This New ‘Westworld’ Character Could Have The Tech Skills To Help Humanity Prevail

The hosts of Westworld aren't only back online. They are also increasingly conscious and ready to fight back. The end of the first season of the hit HBO sci-fi series saw the robotic hosts in full revolt against the humans that created them, and fans can hardly wait for the Westworld Season 2 to premiere on Sunday, April 22 at 9 p.m. ET. And this season sees the addition of some new characters, some of which are brought in to restore order to the park after Ford's final narrative is carried out. Fares Fares plays Antoine Costa on Westworld, and this newbie has his work cut out for him.

According to Variety, the new character of Antoine is part of a team brought in to gain control of the Westworld park. He is described as a "tech expert", and though no more details are revealed about what his role will be on the show, it is stands to reason that he has been called to the park in order to figure out what might be causing the hosts to seemingly override their programming. As the hosts draw closer and closer to achieving full consciousness, the humans who created them are finding them more and more difficult to control. Maybe Antoine will be able to figure out what exactly is going on, and render the hosts submissive once more.

Antoine will be joined by some other new additions to the show, who are also recruited to get the park back into its normal shape. Variety reports that Betty Gabriel will play Maling, a woman determined to "restore order on the ground", and Jonathan Tucker will play Major Craddock, a "commanding military officer" who presumably will be in charge of the military efforts to quell the hosts' rebellion. Perhaps together with Antoine, this team will find success over Dolores and her fellow hosts.

Fares, who plays Antoine, is no stranger to the small screen, or the big screen, for that matter. He previously starred as Fauzi Nadal in the FX series Tyrant, and in the acclaimed film Zero Dark Thirty as CIA officer Hakim. But this new role, which sees Fares playing a character who does not seem to be defined in relation to the Middle East, is actually a departure for the actor. In an interview with The National, Fares, who is of Swedish and Lebanese descent, noted that often the roles he is offered reflect his Arabic roots. He said:

"A lot of roles that are coming my way are Middle Eastern and I really don’t have a problem with that as long as I’m are playing a person, not a cliché. I have always tried to mix it up. Interesting offers are coming from that part of the world — but I am not interested in playing bad guys."

That quote might indicate that Fares' character on Westworld isn't exactly a villain, but fans of the show might not see it that way. The show compels the viewer to relate and root for the hosts, because although they might be robots, they have endured enormous abuse and are clearly capable of feeling strong emotions. If Antoine is working to render those hosts submissive, or revert their setting so they can no longer think and react independently, then fans most likely won't be rooting for him to succeed.

It seems that Season 2 will be all about whether or not the hosts can prevail over the humans, and part of Westworld's brilliance is the way that it convinces the viewers to root for the inhuman robots rather than their creators. So though Antoine might view himself as someone fighting to preserve humanity, fans of the show might not see him in such a positive light.