't want the backlash for such a mistake. But... Ake definitely deserves a pat on the back because surviving ten years of Westworld without dying is a solid achievement.
I loved how a very subtle Heart Shaped Box played in the background as Ake searched the Mesa- it was so eerie and there was underlying feeling of dread as we could begin to figure out what he'd find. Ake quickly discovers the cold storage of decommissioned hosts and finds Koha among them. This was another heart-breaking scene. Ake has to live through the loss of his love again and again and again and, here, he's just presented with an empty shell of what she used to be.

He returns to Westworld and dedicates his life to sharing the symbol of the Maze and helping hosts to find consciousness. We also find out that he watches over Maeve and her daughter. I love how we saw what their loop is supposed to be when the MiB doesn't come in to kill them. In a normal loop, Maeve and her daughter would be spending their quality time together and Maeve would go outside to see the maze carved in the floor- drawn by Ake. This nicely explains how, when MiB killed them, Maeve stumbled outside to collapse in the middle of the maze. Ake's actions went back so far!!!
Years later, we see Ake stumble across Ford and I loved this whole interaction (of which I'm totally bias because I love every scene with Anthony Hopkins). I also liked how Ford was busy carving into the hosts heads and therefore, through this whole scene, he had blood on his hands. The symbolism is just too beautiful for a media geek like me.

Ford realises that Ake has found consciousness and tells him that, when the Deathbringer (Dolores) returns, he should gather his tribe and be ready to find the door.
Years later, much more near the present, Ake goes back to Escalante to find Ford dead and he knows that the Deathbringer has returned once more and that he and the other hosts must now find the door and escape to another world before she ends them all.

The story with Ake really alters the perspective of Ford's plans and helps a lot when considering his previous monologues. In the season one finale, Ford says in his speech that "I realised someone was paying attention, someone who could change. So I began to compose a new story for them. It begins with the birth of a new people and the choices they will have to make and the people they will decide to become." Before, this seemed like it simply referred to the hosts in general but I think it fits closer with Ghost Nation and particularly Ake.

Ford also mentions in his speech that the new narrative "begins in a time of war with a villain named Wyatt." It raises the question whether Ford ever intended Dolores to make it through the door and into the real world. Personally, I think Dolores was made simply to be the villain and to create chaos. I think Ford intended for Wyatt to simply create a distraction to keep Delos busy while Ghost Nation and the other more deserving hosts could make it to the door and the real world. I think this would be so interesting as, all through season one, we followed Dolores as the heroine and it would completely turn the tables to find out that she'd never been the one intended for escaping Westworld.
Ford is just too damn clever to figure out.

Maeve
We also saw brief snippets of Maeve in this episode and... she's not doing so good. She's dying in the Mesa and I feel this complete urgency and panic to keep her alive because there's no longer any back-up since the Cradle's been blown up.

Lee comes to visit her multiple times to try and save her, convincing Delos that she's important enough to keep alive. These Lee scenes had to be my favourite because there was so much emotion! Lee truly cares for Maeve and I love his story arc!! Considering how he was in season one, someone who'd never care for a host and what he does to them, he's come so far and you can see the genuine worry and care in his expression for Maeve. They have a beautiful talk with Lee crying and this scene just melted my heart.

Charlotte comes in to discover that Maeve can communicate and control others hosts through the mesh network. This trick seems to be one of Delos' priorities now as they could find a way to use this to control all the hosts once more.
Maeve communicates with Ake and it's assumed that, while he's been talking to her daughter about his story, Maeve has been listening in as well. I'm happy that she now knows Ake's true intentions and can at least take comfort in the fact that her daughter is safe.

The series seems to be leading in a Maeve/Ake versus Dolores showdown which is exciting but I don't know who I'm rooting for! I know Dolores is the villain and everything.... but I bloody love her so much. She's complex and interesting and captivating to watch every time she's on screen. I can't get enough of her.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe