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Westworld Whips Out Shogun World for Guests Bored by the Old West

Teddy lays himself bare, Dolores takes up programming, Maeve learns Japanese, and Wu-Tang gets some love.

by | May 20, 2018 | Comments

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Westworld Episode 15 (season 2, episode 5), debut 5/20/18: Hiroyuki Sanada. photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

(Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO)

Think gunfights and cowboy posturing are a big yawner? Delos Inc. now offers guests an even bigger spectacle: Shogun World. And Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) lays out everything we need to know about it in a lengthy stretch of exposition at the beginning of season 2, episode 5 of Westworld, “Akane No Mai.”


SPOILER ALERT: This article reveals details of season 2, episode 5 of Westworld.


HBO’s bloody, robot-rebellion sci-fi series introduced the much-anticipated Japanese-themed park this week, and fans ate it up.

Here are some highlights from the episode:


1. Welcome to Shogun World!

Westworld Episode 15 (season 2, episode 5), debut 5/20/18. photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

(Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO)

Ronin capture Lee, Maeve (Thandie Newton), and the gang, and march them back to the nearby town through a forest littered with the bodies of disemboweled police.

Cue Lee for exposition: “This is just the tip of Shogun World’s prick” – keeping it classy! Designed for guests who found Westworld too tame, Shogun World is based on Japan’s Edo period – “for the true aficionado of artful gore.”



A Japanese-inflected “Paint It Black” on flute and strings introduces the han, where Lee confesses that the Shogun World story lines are cribbed from Westworld.

Except: ninjas!


2. Akane and Musashi Are Badass, and “Doppelbot” Is Our New Favorite Word

Westworld Episode 15 (season 2, episode 5), debut 5/20/18: Rinko Kikuchi. photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

(Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO)

Westworld has introduced the word “doppelbot” to language, and we see all kinds of uses for it. #Doppelbotamovieline: “I’ll be your doppelbot.”

Akane (Rinko Kikuchi) is Maeve’s doppelbot. The ronin Musashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) is Hector’s (Rodrigo Santoro) doppelbot. Both are badass and deadly.


One observer literally lost his mind during Akane’s dance to Ramin Djawadi’s adaptation of Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.


3. Did Teddy Just “There’s a Place for Us” Dolores?

Westworld Episode 15 (season 2, episode 5), debut 5/20/18: Evan Rachel Wood. photo: HBO

(Photo by HBO)

So Teddy and Dolores are now in the worst place narratively any characters can be: road-tripping and being chatty. They’re talking about their future, and Teddy goes all West Side Story:

“Someday,” he says in reply to her musings. “What if someday was right now?…Now you can’t tell me that somewhere out there in all that beauty, there isn’t a spot for us.”

Did anyone else start singing? Just me? Moving on…


3. Teddy’s Evolution (and Butt)

After some sexercise with Teddy, Dolores does the coldest thing she’s done yet: She overwrites sweet Teddy with – something sure to be foul and devastating. We’ll find out next week.


4. (More) War Is Coming

Westworld Episode 15 (season 2, episode 5), debut 5/20/18: Thandie Newton. photo: Jordin Althaus/HBO

(Photo by Jordin Althaus/HBO)

The cliffhanger promises one of two things: more dead samurai piling up or Maeve showing off her hacking skills. Or both. Or, you know, possibly something else entirely.

“I told you: I found a new voice. Now we use it,” Maeve promises.

What did you think of Shogun World? Did it live up to your expectations?

Westworld airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.