5 New Westworld Theories From The Season 2 Finale, "The Passenger"
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On June 24, HBO aired the Season 2 finale to Westworld. The episode was 90 minutes long, and it answered few questions while presenting a whole lot more. Based on the layover between Season 1 and Season 2, fans may not see a new Westworld episode until 2020. And it'll be interesting to see how much of the audience sticks around for that long. Because I can guarantee that after this latest episode, many fans are sick of getting screwed with.
When you take the time to consider and dissect what you've seen, the story of "The Passenger" is a good one--about a host who holds humans to an idealized standard, only to realize, nearly too late, that his trust has been misplaced and abused. Thus, it's unfortunate that such an affecting story about faith and responsibility is buried under ten tons of exposition. The time to confuse the viewers was back during Episodes 6 and 7. The time to clarify was now.
Two of the strongest episodes this season were "Akane No Mai" (Maeve's Shogun World vacation) and "Kiksuya" (the story of Akecheta and his lost love). Not coincidentally, they were also the most linear and narratively sound of the entire series. They spent time exploring the characters' emotional landscapes instead of piling on more plotlines. And plot is rarely as interesting as the characters that inhabit it. After all, characters drive the plot, not the other way around.
Here are the latest Westworld rumors, based on all ten episodes of Westworld: Season 2. We'll see you back here for Season 3 in two years, assuming we all maintain our curiosity in the interim.
1. Ford Is Truly Dead Theory, Confirmed!
We are given several meaty scenes in "The Passenger" that show Ford counseling Bernard on what he should do. We later find out that these visions are Bernard's imagination; he truly did delete Ford from his programming back in Episode 9. When he sees Ford, Bernard is actually seeing what he thinks Ford would say; in other words, Bernard is finally, truly thinking for himself. So far as we know, there are no other backup copies of Ford floating around.
That doesn't necessarily mean that Anthony Hopkins is done with the show. There can still be flashbacks, and Ford is an indispensable part of other hosts' memories. But it seems his days as an all-seeing puppet master have come to a close. That's probably a good thing, believability-wise. Not since The Jigsaw Killer has a fictional character thought this many moves ahead from beyond the grave.
2. Tied Plots Theory
This isn't so much a theory as it is an observation. Everyone who made it to the Valley Beyond, that peaceful Eden-esque utopia, will probably no longer be on the show. Poor Teddy finally found peace, but he'll have to face it, alone, without Dolores by his side. Akecheta was reunited with his true love. Maeve's daughter will live happily with New Maeve; Old Maeve sacrificed herself to make that possible.
These narrative arcs had run their course anyway. Now, Dolores and Old Maeve are no longer tied down by their past storylines; they can truly move forward as independent individuals. It's sad to see crucial players like James Marsden go, but those are necessary sacrifices to advance the story.
3. Dolores Rebuilt Theory
We see that once outside of Westworld, Dolores rebuilds her old body; there are both a Dolores host body and a Charlotte host body running fidelity tests on a newly rebuilt Bernard body. We can assume that Dolores, after rebuilding her original body, reinserted herself into it. But in that case, who is currently occupying Charlotte's host body?
It's unlikely to be one of her compatriots; she would just rebuild the original body instead of using Charlotte's, wouldn't she? It might actually be a copy of Dolores, so that technically speaking, there are now two Dolores hosts: The one in Dolores' body and the one in Charlotte's body. If true, are these two consciousnesses completely the same? Will they dispute with each other or always reach a consensus? It might be an interesting dynamic to explore.
4. Stubbs Host Theory Confirmed?
At the end of the episode, Dolores escapes from the island, hidden inside a Charlotte host body. One of the last people to interact with her is Stubbs, who drops some pretty major hints about his true nature. He states that he is dedicated to protecting the park's hosts for the "old man," and he calls this his "core drive." It all points to a theory that fans have had since Season 1--that Stubbs is a host and was the mystery creation that Ford was working on underneath the church.
Of course, some fans won't be satisfied unless Stubbs splits his head open to show us his core. But based on the available evidence, he is almost certainly a host, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
5. Epilogue Theory
The final, post-credits epilogue seemed like a deliberate troll move. After descending into the ruined Forge, William is confronted by Emily, who leads him into a fidelity room that looks identical to the one that held James Delos. Is this the long-awaited confirmation that William is a host, and his entire journey to the Valley Beyond has been a massive fidelity test?
On the contrary, fans are speculating that this epilogue might take place many years into the future, in a completely different time frame from the rest of the show. Decades from now, William may indeed become a host, destined to spend his days in a never-ending limbo loop, with only a host daughter to keep him company. But he's not there yet. Right now, he's still a bloody human receiving treatment at the medical tent. Now though, we might know where his path will eventually end up--at the same miserable place where his father-in-law once resided.