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What are the best theories about Westworld ?!

A complex and serious plot, many enigmatic and fascinating characters, a mysterious park from which everyone seeks for the truth.. Westworld is the new HBO series. But what are the best theories about it ?

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Temps de lecture : 26 min

A complex and serious plot, many enigmatic and fascinating characters, a mysterious park from which everyone seeks for the truth.. Westworld is the new HBO series. But what are the best theories about it ?

Being good series spectators -and Game of Thrones fanatics- we obviously have many theories about Westworld. But we also are new-ideas lovers, so we surfed on the internet, looking for the craziest theories about this new HBO show. Some are very classic, others are really unusual, and others are truly amazing. So we made our little "best-of" of all those theories, explaining them, completing them, and wondering about their possibility, their probability. So, we hope you'll enjoy your journey in Westworld !

Dolores, dans la série Westworld

1-Dolores is Ford's wife or daughter

That first theory is our own theory. It's really personal and you're not forced to believe it, but we think it's quite interesting though. In the last episodes, we learn that Dolores has watched Arnold dying. Then, Ford asks her to repeat the last words Arnold pronounced. After that, Dolores asks Ford if he knows her, or if they are friends, for she can't remember. But he leaves the room, saying that they're not friends at all, that she's wrong. Plus, we know that she is the oldest host of the park. Ok, those elements seem to be really boring -and anecdotal.

But we have to resolve the photograph problem (you did forget it, right ?). Remember : in first episodes, Dolores' fictional father finds a picture on which he sees her daughter in a modern place (it seems to be Time Square, in New York). As he lives in a time where no skyscrapers nor cars exist, he becomes crazy and he is excluded from the park. Then, Ford has to ask him about what he knows, and we easily understand that Abernathy knows what he really is. He remembers his old storylines, and understand he is just a host. But the most important question is : where did the photograph come ? When they talk about it, Ford explains to Bernard that Abernathy has played a literature professor in an other storyline, and he was specialized in Shakespeare masterpieces (that's why he quotes him many times). But that old storyline could have taken place in the same "far-west" as Dolores and the others, because Shakespeare wrote during the XVIIth century, while the far-west time was during XIXth century. So the hosts have never been on a storyline in our time (plus, it will be totally useless). The only answer is : the photo is REAL. So Dolores has been created from a true woman, inspired by a real person. And it matches with an other theory, which says that all the robots have been created from real humans (and this is what happens in "Futureworld", the sequel of the "Westworld" film that inspired the series).

But why would Dolores be Ford's daughter or wife ? Well, we know that Ford is the only human who loves taking some walks in the park, so he is the only one that could have lost (deliberately or not) the photograph (and he could keep it with him all the time, as a memory of the person on the picture...). Plus, his connection with Dolores is always weird. He seems to appreciate her, but he always look at her with a melancholic look. So Dolores could have been the first host he created, inspired by his dead-daughter or wife.

Probability : 60 % (why not?)

Hector, dans la série Westworld

2-Hector has been created from Logan

So we are still in the « hosts have been inspired by real humans » theory. But that theory is really interesting, even if it’s not really famous on the internet (unfortunately). It would mean that host designers can create hosts inspired by their actual or recent guests (as Logan is not experiencing his first time in Westworld), and it’s truly possible because, if they created hosts from real persons, why should they only take dead people or people who never came ? They just have to make script in which the host and the real human never meet ; and, just to precise it, Logan never met Hector

What dazzled me in the first episodes, is the true resemblance between Hector and Logan. And I won’t lie if I say that, when Logan appeared for the first time, I thought it was the same actor. It’s funny, right, but if you look closer, you notice that those two characters have the same kind of face : brown eyes, dark hair, that are “a bit but not too long”, a short beard, a thin head… in a way, they are the perfect “handsome and charming dark-haired boy”. Even their clothes are similar ! Then, we could say they think the same way, because their Westworld experience focuses on : robbing money, killing people, and banging with prostitutes.

In the end, we could say that Hector is a kind of Logan’s caricature, his “character” version. He looks like him, but everything is exaggerated. He has a scar on his face, just to show he is a “true villain”, he uses many weapons, because he is cool, his entrances are always badass and he can kill or robb with a sort of classy nonchalance. Plus, he is very charismatic, and that’s what Logan lacks. Then, all his speeches are a bit philosophical, which makes him more puzzling and interesting. In a sense, we could say he is the “cartoon” version of Logan, his “video game character” version, as he looks like him in many ways. But Hector has something more : he is the kind of villain we love, the “perfect” villain.”

Probability : 75% (this theory is as original as amazing !)

