Westworld shifted its focus to Maeve in this week’s thrilling episode. These are our four major takeaways.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for season 3, episode 2 of Westworld.

While the season 3 premiere felt like it was the Dolores show, “The Winter Line” definitely felt like the Maeve show. This is for the best as Thandie Newton’s brilliant acting and a well-written script made for a riveting hour of television.

Much of the episode took place in War World, a location heavily teased in this season’s marketing. As the episode unfolded, it became clear that the World War II-era park was not what it seemed to be. These developments pushed Maeve’s character in new directions while also giving the audience more of an insight into Serac, a pivotal new character played by Vincent Cassel.

Freeze all motor functions as we explore 4 major takeaways from the episode.

1. War World is a simulation

Season 3 of Westworld isn’t wasting any time as it dropped this bombshell in the second episode of the season. Many fans theorized that the real world could be a simulation for the hosts, but almost no one talked about the possibility of War World being a simulation.

This revelation packs a lot of punches. Characters like Hector, Lee Sizemore, Felix, and Sylvester hadn’t actually returned to the show as they were nothing more than parts of the simulation. The trailers for season 3 made it seem like Delos Destinations revamped themselves with War World, but in reality, they’re still struggling to recover from the destruction left behind.

This revelation also shows that Maeve’s processing unit is already in the outside world. Designed by Serac, the simulation is another indicator of how brilliant yet twisted his character really is. Maeve’s own brilliance in the episode proves he may have met his match, though.

2. Lee Sizemore is dead

Even though Lee Sizemore seemingly died in the season 2 finale of Westworld, Simon Quarterman was rumored to be reprising the character in season 3. Theories abounded about Lee being a host or that he actually survived.

This episode seemed to confirm that he survived. Something was off from the moment he appeared, though. Even if he had survived multiple gunshot wounds, it seemed like a stretch that he would be allowed to remain as Head of Narrative after openly working with Maeve and the other hosts last season. It seemed even less likely that he would be given such free reign after betraying his fellow humans. Maeve soon realized that Lee had died and what she was seeing was a copy of him within the simulation.

While some fans may be disappointed by the confirmation of Lee’s death, it’s for the best as it would’ve cheapened his wonderful character development from the previous season. It was a delight to see Simon Quarterman playing the character again, but more importantly, fans can know that Lee died being the man he always wanted to be.

3. Maeve is still a badass in the real world

This one isn’t a surprise, but it was satisfying nonetheless. Maeve figured out how to upload her consciousness to a drone in the outside world. The drone took out a lot of human security and managed to temporarily escape before being gunned down.

Even when trapped inside the simulation, Maeve was clever enough to discover how to break out of it and take down humans in the real world. She was also a badass in her first meeting with Serac as she stood toe-to-toe with him and matched his self-congratulatory arrogance with bold indifference.

4. Serac can control Maeve

After an episode spent portraying Maeve as unstoppable, it was jarring to see Serac be able to freeze her with the push of a button at the end of their meeting. Ever since Maeve chose to stay behind and find her daughter in the season 1 finale, she’s been in control of her existence. She reached new heights in season 2 as she was able to control other hosts with her mind and the commands of humans had no effect on her.

While Maeve remains a formidable individual, Serac has somehow found a way to alter her programming and control her if need be. It’ll be fascinating to see how this control factors into Maeve’s conflict with Dolores. Serac needs her to stop Dolores, but Maeve will never cooperate with an arrogant human who treats her like a weapon to use as he pleases.

Maeve showed her power by breaking out of the simulation. Serac has shown his power by freezing her at will. We can’t wait to see what happens next.