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The Door Might Have Finally Been Revealed On 'Westworld'

by Megan Walsh

One mystery has been plaguing Season 2 of Westworld since it began: what exactly is "the door"? It's the season's subtitle, but it's still not clear whether the term is metaphorical or very literal. However, it seemed to take a turn for the latter in "Kiksuya" when Native American host Akecheta finally located... something. What did Akecheta find on Westworld? He might have finally found the much sought-after door, but that doesn't mean viewers are any closer to finding out what it is.

"Kiksuya" essentially retold the entire series from the point of view of a minor character: Akecheta, a member of Ghost Nation who gained sentience long before many of the other hosts in the park. He lived in idyllic bliss until his narrative was radically changed, turning him from someone peaceful into the violent (and mostly silent) character he was first introduced as. He was also ripped away from the woman he loved, Kohana. He began to realize something was amiss when he crossed paths with Logan, who was dazed from the sun and mumbling about the entire park being an illusion. Logan desperately asked where the door was so that he could leave. Akecheta didn't understand at first, but he soon discovered exactly what Logan was talking about.

It seemed like no one was keeping an eye on Akecheta while the park was running through its various loops, because on one of his journeys he found the very thing all of the hosts have been searching for all season long. Most of them have been calling it the Valley Beyond, and Dolores called it a weapon. But Akecheta recognized it as the door out.

In Episode 2, William took Dolores into the park to show her some structure that was being built into the mountains. At the time it was just a crater, but many decades later Dolores recognized its importance. She referred to it as the Valley Beyond, the goal that she and all her followers were seeking. But she also explained to Teddy that it was "not a place, it's a weapon. And I'm going to use it to destroy them," meaning the humans.

Viewers never actually got a look at what was being built until Akecheta saw it in Episode 8. Even then, it was difficult to figure out: it looked like it could be a storage facility or some kind of a lab. The view was from a distance, but there were buildings and something metal built into a giant crater. There were countless thin, tall towers rising out of the ground that were attached by wires to a horseshoe-like something suspended above them. Akecheta called it "a passage to another world. A door."

He became convinced that it was the way to escape the park. It would offer the hosts passage to a new world where everything they lost could be found again. The trouble is, even though audiences technically know what Akecheta found, it's still incredibly vague. He found the door out, the Valley Beyond that someone (probably Dolores) likely flooded way back in the premiere of Season 2. But that doesn't mean anyone is any closer to figuring out what that means.

The structure could have something to do with William's secret project to collect guest experiences and DNA, both to get information about them and to potentially upload their consciousness into host bodies so humans can finally achieve immortality. But it's difficult to determine how that could provide an escape for anyone, or how Dolores could use that same escape as a tool of destruction.

Perhaps the answer to what Akecheta found (and what all the hosts are after) is more simple than anyone suspected. Perhaps it's quite literally the only way to get out of the park and into the rest of the world where humans live. Maybe it's just a path and all that terraforming is a major red herring. The maze wasn't what anyone expected, after all, so there's a good chance the door won't be any different. Westworld is always upending expectations.