Westworld Season 2, Episode 7: 21 New Things We Learned In "Les Ecorches"
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Westworld Season 2, Episode 7 spoilers ahead!
We always knew Westworld Season 2 was going to be bloody, from the moment hosts started shooting at the end of Season 1. Episode 7, "Les Ecorches," continued the trend. Blood of human and hosts alike flowed through the halls of the Mesa and beyond this week.
It wasn't all fire and fury, though. There were some tender moments, like the one between Dolores and Abernathy, and plenty of massive revelations, too. We learned how Ford survived in the Cradle, and what Dolores is intending to do once she reaches the Valley Beyond.
That's not all, of course. Check out everything we learned this week on Westworld, and when you're done, head over to our full Season 2, Episode 7 breakdown, and read our theories for next week while you're at it.
1. Strand is not there for a rescue mission.
That should have already been clear, but just in case, Stubbs spelled it out for us.
2. Charlotte is in deep.
Charlotte Hale is fully aware of "the project," which she says is "a turning point for the human species." Just in case you thought she might not be fully in on it.
3. There are many more Bernards.
Bernard's secret is officially out of the bag, assuming this is actually the show's "present," as it seems to be. What will this mean for Bernard? Guessing at the very least, he's going to have to find a new job.
4. Delos has virtual torture, including waterboarding.
This is probably limited to hosts. Probably.
5. Dolores did something with her father's control unit.
That might mean she stole it, hid it, or even destroyed it, to prevent Delos from gaining access.
6. The troops' vests now act as host sensors.
Like a video game radar system, the Delos response team's vests now vibrate directionally when a host is in range, interfacing with the hosts' neural mesh network. Not that it did the team much good.
7. The control unit Bernard printed was indeed Ford's.
As you probably guessed, but it was nice for the show to confirm it nonetheless.
8. The entire park is an experiment designed to "copy" guests' minds.
"The guests are the variables, and the hosts are the controls." Thanks for that illumination, Bernard. This is the fruition of the hints that William dropped back in Episode 2.
9. Ford is trapped in virtual Westworld.
His mind would degrade, just like Jim Delos's, should he try to occupy real meat space with the rest of us.
10. Lawrence is woke now.
Not great for Bill, obviously. One good deed doesn't change who you are, as we've learned.
11. If Bill lives through this, he's probably a host.
There's no other explanation for surviving multiple gut and limb shots like this, right? The remaining question will be how long he's been a host, and whether he's aware of it himself.
12. Ford is not a fan of Delos's immortality project.
We weren't 100% sure how he felt about it before he died, but virtual reality Ford here calls it "Delos's ugly little project."
13. Bernard wasn't built like Jim Delos.
Since Delos's project didn't yet exist when Arnold died--because Delos hadn't yet bought the park--the only thing Ford had to go off when creating Bernard was his and Dolores's memories of Arnold. That explains why Bernard works, whereas true copies like the Jim Delos-bot and Ford don't work in meat space. It also explains the strange conversations between Dolores and Bernard.
14. Ford is back in control.
At least where Bernard is concerned. Hopefully Ford doesn't still want Elsie taken out.
15. Ford is still helping the hosts.
Despite how it might seem. Yes, he's controlling Bernard again. But as Ford put it, "you won't have any use for [free will] unless I take it back." Presumably, he needs to help the hosts a little more before he can finally rest.
16. Elsie almost became a dentist.
Hopefully she has the chance to go back to dental school--in other words, hopefully she survives this.
17. It was indeed Ford pulling the strings from the Cradle.
Or whatever this ghost of Ford really is, be it backup, copy, or something else. But as soon as he exited the Cradle and entered Bernard's control unit, the system "debugged itself," like whatever was in there "disappeared."
18. Ford's final narrative will end in the Valley Beyond.
Ford's final game will end "where it began," as he told Bill early in the season. According to Bernard, that's the same as the Valley Beyond. Looks like everything will culminate there by the end of Season 2.
19. Dolores is planning to destroy the project.
"Your chances at eternity will die in that valley, with all the souls you've gathered there." Ice cold, Dolores.
20. The hosts destroyed their own backups.
That's why the Delos response team can't find them later on.
21. Bernard knows where Abernathy's control unit is.
And now Charlotte, Stubbs, and Strand know too. Sector 16, Zone 4 must be the Valley Beyond, right?