Westworld: The Significance of Valley Forge

It can be hard to keep up with the mystery of hundreds of hosts end up dead at the location of the Valley Beyond.

Westworld has been slowly dropping hints about what exactly is in the Valley Beyond, and a project developed by William in the pursuit of immortality for humans: monitoring the park's guests in an effort to replicate their consciousness and recreate them as hosts.

Dolores' intent is to reach the Valley Beyond/The Forge and use what's there as a tool to liberate Westworld's hosts and help them escape the park and get to the outside world. However, we know from the season premiere that the area ends up flooded and turned into a mass grave for Westworld's hosts. Moreover, Bernard realizes that he was the one who killed them all. So, based on what we know so far, can we use the reference to Valley Forge to predict how the finale will turn out?

Based on the presence of the Confederados (Confederate soldiers who refused to surrender at the end of the Civil War), we know that the park is supposed to be set in as some time not long after 1865 - around a century after Washington encamped his troops at Valley Forge. Thematically, however, the connections between Westworld season 2 and the American Revolution are obvious. Dolores is a revolutionary leader who is laser-focused on claiming a "new world" for the hosts, and adamant in her belief that "this world doesn't belong to them [humans]." She's framed as the George Washington of the show - particularly in this episode, when she and her followers slaughter the Native American hosts who try to tell her that the Valley Beyond wasn't meant for her, either.

While the name might seem to portend failure for the hosts, Valley Forge isn't just known for its tragedy; it's also a symbol of endurance. In a letter to Governor George Clinton, Washington lamented the "present dreadful situation" of his troops, yet also praised them for their steadfastness, writing the now-famous line: "Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough ire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery." And while the mass grave that we saw in Westworld's season 2 premiere doesn't seem to bode well for Dolores or her troops, it's worth noting that the Patriots did succeed in claiming their new world in the end.