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Westworld Season 2 brings big changes for the HBO hit including less nudity

By Shaunee Flowers

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There are some things that Westworld fans should know going into Season 2 including why there are way less nude scenes. 

After more than a year of waiting, Season 2 of Westworld is about to premiere on HBO. The sci-fi western had viewers on the edge of their seats last season with some really shocking plot twists. We’re definitely ready for more of that as the series goes deeper to explore how the androids react as they start to realize what they are and what has been done to them.

The upcoming season premiere was recently screened at the Tribeca Film Festival before a panel comprised of the Westworld cast and creators took the stage to answer questions about it. One of the bigger issues that were brought up had to do with the amount of nudity or lack thereof in Season 2 compared to the previous season.

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There was a lot of nudity in Season 1, there’s no disputing that. After all, most of the Westworld cast plays androids or hosts who don’t feel embarrassment or shame about their bodies.

There were many scenes showing these bots being worked on or interviewed in order to prepare them for their next role and they are always nude. That doesn’t even take into account the numerous sex scenes that made it past editing.

Based on what we’ve learned from Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming season, there will be a lot less nudity than we’ve seen before. It’s not an attempt to please censors or anything like that.

In fact, in order to continue the Westworld storyline in the most realistic way (or as realistic as a show about a futuristic theme park full of cowboy androids can be) it makes sense that we wouldn’t be seeing them sans clothing as often.

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Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy explained during the panel that the nudity during Season 1 wasn’t gratuitous but instead, that it was necessary in order to tell the story properly. While in Season 2, it actually makes more sense to the storyline to not show as much skin. Here’s how she broke it down.

"“Filming a nude scene is hard and difficult, because these are peers and also friends, and I understand how vulnerable that makes people, We were very upfront about the nudity from the start, and trying to talk with all our actors, not only why it was in the script, but also the safeguards we would have on set in terms of trying to protect them as much as possible. We talked to people who would be in the scenes with them about being careful. It’s a vulnerable position. In both our filming and our cutting, we’re not lingering on parts that aren’t essential to the story. What is essential to the story is that feeling of both perfection and tragedy. They’re sitting there, literally being objectified, treated as objects to be operated on and talked about while they’re right there in the room. So you always know what you’re asking, and the great trust it takes for actors to go there with you. It’s an essential part of the story, and it’s guided by what the characters are doing. So yeah, when the hosts get power, they’re not gonna spend a lot of time naked on a stool.”"

At the end of the first season, it was revealed that the hosts were starting to become sentient. Maeve (Thandie Newton) was one of the first to start expressing human emotions including grief, anger, and even fear.

While there certainly will be many plot twists just like before, one of the main themes for Season 2 is the struggle between humans and hosts as the hosts start to realize what they are and how they have been used.

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Obviously, they won’t be opting to go without clothing for debriefing sessions and they aren’t going to lay down to be reprogrammed voluntarily.

Westworld season 2 premieres on Sunday night at 9 p.m. EST.

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