Well, that's all folks, at least until 2018. Westworld's finale confirmed a bunch of fan theories that had sprung up since episode 2, but there are still a handful we're going to have to wait until 2018(!) to see verified. Below, I've expanded a little on what's been confirmed and what hasn't, and you can look back at the very first inklings of some of Westworld's biggest reveals.
We’re on the home stretch guys, but despite Episode 8’s revelations, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. Where’s Ford? What happened to Elsie? Why is Dolores still hanging round that wet rag, Billy? Here are the theories leading into Westworld’s penultimate episode.
Considering Ford told Bernard to kill Theresa, it’s easy to conclude he told him to kill Elsie, too. But think a little deeper, and that really makes no sense. Elsie’s dirt digging did not impact Ford in any way - only Theresa - so why would he want her killed? This theory suggests that perhaps Bernard killed Elsie of his own free will, in order to protect Theresa. After all, we know he’s capable of killing humans, and he certainly hadn’t had his memory wiped of that particular incident (as an aside - if she really is dead, Elsie is Westworld’s Barb.) Status - pending. Where the heck is Elsie? Has she been written off the show in a partial flashback? If so, that's an even worse fate than Stranger Things' Barb.
One major question we’ve all asked over recent episodes: why the heck are the Felix and Sylvester letting themselves be bossed around by a host? It feels like a glaring mistake on the part of Westworld’s writers that the pair didn’t nip Maeve’s new ‘storyline’ in the bud straight away, so this theory suggests that they too are hosts, programmed “to keep their jobs at all cost”.
All cost indeed.
Status - disproved. Looks like Felix and Sylvestor are the real deal. Felix looking at his hands - and Maeve's reaction - in Episode 10 was pitch perfect.
This theory is a bit of a stretch, but fun to think about. One Reddit user argues that Charlotte uploading all the park’s data into Abernathy is no accident, and that Arnold uploaded his consciousness into Abernathy before he died. Clues? She quotes Shakespeare to Sizemore - Abernathy also quoted Shakespeare. The photo Abernathy finds that causes him to suffer a paradox could be Charlotte’s mother, who is seen in Dolores’ flashback wearing a white lab coat, alongside a man - Arnold - also wearing a white lab coat. The theory argues that Charlotte is now going to smuggle both her father, and his code, out of the park. Hmmm. Status - disproved. Charlotte seems to have legitimately picked Abernathy at random.
Woah! OK, this is a big one, but bear with one Redditor who has pulled together very compelling evidence that Dolores is, in fact, Wyatt, and caused the town massacre. Take note that this theory relies on the ‘multiple timelines’ theory (scroll down if you’re not familiar), so uses terminology pertaining to that.
“During the massacre Dolores killed Arnold” writes Redditor NoMereVeneerOfVanity. “Arnold's death occurred at the same time as the massacre, and maybe the massacre even resulted from Arnold's work on Dolores. Dolores is somehow linked to Arnold more than any other host, and it may be the case that Arnold told her to kill him, or got her to kill him, to prove that she is conscious and solved the maze. Ford wouldn't say that he and Dolores are friends 'at all' because she is either the host that killed his dear friend, or the creation of his arch nemesis that he can't seem to crack."
The Redditor goes on to explain that the odd ‘blackouts’ Dolores goes through during the William timeline are actually flashbacks to other times she’s trod this path, searching for the centre of the maze. Sometimes she doesn’t make it - she sees herself as dead - and sometimes we see her flashforward to the present, where she’s walking the same path, but this time without William. “She is mirroring the path she took with William to bring her to the center of the maze (the Wyatt massacre town) in order to assume the mantle of 'Wyatt' and become the villain that Ford knows she can be." Status - confirmed. Wyatt was indeed the code that Arnold inserted inside Dolores on his last day at the park.
Add your own theories in the comments below!
WOW. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still reeling from last week’s episode, where Westworld finally showed us its hand. If you’re not up top to date with ‘ Trompe L'Oeil’ (aka Doesn't Look Like Anything to Me), avert your gaze, cuz we’re gonna go deep.
This ubiquitous theory is almost a certainty. Theresa can’t just mysteriously disappear considering how much the board is relying on her, so Ford has to replace her now she’s dead. It stands to reason that the host he’s making in his cabin is, in fact, a replica of Theresa who has suddenly ‘changed her mind’ on Ford’s handling of the park. Status - disproved. Theresa has been announced dead.
We’ve toyed with this idea before, but Trompe L’Oeil strongly suggested that Bernard is a host modelled on Ford’s former business partner (allegedly), Arnold. After all, the man we thought was Arnold based on the photograph in episode three turns out to be a host modelled on Ford’s father, and there was a space in that photograph where another person could have been accommodated. If Bernard can’t see things that would hurt him, could it have been his image in that photo? Status - confirmed, right down to the space in the photo.
