I’ve had more than a week to ruminate on “The Passenger,” which brought the second Season of Westworld to its dramatic conclusion. So now it’s time to focus on 5 big questions after the Westworld season finale.
This post is clearly full of *Spoilers*, so stop reading now if you haven’t see “The Passenger.”
1. Why did Bernard save Delores?
Back in the forge, Bernard shoots Delores to prevent her from destroying two worlds: The Valley Beyond, a virtual Eden to where many of host’s minds had fled, and the real world, which Bernard believes she will burn to the ground. In the episode’s most shocking twist, however, we learn that Bernard brought Delores back in a host body of Charlotte Hale. But why?
It appears Bernard makes his decision after Hale murders Elsie back in the Mesa. Afterwards, we see him desperately searching his code for any trace of Ford. (Remember, he deleted Ford’s consciousness last episode.) But then he hears Ford’s voice. Ford tells Bernard that he’s now the last of his kind. “There’s only one last question to ask,” Ford says. “Is this the end of your story? Or do you want your kind to survive?”
Bernard answers yes, then asks Ford if he will help him. Ford says, “I’ve already begun.”
A simple answer to the question is that Bernard exercised his own free will and made a choice: to save Delores, and hence their kind. There is also a suggestion that this image of Ford was never Ford at all. Rather, it was just one of Bernard’s memories. But what if that’s not entirely true? The flashbacks with Bernard and Ford could be viewed to suggest that even before last season ended, Ford helped Bernard build the replicant of Charlotte Hale. If true, this means that Ford knew Delores would need a replicant body of a Delos board member in which she could be a passenger so she could leave the island.
So regardless of whether a portion of Ford’s code still resides in Bernard, Ford may have had a heavy hand in the events that led to the episode’s big twist. Also, I’m not sure the question has fully been answered. Did Bernard make this choice of his own free will? Or was Ford still playing puppet master? If so, then maybe Bernard didn’t delete all of Ford’s code. Maybe it’s still buried deep in Bernard’s brain.
2. Who did Delores save?
When Delores escapes in Hale’s body, it’s revealed that she smuggled five control units off the island. We know that one was Bernard’s control unit because she recreates him once she reaches Arnold’s home on the mainland. But who else did she save? One of them may be Teddy, but I don’t think so. Near the end of the episode, we see Teddy in the Valley Beyond, suggesting that Delores uploaded his consciousness there. Also, when Teddy achieved free will, he chose to take his own life rather than continue on with Delores. I think she realizes he’s done with her.
But what about Angela, played by Talulah Riley, who served as Delores’ chief lieutenant during much of this season? It always seemed strange that she was so quick to blow herself up to destroy the Cradle. Though her behavior makes sense if she knew that she’d need to abandon her physical body to make it to the mainland. Of course, this presumes that Delores somehow copied Angela’s control unit before she destroyed the Cradle. The other control units could similarly be copies of (or belong to) the bandit warriors who have served Delores throughout this season. But those bandits have literally been nameless and faceless, so how exciting would that be?
Another possibility is her father, Abernathy. Though I wonder how useful his control unit would be ever since it was turned into the encryption key. Regardless, there is a reason the show revealed five units, and who they belong to promises to be one of the big mysteries in Season 3.
3. Who is inside Charlotte’s head?
At the episode’s end, we discover that Delores has recreated her old body. Yet Hale’s replicant is still around too. This begs the question of which host’s control unit now resides in replicant-Hale’s head? If my Angela theory holds water, she’s my best guess. Angela is cunning and loyal to Delores, so she seems the perfect choice to masquerade as Hale. Beyond Angela, this one’s a head-scratcher. I’ve seen some writers suggest that Delores’ mind is inhabiting both bodies. But that’s a bit too weird. Add this one to another of Season 3’s big mysteries.
4. Will Maeve be resurrected?
This one is a no-brainer. For one, I can’t imagine Westworld without Thandie Newton. But the episode all but told us this is going to happen.
In the episode’s final scenes, we witness the Delos soldiers on the beach tell Felix and Sylvester to salvage the hosts that can be repaired. Lying right by their feet is Maeve. The bigger question is why Delos Corp. wants to repair any of them? Are they planning on covering up the uprising and re-opening the park?
Speaking of, even though Delores is in the real world, I bet we’ll see plenty of the parks in Season 3. After all, Maeve will need to escape from there (and maybe Hector and Armistice too if they get resurrected). Also, the only hosts who made it to the Valley Beyond were from the Westworld park. That leaves five parks full of hosts, including Shogun World and The Raj. That’s a whole lot of hosts left to deal with—unless, of course, you want to reprogram them and re-open the parks.
5. Will we return to the Valley Beyond?
I don’t know the answer to this one. We do know that Delores beamed the virtual Eden to a place where the hosts will be safe. I suppose, then, if she knows the location, she could literally use the data to resurrect any of the hosts. But I’m not sure she’d do that. Earlier in the finale, she was willing to pull the plug on this virtual Eden, viewing it as another of Ford’s gilded cages. But then she has a change of heart after Bernard resurrects her as Hale (or “Halores,” according to some articles). I could see her leaving the hosts alone. But I could also see Delos Corp. seeking them out. So who knows? Maybe protecting the Valley Beyond will be part of Season 3.
That’s it for my thoughts on what turned out to be an excellent season of Westworld. Now, we’re back in The Long Winter, waiting for the return of Games of Thrones …
* Images courtesy of HBO