14 details you might have missed in the 'Westworld' season 3 premiere
John P. Johnson/HBO
Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Westworld" season three, episode one, "Parce Domine."
From the post-credits scene to the new Bernard anagram and more, Insider is here to break down all the smaller moments and references in the newest episode of HBO's "Westworld."
HBO's sci-fi drama "Westworld" returned with its third season premiere on Sunday night, and among the new characters and storylines were plenty of Easter eggs, references, and details.
We've analyzed practically every frame of the season three premiere to bring you all the best details you might have overlooked.
Keep reading for a closer look at "Westworld" season three, episode one, "Parce Domine."
The episode opens with a rendering of an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Rehoboam.
HBO
If you couldn't understand the name just by hearing it, you're not alone. But yes, that large spherical system that Liam Dempsey shows Dolores is called Rehoboam (more on that name in a second).
Nolan confirmed to Insider that the "divergence" pinpoints are there to help orient the audience with where we are in the world during this three-months-post-massacre time frame.
"We liked the idea that we get a sense of what it's watching, what it's thinking," the show's co-creator (and this episode's director) Jonathan Nolan told Insider, "and this idea of a presence that's watching them even as Dolores is gunning for it."
You can read more from our interview with Nolan and his co-creator (and wife) Lisa Joy here.
This same visual of Rehoboam was used for a "Westworld" trailer that confirmed the show is taking place in 2058.
HBO
The circular timeline, with spikes of "divergences," was the visual focus of a teaser released by HBO. That video confirmed that the major host rebellion in Westworld happened in 2058.
You can see our timeline of major events here.
Now let's explore the meaning of the name Rehoboam.
HBO
As we learn later in this episode, the system Incite controls is called Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the name of a biblical King of Israel. He was the son of Soloman, another biblical Israelite king who was renowned for his wisdom.
The current system, overseen by Liam, is called Rehoboam because it is the successor to the first iteration, "Solomon" (the name of which was revealed in the date announcement teaser), which was built by Liam's father. So there's a lot of name-play happening with both the father/son dynamic of Incite as well as the wisdom of its seemingly omniscient AI system.
It's probably worth noting that Rehoboam's rule ended with the Kingdom of Israel weakened and divided, which could be a foreshadowing of events to come on "Westworld" and the Incite system.
The episode title, "Parce Domine," itself also has an intriguing meaning.
HBO
"Parce domine" is a Catholic hymn. The full verse in Latin translates approximately to: "Spare, O Lord, spare your people, do not be angry with us forever."
Throughout "Westworld," various characters (both human and host) have approximated themselves to the gods. In the season three premiere, Dolores says "the real gods" are here, and that "they're very angry."
Some interpretations of this hymn relate it to the story of Jonah in the Hebrew Bible, a prophet from Israel who was tasked with warning people about impending punishment from god.
Which means, once again, Nolan and Joy are invoking biblical themes focused on the dissolution of kingdoms and the wrath of gods. Is Aaron Paul's character, Caleb, the show's own Jonah? Or perhaps the episode title is simply the prayer humans should be offering up to Dolores and the other hosts.
(Bonus fact: In real life, Nolan goes by the nickname "Jonah.")
In the opening scene, Jerry puts a small disc in his mouth.
HBO
This appears to be a futuristic way of taking drugs or medication. The company that runs Rehoboam, Incite, has an Instagram page. On it, a close-up photo of these little disc-pills reveals the label "limbic sedative."
The limbic system "is part of the brain involved in our behavioral and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviours we need for survival," according to the Queensland Brain Institute.
According to that Incite image, the limbic sedative Jerry takes is a "single dose" and lasts for six hours, which is the same duration of the "mellow sunset" soundscape Jerry turns on before laying down in bed.
The song Dolores plays during her home invasion is "Di quella pira" from the 19th century opera called "Il Trovatore."
HBO
The aria is performed during act three, scene two of the Italian opera written by Giuseppe Verdi. The scene is sung from the point of view of a character, Manrico, who just learned his mother has been captured and is set to be burned at the stake.