This theory proposed by Vanity Fair suggests that three are not two timelines in Westworld (Billy/Dolores and Dolores/Ford/The Man in Black) but three. It’s based on the assumption that yes, Bernard and Arnold are the ‘same’ person, and all the interactions between Dolores and Bernard and indeed, Bernard and his wife, are actually between Arnold and Dolores and Arnold and his wife, before Arnold passed away. We know that Arnold’s death pre-dates Logan and Billy, and considering it’s so hard to place Dolores with Bernard in both the Man-in-Black present and the Billy past, this theory holds up. Status - confirmed.
We’re deep in tinfoil hat territory now, ladies and gentleman! This theory (via Reddit) hangs on the idea that Ford was the first ‘sentient’ host who has figured out the maze and made himself the master of Westworld. Let’s look back at Teddy’s explanation of the maze to the Man in Black:
‘The Maze itself is the sum of a man’s life. The choices he makes, the dreams he hangs onto. And there at the center there’s a legendary man who had been killed over and over again countless times. But always clawed his way back to life. The man returned for a last time to vanquish all his oppressors in a tireless fury. Built a house and around that house he built a maze so complicated only he could navigate through it. I reckon he’s seen enough fighting.’
Ford has definitely built a house, and he’s definitely made himself the center of the Westworld universe. But this theory begs the question...if Ford’s a host, who built him? Status - disproved. Ford was human, and Ford is dead.
As a fan of the original movie, I love this Reddit theory. In episode 6, you can see a ‘Sub C Level’ on the elevator display, which is one below the presumed lowest level of Westworld, Cold Storage. If Sublevel B houses the original lobby - as it appears to - could Sub C Level house the original basement? Perhaps it’s in a state of disarray like the original Jurassic Park - overgrown with weeds or underwater. Status - pending.
As always, add your own theories in the comment section below!
Episode 5 of Westworld gave the 'multiple timeline' advocates a lot to sink their teeth into, though there are still a lot more questions mid-way through this season than answers. The theories keep coming - here's what the internet is saying this week.
The verdict is still not definitive on this one, but episode 5 offered some solid evidence to back up the ongoing theory that The Man in Black and Billy are indeed the same person. Immediately after Lawrence is slaughtered - and that’s the word for it - by the Man in Black, he appears as El Lazo in Billy’s ‘timeline’. If he’d been cleaned up and put back together by the park workers, that’s one hell of a quick turnaround, and as the Man in Black says, he and Lawrence have a past together - perhaps Billy’s introduction to El Lazo is the past we’re seeing? Episode 5 also kicked off what could be Billy’s dark path, after Logan confronts him for always following the rules into a life of mediocrity. Status - confirmed.
If my grasp of TV foreshadowing is anything to go by, Felix, the lowly robot-repair technician, is probably going to meddle with the hosts’ programming and kick off a series of events in Westworld that will eventually lead to all-out robots vs humans chaos. All with Maeve’s manipulation of his curiosity and naivety, of course. Status - well, he meddled with Maeve enough to cause enough chaos, but it was Ford who initiated the robot uprising.
This Reddit theory reckons that the Man in Black financially ‘saved the park’ - as he claimed in episode 5 - after Arnold’s possible suicide (which frightened investors). This is why he’s allowed so much freedom in Westworld, and his newfound violent urgency is because he’s dying, and has very little time left to reach the center of the maze. Status - disproved in episode 8 when The Man in Black revealed his true intentions.
Okay, we may have been a little slow on the uptake on this one. But check out this image from Reddit:
via Reddit
There’s now a theory that Arnold is at the centre of the maze, and once hosts reach him, they find enlightenment. That’s how you ‘crack’ Westworld. As to why The Man in Black is so desperate to reach it remains to be seen. As always, add your own theories in the comments! Status - disproved, sort of. Arnold did indeed create the 'maze' to bring about host sentience.
Another week, another batch of Westworld fan theories. Last week's episode definitely asked more questions than it answered (so the Man in Black is a good guy in the outside world?), and our intrigue is amped up to 11. Here's what the internet is saying this week.
Ok, this isn’t so much of a theory as a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fact. It’s not immediately clear, but watch the fourth episode a couple of times and you’ll see that the hosts who were a big part of Lee’s rejected ‘Odyssey on Red River’ storyline are now essentially slaves working on expanding the park for Ford’s new storyline. Status - confirmed.
