‘Westworld’ Season 2 Spoilers: Evan Rachel Wood Talks Dolores’ ‘Trauma’

People have different reactions to trauma. Some people use their bad experiences to withdraw from the world or seek revenge, while some use it to draw strength and become a better person.

In the HBO sci-fi show “Westworld,” nobody experienced trauma quite like host Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood). For Season 2, she is going to use her horrific past in order to improve herself and face the future with resilience.

“Dolores is multifaceted; she’s obviously an artificial being but what the show explores is what consciousness even is,” Wood told Forbes. “The experiences she’s having are very real; the trauma is real; the pain is real. What's to say her pain isn't any different than ours?”

“She’s a survivor; she’s been abused for about 30 years ... she’s been knocked down so many times and she comes back even stronger,” Wood added.

In fact, Dolores’ own strength help encourage Wood to seek help for her own past trauma. In the past, Wood suffered from physical, psychological and emotional abuse, and she admitted to the Rolling Stone that she was raped twice - once by her significant other, and the other by a bar owner. For the longest time, Wood let her past define her. But Dolores changed all that for the actress.

“My biggest challenge I’ve ever overcome was myself. No one held me back more than me. and no one was meaner to me than me,” she shared. “I shouldn’t be here, and I tried not to be a couple times.”

But in the end, Wood said she was able to learn how to love herself in all her “messy glory,” and she’s happy that she gave herself a chance.

Next season, Dolores is going to be a completely different host since she now refuses to take a beating from park guests. In a trailer for Season 2, Dolores can even be seen gunning them down with fellow host Teddy Flood (James Marsden). It might be seen as an act of cruelty, but Wood said there’s a good reason behind it.

“Yes, she’s gunning down people. But in her defense, she has been pushed a little too far,” Wood told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Westworld” Season 2 premieres on HBO in 2018.