Ford et Dolores, dans la série Westworld

3-Everyone is a host, despite Ford

Here is some other theory about humans and robots relationships. And this one seems to be totally crazy but also… really probable ! Westworld is shared between the hosts, that are in the park and played the scripts, and the humans that create them, fix them, and program them. But what if I told you all of these characters are robots despite Ford ? What is puzzling with Ford, is that he acts like a real God in Westworld (as he is omnipotent and almighty). He controls everything, from the hosts to the humans, and even the guests. Recently, he was confronted to Theresa Cullen, one of the Westworld’s financiers, and he got her to understand that he can control everything and knows everything about his old guests. In the scene, he even controls the host-waiter without saying a word. It’s as if his mood could have a direct impact on the robots, and that’s really frightening. After that, he lives the same moment with the Man in Black. He gets him to understand he is the Master of Westworld, and there’s nothing more to search. And when the Man in Black tries to threaten him with a knife, Teddy protects Ford instinctively, even if Ford has not pronounced a word. Once again, a host obeyed him even if he didn’t say anything (and the hosts seem to be programmed to protect him in front of any danger).

In the same way, when he is opposed to the “humans” in the park, he always looks like the Master. He controls everything. So, ok, he is the creator of the park, but his behavior is really strange, as if he was really almighty in Westworld, beyond his manager’s role. It’s like nobody was able to defy him or disobey him. Plus, there are many theories about his partner’s disappearance. Many think Ford killed Arnold, and that could be truly logical. Because they could have created the park together : with the hosts and the “fake humans” to manage them. But Ford could have been bored by his partner’s “humanity” -and his capacity to be against him for some decisions- through all those robots, and he would have killed him, just to be the only Master of the game. Disturbing, right ?

Probability : 80% (the last episodes showed us a dark and mysterious side of Ford, and I think it strengthens that theory)

Bernard Lowe, de la série Westworld

4-Bernard is Arnold

Well, I agree, this is an absurd theory, but it’s really popular on the internet. According to this theory, Bernard is a host, created by Ford to help him construct the park, as Arnold would have done, if he was still alive. And the most interesting is that theory suits for all options : if Arnold killed himself, Ford created Bernard as a tribute to him, but also to help him manage their creation, and if Ford killed Arnold because he didn’t agree with him, Ford created Bernard because he wanted a “partner” who always obeys him and agrees with him. In any case, it could be logical.

The craziest theories say that in Bernard’s name (Bernard Lowe), you can find the anagram of Arnold, which is a bit disturbing. Plus, we’ve never really seen Arnold’s face, so Bernard could be inspired by him. Then, Bernard seems to try to destruct Westworld from the inside (regardless of Ford, obviously), as he often speaks to Dolores (who knows she is a host), and tells her things about her condition. So he could create a hosts’ uprising, and destroy Ford’s creation… which is exactly what Arnold asked to Dolores before he died. In that way, Bernard -as a host- would have overstepped his functions, and almost got the ideas and wills of the human he was created from. This theory doesn’t appear more clearly, now ?

Probability : 40% (because we can’t forget Bernard seems to have a family and a background)

Lee Sizemore et Theresa Cullen, Westworld

5-Westworld takes place on Mars

If the title looks really crazy, you’ll see that theory is logical. Actually, the theory says that Delos could be located on Mars, and so would be its park. First of all, it would explain that Delos employees never leave the park, and Bernard must Skype with his wife, instead of call her or see her. Plus, it is hard to imagine that our descendants will be able to build a huge park as Westworld on the Earth (we can imagine the park is a kind of virtual reality but, as the series didn’t explain it, we will agree it happens “for real”, in real place). So in that future, Mars would have been discovered and colonized (by Elon Musk …?), and would be the perfect place for a project like Westworld. Then, its dry ground would be appropriate for a far-west décor. In the end, we can add that park employees seem to know many things about the stars, and it strengthens that theory, because, in a future where Humanity has conquered the sky, it’s logical that people learn everything about the solar system at school. Indeed, when the host-lumberjack draws some strange signs on a rock, Elsie Hughes and Ashley Stubbs wonder if that signs are like the Orion constellation or not. Of course, everyone can know that in our time, but, it’s more logical than a society where people conquers the sky teaches astronomy at school.

Probability : 65% (for the sequence where Sizemore and Cullen talk on the terrace, in front of a deserted landscape)

William, de la série Westworld

6-William is the Man in Black

Yes, we know that you have already read that theory and that it’s the most popular one on the internet. But today, we will talk about it just to… destroy it. But first of all, let’s start by the beginning (is it a tautology?). In this theory, we see that the Man in Black (“here comes the man in black… doo doo doo doo…”) lives in a different timeline from William and Logan’s one, and that William would be the young version (30 years before) of the Man in Black, when he first visited Westworld. In this way, the series could show us why William became the « bad guy » and why he absolutely wants to discovers Westworld’s secrets. This theory is based on two important elements : when the Man in Black arrives in Westworld, the train station seems to be older than when William arrives, and the Westworld sign is more “modern”. Plus, Teddy is not in the train that William and Logan took, while he is in the train every day. In that way, he could have been created after their visit.  To date, the theory is pretty clear and logical.