This theory via Slash Film reckons the Man in Black is actually a board member at the park, based on the fact that The Man in Black knows about Arnold - the so-called co-creator of Westworld - and, of course, the amount of freedom he has to roam in the park. The theory continues that the photo found by Abernathy is of the Man in Black’s wife. Status - confirmed. The Man in Black - aka William - owns the park, and the photo found by Abernathy was his wife.
This popular Reddit theory is based on Dolores’ answer to Bernard’s question: “where are you?”
“I’m in a dream”.
What if the conversations between Bernard and Dolores all take place digitally? It makes very little sense for Bernard to continue to smuggle Dolores out of the park for their off-the-record meetings, so why not access her via ‘remote desktop’? Status - a mix. Some meetings were flashbacks, some were representations of Arnold's voice in Dolores' head.
Ok, ok, bear with me. This theory is based on the fact that we never actually see the outside world, and has been rationalized quite convincingly on Reddit. The 28 day guest limit, for example, could be in place due to potential radiation exposure if they were to stay any longer, and a nuclear disaster could explain the lack of any other animals (aside from flies) in the park. This would also explain the radiation suits the park workers wear when removing the host’s ‘bodies’, and the fact that Delos is so far underground. There’s more to support this theory - check out the whole thread. Status - pending.
This is one of our own theories. In a TV series where every last detail is intentional, it’s very interesting that Jeffrey Wright’s character Bernard never wears anything other than black. Coincidence?
Uh...maybe. Status - disproved.
As always, add your own theories in the comments below!
Welcome back to our weekly round up of the crazy (and not-so-crazy) fan theories on what’s going on in HBO’s latest sci-fi series, Westworld. Episode 3 gave us a little more information on certain members of management’s intentions - I don’t know about you, but I’m developing a real soft spot for Bernard - yet there’s still plenty of mystery to sink our teeth into here. Here’s what the internet is saying this week.
Spoilers ahead for ALL AIRED episodes of Westworld to date.
Currently information on the identity of Ed Harris’ violent guest is scarce, but The Wrap theorises that Westworld co-creator Arnold is not dead, as Ford claims, but walking round the park bashing hosts’ heads in. Why? Because Arnold wanted to bring hosts to consciousness - as the Men in Black arguably appears to be - and it’s a sound explanation as to why he’s allowed so much freedom. Status - disproved.
I know we reported the ‘Bernard is a host’ theory last week, but Uproxx has doubled down on the idea and come to some interesting conclusions. The site believes Bernard is modelled after Ford’s (presumably) dead business partner Arnold, and the fact that he has a ‘backstory’ - like all the hosts do, and none of the other humans do - is evidence of this. His dead son provides Bernard with looping grief that keeps him grounded in the illusion of his own humanity. Status - confirmed. Bernard was modeled after Arnold.
While it seems like last week’s theory that The Man in Black and Billy are the same person was debunked in episode 3, there’s still plenty of evidence to suggest the show is set in alternate timelines. As The Verge noted, Delores’ awakening could actually be leading up to the disaster of 30 years ago’ events ago, and Billy’s odd ‘past’ with her might be linked to the fact that he plays a part in this. After all, it is kind of weird that she finds so much time to talk with Bernard outside of her regular narrative loop. Status - confirmed.
Jimmi Simpson as Billy.
A very smart Reddit user believes that the maze in Kissy’s skull is actually a cross-section of a spherical maze that’s located underneath Westworld - as underground as Delos itself. To find it, one must follow the big river that runs alongside Westworld - as ‘Arroyo’ is stream in Spanish, and Lawrence's daughter in episode 2 said "follow the Blood Arroyo to where the snake lays its eggs". The theory continues that the ‘snake’ part in her cryptic guidance relates to the constellations the rogue host obsessively carved in episode 3, and there’s a constellation called ‘Serpens’ in the Northern Hemisphere, with a Serpens Cauda (tail) that points to the east. So? Follow the river until one is under the Serpens Cauda constellation, and there will be the entrance to the maze. Status - disproved. The maze is a metaphorical journey rather than a literal one.
This Reddit theory suggests that Arnold as ‘human’ is a red-herring from Ford, and he was in fact, a host who started awakening the other hosts...30 years ago. He and the rest of the sentient hosts had to be deprogrammed after the disastrous event, and this would explain why Bernard had not heard of Arnold before, and why Ford insists on treating the hosts as robots. Which leads us to… Status - disproved. Bernard had not heard of Arnold because Bernard was modeled after Arnold.
This theory comes courtesy of Comicbook.com, and suggests that one host slipped under the radar after a bunch of them became conscious - the Man in Black. This theory also suggests that he was one of the tougher models, with thicker skin and more expensive, hardier wiring, part of an ‘original’ group of hosts that were subsequently recalled. After all, the pilot episode which focused largely on The Man in Black was called ‘the original’ - perhaps he is the model the title is referring to. Status - disproved. The Man in Black is William, a guest.