The first two lines translate in English to: "The flames of that terrible pyre inflamed and consumed all my being! Pitiless men, put it out, or I will shortly do it with your own blood."
This has a nice tie-in with the "Westworld" scene, which begins by Jerry realizing all of the fireplaces in his house have been turned on.
Dolores doesn't burn Jerry at the stake, but she does help him along to his death anyways.
We're introduced to a new character called Caleb. That name is said to be derived from the Hebrew word for "dog."
John P. Johnson/HBO
Though it's not a hard rule, many names in "Westworld" appear to have a symbolic meaning. The name Dolores, for example, can be interpreted as "sorrow" or "pain."
Aaron Paul (who plays Caleb) told Insider he wasn't aware of the double-meaning of his character's name when he first got the role. But then his costar Evan Rachel Wood (Dolores) clued him in.
"Actually Evan introduced me to that whole theory and how names really represent the characters we're playing for particular [people]," Paul said. "And it's fascinating. It's really beautiful and cool to see how Jonah and Lisa work. Their attention to detail, not only with the names, but with everything, it's just really cool to be around."
You can read more from our interview with Aaron Paul here.
The Delos headquarters are in San Francisco, California.
HBO
For many of the city skylines, Nolan and Joy combined elements from the real San Francisco and Los Angeles with other real-life skyscrapers in Singapore or other modern cities.
The Delos headquarters exterior scenes were filmed at the City of Arts and Sciences building in Valencia, Spain. But the background skyline (notably the unique Transamerica Pyramid Center building and Salesforce Tower) tells us that it's meant to be a 2058-version of San Francisco.
The name Bernard is using is an anagram for "Damaged Arnold."
HBO
When Bernard (or Bernarnold, since he's a combination of both Arnold and Bernard) clocks in for work, we see that he's using a fake name: Armand Delgado.
If you rearrange the letters in that name, you'll get "Damaged Arnold."
Insider spoke with Nolan and Joy about this anagram — you can read our interview here.
When Dolores arrives to the Incite party in London, a piano cover of "Dissolved Girl" by Massive Attack plays.
HBO
Throughout the first two seasons, "Westworld" composer Ramin Djawadi frequently made cover versions of contemporary songs that would play on the Westworld saloon's player piano.
Now that the show is in the real world, we'll be hearing more actual music (like the Pulp song "Common People" that plays later in the episode). But this Massive Attack song was a nice new cover from Djawadi.
You can see our episode-by-episode guide to every piece of music used in "Westworld" here.
Dolores falling into Caleb's arms was a callback to how she met William for the first time.
HBO
This isn't the first time Dolores has met a stranger willing to help her. Decades ago it was William, who happily fell in love with Dolores and tried to help her until he became disillusioned with the fact that she was really just a robot after all.
With Caleb, "Westworld" has already made several direct parallels between his life and the "loops" the hosts lived in.
Even the way Caleb's "waking up" scenes are shot the same as the hosts.
HBO
Insider asked Aaron Paul about the possibility that fans might assume Caleb is a host of some kind based on this episode. He got a little coy with us.
"I have a lot of thoughts, about a lot of things," Paul said, laughing. "It's exciting, you know? I don't know what's real and what's not."
Regardless of his host-or-human status, there seems to be an intentional comparison between working-class humans like Caleb, whose lives are restricted by an algorithm that's "helping" them fulfill their potential, and the hosts like Dolores who lived within loops of their own.
There was a familiar pattern graffitied on the tunnel wall.
HBO
In at least one place on the wall behind Dolores and Caleb, it looks like the humanoid figure at the center of the Westworld maze pattern (the one Arnold created to help the hosts gain consciousness) has been drawn there.
This could be just a nod to Dolores' ascendance to full consciousness or a reminder of where she began all those years ago.
A post-credits scene revealed Maeve inside another park: Warworld.
HBO
As we detailed in our trailer breakdown here, fans uncovered a Delos Destinations website for Warworld — another Delos park designed to mimic the European warzones of the 1940s.
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