'Westworld's Showrunner Just Confirmed This Fan Theory

After the stunning and twist-heavy season finale of Westworld, fans were left with just a few answers, but a whole lot of questions. Luckily for us, a popular Westworld fan theory about Maeve was confirmed by showrunner Jonathan Nolan at a Paleyfest panel over the weekend. While both Nolan and his co-conspirator Lisa Joy agreed to not give fans much new info about Season 2, the showrunner did at least share the answer to the burning question many of us have about Westworld's most self-aware character, Maeve Millay. Watch out fans who aren't caught up, for there are spoilers ahead.

According to Nolan, it was definitely the brothel madam's choice to return to Westworld after her big escape and not part of some narrative implanted in her by the nefarious Dr. Ford. That means the realistic robot was acting via her own free will when she decided to return home and rescue her daughter of previous narratives from the cruel automated world that was their violent prison. Explained Nolan, "That is really the first decision she’s ever made. You’re seeing the birth of free will there.”

Holy cow. That's a heck of a human experience for someone to go through for the first time. I have to say, I'm pretty stoked that Maeve is finally able to control her own life, and am excited to see what decisions she makes in Season 2, which isn't set for release until 2018 (probably).

While that news is certainly a juicy morsel, it's unfortunately the only bite fans at Paleyfest received in terms of information for the new season. Nolan wouldn't even allow Joy to reveal if the production was set to begin in summer 2017 though she was bursting to tell, saying, "We can — Can’t we say that?!” All we fans do know for sure is that the writing team has begun, and that the team is "terribly excited" about what they're writing.

Though Nolan is excited about the upcoming episodes, the cast themselves probably won't even get full versions of the scripts, which was a tactic used to avoid spoilers during Season 1. Joked Nolan, “They’re still not going to get sh*t. They clearly enjoy it so much.”

So we don't have much to go on for Season 2, but at least we now know that Maeve happens to rock free will as well as supreme intelligence and leadership, not to mention a mastery of weapons. Get ready for Season 2 Maeve to be just as exciting to watch as Season 1 Maeve. In the cowboy-esque spirit of Westworld, I think a triumphant "Yeehaw!" is in order.