For last week's theories, check out the text below, and be sure to add your own in the comments!
HBO has only aired two episodes of its new sci-fi series Westworld, but it's proved the biggest water-cooler subject since it debuted that other series everyone talks about back in 2011. Westworld presents us with a much deeper rabbit hole than Game of Thrones, though, and audiences have come to some pretty far out conclusions as to what the heck’s going on at its bottom. Here’s a selection of some of the best, plucked from the internet hive mind and our own brains. We'll update this list each week as Westworld continues to present new mysteries.
For now, major spoilers for the first two episodes of Westworld ahead.
This explosive theory originated on Reddit: Earnest newcomer Billy (Jimmi Simpson) and the nefarious Man in Black (Ed Harris) are the same person, and exist in episode 2 in two entirely different timelines. There are several times when their behaviour is mirrored, while many are pointing to an older-looking Westworld logo appearing in Billy’s timeline than the one in ‘modern day’ scenes. Could The Man in Black be Billy’s final form, grizzled, desensitized, determined to crack Westworld’s meta game? Status - confirmed in the final episode.
This theory is a no-brainer. Bernard claims the last park ‘failure’ was 30 years ago: could he be talking about the ‘infection’ that spread through the hosts in the 1973 Westworld movie, causing them to go against their programming at a devastating cost? Status - disproved. The failure 30 years ago was "Wyatt's" massacre.
Another Reddit theory, this one claims that the church steeple that Ford keeps coming back to is the site of the old park, where the disaster occurred 30 years ago. Ford wants to keep this ‘old’ Westworld a secret as it reveals the truth of the hosts’ purpose, and one redditor believes that Lawrence's daughter's clue to the maze - "follow the Blood Arroyo (red river) to the place where the snake lays its eggs” - is actually at the church steeple. After all, we see a snake by Ford’s feet as he gazes down at it. Status - confirmed.
Vulture theorizes that the hosts are modelled on former guests, based on a plot-twist from Futureworld, the Westworld movie sequel. In Futureworld, the leads figure out that Delos is modelling its hosts in this way - could the same thing be happening here? Is Ford’s end-game to usher in immortality by transporting human consciousness into his androids? Which brings us to…Status - disproved.
Everyone seems to have come to the conclusion that the little boy Ford talks to at the end of episode 2 is a younger version of himself. The kid - whose odd turns-of-phrase betrays his non-human self - could quite easily be a younger Anthony Hopkins, built as Ford’s confidant. Status - confirmed.
It’s fairly safe to predict that some of the Westworld workers we’ve met already may not necessarily be human: episode 1 already pulled off a bait and switch with James Marsden’s character Teddy. The most common theory after two episodes is that the driven head engineer Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) is not who he seems - after all, would Ford trust a human as the right-hand man of his empire? Status - confirmed.
Everyone knows that Bernard is up to something. His off-the-books interactions with Dolores (Evan Rachel-Wood) sees him weasling into the host-psyche, while he mentions his struggles with treating them as mere ‘robots’. Considering his emotional ties, it’s not crazy to suggest he would purposefully try to open the hosts up to their true selves - perhaps it was Bernard who planted the photo on Father 1’s farm, which is slowly but surely kickstarting a series of individual host epiphanies. Status - disproved...insofar as Bernard is not human.
Because Teddy’s bullets couldn’t kill The Man in Black, it’s safe to assume he’s human. But what if he wasn’t? This theory claims that he’s actually a host-gone-rogue who has figured out how to manipulate his own programming. Status - disproved.
“What if I told you, I’m here to set you free?” says The Man in Black in the Westworld trailer. This line has lead many to theorize that instead of a villain, The Man in Black is actually a Gandalf-like mentor, who wants to usher the hosts into sentience. This is a harder theory to swallow, but many are arguing that when he dragged Delores into the barn it was not to sexually assault her, but enlighten her. Status - this is a tricky one. The Man in Black is certainly no mentor, though he's thrilled at the idea of host sentience - after all, that's all he wanted from Dolores.
This reddit theory attempts to answer the question: why is the Man in Black allowed to commit such atrocities without management being alerted? Because someone is allowing him his freedom. In episode 2 Ford expressed bemusement at the park’s hedonistic, violent direction - it’s not impossible to picture him as the master manipulator of the Man in Black, with the maze at the end of his grand narrative, allowing sentience for all hosts and the implosion of the park as it currently stands. Status - Ford didn't manipulate the Man in Black, but he was allowed his freedom as he owned the park.
What are your favourite Westworld theories? Add them in the comments below!
Lucy O'Brien is an editor at IGN’s Sydney office. Follow her ramblings on Twitter.
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