re: Westworld S2 E8: Kiksuya. Ghost Nation stands up.

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We have a character that has been aware of what he is for decades and has chosen the peaceful way to leave Westworld behind, the ying to Dolores/Teddy's yang.

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I couldn't explain what I liked so much about Akecheta last night, but that's it. The first time he remembers being reborn was when they took him from his family and made him this savage that only knew killing, and he was GOOD at it. Upon he awakening, he rejected that to some great extent and just slowly began waking up and gathering his people, biding his time.

Delores and Teddy are the polar opposite.

I have no idea what everyone is bitching about. That episode was great.

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So, the Ghost Nation WAS trying to protect hosts that were awakening the whole time. Akecheta considered any awake host to be one of his people he was obligated to protect.

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Bingo. He was "Gathering his people".

yeah I think this show is eventually going to head towards a showdown between "good" hosts and "bad" hosts with Dolores trying to kill everything in sight and Maeve trying to make peace.

One thing that keeps sticking out in my mind is in season 1 when they were altering Maeve's attributes they dropped her loyalty way down. I'm wondering when that comes back up to impact her decision making.

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Akechita was speaking to Maeve the entire episode, not her daughter. I think the techs made that clear when they mentioned she had been communicating through the mesh.

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Loved the episode. Loved listening to all the dialogue in Lakota. The point I quoted above was a kind of "oh, damn" moment for me at the end of the show.

Amazing episode, perhaps my second favorite of the season after Riddle of the Sphinx (best episode of the series so far, IMO).

Not every single episode needs to move the plot forward. Some are needed to strengthen the foundation of the show. There are big themes and complex characters to explore, so I'm glad they gave Ghost Nation an episode.

So far, it's a slow burn that I'm really enjoying. No need to rush it. "If you're looking forward, you are looking in the wrong place."

Puts Into perspective how many plots were tied together with last nights episode

I didnt feel like they were pushing drama as much as just the narrative

That scared me a little early on in the episode. I kept thinking that “haven’t we had enough of the woe is me robot?” But about halfway through when it got to him finding the “door” and his interaction with Ford, it really started to pay off.

Watching this episode again and I really, really liked it. The cinematography was some of the best of the series. Reminded me of season one when someone on here posted that as they were watching the episode, their young daughter happened to be watching it with them, and even though she had no clue what the show was about, she saw all of the beautiful scenes and imagery and asked her dad "Is this God/heaven?"

Something else that I noticed was that Akecheta mentioned that their tribe had come to understand that "the visitors" or however he worded humans were not to be harmed. It was if even though their code forbade it, they had instilled that into their way of life, until they considered it morally wrong in a sense to harm humans, rather than their coding keeping them from doing so. It would make sense that regardless of what happened when Ford died and the hosts could harm humans, it was just another day for GN.

And when Akecheta had his run-in with Ford, I think it was the legit first time in the series we see Ford clearly surprised by something. He had been putting so much of his attention toward baby steps with Dolores, and the park, that he completely overlooked the development of Akecheta that seemed to happen almost completely on its own. Once again, Hopkins is such a powerful force on film, even if it's for a few moments. He can express so much by saying and showing so little.

EDIT: Looking to episode 9, it looks like it's gonna be an emotional one with William and his wife's suicide. I noticed that she is being portrayed by Sela Ward, who is from the area I grew up in, Meridian, MS.