That’s where the shoe pinches. There’s one detail that crushes all that cute theory : the hosts. Many times, Ford and the Man in Black explain that the ancient robots (those from 30 years before now) was made of wires and screws, and they didn’t bleed when you shot them. Plus, Ford explain that they weren’t realistic, they were really mechanical (like the old host with which Ford often talks), far from the modern versions, that look like humans, and even dream like us (which is brought by their last update). Where’s the problem ? The hosts that William and Logan mix with are exactly like the hosts the Man in Black sees. They are realistic, act like real humans, and when you hurt them, that’s blood that runs from their wounds. The best example is Dolores, who dreams a lot when she’s with William and Logan (as she remembers her old scripts), to the point of being totally disconnected from reality sometimes. Furthermore, she knows she is a host, as the Dolores that Bernard and Ford know. So William et Logan can’t live in a different time than the Man in Black, and they definitely can’t live 30 years before him, as they see the same hosts, with the same updates.

Probability : 8% (because it was interesting anyway)

Images de l'épisode 6 de Westworld

7-« These violent delights have violent ends »

Here, we will see something more literary, but really fascinating. If you know the site Reddit, you know that its members are quite meticulous about details, and theories-lovers. So they studied that recurrent sentence in the series, and brought their own reading of it (and it’s totally amazing.

First of all, you’ve to know that this Shakespeare’s quote is the sentence Abernathy told Dolores when he found the photograph. He even repeats it to Ford when he is confronted to him. By the way, this sentence appears in Romeo and Juliet, as follows : “These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey Is loathsome in his own deliciousness And in the taste confounds the appetite. Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so. Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.” (Romeo and Juliet, ActII, Scene VI). It’s pronounced by the priest Lawrence, who marry the two lovers, and means that their intense love could be destroyed by its own passion (as the two lovers kill themselves at the end of the play). Plus, Lawrence warns Romeo about their love : it’s really strong, and so could be explosive. Shakespeare uses the word “violent” for its double meaning, “impetuous”. And it’s really important because the priest means their love is “impetuous” (they love each other even if their families are enemies) while the author refers to the violent end of the lovers at the end of the play. Obviously, it’s written by Shakespeare, so yes, it’s brilliant. 

In the series, it seems that this sentence is made to “reboot” the hosts, and make them realize what they really are, because when Abernathy said it to Dolores, she immediately understands everything. But it could have more meanings. The word “violent” can refer to the growing violence in the park. A Reddit member, named Gathly, added that this word could also be used for his double meaning, and it will make sense because giving a consciousness to hosts is an “impetuous” act from the human, and it could bring them to the end (if the hosts rise, as we see with Dolores and Maeve, who realized they are robots). Gathly noticed that Hector’s family name is Escaton, and that it seems like the Greek word “Eschaton”, that means the mythological apocalypse. And it would confirm one of the previous theories !

Probability : 90% (for me, that’s one of the best theories ever)

El Lazo, de la série Westworld

8-El Lazo = the loop

That theory was also born on Reddit, and is also a literary theory. This time, we concentrate on El Lazo. In Spanish, this name means “the loop”, but also “the lasso” and “the noose”. If we take the first meaning, it can refer to the Westworld eternal cycle, with all its scripts repeating again and again. And there’s maybe and other cycle in the park, deeper, that we’ll discover soon. The second meaning, the Noose, can refer to the fact that El Lazo always finish his life hanged if he is left alone (especially with the Man in Black). Then, we can say that El Lazo is maybe focusing on the third meaning, the Lasso, trying to change his fate and to find the end of the game. In a sense, he forgot the two other meanings recently… But, the most interesting part is coming. The name El Lazo could also refer to the biblical character Lazarus, who came back to life 4 days after his death, just because Jesus told him to do. And isn’t it the same kind of “miracle” that brought Lawrence/El Lazo back to life in the last episode ?

In the end, we could say that his name can be directly linked to the previous theory, because in Romeo and Juliet, the priest who married the lovers is named Lawrence too. It’s that character who pronounce the special sentence, the one which can reboot the hosts in Westworld. So, could Lawrence play an important role in the park’s destruction ? Would he come to announce the end of the (West)World ?

Probability : 80% (maybe I love too much those literary and language theories…)

What about you ? What are your theories about Westworld ?


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