'Westworld' Episode 9 Photos Tease ''The Well-Tempered Clavier''

Ever since the days of The Sopranos, HBO's show have tended to treat the penultimate episode of each season as the main event, the chapter that brings every storyline to a climax or pays off some kind of major plot point. This trend has only gotten more noticeable in the age of Game of Thrones, where second-to-last episodes tend to completely shatter the show's world, leaving the season finale to pick up the pieces and lay the groundwork for what lies ahead.

So with episode 9 of Westworld, titled "The Well-Tempered Clavier," just days away, should we expect something absolutely huge to happen? Are there any clues in the new batch of images HBO has released from the episode?

To answer those questions – Maybe! and Nah.

As is typical for a show that always holds its secrets close to the vest, these images don't reveal much. If anything, they simply serve as a roll call of key characters and a reminder that things are probably going to start getting really bad for everyone as season one draws to an end.

We have a new look at Evan Rachel Wood's Dolores, who reached the center of the Maze last week only to find herself confronted by another baffling hallucination and/or flashback. We have a new look at Thandie Newton's Maeve, whose escape attempt has been seemingly thwarted by Westworld security and must now talk her way out of captivity. We have a new look at Anthony Hopkins' Dr. Robert Ford, who has proven himself to be a real bastard over these past couple episodes. And we have a new look at Jeffrey's Wright's poor Bernard Lowe, the latest in a long line of tragic robots who don't realize they're robots until they're forced into a horrible predicament.

Noticeably absent from these preview photos are Ed Harris' Man in Black and James Marsden's Teddy Flood, although the official synopsis for the episode suggests the latter is in for a bit of a bad time:

Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) reconnect with their pasts; Maeve (Thandie Newton) makes a bold proposition to Hector (Rodrigo Santoro); Teddy (James Marsden) finds enlightenment, at a price.

"The Well-Tempered Clavier" will air this Sunday on HBO. As always, our in-depth spoiler review will run on Monday morning. If you need more, you can always revisit this episode's trailer.